Malazan Empire: Siergiej - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

I agree with Rant/Karsa and I also think we'll see more of K'Chain. Sky keeps in the beast hold, a spirit of a Shi'gal... there's probably a reason SE is planting that in the story.

I finished reading yesterday with plenty of thoughts in my head. Slept on it and it's time to put those thoughts to paper.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Erikson revisiting his style from the earlier Malazan novels was a much needed refresh after Fall of Light. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for Walk in Shadow to come out, but FoL was just really difficult to read. The God is not Willing I breezed through. Just a thoroughly enjoyable, self-contained and action-packed story with plenty of meat for Malazan fans and a strong political message. And I'm looking forward to the next installments, which means Erikson bought me over with TGinW. I wasn't too excited about it because despite my issues with FoL, I'm much more invested in the Kharkanas story than I am in Karsa's. So I didn't like this was coming out ahead of WiS but now I'm glad it did and I'm excited to see where SE takes this next. Shouldn't have doubted the old man!

What I liked the most:

Rant's and Damisk's relationship. It takes some suspension of disbelief to go along with how quickly people become extremely loyal to Rant but it serves the story and character arcs so well than I'm 100% onboard. And the friendship/father-son relatiosnhip between Rant and Damisk is the best example. There's so much packed into this: guilt, grief, trust, responsibility, betrayal, loyalty, care. All Rant-Damisk parts of the book are just filled with emotion and the tragic end is a perfect ending to that subplot. Rant's realization Damisk would have lived if he let him go literally a few steps earlier, how he is tormented by guilt, and how Damisk is completely at peace with this... this was the most human and real part of a book about magic and dragon assassins and six-armed murder gods.

Marines, hell yes! Except Spindle, all Malazan soldiers are new faces, but they're just as lovable as the Biridgeburners and Bonehunters. They're grumpy, silly, and ready to die for each other. The soldier banter was a standout piece of the original series and it's back in full force in TGinW. Special mention to Stillwater - the batshit insane assassin-mage and her antics were a joy to read.

The worldbuilding. Obviously, Erikson has been an absolute champion of that, but TGinW is much smaller in scope and scale than his usual stories - it barely ventures outside what was covered in about the first 100 pages of House of Chains. That doesn't stop SE from showing us there is a much larger world outside of the main storyline. The best bit of this is Damisk's detour into the Beast Hold to meet the K'Chain in skykeeps and release the weird murder god. We're left not knowing what really happened but knowing it was really badass. Loved it. Then there is the new magic with runts, the Malazan innovation in making marine units based on mages, new cults of Tavore and Paran (Unloved Woman and Twice Alive), the decay of Jaghut rituals, Imass tribes in northern Genabackis, Cotillion and Shadowthrone still scheming... THERE IS A LOT. Not sure how much of it new readers will pick up on, but Malazan veterans will have so many reasons to smile reading those worldbuilding tidbits.

The overall message. It's basically a statement of compassion for climate refugees.

What I didn't like:


The final battles were meh. The wilders just walked into a minefield and then the flood came and that was it. That's especially disappointing because SE is usually great at battle scenes. I feel like he was trying to do something else here: throw away the action to focus on the emotion. But it didn't work. It didn't work in Fall of Light and it didn't work here. Just go back to the good old battles! There was a big point about how Malazan marines give a shit and they are willing to die to protect others. Not just Malazans, but people. That was a great idea but the sacrifice was dulled because all characters we got to care about survived. I know that a lot of Malazans died saving Teblor and wilders but these were just nameless soldiers. I had no stake in their lives. The conclusion lacked the emotional punch it was intended to deliver. And sure, it saved me some heartbreak, but there was potential for a Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice levels of pain. Give me that pain!!
For a moment my heart was in my throat when Spindle and Oams got captured by Balk's sergeants and I was like 'nooo this is Trull Sengar level of senseless violence (but deep down there I was like yes, dear author, CRUSH MY SOUL ONE MORE TIME)' but that too was a false alarm, done and dusted in like 5 pages.

Talk of rape. I can't really put my finger to what exactly bothers me but I don't think SE ever handled the topic very well. In TGinW he does better, because we get a reminder of Karsa's horrible legacy, but it's still clumsy.

Anomander's cameo. His death was one of the highest points and most emotional moments of the entire series. Bringing him back takes away from the weight of his sacrifice. Bringing him back just to have Stillwater talk to shit to him is just... I don't know. Weird.

Marines buying into Mallick. There's this line from Spindle in the epilogue:

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Sorry, what? Mallick Rel is personally responsible for the death of Coltaine, crucifiction of 10,000 Malazan soldiers, death of countless refugees in the Chain of Dogs, persecution of the Wickans, outlawing Tavore and the Bonehunters, and a civil war. Spindle might not know all of that but he knows some of it. Malazan soldiers are portrayed as smart enough that it's just weird and out of character to believe Mallick and the empire are a benevolent force.

What I want to see next:


Karsa! I think that's a given but it will be great to see what he's up to in Darujhistan. His meeting with Rant is going to be great. Maybe the next novel is named The God is not Chilling (Anymore).

The new magic system. Let's find out what the runts are all about and how they interact with warrens and Azath.

That weird god Damisk released and K'Chain Che'Malle. I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of either. Especially that Rant carries the spirit of a Shi'gal assassin in his knife.

Jaghut grappling with the decay of Omtose Phellack. We haven't heard from Gothos and Hood in a while. They might have something to say about the latest developments.

I just finished reading the book and am checking out what the forum thinks. I need time to process my own thoughts but I'm a bit surprised at this criticism of The God is not Willing:

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Erikson has never been subtle about his politics. Or at least not since Midnight Tides, which was going CAPITALISM BAD in every description of Letherii society. And I agree with SE so maybe that's why it was never a problem for me but he's always been very in your face with the political message. I didn't see a shift in tone in The God is not Willing at all - only a thematic change, with taking on the climate crisis and refugee crisis.

This fragment might refer to 'dreaming' not as in sleeping but as in hoping/projecting for the for the future. Kallor does dream of sitting on a throne. It's his singular pursuit over the course of millenia and it turns into a nightmare for him because of the curse and for everyone involved because, well, Kallor is a massive twat.

I think there was enough foreshadowing about High King in Forge of Darkness and Fall of Light that it sort of had to be Kallor. I'm excited for what it means for the story and the timeline.

Someone on Reddit posted an interesting theory that Kharkanas trilogy is not a single coherent narrative but rather a collection of myths mixed together that don't actually share the same timeline. That would explain Kallor's presence and it definitely fits with the theme of Kharkanas but if it turns out to be true, I'd like a confirmation from Erikson.