The closing of the Malazan Book of the Fallen

Sunday, June 12, 2011



What started with this :

Now these ashes have grown cold, we open the old book. These oil-stained pages recount the tales of the Fallen., a frayed empire, words without warmth. The hearth has ebbed, its gleam and life's sparks are but memories against dimming eyes - what cast my mind, what hue my thoughts as I open the Book of the Fallen and breathe deep the scent of history? Listen, then, to these words carried on that breath. These tales are the tales of us all, again yet again. We are history relived and that is all, without end that is all.

And more than 3 millions 300 thousands words latter ended with this :

And now the page before us blurs.
An age is done. The book must close.
We are abandoned to history.
Raise high one more time the tattered standard of the Fallen. See through the drifting smoke to the dark stains upon the fabric.
This is the blood of our lives, this is the payment of our deeds, all soon to be forgotten.
We were never what people could be.
We were only what we were.

Remember us

Was Steven aware of what all of this great endeavor would be when writing those first lines? Well they say that was is important is not the goal but the destination. Indeed, for me, that was quite an epic trek, something momentous and remarkable has ended.

Look for my review of The Crippled God soon.

7 comments:

Yona said...

i just started with the first book. everything seems pretty misty and mysterious... but its a fast read and i like the different characters so far! so i hope you have nice words to say to the ending of this epic. something that makes we wanna read on .

Phil said...

I think so far for me it's probably one of the best 10 or so books series in term of overall quality. The third novel, Memories of Ice is by far the best of the series but I really liked how Erikson decided to finish his story. I hope I can prove it with the review...

Samuel J. E. Trawick said...

The entire series is just incredible, the way the words are crafted fills the reader with a sense of mystic wonder. A great story teller.


Samuel J. E. Trawick, Author of The Frostbourne Chronicles

Anonymous said...

now that it is all read and done. i am yearning for a new book to read. but i cant find an author of the same caliber. do you have and surgestions? i need a story as vast and comples as erikson, martin and jordan's storys

Anonymous said...

Try Brandson Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy, then start "The Way of Kings". He is a great author and on his way to being mentioned among the best in this genre.

Arthantos said...

The entire series is incredible. It is my all-time favorite, above even Song of Ice and Fire (also an amazng series though Dance was a disappointment to me)

But unlike Phil, I think Deadhouse Gates to be slightly better than Memories of Ice, but only by a couple mm...


But reading the Epitaph to Gardens of the Moon and ending it with the closure at the end of The Crippled God still gives me chills and that is a real testament to Erickson's qualities as a writer.

Livia Potato said...

This is old, but I was looking for these 2 quotes and I found them.
I cry every time I read them, without fail. There is so much between these two quotes, I can't even express how much I love these books! Or better, this big Book of the Fallen!

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