Jon C. reviewed on 1/18/2010

The world created by the author has me intrigued. It is very deep and wide, 90% of it only briefly touched upon in this book. That is both to its benefit and detriment. If you are looking for a traditional fantasy story/quest/journey, this is not it. There are times for that but Steven Erikson has attempted to create a world that has a past we know very little of and a future that appears on the brink of destruction.

The reader is dropped into an ongoing war. We see it from bottom to top. From the grunts in the trenches to the commanders leading the grunts to the gods worshiped by those same soldiers. Yes, gods walk among men. And the relationship between man and gods is fairly unique to the fantasy genre. I hope it is expanded upon in future volumes. Magic is prevalent and used almost as one would use any weapon. Its part of the arsenal and just as messy. There are no fireballs and lightning bolts flung from the hands of warlocks. There are simply forces, sometimes fire, sometimes unknown, that simply leave a trail of destruction. Or twists your soul.

This is where some readers will get lost. There are so many characters and locations that are not explained. You must piece it together as you go, which can frustrate people. Steven Erikson will not hold your hand and tell you who is the hero and who is the villain. There is no farm boy made into a hero, who will lead his people into the great battle. But if you stick with it, you may be rewarded with an experience above traditional fantasy.

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