A little bird told me that the limited edition of Steven Erikson's Deadhouse Gates from Subterranean Press should be making its way to the printer in the near future.
Here are two illustrations from the book by J. K. Drummond.
You can order Deadhouse Gates here.
12 commentaires:
Wow. That first graphic is a perfect illustration of a scene from the prologue. This is going to be a gorgeous book.
Mappo and Icarium, wow. Good drawing, but Mappo looks way to much like an orc to me in that picture. Thats usually how I imagine a Jaghut looking.
Any explanations on what exactly is in the pictures? I assume that the second one is Mappo and Icarium (with Mappo on the left?).
Love it! Awesome!
Not sure about the glowing eyes and dramatic reaching out. After all, it's supposed to be an ominous sign and not "something out to get you".
The first picture makes me want to start reading the series cause I have no idea what that is, but I want to know. The series is on my to-read list.
Those are great illustrations, but they make me feel sad. See, I loved "Deadhouse Gates", because it was the one that sold me on the series. But then, by the time I got into "Toll the Hounds", I became fed up with Erikson's wordiness, lack of discipline about subplots and numbers of characters. I realized that I no longer cared about the characters or about finding out how he resolved things, and actually felt a sense of liberation at the thought of the different books I could read if I abandoned the series. So I did. As a result, I find I cannot recommend the series to people--for me it turned out like a bad relationship! But I can understand how others love it.
--M
Anon, I could have made that exact comment myself.
I just finished part 4, and started part 5, to realize that now we're dealing with a whole backstory of one character, more races, more plots, more and more names to remember. It's getting ridiculous. I had to bookmark the Malazan Wiki to keep track of this.
Somewhere along the way, I don't even realize when, whenever I'd come across a character who I didn't remember, I just didn't bother check it. I was just reading so I could finish the story.
Each book took me exactly a month to read, and there are so many other books I want to get to, that tonight I realize I won't be reading this series anymore.
For me I didn't feel like that until the end of the Bonehunters, although I persevered. Now the series is technically "over" I'll probably only be re-reading Gardens of the Moon, Memories of Ice, Dust of Dreams and the Crippled God. With the ICE books I'll only re-read Orb, Sceptre & Throne.
"Somewhere along the way, I don't even realize when, whenever I'd come across a character who I didn't remember, I just didn't bother check it. I was just reading so I could finish the story."
I almost never do anything else. If I have forgotten the character, he'll come back automatically along the way in his actions, descriptions and other references. I never got this approach "I have to keep everything in mind, all at once", anyway. It's what turns people away from the Silmarillion as well. I don't see why anyone bothers.
But while I don't see the problem from a practical point of view, I do see it from wanting to get some resolution.
"Now the series is technically "over" I'll probably only be re-reading Gardens of the Moon, Memories of Ice, Dust of Dreams and the Crippled God. With the ICE books I'll only re-read Orb, Sceptre & Throne."
Truly a condemning judgement. You'll only re-read some fivethousand pages, but not more often and not everything else for a while...
Since this thread turned into a "how I got fed up with Erikson" contest, let me just add my two cents. I am now within the last two chapters of "Crippled God", after about six years of reading. And I'm savouring every moment.
Sure, there were times when I lost track of some plotlines. When some character came along I'd long forgotten. When I knew that I was reading something very important but did not "get" in what way it was important (which drove me crazy). And so on, and so on.
But in the end everything is remarkably tight for a 10.000 pages epos. And the really important things you don't forget. And still there is much left to rediscover when you reread it. And, really, how much more can you demand of a good book?
"The Malazan Book of the Fallen" managed to create that real life experience that Tolkien himself longed for (ever read "Leaf by Niggle"?). Because real history is just like that: important but elusive. You keep some, you lose some, and you have to keep looking into it again, from time to time.
I will be re-reading every single one of these books 'till the day I no longer can read. Unbelievable story! I just picked HOC last week and was hugely surprised at finding out the entombed Forkrul Assail freed by Karsa was none other than Calm, whom we never see again until DoD or TCG. Little details like that make my day and enhance the pleasure of reading complex works of art like these many times over. Whoever says Eriksson lost control over the numerous plotlines couldn't just simply keep up with him.
Hellspawn
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