16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Esslemont Answers Every Question Without Ever Understanding Why we Wanted to Know, September 12, 2010
This review is from: Return of the Crimson Guard: A Novel of the Malazan Empire (Malazan Empire Novels (Unnumbered)) (Paperback)
"We are so close. Queen's Prophecies, the completion of the Vow is within reach! We can break them! Why then these doubts, these worries? None afflicted at the beginning. Everything was so clear then. the sides so cleanly drawn, our cause so pressing. Now, though, I can hardly muster the effort to go through with it. For whom did they fight?"
As I said in my Night of Knives review, the thought of Esslemont sharing Erikson's world has always made me nervous. Night of Knives managed to calm those fears slightly, but it was a different sort of novel, and filled with flaws of its own, so I entered Return of the Crimson Guard - a monolith of Erikson's proportions - with more than a hint of trepidation. I wouldn't say that Esslemont fails at crafting an epic here, but I wouldn't really say that he succeeds, either. Esslemont's writing style is highly developed in some areas, but is sorely lacking in others. As a result, your opinion of the book is likely to go up and down in tandem with Esslemont's competence at writing the current scene.
Beginning a Malazan novel is always an upwards climb. You've got a few dozen plot threads and characters to acquaint yourself with, most of (or, in this case, all of) them new. In general, the beginnings of Erikson's books are a myriad of half scenes, with the reader frantically trying to latch on as things escalate. The main part of this boils down to characterization and prose. Return of the Crimson Guard is the novel about the Malazan Empire, where Esslemont seeks to communicate the answer to all of our questions about it before both he and Erikson move, in large part, to foreign shores. More than being a novel about the high seats of Malazan power, however, it is, like every Malazan novel, first and foremost about the characters - some high ranking, but most low - that we see the events through.
In a novel with a dozen viewpoints, it's absolutely essential for each character to have at least one distinctive trait that we can immediately latch onto, so that we can tell who the hell they are when they pop up again. At this, Esslemont is adept, but, when it comes to later filling in those stark outlines with details, he falls horribly short of Erikson's standard. Almost none of Esslemont's characters have any depth to speak of, ranging from clichés to empty shells that act for reasons that are impossible to decipher. It is telling, I think, that all of the characters that have any depth to speak of in this volume are not viewpoint characters and are, generally, viewed only from the periphery.
Compounding the problem of characterization is Esslemont's prose. Though it's never truly flawed, it lacks the richness and flowing nature of Erikson's. It is, in short, a workman's prose, there to get the ideas across and nothing more. As a result, the times in the text when Esslemont tries to awe the reader, such as another look at the jade statues from House of Chains, fall flat. The combination of the bland prose with the shallow characterization makes the beginning of Return of the Crimson Guard a true barrier. Once you power your way through the opening, however, Esslemont begins to play to his strengths.
Esslemont's prose comes alive when he describes combat. All of a sudden, what was only a paragraph ago so much ho hum description, or what have you, lights up with new fire as soon as someone throws a punch. Esslemont's style, in these scenes, becomes almost staccato, and you understand what his prose was going for the entire book. His grace at battle isn't only on the small scale. Esslemont's grasp of military battles and tactics seems excellent and is a joy to read.
The pacing of the last third of the book is the opposite of the beginning. Where the opening was starting a thousand different threads with no payoff in sight, Return the Crimson Guard ends with literally hundreds of pages of climax. Now, the amount is a bit excessive, and I won't deny that it could've been stronger if some had been cut, but the jaw dropping confrontations, and the political machinations that go along with them, are by far and away the strongest part of the book. Esslemont adds layer after layer of complexity, sub plot after sub plot exploding at once, that it almost beggars belief.
And then he adds one too many layers, and it all sort of falls apart.
Return of the Crimson Guard is, fundamentally, concerned with the question of Laseen. Is she running the empire well, playing a deeper game than anyone realizes, or is she merely a pawn that exceeded her station? For most of the book, Laseen is Esslemont's one unqualified success. The enigma of her character grows in the absence of any close viewpoints, and her plans become more twisted and more daring with each half step they take into the light.
The problem with Laseen's climax isn't the decision that Esslemont took. It's his and Erikson's world, and I can't even begin to guess the causes or ramifications of the conclusion, so I'll wait till I have that information before passing judgment on who did what. What is unforgivable, however, are the implications of what happens to Laseen. By making her oblivious of something that every reader, no matter how unobservant, knew for thousands of pages on end invalidates any intelligence that reader might once have ascribed to her. The remainder of her plan simply does not matter. Whether or not she was ever cunning becomes irrelevant, that act of ignorance leaves the reader forever unable to view her as anything but clueless.
Esslemont answers the question of Laseen's plan, yes, but in a superficial, meaningless way. He checks "yes" and "no" to each aspect of her being, telling us whether she knew this and not that, or whether she was interested in him and not in her, but nowhere do we understand the character herself. The missing piece at the center of the novel turns out not to exist. The enigma is never penetrated; it is destroyed with its secrets intact.
Return of the Crimson Guard is a novel where the number of plot twists is only matched by the endless fluctuations in writing ability. Though he has a rocky beginning, and several very obvious shortcomings, Esslemont eventually overcomes his problems and draws the reader into his story. Night of Knives gave us the surface of Laseen's climb to power, but we saw it from a cinematic perspective only; none of the depths of character or motivations were revealed. Return of the Crimson Guard promises to rectify that, and, for a while, it seems poised to do so. And then, Esslemont reverts to the same superficiality that his debut displayed, solving every question without understanding why we wanted the answers in the first place.
I haven't given up on Esslemont. As long as he's cowriting one of my favorite series, I'm not even sure that I can give up on him. I have, however, lost quite a bit of faith in him. I suppose I can only hope that Stonewielder is as much of an improvement on Return of the Crimson Guard as Return... itself was to Night of Knives. Or, failing that, that his treatment of my beloved Darujhistan isn't as skin deep and superficial as everything that's gone before.
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23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Esslemont...A new star author in the Malazan series, November 17, 2008
'The Return of the Crimson Guard' by Ian C Esslemont, is the second book revolving around Steven Erikson's original 'Malazan Book of the Fallen' series.
It is my understanding that both Erikson and Esslemont are good friends and are co-operative co-authors of the Malazan world, and both are agreeable to and welcome each other contributions.
I'd like to comment on two different facets...
First, this book...
I was enthralled with this story right from the very beginning. It was well written, fast moving and exciting. There were the usual assortment of Malazan characters both good and evil who are forever plotting against one another, or someone or something. There was magic, treachery and betrayal, interesting event filled treks and voyages and some incredibly exciting battles. Also present was the witty and bantering camaraderie of the Malazan army regulars; a special group of mercenaries reminiscent of the 'bridgeburners' or the 'bonehunters' of previous novels. This book, simply had it all.
In traditional Erikson fashion, Esslemont starts off with several short glimpses involving many different persons or groups, however these stories progressed quickly, resulting in a tale that grabs you and just doesn't let go. The individuals' tales were told serially, but because each tale was so well written and interesting, you hated to see one segment come to an end, only to begin an account of someone else's adventure.
Also, there was an extensive list of the characters' names with their locations and 'occupations'; this was really helpful as there were a tremendous number of individuals from various geographic locales.
The only minor negative:
While there is an good general-overview map of the entire area where a lot (but not all) of the action takes place, it would have be so helpful to have had a detailed map of the area where a lot of the fighting took place, particularly for the last third of the book. There are so many groups fighting in so many place, and even though these areas are fairly close together, I found it very confusing to try to keep locales and geographic distances in perspective.
Second, Erikson and Esslemont...
This book, 'Return of the Crimson Guard' recaptures the style of writing that made the Malazan series SO great; it's the type of writing that Erikson needs to get back to.
I'm not sure what's going on with Steven Erikson, but, to me, the last book, 'Toll the Hounds' was at times quite confusing; especially some of the dialogue and also certain events and occurrences. I actually found myself skimming areas because it was difficult to follow OR I just got bored with the protracted mundane situations.
A few more novels of this quality and Esslemont may well become the preeminent writer of the future works in the Malazan series.
Conclusion:
A true Malazan tale to sink your teeth into; any Malazan fan/addict will be thrilled with this effort. It's got that quality of writing coupled with an intriguing story line what will pull you in from page one. It's a book that will make me read late into the night and have me looking forward to some quiet time to return to the story. (and no fantasy/adventure novel has done that recently since Joe Abercrombie's 'The First Law' trilogy)
Easily 5 Stars...more if I could.
Ray Nicholson
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply great!, November 21, 2008
Imagine if JRR Tolkien had a partner that co-created Middle Earth and all its history and characters with him. Now imagine that partner wrote books parallel with Tolkien dealing with other stories in the world they created. Sounds like fun, right? Well, this is Ian C. Esslemont and Steven Erikson with the world of the Malazan Empire. In my opinion, the most comprehensive fantasy world and epic created in recent history.
Return of the Crimson Guard is a vital addition to the overall storyline started by Erikson in his Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Where Esslemont's debut, Night of Knives, was good, it was so because of its relation of the Malazan world and my (and other fans') craving for it. Crimson Guard is a very well-written, essential story that must be read by any Malazan fan. I won't try to summarize the plot, except to say that the book chronologically takes place after Erikson's Bonehunters book and that many new and interesting characters are introduced here.
Like Erikson, Esslemont easily works together many sub-plots into one convergence of great importance. Esslemont writes massive battle sequences very well, and the book really becomes a page-turner for the last 1/3. The breadth of this book is a leap beyond the single-locale Knives book, and it rivals any of Erikson's works. I agree with an earlier reviewer that states that this book represents what Erikson needs to get back to in his series.
I am so grateful to have two talented authors to provide these excellent stories. Bring on so more!
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