Bauchelain and Korbal Broach: Volume One: Three Short Novels of the Malazan Empire

Definitely dark, dark, dark. Not for the squeamish. That said, I found these a nice break from the main series of books. Instead of hundreds of characters, there are only a half-dozen or so to keep track of. Instead of plots that stretch out over thousands of pages in multiple books, each story is all wrapped up in 100 pages or less.

All three novellas are loaded with some of the most humorous characters of the Malazan world. I knew they would be entertaining but they were more than just an enjoyable read and were loaded with ironies and solid views on life even though approached in a quaint way. I can't help to notice over the last few books I have read by Erikson that he is more than just a great talent at weaving complex plots and layered histories. He is an excellent poet, prose writer and a very deliberate philosopher. The lines from the Healthy Dead relating to the downfall of humanity are a spot on critique of dualistic thinking.

These stories are on the dark side and are very detailed in the world. I have really been enjoying the books with which I feel I should use sticky notes to help me remember who's who and who did what. The first story started out with me being confused for a little while. But, once I got through it I understood what was going on. In this first story you realize just how massive a world Erikson has created. These stories are based in the same world as Erikson's epic series, of the Malazan Empire. There seems to be a lot of mysterious magic and different creatures/beings in this colossal world. You do get introduced to a new set of characters in each story, but you are always following the trio of men; Bauchelain, Korbal Broach, and Emancipor (the manservant). This trio of men seem to not be the "bad" guy in so many words, yet... they are. They are definitely not the heros either, but they may have a touch of it in them. I like how he follows from different character point of views, then I found myself wondering what was going to happen when they crossed paths. I had many questions and thoughts of not knowing where this trio of men was going in the world and what trouble they would uncover and create. In the second and third stories you start to see more of the Gods and old ways of the cities. There is so much happening quickly in these short stories that you have to keep going. The third story even touches on a topic that was very interesting to me, healthiness. Can it be done too much? I really enjoyed the topic and the extreme views of the characters. I enjoy a story that is on the dark side and has a large amount of details to follow. I have not read the Malazan Empire yet, but this is my goal for 2010 - read the 10 books series.

Though sometimes not for the more squeamish readers, these stories are excellent side jaunts off the popular Malazan novels. This is a collection of the the three short books about Bauchelain, Korbal Broach, and (who can forget!) Emancipor Reese. The three books that this collects each sell for over $10, so as a collection, it's an excellent bargain. It tells the story of how Emancipor is hired by the duo of necromancers (Blood Follows), an adventure during their sea voyage (The Lees of Laughter's End), and an adventure in the city of Quaint (The Healthy Dead). There is so much detail possible from more of the back story, or even the sea voyage, it's easy to see why this collection is called "Volume 1". We should all hope that more works are in progress.

I'm a huge fan of the Malazan Empire books, but was concerned that novellas would not work well with the writer's generally verbose style. I was wrong. His characters are just as sparklingly entertaining as ever - clever, witty and oh, so prone to getting into trouble. I very much enjoyed the expanded exploits of these three characters, and look forward to "Volume Two".