A masterpiece of fantasy for adults

This series (10 volumes in total only two in English translated into French in bucked in 3 volumes according the bad habit of our local publishers) is a pure masterpiece, probably what has been written better for very many years for Fantasy. The universe in which it takes place is a richness, depth, coherence (and a blackness) amazing, the fruit of years of work and "practice" around gaming tables role. In fact the world of Malazan Empire has matured for more than 15 years before becoming a literary work and it shows in the first pages. The characters are rich, dense, often ambivalent tortured as much as tired, far from heroes of junk found in the fantasy second zone. The extreme originality of the work takes -notamment- how magic makes and operates (great originality of the opening), the presence of multiple previous human races but also realistic, as credible, as detailed as humans, far from grotesque absurdities gnomes and goblins that is still found in the fantasy of low floor that ressucent no end to the Lord of the Rings, and especially by the omnipresence of a cohort of Gods more vicious and Machiavellian all than others, that continue to cohabit, interfere, invite in human destinies. Clashes between these gods, which use humans as vulgar puppet and the rebellion of the characters (or submission) against these same gods is a constant dramatic device more effective. The characters, even the blacks, have an appealing or exciting side. Furthermore, the author does not hesitate to sacrifice some characters along the way, even the most eminent ... something we not expect and you literally tear the heart. Beyond the Malazan Book of the glorious dead is a work of intriguing and disturbing, many phenomena are acquired (they are part of the universe in question) but so confusing that the player is frustrated not to understand all the mechanisms, springs .... it is also contributing to the immersion of the player, to his surprise and pleasure of plunging into a parallel world aquel one begins to believe completely.

Warning: the language is (extremely) sought and asked the non-English speaking real effort for those wishing to exceed the 3 volumes translated into French (and honestly it is impossible to stop after these three volumes), because it is full rare words, turnings convoluted but also own words to the world of books, invented words you will not find in any dictionary of course. The author never easy search and the introduction of specific terms in his world is never followed by a clumsy explanation, so it's the reader to understand, to get an idea of ​​what is meant by the term-said sometimes after dozens or hundreds of pages. This contributes to total immersion in the work, but also to its difficult access. When they occur in the French edition it is still easy to guess that cover the invented words and we guess the meaning with some effort. In English it is much more difficult (for those like me who are not completely bilingual), but the pleasure that one has to devour this prodigious saga is worth all the efforts put into it.

Note: originally the authors of the world are two, each writing his own novels in this unique universe. Steven Erikson wrote 10 volumes (the latest and last a priori -sniff- of the series was published in 2011) and his friend Ian Cameron Esselmont is in its third Opus (the second, The return of the Return of the Crimson Guard Crimson Guard is excellent but understands and appreciates all the better that we read before the 5 or 6 first volumes Erikson). Both series meet without ever meeting clearly, and it is possible to read without reading one another.