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128 reviews for:
The God Is Not Willing: Book One of the Witness Trilogy: A Novel of the Malazan World
Steven Erikson
4.52 AVERAGE
128 reviews for:
The God Is Not Willing: Book One of the Witness Trilogy: A Novel of the Malazan World
Steven Erikson
4.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The fact that it's taken me more than 4 months to finish this, the shortest and, I'd argue, most straightforward, most accessible Malzan novel to date, should tell you all you need to know about The God is Not Willing.
As much as I love Steven Erikson's flair for witty banter, this felt like all talk, no show. There was just so much dialogue, pages and pages of it, with hardly a dialogue tag to be seen, and far too often it's just self-indulgent nonsense. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a little nonsense - The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach are full of it, and I love them - but here it's taken to distraction and beyond. I found myself skimming past quotation marks, desperately searching for a thread of plot, on far too many occasions.
What's so frustrating is that all started off so well. I was amused by and curious about the new Bridgeburners, who are as crazy a lot as Erikson has ever written, but they're given no depth or personality beyond the craziness. I couldn't tell you most of them were from one chapter to another, and (to be honest) I didn't care to try and remember. I was, however, fascinated by Rant's tale, by the whole story of the Teblor, the breaking of Omtose Phellack, and the coming flood that's pushing a world of change before it. I really think there was an opportunity to do something new here, to let the legendary heroes rest and tell a proper sequel of who and what came next, but the book wastes too much time trying to craft Bridgeburners: The Next Generation,
Looking back, I struggled greatly to find my way into Gardens of the Moon, but that's only because it was so big and so bewildering, dropping the reader in media res and leaving us to figure things out. It took me 3 tries, but I wanted to break through, I wanted to wrap my head around it all, and I'm so glad that I did. Here, I struggled to keep going, to find a reason to pick up The God is Not Willing again, after longer and longer pauses, because I just didn't care. It feels like a superficial Malazan story, one that Erikson felt pressured to write because of flagging sales, not one he had any great passion for.
All that said, the book is averaging 4.67 on Goodreads and 4.8 on Amazon, so it seems I'm in the minority with my dissatisfaction . . . although I swear those ratings have to be fueled more by nostalgia for what came before and hope for what comes next that what's actually in the book.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2022/01/fantasy-book-review-god-is-not-willing.html
As much as I love Steven Erikson's flair for witty banter, this felt like all talk, no show. There was just so much dialogue, pages and pages of it, with hardly a dialogue tag to be seen, and far too often it's just self-indulgent nonsense. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a little nonsense - The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach are full of it, and I love them - but here it's taken to distraction and beyond. I found myself skimming past quotation marks, desperately searching for a thread of plot, on far too many occasions.
What's so frustrating is that all started off so well. I was amused by and curious about the new Bridgeburners, who are as crazy a lot as Erikson has ever written, but they're given no depth or personality beyond the craziness. I couldn't tell you most of them were from one chapter to another, and (to be honest) I didn't care to try and remember. I was, however, fascinated by Rant's tale, by the whole story of the Teblor, the breaking of Omtose Phellack, and the coming flood that's pushing a world of change before it. I really think there was an opportunity to do something new here, to let the legendary heroes rest and tell a proper sequel of who and what came next, but the book wastes too much time trying to craft Bridgeburners: The Next Generation,
Looking back, I struggled greatly to find my way into Gardens of the Moon, but that's only because it was so big and so bewildering, dropping the reader in media res and leaving us to figure things out. It took me 3 tries, but I wanted to break through, I wanted to wrap my head around it all, and I'm so glad that I did. Here, I struggled to keep going, to find a reason to pick up The God is Not Willing again, after longer and longer pauses, because I just didn't care. It feels like a superficial Malazan story, one that Erikson felt pressured to write because of flagging sales, not one he had any great passion for.
All that said, the book is averaging 4.67 on Goodreads and 4.8 on Amazon, so it seems I'm in the minority with my dissatisfaction . . . although I swear those ratings have to be fueled more by nostalgia for what came before and hope for what comes next that what's actually in the book.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2022/01/fantasy-book-review-god-is-not-willing.html
Immaculate start to a new trilogy set after the main series. All of Erikson’s wonderful prose. Great new Malazan marines, other new characters - all well done. And Rant! Just amazing.
Masterful in every way. The characters are wonderful, the narrative much more focused than the Book of the Fallen (which I also love dearly), and it still carries the same emotional weight and wit and charm of its predecessor series.
I cannot wait for the next book.
I cannot wait for the next book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Picking up The God is not Willing was a little like I imagine donning Spindle's hairshirt would be, damned uncomfortable, yet somehow exactly what was needed.
Erikson does not disappoint in this first volume of Witness. All the messed up Malazan marines, the mayhem of the various peoples, politics, plots, gods, and now natural (?) disaster are combined in Erikson's unique style. It was the wonderfully complex, layered, gritty, humourous, and full of the twists and turns that make it Erikson a master story teller.
A bountiful dose of epic fantasy.
Erikson does not disappoint in this first volume of Witness. All the messed up Malazan marines, the mayhem of the various peoples, politics, plots, gods, and now natural (?) disaster are combined in Erikson's unique style. It was the wonderfully complex, layered, gritty, humourous, and full of the twists and turns that make it Erikson a master story teller.
A bountiful dose of epic fantasy.
"Your reason?"
'To save a life.'
"No other is required."
'To save a life.'
"No other is required."