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A review by funkyfest
The God Is Not Willing by Steven Erikson
4.0
All in all, a pretty good book that I do have some qualms with. Firstly, Erikson's introspective philosophical passages are still a joy to read, and I enjoyed the tighter focus and faster plotting in this book, especially as a first book to a trilogy. The flood coming this book was honestly pretty unexpected, I thought it would come in book 2 as a turning point for book 3. There were plenty of characters I enjoyed, I really felt for Rant, Stillwater was... I'm not really sure what mindset Erikson has to be in to write her, but she was great, as were many of the Marines.
I did think the Marines sections were a little too heavy on the comedy, lessening the impact of some of the more serious stuff when it does happen. Because Erikson would never end a section with "oh shit," he'd have one character be like "oh shit," and end the scene with Stillwater being like "Great! Who's gonna clean up that guy's corpse?!?" laugh track. They were serious when it counted though (Teblor and Malazans alike drowning or being eviscerated by the flood before their eyes, or too many of them blowing up to mines). Overall though, it leaned a bit too much in the comedy direction. This is most notable when they're saving Sarlis' mind - I mentioned how the action there played out like a Marvel action scene. Maybe it's because they're all mages, those types are always a bit loopy.
I also thought the flood was a bit confusingly written, I couldn't really keep track of who was where when, but I do appreciate Erikson trying a new (for him) structure. I'm sure it'll be better on a re-read now that I think I have it all straight.
I'm definitely interested to see where it all goes, and to see if Rant can get any more powerful :P I also wonder if Icarium's plotline is going to continue or if that will be a dangling thread forever. Pretty good!
I did think the Marines sections were a little too heavy on the comedy, lessening the impact of some of the more serious stuff when it does happen. Because Erikson would never end a section with "oh shit," he'd have one character be like "oh shit," and end the scene with Stillwater being like "Great! Who's gonna clean up that guy's corpse?!?" laugh track. They were serious when it counted though (Teblor and Malazans alike drowning or being eviscerated by the flood before their eyes, or too many of them blowing up to mines). Overall though, it leaned a bit too much in the comedy direction. This is most notable when they're saving Sarlis' mind - I mentioned how the action there played out like a Marvel action scene. Maybe it's because they're all mages, those types are always a bit loopy.
I also thought the flood was a bit confusingly written, I couldn't really keep track of who was where when, but I do appreciate Erikson trying a new (for him) structure. I'm sure it'll be better on a re-read now that I think I have it all straight.
I'm definitely interested to see where it all goes, and to see if Rant can get any more powerful :P I also wonder if Icarium's plotline is going to continue or if that will be a dangling thread forever. Pretty good!