You are in for a trip Rollory. I envy you. :)
The author is little known in here in USA, but in Europe he is famous. I love good fantasy, and I thought I read most good books in that genre. But I was shocked to discover what I consider to be one of the best series ever written in that genre, of which I knew nothing about until a year ago.
Be warned - it is very dark fantasy. And the plot is unbelievingly cryptic (in a very good way). While reading the first book every time I though I am starting to understand what the heck is going on in the world the plot made a sudden twist (not arbitrary at all, but totally unexpected) and you are left in the dark once again. By the end of the book things were slowly becoming clearer, but still you are left with understanding of about maybe 20% of what’s going on. But despite that the book was a fantastic page-turner, and very consistent and logical.
Interesting thing about Erikson is that he was not a fantasy writer for the most of his life. He was a scientist, archeologist and anthropologist. And you can certainly feel it when you are reading his books. His world’s history span several hundreds of thousands of years (!), and the action takes place sometimes both in the various points in the past as well as in the present, with events from the past constantly merging, clashing and affecting the present in many ways. The world is also populated many dozens of different cultures, all very unique and interesting.
The new “Frozen In Ice” spell from Dominion3 is a tribute to these books, although 95% of the people who play the game would not know it. They are one fo the tribes of T’lan I’mass, captured by the ice magic of their sworn enemies.
They are undead warriors, lead by the warchief and Bonecaster(shaman). Their whole race was once mortal and have ruled an entire planet before the age of humans. But they have willingly abandoned their Empire and become undead by casting powerful and binding ritual, to achieve vengeance on their immortal enemies and eradicate them from the face of the earth, no mater how many thousands of years it would take and no mater how many would be destroyed trying to do it. Their tale is a tragic one.
They fight using crude flintstone swords, but with mighty enchantments woven by their shamans eons ago before the Ritual, these weapons are impossible to break, and they can cut through the best steel made by humans. (here is why “flintstone sword” weapon is considered magical in Dom3 ;) ) They can travel large distances very quickly by dissolving into dust and assembling again in another place. (here is why movement 3)
The first book called “Volume One of the Malazan Book of the Fallen - Gardens of the Moon”. If you enjoy serious fantasy, such as G. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series, you will love these books.
