[VFA]≡ Read Free The Wurms of Blearmouth A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765376220 Books

The Wurms of Blearmouth A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765376220 Books

Download As PDF : The Wurms of Blearmouth A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765376220 Books

The Wurms of Blearmouth A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765376220 Books

"The Wurms of Blearmouth: A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach" is the fifth in series of short stories by Canadian author Steven Erikson. This Kindle e-book was approximately 208 printed pages and sold for $8.89 at the time of writing this review.

General theme <minor spoilers>

Our two heroes find themselves (along with their faithful manservant, Emancipor Reese) shipwrecked in a winter storm on a God-forsaken, desolate and rocky shoreline. Lucky for them, refuge is nearby in the form of a small cesspool of a town called Spendrugle... unlucky you might say for its seedy denizens.

Some thoughts on "The Wurms of Blearmouth"...

The Pros:
1.) well written and edited.

2.) I've always loved Erikson choice of names... strange, weird and yet somehow fittingly perfect for the assorted and sordid collection of humanity he brings forth in these wonderful short stories.

3.) an exquisite villain in the form of Fangstooth Claw, Lord of Wurms Keep.

4.) as with all the books in this particular series, Erikson displays an impeccable sense of pace and timing to keep his characters hopping from one dire situation to another.

The Cons:
Cover Art... my only minor complaint. For some reason Erikson decided to use an image on the front cover that employed professional models to portray our heroes. (Whereas previous books had used an artist's drawings). My concern is this... I've formulated over the time these characters have been around, as to what Bauchelain and Korbal Broach looked like. And the cover picture found here looks nothing like the descriptions I've concocted in my mind's eye. Yes, maybe a picky point, but something I felt worth mentioning.

Impressions:
Of all Erikson's writings I think I like his short stories the best. Unlike the original Malazan series, they are a quick easy reads... succinct in the manner with which the tales unfold, develop and finish. In addition, Bauchelain, Korbal Broach and Emancipor Reese are three of my favorite characters.

As it is... 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson
raynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com
@ralannicholson


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The Wurms of Blearmouth A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765376220 Books Reviews

While I love Erikson's original 10 volume Malazan series and these characters in particular, I find their stand alone tales hit or miss. This is not my most or least favorite of his short stories, but fills a void when waiting for a larger volume or between re-reads of the original Malazan volumes. It is possible others might find this short, but when compared to his dense (in a good way) encyclopedic novels, it is a breeze to read.
I will pre-empt this review to say that I am reviewing the actual content of the novella as 5 stars, because I really enjoyed it. However, the price tag of this edition ($20+) for just a small novella is a little steep even for seasoned Malazan veterans. I personally like to have the 1st editions, etc. so I don't mind, but if you aren't worried about the presentation I would probably suggest waiting for this to come out in a collection or in other formats for cheaper.

The actual story is great - as always Bauchelain and Korbal Broach (and their manservant, Emancipoor Reese D) are the hilarious shades-of-grey villains (or is it heroes?!) we have grown to love. The story follows their arrival to the town of Blearmouth after the events of Lees of Laughter's End. The story is fast, funny, and satisfying. Having read this book right on the heels of Crack'd Pot Trail (which I liked, but wasn't what I was expecting), I was delighted with the book. Great read for Malazan veterans, for one trying to get into the series it'd probably be better to read GoTM (1st in the Malazan main series) or at least the compilation Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, which includes the direct prequel, prior to reading Wurms.

Looking forward to more B&KB soon, Erikson! D
Overall a decent read, and just the right length. While I enjoyed the humor (and the darker bits not quite as much), I was ready for the story to be over by the time the novella ended. I was surprised that Bauchelain and Korbal weren't in the story more, though. Having not read the previous novellas, I don't know if that is normal (or not). While I don't think I would recommend this as your intro to Malazan, of course I would recommend it to fans of the series. Oh, and having not read the earlier books, I did feel like I was missing some background in the last half of this story. Not enough to ruin my enjoyment, but I do remember thinking at times "I wish I had read the previous book, to understand a bit more about how the story got to this point".
I'm a huge Steven Erikson fan, and I adore his stories involving Bauchelain and Korbal Broach - a demonologist and necromancer (and one cannot forget their manservant Emancipor Reese). The tales involving these three are always full of dark humor and a high body count. Like all of Erikson's stories there is a lot of banter between characters, and creative use of language. In some of Mr. Erikson's more serious works this can get pedantic with characters waxing philosophical. As much as I love his dialogue it sometimes seems as if Mr. Erikson loves it even more - to the point of excess. However, not to worry about that with any of his Bauchelain and Korbal stories. They are generally quite short - either set up as a collection of short stories, or, as in this case, a novella. So, while he definitely indulges in a great deal of back and forth between characters it isn't enough to become tiresome and serves to move the story forward.

While it isn't absolutely necessary to have read any of the prior stories involving these three, it would be worthwhile to have read at least one in order to be familiar with them and their world. They are introduced in "Gardens of the Moon", the first in Erikson's Malazan Empire series (which I highly recommend), but that may be too much of a read for some folks. For that reason I would be more likely to recommend "Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Three Short Novels of the Malazan Empire, Volume One" as a starting point. That collection includes "The Lees of Laughter's End" which precedes the events in Wurms.
"The Wurms of Blearmouth A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach" is the fifth in series of short stories by Canadian author Steven Erikson. This e-book was approximately 208 printed pages and sold for $8.89 at the time of writing this review.

General theme <minor spoilers>

Our two heroes find themselves (along with their faithful manservant, Emancipor Reese) shipwrecked in a winter storm on a God-forsaken, desolate and rocky shoreline. Lucky for them, refuge is nearby in the form of a small cesspool of a town called Spendrugle... unlucky you might say for its seedy denizens.

Some thoughts on "The Wurms of Blearmouth"...

The Pros
1.) well written and edited.

2.) I've always loved Erikson choice of names... strange, weird and yet somehow fittingly perfect for the assorted and sordid collection of humanity he brings forth in these wonderful short stories.

3.) an exquisite villain in the form of Fangstooth Claw, Lord of Wurms Keep.

4.) as with all the books in this particular series, Erikson displays an impeccable sense of pace and timing to keep his characters hopping from one dire situation to another.

The Cons
Cover Art... my only minor complaint. For some reason Erikson decided to use an image on the front cover that employed professional models to portray our heroes. (Whereas previous books had used an artist's drawings). My concern is this... I've formulated over the time these characters have been around, as to what Bauchelain and Korbal Broach looked like. And the cover picture found here looks nothing like the descriptions I've concocted in my mind's eye. Yes, maybe a picky point, but something I felt worth mentioning.

Impressions
Of all Erikson's writings I think I like his short stories the best. Unlike the original Malazan series, they are a quick easy reads... succinct in the manner with which the tales unfold, develop and finish. In addition, Bauchelain, Korbal Broach and Emancipor Reese are three of my favorite characters.

As it is... 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson
raynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com
@ralannicholson