Non-Fiction
The Malazan Re-read of the Fallen: Gardens of the Moon, Prologue and Chapter 1
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Welcome to the first post in what’s sure to be a long and interesting project: the Malazan Re-read of the Fallen! Every post will start off with a summary of events, followed by reaction and commentary by the hosts Bill Capossere and Amanda Rutter (with Amanda, new to the series, going first), and finally comments from Tor.com readers. In the first article, they will cover the prologue and first chapter of Gardens of the Moon (GotM).
A fair warning to all: they’ll be discussing both novel and whole-series themes, narrative arcs that run across the entire series, and foreshadowing, so while the summary of events may be free of spoilers, the commentary and reader comments most definitely will NOT be.
Welcome to the Malazan Re-read of the Fallen on Tor.com
Welcome to a new blog series on Tor.com, the Malazan Read and Re-read of the Fallen! The hosts are Bill Capossere (reading the series for a second time) and Amanda Rutter (reading it for the first time), and in the coming months they will read, re-read, discuss, summarize, analyze, scratch their heads in confusion, wonder out loud, possibly argue (courteously), occasionally criticize (also courteously), marvel, and, at times, bow to the superior knowledge of Tor.com’s readers as they attempt to dissect the epic fantasy world created Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont. As they finish each book in the series, both writers will appear to help to do a wrap-up!
Commentary — Endgame Vol. 1 and 2 by Derrick Jensen
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The following ramble initially began as a personal letter to the author of Endgame by Derrick Jensen, published in 2006 by Seven Stories Press, a multi-volume treatise on civilization and its non-sustaining nature. It was basically written in two parts, the first being an ongoing commentary written while reading the books; and the second part a more direct ‘letter’ which I wrote after giving Jensen’s positions considerable thought, in particular his notions of how environmental destruction can end through the active destruction of civilization.
Initially, I was responding to various assertions Jensen made regards what he sees as the idyllic and only sustainable form of human culture: the hunter/gatherer society; and later to his avowed desire to return humanity to that state of existence. With respect to his observations on the psychotic nature of civilization, I actually have no argument: his vision is a clear one. Where I took exception was with his ’solutions,’ namely, bringing down civilization.
