yak_attak's review against another edition
4.0
The newest in Erickson's series of irreverent, hilarious, ultra dark horror-fantasies, this one has all the clever writing that you've come to expect, the disgusting horror, and nihilistic philosophical musings. A pleasure to read and laugh at, it is however not one of the strongest of the bunch. There's good stuff especially in the gang of DnD style adventures/thieves, but we don't get much of the titular characters, and there's not a really really solid overarching theme either. There's lots of good, but it doesn't come together into something more.
mhedgescsus's review against another edition
4.0
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A wonderful novella that should be read by any Erikson fan.
Novella is the 5th novella in the "Bauchelain and Korbal Broach" series, set within the greater Malazan universe. The main characters here are necromancer side characters that appear in one of the Malazan: Book of the Fallen books, but were so entertaining that Steven Erikson decided to write a series of novellas about their hilarious escapades. It's a horror comedy book, that is simultaneously ultra horror, and ultra hilarious.
Think of a Terry Pratchett book, but in my opinion ramp up the hilarity (and I say this as a Pratchett fan), and make it extremely violent. It's a mix that shouldn't work, but ultimately does.
In this book, the king of a small kingdom is murdered by Bauchelain, and he sets himself up as the new king, with his sidekick Korbal Broach acting as the Grand Bishop. He becomes a tyrant, with the ultimate goal of completely emptying the coffers and skipping town before a revolt happens. It's a fun premise that sets up another great novella.
Ultimately I give this book 4 stars because while I did highly enjoy myself, I found a couple of the other books in this series a big step up in quality from this one.
After reading all of the printed books in this series, I can confidently say that this series is the best fantasy novella series that I have ever read, as well as hands down the funniest books I have ever read. They should absolutely not be skipped by any Erikson fans.
A wonderful novella that should be read by any Erikson fan.
Novella is the 5th novella in the "Bauchelain and Korbal Broach" series, set within the greater Malazan universe. The main characters here are necromancer side characters that appear in one of the Malazan: Book of the Fallen books, but were so entertaining that Steven Erikson decided to write a series of novellas about their hilarious escapades. It's a horror comedy book, that is simultaneously ultra horror, and ultra hilarious.
Think of a Terry Pratchett book, but in my opinion ramp up the hilarity (and I say this as a Pratchett fan), and make it extremely violent. It's a mix that shouldn't work, but ultimately does.
In this book, the king of a small kingdom is murdered by Bauchelain, and he sets himself up as the new king, with his sidekick Korbal Broach acting as the Grand Bishop. He becomes a tyrant, with the ultimate goal of completely emptying the coffers and skipping town before a revolt happens. It's a fun premise that sets up another great novella.
Ultimately I give this book 4 stars because while I did highly enjoy myself, I found a couple of the other books in this series a big step up in quality from this one.
After reading all of the printed books in this series, I can confidently say that this series is the best fantasy novella series that I have ever read, as well as hands down the funniest books I have ever read. They should absolutely not be skipped by any Erikson fans.
bdesmond's review against another edition
5.0
The Fiends of Nightmaria is the sixth and most recent novella in Steven Erikson's Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach series, and it is the furthest along in the timeline chronologically. It is also the only entry other than The Healthy Dead earning the full five stars from me. I contemplated a four-star rating but decided that it made me laugh too many times to miss full marks, especially being the shortest installment thus far.
This takes places almost entirely in the span of one night in Farrog, where King Bauchelain the First has recently achieved the tyranny he has so eagerly sought. Grand Bishop Korbal Broach is free to... experiment... to his heart's delight, and everyone's favorite manservant Emancipor Reese is, as usual, along for the ride. The novella features the famous Party of Five, the most insanely incompetent group of burglars I've ever read about. I couldn't decide if I needed frequent breaks from their ridiculousness or if I wanted them on every page, but I certainly couldn't stop laughing. Characters from the Crack'd Pot Trail crew are also featured, and engage in their own twisted hijinks. Erikson is just an expert in shenanigans, I don't know how else to put it.
It struck me while reading this one that the novellas are the perfect foil for the main series. Whereas the main series encompasses themes of compassion, the novellas cover themes of greed and ruthlessness, like some dark mirror-image. Which, of course, is fun to indulge in from a satirical point of view.
“Convenient, wouldn’t you say, that our kingdom borders a xenophobic but wealthy mountain empire of unhuman lizard people?”
This takes places almost entirely in the span of one night in Farrog, where King Bauchelain the First has recently achieved the tyranny he has so eagerly sought. Grand Bishop Korbal Broach is free to... experiment... to his heart's delight, and everyone's favorite manservant Emancipor Reese is, as usual, along for the ride. The novella features the famous Party of Five, the most insanely incompetent group of burglars I've ever read about. I couldn't decide if I needed frequent breaks from their ridiculousness or if I wanted them on every page, but I certainly couldn't stop laughing. Characters from the Crack'd Pot Trail crew are also featured, and engage in their own twisted hijinks. Erikson is just an expert in shenanigans, I don't know how else to put it.
It struck me while reading this one that the novellas are the perfect foil for the main series. Whereas the main series encompasses themes of compassion, the novellas cover themes of greed and ruthlessness, like some dark mirror-image. Which, of course, is fun to indulge in from a satirical point of view.
“Convenient, wouldn’t you say, that our kingdom borders a xenophobic but wealthy mountain empire of unhuman lizard people?”
ddeenik's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
andysmith's review against another edition
3.0
Wanted a lot more of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach in this Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach.
norunn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
craigmunro's review against another edition
3.0
Erikson is one of my favorite authors, but I can't help but feel like he missed the mark on this one. Definitely the weakest in the series so far.
dleroux's review against another edition
1.0
Unfortunately, this was not for me.
I am not one to enjoy vile, offensive material and this truly felt as if Erikson was trying to push it far beyond what was normal, or even believable.
True, there are horrific acts in this world, but for one to hone their focus on the issues in such a way as Erikson deemed necessary, it shows that it is not about mirroring the world, but one is trying to hold it high, and elaborate on the depravity and call it "story".
Couple this with a story that is, for lack of a better phrase, "Wishy washy", and having characters that are as flat at the screen I read it on...I would pass.
Erikson is an outstanding author, but this is by far the worst material he has brought out. I feel it was far too rushed, and his focus was on trying to hit plot points of try/fail more than character and story.
I am not one to enjoy vile, offensive material and this truly felt as if Erikson was trying to push it far beyond what was normal, or even believable.
True, there are horrific acts in this world, but for one to hone their focus on the issues in such a way as Erikson deemed necessary, it shows that it is not about mirroring the world, but one is trying to hold it high, and elaborate on the depravity and call it "story".
Couple this with a story that is, for lack of a better phrase, "Wishy washy", and having characters that are as flat at the screen I read it on...I would pass.
Erikson is an outstanding author, but this is by far the worst material he has brought out. I feel it was far too rushed, and his focus was on trying to hit plot points of try/fail more than character and story.