dhilger's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
orlion's review against another edition
4.0
Huh, it's been about a year and I still have not reviewed this book. Well, time to take some few moments of my day to do so. In Crack'd Pot Trail, the story follows those who have sworn to hunt Bauchelain and Korbal Broach down for their crimes and they end up in this stretch of desert....
Okay, the plot is not important. Like all Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas, this is all about Steven Erikson getting something off his chest. In this case, he is letting off some steam for various reasons related to being an author in the Fantasy Genre. You know the problems:
1)Waaah! The critics won't take my work seriously!
2)Waaah! The fans take my work too seriously!
3)Waaah! Those critics miss the point! Don't you recognize my genius?
4)Waaah! Those who are successful don't actually understand their craft and steal from more talented writers!
5)Waaah! Waaah! WAAAAAAAAH!
You've also heard variants of these from the reader's sides including critiques that include buzzwords as "world building", "character development", and "plot" and so forth.
Erikson, in about 180 pages, essentially tells all those who hold these views to go f*ck themselves. And that is what I have found enjoyable about this novella. It is a fairly accurate, if satirical, view of the culture that has been built around the fantasy genre. A culture that so often is trying to be more then it is that it often becomes its worse critic as it seeks to devour itself.
Oh, did I mention there's cannibalism in this book? Because there totally is.
And thus, in an effort to be this all encompassing critique on the current affair of genre literature, the novella forgets it is a Bauchelain and Korbal Broach tale and they really do not feature much at all.
Oh, Erikson, one day your cleverness will piss your readership off so much that they'll stop buying your books.
Okay, the plot is not important. Like all Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas, this is all about Steven Erikson getting something off his chest. In this case, he is letting off some steam for various reasons related to being an author in the Fantasy Genre. You know the problems:
1)Waaah! The critics won't take my work seriously!
2)Waaah! The fans take my work too seriously!
3)Waaah! Those critics miss the point! Don't you recognize my genius?
4)Waaah! Those who are successful don't actually understand their craft and steal from more talented writers!
5)Waaah! Waaah! WAAAAAAAAH!
You've also heard variants of these from the reader's sides including critiques that include buzzwords as "world building", "character development", and "plot" and so forth.
Erikson, in about 180 pages, essentially tells all those who hold these views to go f*ck themselves. And that is what I have found enjoyable about this novella. It is a fairly accurate, if satirical, view of the culture that has been built around the fantasy genre. A culture that so often is trying to be more then it is that it often becomes its worse critic as it seeks to devour itself.
Oh, did I mention there's cannibalism in this book? Because there totally is.
And thus, in an effort to be this all encompassing critique on the current affair of genre literature, the novella forgets it is a Bauchelain and Korbal Broach tale and they really do not feature much at all.
Oh, Erikson, one day your cleverness will piss your readership off so much that they'll stop buying your books.
acardattack's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
Way too long for what this presents. There is very little plot, it's slow, confusing at times, the titular characters apparently don't show up until the last page
I DNFed 1/3 in. I just couldnt anymore. I wanted to. There is some slight humor, and as always some great names, but this could have been 50 page interesting novella
I DNFed 1/3 in. I just couldnt anymore. I wanted to. There is some slight humor, and as always some great names, but this could have been 50 page interesting novella
mhedgescsus's review against another edition
1.0
Check out my YouTube channel where I show my instant reactions upon finishing fantasy books.
A disappointingly disjointed story that didn't strike any positive chords for me.
After a disappointing first book in this series, I have found books 2-4 (this is the 5th chronologically) to be absolutely wonderful and some of the funniest, and best short stories I have ever read. The escapades of Bauchelain, Korbal Broach, and their manservant Emancipor Reese are horror comedy books with wonderful Erikson philosophy in heavy doses - and I was hungry for more of that.
Unfortunately, this book had virtually none of the main characters, and instead followed a group of people that the main characters have wronged in the previous books who are hunting them on the "Crack'd Pot Trail". But the hunters run out of food and start to eat the group of travelling poets who are with them, but force them to spin their tales to impress them each night to earn another day of living. The theme of this plot is right in line with the rest of the books, but unfortunately the way it was presented was awful to me.
I've never been a big fan of "stories within stories" - and that's pretty much all this is. It's not funny like the previous books, it's too disjointed, and none of the characters I found to be interesting enough to hold up a story on their own.
If you are reading this series, I suggest you skip this book.
A disappointingly disjointed story that didn't strike any positive chords for me.
After a disappointing first book in this series, I have found books 2-4 (this is the 5th chronologically) to be absolutely wonderful and some of the funniest, and best short stories I have ever read. The escapades of Bauchelain, Korbal Broach, and their manservant Emancipor Reese are horror comedy books with wonderful Erikson philosophy in heavy doses - and I was hungry for more of that.
Unfortunately, this book had virtually none of the main characters, and instead followed a group of people that the main characters have wronged in the previous books who are hunting them on the "Crack'd Pot Trail". But the hunters run out of food and start to eat the group of travelling poets who are with them, but force them to spin their tales to impress them each night to earn another day of living. The theme of this plot is right in line with the rest of the books, but unfortunately the way it was presented was awful to me.
I've never been a big fan of "stories within stories" - and that's pretty much all this is. It's not funny like the previous books, it's too disjointed, and none of the characters I found to be interesting enough to hold up a story on their own.
If you are reading this series, I suggest you skip this book.
jester99's review against another edition
2.0
2,5 - too indulgent, too long, even though it has its moments.
matosapa's review against another edition
4.0
Be warned that this does not focus on B&K but rather a set of characters related to B&K. Notwithstanding, this is a fascinating story due to the meta-subject (writers vs. fans/critics) and the delivery (narrated by a member of the story's party, at a later date.)
The beginning reads like a different writer (dense, "long-winded") but once the story starts, the style matches the Erikson I am familiar with. I think it is an awesome addition to the series but I ma biased by the fact that I agree with nearly everything discussed in the novella (e.g. societal commentary, relationships, etc.).
The beginning reads like a different writer (dense, "long-winded") but once the story starts, the style matches the Erikson I am familiar with. I think it is an awesome addition to the series but I ma biased by the fact that I agree with nearly everything discussed in the novella (e.g. societal commentary, relationships, etc.).
bdesmond's review against another edition
3.0
It's funny. I was very much looking forward to resuming the dark, outrageous adventures of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, only to find that they weren't in the story until the last two pages. Be that as it may this was a fun story, and dark and outrageous enough to fit the bill regardless.
Crack'd Pot Trail follows a group of pilgrims, artists, and hunters of the necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach as they all attempt to cross the Great Dry. It is narrated by a poet named Avas Didion Flicker, and if it wasn't clear before just how much fun Erikson is having with these novellas, his indulgent narration style in this installment would clear things up right away. This is Erikson giving no fucks, playing with poetic prose and offering deep-cut commentary on the relationship between art, its creator, and its audience.
It's hard to even describe this one from a plot-centric view, but if you're up for something different you should give it a shot. Plus, if you're a fan of the gallows humor that often permeates Erikson's work, you'll find it here in spades.
Crack'd Pot Trail follows a group of pilgrims, artists, and hunters of the necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach as they all attempt to cross the Great Dry. It is narrated by a poet named Avas Didion Flicker, and if it wasn't clear before just how much fun Erikson is having with these novellas, his indulgent narration style in this installment would clear things up right away. This is Erikson giving no fucks, playing with poetic prose and offering deep-cut commentary on the relationship between art, its creator, and its audience.
It's hard to even describe this one from a plot-centric view, but if you're up for something different you should give it a shot. Plus, if you're a fan of the gallows humor that often permeates Erikson's work, you'll find it here in spades.
styxwastaken's review against another edition
5.0
reading the recounting of the whole trail night by night was just too fire erikson really the greatest
andysmith's review against another edition
2.0
The concept it interesting, but I found the allegory a bit too thick to be anything but bland.