A review by bdesmond
The Wurms of Blearmouth, by Steven Erikson
4.0
The absurd adventures of Bauchelain, Korbal Broach, and Mancy the Luckless continue in this bizarre examination of tyranny.
In West Elingarth's Forgotten Holding winter makes the seas surrounding the town of Spendrugle a virtual death trap, and a sorcerer named Fangatooth Claw has recently seized power at Wurm's Keep. So when strangers begin to shipwreck on the island, one boat after another, a host of classically-zany characters in true Erikson fashion begin to converge.
The Wurms of Blearmouth is the first of these novellas that actually made me realize (or maybe just remember?) that the published order of the stories is not the same as the chronological sequence of events. That being the case, this one takes place before the last, Crack'd Pot Trail. It also felt more like the earlier novellas than the last one, which I enjoyed. Bauchelain and Korbal Broach were featured more heavily, and it was a return to a more traditional storytelling style, which was welcome. Erikson displays effortless characterization, hints at his larger world, and summons hilariously ridiculous situations; all the things I've come to expect from these novellas.
“When you’re dead, it pays to remain optimistic, or so I have found.”
In West Elingarth's Forgotten Holding winter makes the seas surrounding the town of Spendrugle a virtual death trap, and a sorcerer named Fangatooth Claw has recently seized power at Wurm's Keep. So when strangers begin to shipwreck on the island, one boat after another, a host of classically-zany characters in true Erikson fashion begin to converge.
The Wurms of Blearmouth is the first of these novellas that actually made me realize (or maybe just remember?) that the published order of the stories is not the same as the chronological sequence of events. That being the case, this one takes place before the last, Crack'd Pot Trail. It also felt more like the earlier novellas than the last one, which I enjoyed. Bauchelain and Korbal Broach were featured more heavily, and it was a return to a more traditional storytelling style, which was welcome. Erikson displays effortless characterization, hints at his larger world, and summons hilariously ridiculous situations; all the things I've come to expect from these novellas.
“When you’re dead, it pays to remain optimistic, or so I have found.”