A review by mhedgescsus
The Fiends of Nightmaria by Steven Erikson
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.