The First Collected Tales of Bauchelain & Korbal Broach
by Steven Erikson
(Bantam Press, R195)
A vicious bout of serial killings has struck the Lamentable City of Moll, the latest of these victims being our protagonist’s (former) boss. Unemployed and with a wife and two kids to support, Emancipor Reese has no choice but to find a new job. As chance would have it a man servant position has opened up, but is luck really on his side?
Emancipor can tell that there is something strange about Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, something sinister lying beneath their placid exteriors. Bauchelain is a necromancer and Korbal is a eunuch (a castrated ex slave). Little does our hero know that he will be taking part in the most twisted of tales after he begins work for his two new masters.
Erikson tends to over-describe situations, leaving the reader confused as to what the characters were talking about. A map would have added to the book’s effect as it would bring some bearings into the journeys spanning the Malazan Empire.
It is not very often that when I read a book, and after a combat scene, I sit back and say: “Wow!”, only to realise that I had been holding my breath nearly the entire time. A welcome addition to any sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast’s bookshelf. – Lloyd Mackenzie