I've been catching up on my reviews and reading slowly having had a lot of projects which left me with little time.

I don't know whether it was life distractions but I DNF at around 20% and I do need to give this book another go at some point. I enjoyed the Rant chapters but the others were not doing much for me. The interactions and attempted banter/humour felt a little forced and I found myself wanting to get back to Rant. I know a lot of others who have very similar taste in books and give similar ratings to me who loved this, so I hope to pick it up again when I have a bit more free time.

I received a review copy of The God is Not Willing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Steven Erikson and Bantam Press. I don't believe my review contains spoilers, but with releases this anticipated I tend to include a minor spoilers may follow warning.

Set approximately ten years after the events that concluded The Crippled God (MBOTF #10), The God is Not Willing returns readers to Northwest Genabackis, specifically Silver Lake. In House of Chains (MBOTF #4), the warriors Karsa Orlong, Delum Thord, and Bairoth Gild ventured here to cause havoc. Now, less than twenty Malazan marines have been sent to investigate stirrings in the North, bringing them to the garrison at Silver Lake. The tribes of the Teblor are setting their sights on the South and in addition to these thousands of warriors, something cataclysmic approaches Silver Lake too.

I feel the need to mention early on in my review that Karsa Orlong does not feature in The God is Not Willing. Now referred to as The Shattered God, Karsa resides in a dwelling outside Darujhistan, being generally morose and miserable and refusing the affections of those who revere him.

In The God is Not Willing the main characters are the "knifey-mage" Stillwater, Oams, who may or may not be a Claw assassin, the last and arguably the least of the Bridgeburners, Spindle, and the young half-Teblor Silver Lake resident, Rant. He's the bastard son of Karsa Orlong and was conceived during a rape a decade and a half ago.

Two of my favourite characters in The God is Not Willing were Rant and Spindle. We're introduced to Rant as something pretty harrowing happens to him, a scene that may be upsetting for quite a few readers. Throughout the novel, he develops and changes a lot, goes through a plethora of feelings, yet there's still much potential for further growth and innocence to lose. Quite early on in the book Spindle graces the pages, a character that I vaguely remembered from my time reading Memories of Ice (MBOTF #3) and Toll the Hounds (MBOTF #8), so I was pleased to see a player that I recognised being in the mix here. Spindle is calm and unshakeable, probably the most experienced Malazan marine still active in this era, although none of his squad believe he was actually a Bridgeburner, whereas Rant is raw, emotional, and confused. In a way, Erikson could be presenting us the old school and the new school of this world through these two characters, their differences, and their world views, and I was intrigued throughout to see whether or not their paths would cross.

Although Karsa doesn't feature, his actions and legacy can be felt throughout, especially witnessed from the views of the Teblor contingent of the Dramatis Personae which includes two of Karsa's daughters, Delum's son, and Bairoth's widow and her daughter. Even the Malazan marines are aware of the events that occurred at Silver Lake many years before and about Karsa's ascendancy.

I finished my read of Malazan Book of the Fallen about five years ago and I rate it one of my top two fantasy series. My expectations for the first novel in the Witness trilogy were high but I tried my best to keep them leveled to avoid disappointment. The God is Not Willing is as good as I expected it to be. A solid 8/10 and an admirable first entry. Erikson continues to showcase his talents as an impressive wordsmith who I believe sprinkles the perfect amount of humour and camaraderie to balance the darkness and impending doom. Frequently, especially in the second half of the novel, I found certain scenes and set-pieces to be almost hypnotic with the way they drew me in, being equally mesmerising and memorable. Add to this intense battles, witty banter, advanced warfare, new curses, new gods, and escapades with warrens and this world's supernatural and you'll see why I had such a good time with this book.

There were also some very neat and unexpected, albeit brief cameos by a handful of major players from the main series. To mention who would be to spoil, but I can't help but think these were more thank yous or easter eggs to Malazan fans rather than significant to the plot. I hope I am wrong though, as would love to see some of these players get more page-time in the rest of the trilogy. There is a lot of depth to this world as Malazan readers will already be aware and this novel rewards people who know what has come before. I couldn't help but chuckle or smile at occasions such as a character saying "it's not a couple of Necromancers is it?"

Could you start your Malazan experience with The God is Not Willing? I honestly don't know. This is my sixteenth book in the shared world of Erikson and Esslemont so I've built up a decent knowledge of the way this world works. That being said, I did find this an easier, more succinct and streamlined read than the main series though, with a reading experience similar to the excellent Path to Ascendency novels.

The God is Not Willing is a worthy next step after the mighty Malazan Book of the Fallen. Not as grandiose in scope but still packed with the qualities that I previously adored. It features a heavy body count but has lots of heart at its core. I'd also like to add that I admire everything about the cover artwork and how it relates to events in the book.

The God is not willing is the first book in the planned toblakai trilogy (or mostly known by The Witness trilogy) by Steven Erikson set in the same world as his previous work 'The Malazan Books of the Fallen' taking place years after the events of 'The Crippled God's (the final book in the above mentioned series). The story takes place in the continent of Genabackis, it was a rather nostalgic feeling returning to Genabackis as it was the place where most people including me began their journey into Malazan in 'Gardens of the Moon' (unless you're on of those brave souls who decided to read from Path of Ascendancy or those foolhardy one's who went and tried Kharkanas first). Anyway even though it is a new series I don't recommend you start your journey into Malazan here if you're a new reader, in fact it is required that you've at least read until Toll the Hounds (book 8) just for continuity's sake. For everyone else, here's my review although I should put say beforehand that I am a huge fan of Malazan, so my opinions may not be entirely unbiased.


"To be believed in is an obligation . Only by heeding that obligation are you made worthy of that belief."


Karsa Orlong is now a god, at least that is what his "followers" say. (emphasis in followers because he beats up any who come to him asking guidance, typical toblakai nature).The Teblor warrior also known by Knight of Chains, The god of the shattered face also self prophesied destroyer of civilisation whose notoriety is now renown across the lands to the point where his people, the Teblor in their remote home which he left years ago seeking glory have come to know about his deeds and vows. They believe he will return to lead them in a glorious raid that will mark the beginning of the end of civilisation, but what happens when their so called "God" is not willing to do what he so boldly proclaimed to do. It's almost like Ascendancy gave him a rather wider perspective of the world. Karsa Orlong does not actually make an appearance in this book rather he is only mentioned (funny this being initially thought as a sequel series focusing on Karsa), Karsa was a character who had left me feeling mixed, while I love his badassery, his Stoic nature and dry wit and although his character does undergo much development in the previous series, his endgoals doesn't seem to change. In fact when we left him it seemed like he was doubling down on his own vow of destroying all civilisation. I believe Erikson tried to be a little experimental by not including the so-called main character and writing a story of how the world would react in his absence (but I still need to know why is Karsa unwilling) and like always, the world moves on. A new warleader has decided to take it into his own hands of fulfilling Karsa's vow. Scarred in his youth by the hand of Karsa Orlong, this new leader is determined not to let the legend of the god of the shattered face grow any greater. He gathers all the tribes of the teblor and various other tribes of the north to form a massive host with a single purpose in mind. His actions are further spurred by the fact that a far greater danger is brewing further north, one that could prove an end to the teblor way of life forever. The first town in their wake is the town of Silver Lake where we also follow a company of Malazan marines who are sent to reinforce the local garrison. The description of the book tells you that these marines are not the ones of old, this is a massive understatement as you'll soon find out. This is also where Erikson eases the building tension with bout's of his signature dry humour that is all too familiar to Malazan fans.


"Well, how long has he been in there?’ Shrugging, Folibore said, ‘No telling how long it’ll take.’‘Why, what’s wrong with him?’
‘Nothing. I told you. He’s in the latrine.’ He paused. ‘In the latrine. Dropped that amulet his grandmother gave him.’‘The amulet with the inscription? The one that says kill this boy before he grows up? What kind of keepsake is that? Blanket’s not right in the head, you know."


I couldn't help but notice how similar this book was to House of Chains (book 4 in the Malazan book of the fallen, kind of ironic since most of the book takes place in the locations we'd previously visited in the first part of House of Chains). There is a focus on one character more than all the others, which is not how Erikson usually does character work as I'll explain below. Much like how Karsa Orlong had the main focus in House of Chains, this book focuses on Rant, a half-breed bastard son of Karsa Orlong whose origins date back to the days of the Teblor warrior's attack on the town of silver lake. We follow Rant as he goes from an ignorant child to someone people choose follow. Much like Karsa Orlong, Rant seem to have the ability to attract people's respect but unlike his father Rant doesn't shun away his supporters. His growth as he embraces the harsh realities of the world experiencing camaraderie and loss in the process along with the tragic story of his mother is easily the strongest part of the book.


"If you seek to blind him to the world, you will fail. To live is to lose the faith you were born with to a thousand cuts, each year bleeding into the next. The eyes of the innocent see a world very differently from what you and I see. To know this is to revisit one’s own loss, eye to eye with sad reflection, and to feel once more that dreadful ache in your chest."


"Innocence, she whispered. The one thing we all leave behind, alas. The one thing we all walk away from, sooner or later. Oh yes, you can look back and call it ignorance instead. But you do that because you’ve forgotten what you lost."


The character work is how we'd come to expect from Erikson.This is not your run of the mill fantasy novel with multiple point of views (run-of-the mill meaning we have a few central characters and the story is told from their point of views, this is not the case here). Where Erikson differs from his peers is that he tells the story though the eyes of a huge cast of characters, you end up with more than 15 different POV's (though this number is rather small compared to his other works). Reader's not familiar with his work might quickly get overwhelmed, fans of his work on the other hand can quickly find their footing. This style of writing does draw criticism about a lack of character development which I disagree. This is because most authors put importance on the characters they create and then focus on plot, this doesn't mean that they think the plot as an afterthought rather they want us to be engrossed in the characters more. Erikson gives importance to the plot, he is telling a story and he wants us to see it unfold from as many viewpoints as possible. He writes his characters accordingly. This means that you don't have three or four deeply focused characters, rather fifteen to twenty characters with a narrower focus but enough to fulfill the needs of the plot. So in the end, you cannot look at Erikson's character work in the same light as others, people who love his style know this but at the same time I can understand those who don't and their frustration at this type of writing style. Another issue some people have is the amount of philosophical interjections which may take away from their enjoyment of the story (personally I disagree with this) we all think about things greater than us in our idle time, although not in the same way he writes them we've all had deep thoughts in the language of our minds. Suffice to say the philosophy doesn't bother me. As a side note,this book doesn't go in as deep into the philosophy as the main series, it is there but not to the same extent, so I believe people who weren't a fan of that type of writing would enjoy this book more.


". . . the proclivity towards overspecialization ever narrows the focus of the mind, darling, and with each narrowing increment the interconnected relationships among all forms of knowledge and learning cease to obtain, indeed, cease to matter. A career devoted to a single cog loses sight of the machinery, forgets the purpose of the mill, grows deaf to the water in the vast wheel, and thinks nothing of the grain’s birth in the bread devoured."


The world building is top notch (about what you'd expect considering the previous series), It is the area where Erikson excels above all else. With so much of this world already explored in the plethora of Malazan novels that came before it, he plunges us into a world that is familiar but alien at the same time (courtesy of the actions of a certain ascendant in 'Reapers Gale'). We thought 'The Warrens' were complicated until he gave us 'The Holds' and now he gives us 'The Runts', an entirely new magic system that came to existence at the end of the previous series (except the name, this is not a spoiler). Even though I love the journeys he take us on, I can't help but feel some of them is added in just for sake of wow factor. I will not stand by this statement considering this is a Malazan novel and they have the tendency of foreshadowing things way early than you'd think. Then there's the things that you don't really understand but come on, as I'd said earlier, this is a Malazan novel, you don't get everything spoon-fed to you. A major theme that is explored in this book is that change is inevitable. Even though you rage against it, it will come slow as a glacier but impossibly strong, grinding all that stands in its way to dust. This is something that applies to the characters, the world, the magic system and even the pantheon.


"The present age is only unique because you live in it. When you die, you cease to care about that age. And you know this. Which is why you don’t care about about anything past your own life. Why should you? It follows, quite reasonably , that every generation is righteous in cursing the one that precedes it. Namely, yours. And the vicious fighting withdrawal that is your own conservatism – this bitter, hate-filled war against change – is doomed to fail, because no age lasts for ever. One follows upon the next and this is an inescapable fact. So step aside. Your day is done. Any regression into childish tantrums makes a mockery of wisdom. The age dies with you, as it must, and you now show its face to be that of a mewling child who can no longer hold on to what has ceased to exist."


Another theme you'll certainly notice is the one that you've previously seen in all Malazan novels, compassion. Good and evil are just a matter of perspective. It appears different to everyone because everyone's eyes are skewed a certain way. Showing compassion to someone who opposes you is the true way to bridge that gap. This is emulated in the story coupled with the earlier mentioned themes of the inevitability of change and the loosing of one's innocence resulted in conclusion that brought a tear to my eyes.


"You do not turn away. You do not rush back to your own life, your own world, and tell yourself that your family, your loved ones, are all that matters. Were they indeed all that mattered, then in your world not one person who’s not you or your family would give a flying fuck about you, or them. And in a world like that, why, it might well be better to be dead than alive."


As a conclusion, I can certainly say that Erikson has not lost the thing that made people fall in love with his stories in the first place. I was concerned because of the fact that he had to put the third book of the Kharkanas trilogy on hold to start this series. I know it was the publisher's choice to move in this direction and personally having not read Kharkanas (I've heard Kharkanas is quite deep and it's reception has been mixed). I had a fear that his writing style might have changed so it was a pleasant surprise when it turned out the way it did.

I'd like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of the book. This does not affect my opinions and overall rating of the book in any manner.