Steve Rune Lundin (born October 7, 1959), known by his pseudonym Steven Erikson, is a Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. He is best known for his ten-volume spanning epic fantasy series ''

Malazan Book of the Fallen ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the Canadian author Steven Erikson. The series, published by Bantam Books in the U.K. and Tor Books in the U.S., consists of ten volumes, beginning with '' Gardens of ...

'', which began with the publication of '' Gardens of the Moon'' (1999) and was completed with the publication of '' The Crippled God'' (2011). By 2012 over 1 million copies of the series had been sold worldwide, and over 3 million copies by 2018. ''

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

'' has called the series "the most significant work of epic fantasy since Donaldson's Chronicles of

Thomas Covenant ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is a series of ten high fantasy novels written by American author Stephen R. Donaldson. The series began as a trilogy, entitled ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever''. This was followed by ano ...

," and ''Fantasy Book Review'' described it as "the best fantasy series of recent times." Fellow author

Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for ''The Black Company'' and '' Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.Stephen R. Donaldson has praised him for his approach to the fantasy genre. Set in the Malazan world, Erikson has written a prequel trilogy, '' The Kharkanas Trilogy'', seven novellas, a short story, and is currently working on a sequel trilogy, the first book of which, titled The God is Not Willing, was published in 2021. His foray into

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

has produced a comedic trilogy, the ''Willful Child Trilogy'', a spoof on '' Star Trek'' and other tropes common in the genre, and a First Contact novel titled ''Rejoice, a Knife To the Heart'', published in 2018.

Life and career

Steven Rune Lundin was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and grew up in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

, Manitoba. He subsequently lived in the UK with his wife and son, but has since returned to Canada. He is an anthropologist and archaeologist by training and is a graduate of the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative W ...

. For his thesis at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Erikson wrote a "story cycle" of short stories titled ''A Ruin of Feathers'' about an archaeologist in Central America. Subsequently, he received a grant to finish the work which was published by TSAR, a small Canadian publishing house. For his next work he co-won the Anvil Press International 3-Day Novel Contest for which he signed away the rights, a mistake he attributes to inexperience. Erikson's third book was also published by TSAR, and consisted of a novella and short stories titled ''Revolvo and other Canadian Tales''. Later, upon moving to England, he sold what he refers to as his "first real novel" to Hodder and Stoughton — ''

This River Awakens ''This River Awakens'' is the first novel by Canadian author Steve Lundin, best known by his pseudonym Steven Erikson. The book was first published in 1998, with funding by the ''Manitoba Arts Council The Manitoba Arts Council (MAC; ) is a p ...

'' — written when he still lived in Winnipeg. Before assuming the pseudonym Erikson (as an homage to his mother's maiden name), he published his first four books, out of print , under his real name. In addition to writing, he paints using oil paints.

Themes

Erikson has stated that apart from examining the "human condition", all his literary work share "compassion" as a theme, or main driving force. Furthermore, when envisioning the Malazan world, both he and his collaborator

Ian Cameron Esslemont Ian Cameron Esslemont (born 1962) is a Canadian writer. He was trained and has worked as an archaeologist. He is best known for his series ''Novels of the Malazan Empire'', which is set in the same world as the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' ep ...

agreed to create societies and cultures that never knew sexism and gender based hierarchies of power. Other themes include social inequality, egalitarianism, death, life, history, historical accuracy.

Style

Erikson has stated explicitly that he enjoys playing with and overturning the conventions of fantasy, presenting characters that violate the stereotypes associated with their roles. They embody the multidimensional characteristics found in human beings, making them more realistic and giving the story more depth, which is why his books are anything but predictable. He deliberately began ''Gardens of the Moon'' mid-plot rather than beginning with a more conventional narrative. The writer's style of writing includes complex plots with masses of characters. In addition, he has been praised for his willingness to kill central characters when it enhances the plot.

Reception

The first novel of the ''

'' series, '' Gardens of the Moon'' (1999), was well received. It was short-listed for a

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

. It has also earned Erikson the reputation as one of the best authors in the fantasy genre, and was described as "An astounding début". The novel was acclaimed for its "combination of originality and intelligent, strong and exciting storytelling". The second book in the series, ''

Deadhouse Gates ''Deadhouse Gates'' is an epic fantasy novel by Canadian writer Steven Erikson, the second in his series ''Malazan Book of the Fallen''. ''Deadhouse Gates'' follows on from the first novel, '' Gardens of the Moon'', and takes place simultaneousl ...

'' (2000), was voted one of the ten best fantasy novels of 2000 by ''SF Site''. Fellow author

Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for ''The Black Company'' and '' Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarsh ...

'', fellow author Stephen R. Donaldson has also praised Erikson for his approach to the fantasy genre, the subversion of classical tropes, the complex characterizations, the social commentary — pointing explicitly to parallels between the fictional Letheras Economy and the US Economy — and has referred to him as "an extraordinary writer", comparing him to the likes of Joseph Conrad,

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Influences

Erikson attributes paper and pen Role-Playing games, specifically AD&D and GURPS, as being the biggest influence in his writing career, and even calls it the fundament of the Malazan Empire, from his ''

'' series, is based on. Stephen R. Donaldson's,

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is a series of ten high fantasy novels written by American author Stephen R. Donaldson. The series began as a trilogy, entitled ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever''. This was followed by an ...

and Glen Cook's

The Black Company ''The Black Company'' is a series of dark fantasy books written by American author Glen Cook. The series combines elements of epic fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, the Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximat ...

, both ushering post-Tolkien style of writing, are some of the works that have influenced his storytelling. He also credits the works of Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs,

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, Arthur C. Clarke,

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...

, John Gardner,

Gustav Hasford Jerry Gustave Hasford (November 28, 1947 – January 29, 1993), also known under his pen name Gustav Hasford was an American novelist, journalist and poet. His semi-autobiographical novel '' The Short-Timers'' (1979) was the basis of the film ...

Mark Helprin Mark Helprin (born June 28, 1947) is an American novelist, journalist, conservative commentator, Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and M ...

and Robin Hobb as influences on the Malazan works.

List of works

References

Sources

External links

Steven Erikson's official website

Steven Erikson's Official Facebook Page

Steven Erikson at Goodreads
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erikson, Steven 1959 births Living people Canadian male novelists Canadian fantasy writers Malazan Book of the Fallen Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Pseudonymous writers Writers from Toronto