Continuing the re-read of the first chapter that began here. This post will cover the introduction of Lorn and her meeting the now grown Ganoes Paran, who we first met in the prologue, who we know was 12 back then. This takes place 7 years later (1161st Year of Burn’s Sleep,103rd Year of the Malazan Empire, 7th Year of Empress Laseen’s Rule). I was talking to Elena, our editor (my Adjunct, if you will) over at BSC about Gardens of the Moon and the series in general, and what I mentioned was my appreciation of how Erikson utilizes female characters in his world (she hasn’t said anything since, so she may have hated the book!). There are a number of authors that feature female characters in novels or series’ and some of them with great precision, but many make me feel like that they are more aware of their own utility of that element than I want to feel. The same applies to race (which we will get into later), where you feel that part of what the author wants you to appreciate about their work is the actual usage.  As I told her, I never felt that the story was aware of its own the heavy use of female and racially diverse characters, and proof of this is that I nce found myself – whom I consider a major fan of the series – unable to list with authority what characters were not “white” when asked. When you do, it may surprise you. With Erikson, it’s just the way it is. A character would not be aware of their race in how they affect a fictional story being read in another world, but so often this third wall will – for me – be intrusively leaned on, and with Erikson I get none of that. I get people use to living around people, and in the world they live in.

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