≡ Read This River Awakens Steven Erikson 9780593067789 Books

This River Awakens Steven Erikson 9780593067789 Books

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This River Awakens Steven Erikson 9780593067789 Books

Not what I was expecting. Steven Erikson is a fantastic fantasy writer, but this book is proof that his style does not cross over into present day. I found this one of the hardest books I've read this year to finish. The worst rating I have ever given one of his books is a four star mark. Did not enjoy this read at all.


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This River Awakens Steven Erikson 9780593067789 Books Reviews

Owen's family keeps moving around; this year they've landed in the countryside of Middleton, where there is a river, and a yacht club, and a mink farm. Owen teams up with 3 other boys Roland, Lynk, and Carl – the hero, the fink, and the ordinary boy respectively – and becomes friends with Jennifer, whose family is as unstable emotionally as Owen’s is locationally. Both Owen and Jennifer are survivors, and with each other they see through the seeming, to quote Peter Beagle.
There are some gut-wrenching and heart-twisting scenes, verging on Steven King horror, as we get to know the characters, but even the worst of these are understandable and even sympathetic, which is dam’ good writing. Fisk, Lynk, Jennifer’s alcoholic father Sten, and demoralized school teachers are real, horrible as they are at times. On the other hand, there is Walter Gribbs, the old watchman at the yacht club, a watchman in every sense and connotation of the word. And not all of the teachers are dipsticks. Many of the adults are well-intentioned, and a few of them are even competent, but in the battleground confrontations between kids and teachers, blood flows metaphorically. Warning there is a lot of profanity, because tough kids and wretched adults curse a lot. If you are fastidious about four letter words, this might be a style-stumble, but there are diamonds in this story, I assure you.
The river that flows where people have made their dwellings in central to the whole story. Walter lives by it and understands it; the boys are drawn to it; lives – and deaths – depend on it. It’s the unicorn of this realistic fantasy, and like Beagle’s unicorn, it is threatened.
This River Awakens was originally published under the pen name Steve Lundin, and if you read the Dedication and between the lines, you can make a guess why. Now, in the wake of becoming an award-winning and best-selling author with The Malazan series, this first novel is being reissued. Instead of high fantasy, this is earth and water and every day life and coming of age it’s part Stand By Me and part the story of Cain and Abel as it plays out in generation after generation, as told by the third brother Seth and the disregarded sister; it’s about the death of Pan and of the river god. So it is a fantasy after all, but disguised.
This is truly one of the best books that I have ever read. Steven Erikson became my favorite author with his Malazan series, and now he has proven that he can write incredible books in other genres.

The River Awakens is an emotional journey of reality. No magic, no fantasy, just life as it is. Once again Steven Erikson demonstrates that he understands human nature and all of its tragic aspects.
Steven Erikson's fantasy epic, The Malazan Book of the Fallen has been a favorite of mine and a masterpiece of fantasy literature for many years. His first published novel, This River Awakens, is a read that will not disappoint any fan of Erikson's works. The story features a large cast of characters that are well developed and ultimately human. As with his fantasy novels, the women he creates are believable and complex. Erikson's books always have a mythic and a poetic feel to them, leaving the reader feeling that he is experiencing not merely a story which is printed on the page, but a tale that goes beyond words, describing what it is to be human. Anyone wishing to be transported to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human should be reading anything he writes.
This books is astoundingly beautiful, haunting, and brilliant. My boyfriend is obsessed with his fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen but I have trouble with dense fantasy - he recommended this book to me after reading it earlier this year. It is exactly the type of character drama I love - intelligent plot, complex characters, great pacing (do not get the abridged version!).

If you like books with fluid, lovely writing, well-fleshed out characters who you bond to profoundly, and a plot that tears your heart out, you will adore this.

My boyfriend is more sci-fi/fantasy oriented than me and doesn't typically read books like this but he loved it so much we talked about it for hours. I did not expect it, but it is one of my favorite books I've ever read. I recommend it to nearly everyone I meet. I believe many people, of all backgrounds can find characters who resonate with them in this book. This book has alternating perspectives and sometimes authors can fumble with that so much but Steven Erickson is an absolutely brilliant writer and excels at multiple-perspective fiction.

This book is vivid, it is mesmerizing, extremely nostalgic, and powerful. I never wanted it to end. I recommend this book regardless of what genre you're typically drawn to. Read it!
Before reading this, I was convinced that I'd enjoy anything Erikson could possibly write. While the writing is absolutely up to his usual standard - even better in some respects - I just couldn't make myself like the story. Erikson is a master of internal dialogue and deep, complex characters. But while I don't need all sunshine and butterflies, there is simply nothing in this book to keep my interest. Incest, alcoholism, perverted torture, bullying, and very little actual plot... I was reminded more than once of the graphic scenes from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Book 1 of the Millennium Trilogy (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard), but without the gripping suspense. If that's your thing, this book is superbly written and likely to satisfy. Otherwise, steer clear.
Not what I was expecting. Steven Erikson is a fantastic fantasy writer, but this book is proof that his style does not cross over into present day. I found this one of the hardest books I've read this year to finish. The worst rating I have ever given one of his books is a four star mark. Did not enjoy this read at all.