Steven Erikson: More Than Meets the Eye

Every ICFA I looked forward to hanging out with Steve because, although you wouldn't know it by looking at him, with the smartly casual dress sense, the sensible glasses, and the politely modulated speaking voice, beneath that ever-so-Canadian gentle and exceedingly demure manner, Steve has a wicked sense of humor, a razor-sharp intellect, and eclectic tastes. [...]it was on those long, lonely digs that he and fellow Canadian archaeologist and now fellow author Ian C. Esslemont came up with the major elements of the Malazan series, their shared fantasy world. There are others here present who know that Steve is a keen artist and even began his writing career with the idea of being a comic book artist and creator. Or, to put it another way, Erikson wanted to join the voices of those other authors who had preceded him in opposing the complacency of lazy fantasy, in kicking down the walls of genre, and deconstructing the elements of fantasy to make stories that would inspire, challenge, and engage readers, and that would be stories that he, as an author, a reader, and a fan, could be proud of.