# Steven Erikson's Kharkanas trilogy (Forge of Darkness) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088 "2017-04-09T00:32:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Claptree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Claptree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claptree)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/1 "2017-04-09T00:32:08Z")
Anyone else reading this? I was happy to hear SE wasn’t finished with his world after the utterly masterful Malazan series. Having read all the short stories, I was still left craving more. Enter Forge of Darkness. I thought the Book of the Fallen was well written; grim, funny, depressing, philosophical and occasionally sexy. Forge of Darkness continues in that same vein, only this time you’ve met some of the characters before. It’s more of the same, and I love it. I’m pretty sure my love of the original decalogy influences my take on this series, but so far it’s fantastic. I just finished book one and will start on Fall of Light tomorrow. Also, what writer decides to try to emulate Shakespearean dialogue and succeeds? Some of the banter is straight out of one of the Bard’s comedies, and it just baffles me. Yet, it works. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/2 "2017-04-09T01:02:46Z")
I was thinking about reading it, but never got around to it. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/3 "2017-04-09T02:08:34Z")
How far along is this? I took a solemn vow not to mess with unfinished fantasy series, but Erikson has always been great at cranking them out at a great pace. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/4 "2017-04-09T02:10:15Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > How far along is this? I took a solemn vow not to mess with unfinished fantasy series, but Erikson has always been great at cranking them out at a great pace. Looks like 2 of 3 have been published. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/5 "2017-04-09T23:38:14Z")
That’s it? He’s really slowed down. I purchased and read Forge of Darkness when it was first published years ago, and apparently that was 2012. Hell, wasn’t he doing a book a year for a good while on the Book of the Fallen? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/6 "2017-04-10T01:33:59Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > That’s it? He’s really slowed down. I purchased and read Forge of Darkness when it was first published years ago, and apparently that was 2012. Hell, wasn’t he doing a book a year for a good while on the Book of the Fallen? Yeah, the whole ten book series took twelve years to come out. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/7 "2017-04-10T01:39:52Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > How far along is this? I took a solemn vow not to mess with unfinished fantasy series, but Erikson has always been great at cranking them out at a great pace. Oh right, now I remember why I didn’t read them. Because I had a lot of trouble remembering who was who and what happened between MBotF episodes after I had to wait for new ones to come out. I’ll probably read them when they’re all out, if only for MOAR ANOMANDER. (I’m still bummed out over _Toll the Hounds_, _sniff_, how could he?) ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/8 "2017-04-10T18:15:34Z")
Although I have no knowledge of this author or his works, I dropped in to comment that “Kharkhana” is the Hindi word for Factory (usually iron/steel making or a machine/forging shop). I wondered if the word is being used with same meaning. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/9 "2017-04-10T23:02:17Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > Although I have no knowledge of this author or his works, I dropped in to comment that “Kharkhana” is the Hindi word for Factory (usually iron/steel making or a machine/forging shop). I wondered if the word is being used with same meaning. Kharkhanas is the city of the Tiste, a non-elflike elflike species. There is a rather important forge in the story, though. I’ve read Forge of Darkness but not Fall of Light yet. I’m more or less waiting for Walking In Shadow until I buy 2 and 3. In a related note, Ian Cameron Esslemont (ICE), Erikson’s brother creator of the Malazan world, just gets better and better. Dancer’s Lament is his best yet. I can’t wait for Deadhouse Landing this year. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-eriksons-kharkanas-trilogy-forge-of-darkness/784088/10 "2017-04-10T23:03:20Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Oh right, now I remember why I didn’t read them. Because I had a lot of trouble remembering who was who and what happened between MBotF episodes after I had to wait for new ones to come out. > > I’ll probably read them when they’re all out, if only for MOAR ANOMANDER. (I’m still bummed out over _Toll the Hounds_, _sniff_, how could he?) I’ve read the whole Book of the Fallen at least four times and I find something I missed every time.