This is the first novel in a now-completed 10-novel epic fantasy by Canadian writer Steven Erikson. It's an impressive enough first novel that I look forward to reading future installments. I wouldn't have to, though: unlike many epic fantasy series, this novel looks like it could stand alone, with all of its major plot threads pretty well wrapped up; there are certainly things for each character and for the world as a whole which could be explored in future volumes, but there's no real cliff-hanger here. In a genre dominated by plot lines that don't get resolved for thousands and thousands of pages, this is refreshing. 
 Even as I type that, though, a part of me feels like the ending is just a bit too pat. Let me explain, by talking about the things that I think Erikson does well and the elements that seem weaker to me. First and foremost, he has created here a fully realized world that is quite original in its conception. Here are no elves or dwarves or hobbits, though we have alien races aplenty. Here is magic, but with its own unique system which we're only beginning to discover. Here, too, is a world as a whole to discover, with all its history and politics, its poetry and philosophy. Erikson gives us, from page one, a world vast and real; at first, it is hard to settle in, because strange things are referred to so matter-of-factly, but gradually it all comes into focus, and his achievement is revealed in its real genius. Erikson is also particularly talented at drawing rounded characters quickly and deftly. The grand scope of the plot and its action doesn't always allow for extremely deep characterization, but he makes the most of his materials--it's inevitable that some of the characters will appear somewhat flat, but he gives us enough sense of depth to let us believe in the reality of his characters. 
 These rounded folks are, I should add, not all on the same side, and another part of Erikson's excellence is the way that he confuses our sympathies (in a good way)--it's clear that certain characters are at odds with each other, even when they don't know it, and he's drawn the characters well enough that we want both sides to succeed. By the end, Erikson has worked things out such that most of the characters for whom we've been cheering end up in a good place. He kills off some characters we might have liked, but ultimately the ones who die tend to be bit parts or less sympathetic characters--which brings us back to my concern that ultimately the ending may be just a bit too facile. While there's too much still hanging in the balance to call the ending "happily ever after," there's still something about the ending that seemed too easy. Perhaps I'm just being too hard on Erikson here--the fact is that he wrote a story that was engaging enough that I can't wait to dig into later volumes in the series, and that's a pretty good mark of success in and of itself, isn't it?