The God Is Not Willing

Witness, Book 1

By: Steven Erikson

Narrated by: Emma Gregory

Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times bestselling author Steven Erikson continues the beloved Malazan Book of the Fallen with this first book in the thrilling Witness sequel trilogy, The God is Not Willing.

Many years have passed since three warriors brought carnage and chaos to Silver Lake.

Now the tribes of the north no longer venture into the southlands. The town has recovered and yet the legacy remains.

Responding to reports of a growing unease among the tribes beyond the border, the Malazan army marches on the new god’s people. They aren't quite sure what they're going to be facing.

And in those high mountains, a new warleader has risen amongst the Teblor. Scarred by the deeds of Karsa Orlong, he intends to confront his god even if he has to cut a bloody swathe through the Malazan Empire to do so.

Further north, a new threat has emerged and now it seems it is the Teblor who are running out of time. Another long-feared migration is about to begin and this time it won't just be three warriors. No, this time tens of thousands are poised to pour into the lands to the south. And in their way, a single company of Malazan marines . . .

©2021 Steven Erikson, Master Recording (P)2021 Penguin Books Limited. Produced by arrangement with Transworld Publishers, a division of The Random House Group Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Erikson burnishes his reputation as a superior epic fantasy world-builder.... Erikson’s outstanding descriptive skills...enhance a complicated narrative that sweats the details. This is a treat both for Erikson’s returning readers and lovers of George R.R. Martin-style epic fantasy who have yet to discover his work.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“A master of lost and forgotten epochs, a weaver of ancient epics.” (Salon.com)

“A multilayered tale of magic and war, loyalty and betrayal. Complexly drawn characters occupy a richly detailed world in this panoramic saga.” (Library Journal)

Another Home Run!

No disrespect to other authors who can’t seem to finish/continue their series (in fact, that just shows how difficult it is doing what these guys/gals do), but Steven Erikson continues to show everybody how to get things done (fans/authors, alike). The man is a MACHINE! And the quality of his work is never sacrificed to his freakish ability to churn out gold time and time again. Erickson dropped us right back into the Malazan world without missing a beat. The transition (from the main series, to this one) was utterly seamless. It feels the same. And that’s a good thing. And the new characters are just as compelling as the old. Rant, son of Karsa Orlong (from his blood-oil fueled rape of the poor woman at Silver Lake; this happened in “House of Chains”), is already becoming possibly my favorite character from the Malazan world.

The two Kharkanas-Trilogy books were great, and quite compelling as well (spawning another of my favorite characters, Arathan, who shares some similarities with Rant; I’m still curious about what becomes of Arathan), but I think Erikson made a good choice shifting his energy to this series (ascendant-like perspicacity, really). Kharkanas didn’t have the the same feel as the original series (probably bc it lacked Malazans, and most importantly, Malazan marines), BUT THIS BOOK DOES! All Erikson characters are great, but the Malazan characters are the secret sauce (again, Marines, primarily), and without their all-too human presence, the world doesn’t feel quite right. This book hit the sweet spot, and I can’t imagine Erikson not continuing to deliver, as he never missed.

P.S.

Concerning the narrator/performance: Malazan audiobook veterans might initially feel put off by yet another change of narrator (this time, a female narrator) because we like what we’re used to. Fear not! This narrator delivers the goods! As well as any of the other Malazan-series narrators. Trust me.

Perfect

Erikson's writing just improves with every book. Humor and meaning packed into a perfect continuation to follow the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Great story. Wish someone else read it.

Love everything Erikson does. I’ve read and listened to them all. I understand that sometimes the reader/narrator changes. But after 10 books and then those from Ian C E… why not at least make sure that the reader pronounces things the same? The series of books is written around the Malazan Empire/ military. The way the new narrator says “Malazan” sounds nothing like the other books. Other names/ pronunciations are different as well. Very distracting. Narrator has a great voice. Just seems there was no effort to ensure pronunciations were fluid from the previous books to this one.

Perfection!

This was deliciously narrated by Emma Gregory and I hope she continues narrating the series. The story was an absolute pleasure.

Another great book

Love the world building. love the whole series! very much appreciate the books. thank you very much for continuing to put them out!!

At first I was thrown but then...

I rarely write reviews but...

I'm no stranger to the Malazan books. I've been through the entire series several times. I had to come here to say, Emma Gregory had some big shoes to fill, we all know what it was like to listen to House of Chains for the first time. Total tear from the narrator we were used to.

At first the way she said "Malazan" threw me off, then I started to think... perhaps that's how someone from Silver Lake says Malazan? Other than pronouncing "Malazan" differently than I'm used to, she's doing an incredible job.

I found the story engaging and Emma won me over completely with her wonderful performance. Compared to Forge of Darkness, there is no doubt, Emma Gregory stepped into the Malazan world and told this story in a fresh exciting way.

I'm now very much hoping she will be the one to read the next of this series. She nailed it.

The Perfect Fantasy Novel

Even if you haven’t read the first 10 books, any fan of high fantasy will absolutely love this new story arc. The original books were great, but too indulgent in their cryptic inferences of which many never find resolution. All of the meandering or overly verbose writing from the original books was surprisingly missing from this one, leaving a refreshing fast paced yet deep story to enjoy.

hmm

while I own physical copies, have read them with my own pronouncement of certain words, i find the narrator to have a nice voice, and her pronouncing of certain words isn't that big of a deal. if you enjoy the other works by Steven Erickson, I recommend this one heavily.

Fantastic Performance!

This review is for people who have listened to the big 10. It was jarring at first to hear a female voice reading the book after hundreds of hours of a male voice. It took my brain a few hours of listening to truly recalibrate. Her performance is simply amazing! She puts so much emotion into it. It's so real. Also, she's a perfect choice for this book because of how many female and children POVs we get. I was blown away!

Just outstanding... The Shadow of Karsa Looms!!

At some point someone pointed out to Erikson that the fanbase of Karsa Orlong was IMMENSE and then he began to weave a tale! This book is just amazing! The new Marines are superb. Witty, fun, deep and soulful. Don't wait another second!! Buy this book!