Sleight of Hand by Mike Woods

Author:Mike Woods
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: criticism, themes, analysis, criticism of fantasy, steven erikson, erikson, malazan
Publisher: Mike Woods

“I want to be a soldier. A hero.” (GotM prologue, p.5).

Indeed, we begin the series with Ganoes Paran thrown around the ranks, handpicked by the Adjunct, then shipped off to the Bridgeburners, all at the whims of other people. A chaotic beginning, and unseen forces. He was born into privilege, and in privileged states you yourself are the last to recognise it. He is finding himself in this world, much as we are. And then all too soon he dies.

This sudden death, while foretold (or threatened, at least) seems striking because the reader expects Paran to be the central strand of the tale. Despite jumping perspectives and his own grim outlook, his point of view runs through the first part of GotM and as a result we expect him to be the central character—the hero, for want of a better word. His death is striking, too, because that metaphorical phase of the archetypal hero journey typically comes much later. We expect him to face some obstacles first, but all we have seen of him is his privilege, a little discomfort, then death. And we feel as robbed as he, though for different reasons.

But he is reborn, again at somebody else’s whim. Yet, Paran manages to break the hold of Oponn, the gods that compelled him, just as he did his imperial betters. He realises “I alone am unchained….No one’s tool.” (GotM p.449). We see him inside Dragnipur manhandling a god, freeing the hounds, these are the acts of something greater than the petty forces of mortals and gods at play in the Malazan world.

While early on Paran shows some prescience and precocity, it is later that he truly comes into his own, and where the analogy to the author’s journey becomes more portentous. In MoI, Paran inherits the role of Master of the Deck. At first he doubts his own abilities, and during the book he wants to be accepted by the soldiers he leads—he wants to become part of the family—much as an author wants to be accepted by an established group of readers, the audience. He looks up to, and doubts his ability to match, the compassion of Whiskeyjack.

As MoI approaches inexorably its violent set-pieces, a challenging epic conclusion the expectations of which have been built up among the audience, Paran’s gut is ravaged – a symbol of nervousness: “as soon as he delivered to the world the violence trapped within him. Folly or not, he clung to his belief. Only then will these pressures relent. Only then.” (MoI p.664). And of course the author must feel for the reader to feel, which is why Paran must keep his scars after the battle at Coral.

It can be read as a metaphor for authors in general, not just this particular one. His role is in some ways passive—he is trying to control the chaos, to find out all the information. Neutrality is important.

An extended series of POVs from Paran take place in TBH where he meditates on his powers, his control.

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