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The Wurms of Blearmouth

The Wurms of Blearmouth

A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach
Dark FantasyFantasy
Pages
208
Published
2012
Language
English

Synopsis

In the town of Spendrugle — a settlement so grim that even the name conveys despair — Bauchelain and Korbal Broach arrive and immediately begin exacerbating the existing miseries. A tyrannical local lord, a fishing village of the defeated and broken, and whatever is living beneath the bay: Wurms of Blearmouth is the most overtly comedic of the B&KB novellas, leaning hard into Erikson's gift for grotesque character comedy and bleak seaside atmosphere. Emancipor Reese remains the beleaguered everyman through whom the reader survives the experience.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

DarkFunnyAtmosphericGritty
Morally GreyAnti-HeroSurvivalVillain Protagonist

Genres

Dark Fantasy Fantasy Horror Epic Fantasy

About the author

S
Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson was born Steve Rune Lundin in Toronto in 1959 and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He trained as an archaeologist and anthropologist — completing fieldwork on Indigenous sites in the Canadian Shield — before earning a graduate degree through the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He writes under a pen name adopted to avoid confusion with the American novelist Steve Erickson. The world of the Malazan Book of the Fallen has its origins not in a manuscript but in a tabletop roleplaying campaign....

Characters

BauchelainProtagonist

Deploying his customary combination of courtesy and carnage on a town that was already having a very bad time.

Korbal BroachProtagonist

Whose interests are, as always, best not examined too closely.

Emancipor ReeseProtagonist

Surviving another encounter with his employers' wake of destruction, though not without cost.

All characters in The Wurms of Blearmouth

Frequently asked questions

  • Is The Wurms of Blearmouth a good starting point for Steven Erikson's work?

    This novella is a standalone story featuring characters from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, but it does not require prior knowledge of that series to be enjoyed. It offers a self-contained narrative that can serve as an introduction to Erikson's style and humor without the commitment of a full-length novel.

  • How does this book connect to the Malazan universe?

    The Wurms of Blearmouth features the recurring characters Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, who are necromancers from the Malazan world. While their adventures in this novella are separate from the main Malazan Book of the Fallen series, it expands on their personalities and provides additional lore for fans of the broader universe.

  • Is this standalone?

    Yes, like all B&KB novellas. Start with Blood Follows for context on the three main characters.

  • Is this the funniest B&KB story?

    Many fans think so — the seaside setting and tyrannical lord provide excellent targets for Erikson's satirical instincts.

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