Erickson Steven, Canadian writer: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Erickson Steven (born Steve Rune Lundin) is a renowned Canadian fantasy writer. The man borrowed the surname Erickson from his grandmother, thereby facilitating his work in creating a simple pseudonym for the writer. Almost world-famous for his only series of ten books, The Malazan Book of the Fallen.

General Biography

The name of Stephen Erickson is indescribably less famous among fans of the magical worlds than the names of J. K. Rowling or Cl. S. Lewis, but in the future it may be on a par with them.

Erickson Steven is a man who tried himself in several genres before finding the one that in his hands could take absolutely any form. This writer showed by his example to other young story-makers that fame does not come instantly - for this you have to go a long way, consisting of many rejections and disappointments. And he passed it with dignity, rising from the first steps, from the basics of literary genres, to the height that he has conquered now.

Erickson's writing repertoire currentlymoment of a large cycle - the decalogy "The Malazan Book of the Fallen", several short stories written on the basis of this cycle, as well as a small number of short works related to Erickson's past passion - anthropology.

Childhood

So, the future science fiction writer was born in Canada, in the city of Toronto, on October 7, 1959. However, the boy spent all his childhood not there - the writer considered the tiny town of Winnipeg his true home. He went to school here as an unremarkable boy and graduated just as unremarkably. As a child, Stephen was keenly interested in the ancient world and ancient civilizations. And perhaps thanks to this, having matured, Erickson Stephen will connect his whole life, first with the study of the remains of ancient civilizations, and then with the creation of these civilizations in his thoughts. There is absolutely no information about what the writer's parents were doing, however it is worth noting that they supported the choice of their son, both in the case of a passion for history, and in the case of a change in the business of life.

Early creativity

After school, a young man enters the University of Manitoba at the Faculty of History and Archaeology. Studying there, no doubt, liked the future writer, especially when it came directly to research and archaeological excavations. In the 1980s, the guy received a bachelor's degree at his university, but the historical atmosphere did not warm the soul of a young dreamer for long - already in 1983, having abandoned writing a master's thesis in anthropology, Erickson Stephen plunged headlong into writing of a different nature.

So onhis first short stories appear, written for the time being exclusively on historical topics. And yet, a man who was serious about his profession could not write without education. So, in 1988, he received a bachelor's degree in fine arts, and in 1890 - a master's degree, but in a different field, also goes to Erickson.

After receiving an education, a man with a clear conscience wrote a few more short stories and a small cycle of them, but now the writer's nature was eager to show his creation to someone. Thus, a man submits one of his works to the Anvil Press Three-Day Novel Contest and, quite unexpectedly for many, wins it. After this, faith in himself and in his future books was revived in the soul of the writer (in English, of course).

Step into fantasy world

In 1999, the writer decides to change the direction of his work. And his choice falls on the genre highly valued by the main audience of many books - teenagers and young people up to thirty years old - fantasy. At first, the process is difficult: Erickson, out of habit, begins to delve into history, and knowledge in the field of prehistoric sciences interferes with the abstract and without calculations to create ancient worlds. The man decides to find himself an assistant who would be savvy in a new genre for him. And this person becomes in the future a very close friend of Stephen Jan Esslemont. Together they create a completely new world, relying on both history and the imagination of the creators - Malazan.

The story of the creation of a new world

EmpireMalazana was invented by Erickson and Esslemont long before the release of the first book, namely in 1982. In an interesting way, the stars aligned that year: both men, Ian and Steven, were archaeologists assigned to excavate the joint site. It is not clear how, but both friends came up with the same idea how to keep themselves busy at long archaeological gatherings - they came up with a role-playing game for themselves. At first, they wrote chapters for a book in English for each other, trying to get around one second, but then other people entered their game as invisible listeners. So the idea arose to create a truly huge world in which each person could find something interesting for himself. Malazan is the brainchild of two people who changed their ossified outlook on life, dreamers who were not afraid to create an extravaganza from their own fantasies.

Initially, Malazan was nothing more than a background for a historical fantasy game, but two writers managed to recreate the image of this universe from their heads so thoughtfully that it was decided to create not just a role-playing game with characters and quests, but a whole series of books with the same characters, but already revealing their characters, intertwining storylines and giving the heroes difficult tasks. As soon as you start, Erickson instantly has a plot for the first book in the series. Foreword to the entire history of the Malazan Empire - Gardens of the Moon. In 1999, the book is published, submitted to the judgment of the people and almost instantly gains worldwide success.

First volume of legends of Malazanintroduces readers to the main characters of the story: there are ordinary inhabitants of the empire, and magicians, and a whole guild of thieves, and an alchemist, there are unprecedented creatures like werewolf dragons, and even real gods… Everything in this world is intertwined into one frantic tangle, and all in order to seize the throne and rule all the lands of Malazan.

The Malazan Book of the Fallen

The Malazan empire series includes 10 volumes written by Erickson and several books by Esslemont. Each of the writers supplemented the events described by the other with their own stories, and as a result, the reader received an absolutely complete picture of everything that happens in Malazan.

Each book is both a separate story of a new hero and continuation of the path of the old ones. Here is the complete list of volumes from the Erickson-only series:

• "Gardens of the Moon".
• "Gate of the House of Death".
• "Memory of ice".
• "House of chains".
• "Midnight Tide".
• "The Bone Hunters".
• "Storm Reaper".
• "Summon the dogs".
• "Dream Dust".
• "Maimed God".

Inspiration

Often, the Canadian writer answered questions from readers about where he gets inspiration for writing such action-packed stories. And most often the answer was a list of the names of Erickson's favorite authors, who - one way or another - with their work prompted the writer toaction. His favorites in literature include Homer, Glen Cook, John Gardner, Mark Helprin and other equally talented writers.

Current activities

Currently, Steven Erickson, whose books are still very popular, still writes small novels that describe the Malazan universe in more detail. He is a 51-year-old, unusually energetic man who has a thriving not only creative but also family life.

Now he continues to live in his native small town with his wife and already grown son. The quiet and peaceful life of the writer completely suits him, because this is another opportunity to pass the time writing new stories about the majestic Malazan Empire.