There is no life which does not possess its own importance, no life which may not be touched by greatness at any time -- Yes, be touched by greatness and have a hand in it. (from The Mirror of Her Dreams)
Stephen R. DonaldsonGradually, the night stumbled as if stunned and wandering aimlessly into an overcast day -- limped through the wilderland of transition as though there were no knowing where the waste of darkness ended and the ashes of light began. The low clouds seemed full of grief -- tense and uneasy with accumulated woe -- and yet affectless, unable to rain, as if the air clenched itself too hard for tears. And through the dawn, Atiaran and Covenant moved heavily, unevenly, like pieces of a broken lament.
Stephen R. DonaldsonSteven Erikson is an extraordinary writer. I read Gardens of the Moon with great pleasure. And now that I have read it, I would be hard pressed to decide what I enjoyed more: the richly and ominously magical world of Malaz and Genabackis; the large cast of sympathetically-rendered characters; or the way the story accumulates to a climax that hits like machinegun fire. My advice to anyone who might listen to me is, Treat yourself to Gardens of the Moon. And my entirely selfish advice to Steven Erikson is, write faster.
Stephen R. DonaldsonAre you a personโwith volition and maybe some stubbornness and at least the capacity if not the actual determination to do something surprisingโor are you a tool? A tool just serves its user. Itโs only as good as the skill of its user, and itโs not good for anything else. So if you want to accomplish something specialโsomething more than you can do for yourselfโyou canโt use a tool. You have to use a person and hope the surprises will work in your favor. You have to use something thatโs free to not be what you had in mind.
Stephen R. Donaldson