[Agraza]

I don't think the first rule of writing is be clear...at all. Perhaps be interesting, but it really depends on what you're trying to achieve. If he wanted to simply be clear he could make a map of the characters' relations to each other and a chronology of how shit went down in Malazan. Instead he is telling the tale in detail from multiple perspectives simultaneously, in line with the idea that these are myriad parts of the world's history.

The intent in a novel isn't to be clear. Where would suspense work if everything just made sense from page 1? How would the mystery genre even exist? You don't need to know the details. You want to know the details. It is sufficient to know that these mortals are afraid. Perhaps the legend is overblown. That's your decision to make, but the characters don't have our omnipresent view of the situation. I enjoy their ignorance as much as anything else.

Perhaps Malazan isn't your cup of tea, but your generalizations are weak. The back and forth is enthralling, and the holes in the story that are filled later are very rewarding carrot-on-stick type stuff. There are several eureka moments only because the story isn't told in a paint by numbers 1 2 3 manner, and those moments are often fun and awesome.

I vastly prefer this form of storytelling over following some whiny and/or unkillable douchebag around the world, and always taking in his myopic view of things. Mysteries are explained to him and thus to you since there are no other viewpoints. For example, Thomas Covenant, Stephen Donaldson's character is exactly that. The world in which those novels take place are pretty awesome and different, but the direction of the plot and the main character himself just annoy me. The saving grace then is the unique setting, which is still what places his novels apart for me.

The formula has gotten dull, and Erikson has found his own way out of it. Even if I am critical of particular points of delivery I'll take the bad with the good with the mediocre just for the different take on the genre. All around I think his method and execution are far above average.