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sjgomzi's review against another edition
5.0
It’s finished. What can say? How do I even begin to review the greatest fantasy series I have ever read. Was it worth a year of my life to finish it? That would be a huge YES! this is a life changing work. I see the world through a new set of eyes now. An amazing achievement. Steven Erikson should be applauded for completing it and sticking the landing. I will never forget these characters and look forward to a third reread of the entire thing someday.
kwrobs86's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
halynah's review against another edition
5.0
Breathtaking conclusion of the best fantasy series of all time!!!
All the battle scenes were gorgeously written! Erikson is unequalled in portraying military atmosphere and banter! He is also the king of dry humour and his writing is truly English at its finest!!! I'm in love with his brains and imagination!!!It's remarkable that this flawed world is still capable of birthing a man of such a formidable intellect!
Besides the battles, among the highlights of the tenth book were Draconus and Ublala's friendship, Bent and Roach's scenes, background stories of marines, crossing of the Glass Desert. There are many loose ends - Karsa, Laseen and all those we left in Mock's Hold, Envy and Spite, etc. All those characters beg for their own spin-offs and we may only hope, that Steven Erikson will deliver! Barring The Reaper's Gale, all the books in the series are masterpieces, so - highly recommended!!!
All the battle scenes were gorgeously written! Erikson is unequalled in portraying military atmosphere and banter! He is also the king of dry humour and his writing is truly English at its finest!!! I'm in love with his brains and imagination!!!It's remarkable that this flawed world is still capable of birthing a man of such a formidable intellect!
Besides the battles, among the highlights of the tenth book were Draconus and Ublala's friendship, Bent and Roach's scenes, background stories of marines, crossing of the Glass Desert. There are many loose ends - Karsa, Laseen and all those we left in Mock's Hold, Envy and Spite, etc. All those characters beg for their own spin-offs and we may only hope, that Steven Erikson will deliver! Barring The Reaper's Gale, all the books in the series are masterpieces, so - highly recommended!!!
adam_marcus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
It's over. One and a bit years since I finished Gardens of the Moon. 10 books, 3 and quarter million words, 453 POVs and a lot of patience later - Malazan Book of the Fallen has become, undoubtably, the greatest book series I have ever read.
More than potentially any form of media I've ever encountered, I am confident that Malazan will remain with me for the rest of my life. For the lessons that it taught me. The characters that will live rent-free in my head (Tehol, Fiddler & Mappo my sweet boys I love you). The jaw-dropping moments of spectacle that are present in each and every book.
It's so much more than just an epic fantasy series. It's a story of love & loss. Sacrifice & redemption. Faith & compassion. Its an examination of humanity that forces you to confront your own belief system, and pierces the depths of your soul in doing so.
Malazan is not an easy read, you spend about 70% of these books being terribly confused and the other 30% being mostly depressed. But the payoff Erikson provides at the end of each book and the series as a whole make the journey so very worth it.
My final individual book ranking of the series:
1. Memories of Ice
2. The Crippled God
3. Midnight Tides
4. The Bonehunters
5. Toll The Hounds
6. House of Chains
7. Deadhouse Gates
8. Gardens of the Moon
9. Dust of Dreams
10. Reapers Gale
More than potentially any form of media I've ever encountered, I am confident that Malazan will remain with me for the rest of my life. For the lessons that it taught me. The characters that will live rent-free in my head (Tehol, Fiddler & Mappo my sweet boys I love you). The jaw-dropping moments of spectacle that are present in each and every book.
It's so much more than just an epic fantasy series. It's a story of love & loss. Sacrifice & redemption. Faith & compassion. Its an examination of humanity that forces you to confront your own belief system, and pierces the depths of your soul in doing so.
Malazan is not an easy read, you spend about 70% of these books being terribly confused and the other 30% being mostly depressed. But the payoff Erikson provides at the end of each book and the series as a whole make the journey so very worth it.
My final individual book ranking of the series:
1. Memories of Ice
2. The Crippled God
3. Midnight Tides
4. The Bonehunters
5. Toll The Hounds
6. House of Chains
7. Deadhouse Gates
8. Gardens of the Moon
9. Dust of Dreams
10. Reapers Gale
jeanjgelee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
dhilger's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.5
Great book if you love long walks through the desert musing about ecoside. Million side characters that are almost exclusively for exposition about environmentalism and cultural genocide
threetrees's review against another edition
5.0
What an epic journey this has been. The crippled god provided the fitting conclusion to this epic saga. The crippled god by far is the best book I have read in the fantasy genre. Steven Erikson provided the perfect ending to this series. I love the fact the he kept all the couples alive till the end and there were some epic reunions of old lovers, which was like icing on the cake. This was the book in which we finally get to see some emotions from Tavore, which was delightful to read and that final reunion of the Paran siblings was just heartwarming. Overall this series had it's ups and downs, but the journey through ten books was equally rewarding. If you ever start the series don't give up until you finish it. Happy reading
wertraut's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
is_book_loring's review against another edition
4.0
"Who are you? I know who you are. What have you done? You have stayed with me since the very beginning. Soldiers, hear me! This day is already lost to history, and all that happens here shall remain for ever unknown. On this day, you are unwitnessed. You are the Unwitnessed, but I have seen what you see. I have felt what you feel. And I am as much a stranger to history as any of you."
The Crippled God as the final conclusion to this mind-bending, stellar tome of a series wrapped events and characters up satisfyingly enough, pretty neatly too -this probably was the neatest book in entire the series- but still left mysteries and room for wonder by the end of it and I loved that particularly. And the last couple chapters were utterly breathless, to say the least.
I would not presume to be the arbiter of justice as the Forkrul Assail thought they were to this colossal, soul-crushing series or to the genius of a mind that had created such elaborate, staggering, mind-blowing world. Let's throw some more adjectives: brilliant, spectacular, epic, phenomenal, sublime, grand, ambitious, majestic, dazzling, heart-wrenching, dramatic and dozen more if one wanted. And all of it would be everything about this series and nothing that came close to take as the essence of Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Hence, I could only speak of my own experience reading through the thousand of pages during the span of almost two years. This series had opened my mind in a way no fantasy books I read till this day ever did. Yes, it engaged readers in many philosophical topics, heavy ones throughout the books. Erikson went very far, quite mercilessly in fact, into persuading, convincing us of his views, which I am sure no one totally agreed with him in everything, which was not the point. But, what truly punched me in the gut was how Erikson recognized that there were no absolute answers, there was no certainty, or more to the point that certainty itself was dangerous, and no matter how futile though it seemed, that should never stop us from questioning, from seeking and reaching out but also into ourselves. Steven Erikson spun a tale or tales of thousand of years through eyes of varying races and species, poured in a rushing torrent the history of millions lives that drowned, engulfed my real world but breathtakingly also connected and woven reality into that world, because wasn't all tales was different but the same? It beggared me really to ponder about the masterful mind that had created such extensive, complex world and the story lines. The voices, the thoughts, the wants and needs of hundred characters resonated through me, and I had voyaged, dreamed, fought, loved, grieved, died, reborned, hated, forgave with them. I had been repulsed, sicken, repelled by horrifying, horrendous minds and pulled by souls in the journey of redemption and the struggles to save and live lifes beyond just survival, to find themselves and each others. On those paths they took me, my heart had been shattered, bled and burned so many times and it still hurt every freaking time. And it humbled me because as much as I could feel, it was not even one tenth of what they had felt and suffered. The cast of characters were too vast to be felt distinct, but lots of them were, and at times they were utterly real and familiar, more than real people.
So yeah, this series was singular and unforgettable, one that could be, should be, needed to be read again, because one time was simply not enough.
“From the beginning of the ages past
And those now upon us, yield no clue
To the secret equations you seek,
For each was built of bone and blood
And the backs of the slave did bow
To the laboured sentence of a life
In chains of dire need and little worth.
All that we build one day echoes hollow.’
‘Where then, good soldiers, will I
Ever find all that is best in us?
If not in flesh or in temple bound
Or wretched road of cobbled stone?’
‘Could we answer you,’ said the sergeant,
‘This blood would cease its fatal flow,
And my surgeon could seal wounds with a touch,
All labours will ease before temple and road,
Could we answer you,’ said the sergeant,
‘Crows might starve in our company
And our talons we would cast in bogs
For the gods to fight over as they will.
But we have not found in all our years
The best in us, until this very day.’
‘How so?’ asked I, so lost now on the road,
And said he, ‘Upon this bridge we sat
Since the dawn’s bleak arrival,
Our perch of despond so weary and worn,
And you we watched, at first a speck
Upon the strife-painted horizon
So tortured in your tread as to soak our faces
In the wonder of your will, yet on you came
Upon two sticks so bowed in weight
Seeking, say you, the best in us
And now we have seen in your gift
The best in us, and were treasures at hand
We would set them humbly before you,
A man without feet who walked a road.’
Now, soldiers with kind words are rare
Enough, and I welcomed their regard
As I moved among them, ’cross the bridge
And onward to the long road beyond
I travel seeking the best in us
And one day it shall rise before me
To bless this journey of mine, and this road
I began upon long ago shall now end
Where waits for all the best in us."
The Crippled God as the final conclusion to this mind-bending, stellar tome of a series wrapped events and characters up satisfyingly enough, pretty neatly too -this probably was the neatest book in entire the series- but still left mysteries and room for wonder by the end of it and I loved that particularly. And the last couple chapters were utterly breathless, to say the least.
I would not presume to be the arbiter of justice as the Forkrul Assail thought they were to this colossal, soul-crushing series or to the genius of a mind that had created such elaborate, staggering, mind-blowing world. Let's throw some more adjectives: brilliant, spectacular, epic, phenomenal, sublime, grand, ambitious, majestic, dazzling, heart-wrenching, dramatic and dozen more if one wanted. And all of it would be everything about this series and nothing that came close to take as the essence of Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Hence, I could only speak of my own experience reading through the thousand of pages during the span of almost two years. This series had opened my mind in a way no fantasy books I read till this day ever did. Yes, it engaged readers in many philosophical topics, heavy ones throughout the books. Erikson went very far, quite mercilessly in fact, into persuading, convincing us of his views, which I am sure no one totally agreed with him in everything, which was not the point. But, what truly punched me in the gut was how Erikson recognized that there were no absolute answers, there was no certainty, or more to the point that certainty itself was dangerous, and no matter how futile though it seemed, that should never stop us from questioning, from seeking and reaching out but also into ourselves. Steven Erikson spun a tale or tales of thousand of years through eyes of varying races and species, poured in a rushing torrent the history of millions lives that drowned, engulfed my real world but breathtakingly also connected and woven reality into that world, because wasn't all tales was different but the same? It beggared me really to ponder about the masterful mind that had created such extensive, complex world and the story lines. The voices, the thoughts, the wants and needs of hundred characters resonated through me, and I had voyaged, dreamed, fought, loved, grieved, died, reborned, hated, forgave with them. I had been repulsed, sicken, repelled by horrifying, horrendous minds and pulled by souls in the journey of redemption and the struggles to save and live lifes beyond just survival, to find themselves and each others. On those paths they took me, my heart had been shattered, bled and burned so many times and it still hurt every freaking time. And it humbled me because as much as I could feel, it was not even one tenth of what they had felt and suffered. The cast of characters were too vast to be felt distinct, but lots of them were, and at times they were utterly real and familiar, more than real people.
So yeah, this series was singular and unforgettable, one that could be, should be, needed to be read again, because one time was simply not enough.
“From the beginning of the ages past
And those now upon us, yield no clue
To the secret equations you seek,
For each was built of bone and blood
And the backs of the slave did bow
To the laboured sentence of a life
In chains of dire need and little worth.
All that we build one day echoes hollow.’
‘Where then, good soldiers, will I
Ever find all that is best in us?
If not in flesh or in temple bound
Or wretched road of cobbled stone?’
‘Could we answer you,’ said the sergeant,
‘This blood would cease its fatal flow,
And my surgeon could seal wounds with a touch,
All labours will ease before temple and road,
Could we answer you,’ said the sergeant,
‘Crows might starve in our company
And our talons we would cast in bogs
For the gods to fight over as they will.
But we have not found in all our years
The best in us, until this very day.’
‘How so?’ asked I, so lost now on the road,
And said he, ‘Upon this bridge we sat
Since the dawn’s bleak arrival,
Our perch of despond so weary and worn,
And you we watched, at first a speck
Upon the strife-painted horizon
So tortured in your tread as to soak our faces
In the wonder of your will, yet on you came
Upon two sticks so bowed in weight
Seeking, say you, the best in us
And now we have seen in your gift
The best in us, and were treasures at hand
We would set them humbly before you,
A man without feet who walked a road.’
Now, soldiers with kind words are rare
Enough, and I welcomed their regard
As I moved among them, ’cross the bridge
And onward to the long road beyond
I travel seeking the best in us
And one day it shall rise before me
To bless this journey of mine, and this road
I began upon long ago shall now end
Where waits for all the best in us."
rkking's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastic ending to an equally fantastic saga. If you stick with it all the way to this final book, Erikson most certainly delivers on those earlier promises. The Malazan series is epic, and dense. It takes a steep learning curve, but holy hell does it ever pay off.
The only caveats are the sheer number of characters, some of whom share very similar names, that I more than once got a little loss as to who was who, and therefore when something major happened to one or more of them, the effect was lessened slightly until I could get back on track with the correct character.
It's funny, the infamy GRR Martin gets for killing off his characters. Erikson is soooo much more inclined to do even more extreme, so no characters are safe.
The actually ending to this book, and therefore capstone to the entire saga, was powerful, poignant, and a real release from the previous intensity of the entire series.
Fate, Gods, Barbarians, Swords and Shields, Magic, Dragons, Political Intrigue, this saga has it all. Despite some stumbles, I really enjoyed this saga and feel I became a stronger reader and writer from it.
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
The only caveats are the sheer number of characters, some of whom share very similar names, that I more than once got a little loss as to who was who, and therefore when something major happened to one or more of them, the effect was lessened slightly until I could get back on track with the correct character.
It's funny, the infamy GRR Martin gets for killing off his characters. Erikson is soooo much more inclined to do even more extreme, so no characters are safe.
The actually ending to this book, and therefore capstone to the entire saga, was powerful, poignant, and a real release from the previous intensity of the entire series.
Fate, Gods, Barbarians, Swords and Shields, Magic, Dragons, Political Intrigue, this saga has it all. Despite some stumbles, I really enjoyed this saga and feel I became a stronger reader and writer from it.
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes