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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had to sleep on this one to think about how I feel, it was a super compelling book and was relatively easy to follow which is appreciated with Malazan. However, while Memories of Ice felt like a true sequel and climax to the groundwork laid in Gardens, this felt more like an anticlimax to Deadhouse Gates, which feels weird when DG has one of the most powerful endings I’ve ever read. Not that it’s a BAD ending, I think that the ending of Felisin’s arc in this book is super poetic and unexpected, but I dunno, I expected more? Regardless, after a quick break I’m excited for Midnight Tides, I currently couldn’t give less of a shit about the Tiste Edur/Liosan but if my boy Trull Sengar shows up it’ll probably be neat. PS, Karsa Orlong is the fucking raddest
First read June 2022, 2.5⭐️
Second read November 2023, 3.5⭐️
Second read November 2023, 3.5⭐️
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, I'm having mixed feelings about this series. On the one hand, the books are difficult to read. Like I've got to puzzle through what's going on all the time. For example, there's one scene where Karsa squeezes a blade out of his back by relaxing and tensing his muscles (he's not human, he can do these things) but it never actually says the blade popped out or that he was successful. No, instead it says that something dropped behind him and made a noise and you just got to figure out that that something was the blade.
That ain't bad per se, I kind of enjoy puzzling through it as I go but it does slow things down.
And then, it's hard to care about a lot of these characters. Partly because there's so darn many of them, partly they all have weird names so it's hard to remember who they all. Partly because very few qualify as good people so when bad things happen, I can be very indifferent.
And thirdly, a lot of the events can be summarized as, "and then some magic crap happened" or, "and then some really crazy magic crap happened". Like, at the end of this book,. And it's kind of explained but I'm mostly sitting here thinking, "Oh, did not know that was a thing that could happen. Magic deserts, who'd a thunk it?"
That being said, the main thing I'm here for is the world building. It's really cool. Like the T'Lan Imass are basically zombie Neanderthals who made themselves undead so they could finish committing genocide. Said zombies will take a detour into a realm of fire to kill an impostor god if they need too. The mundane world and magic world overlap such that parts of the world can be sucked into a warren. Pretty sure Toc was temporarily possessed by a wolf god before Toc possessed another dude.
So, that's my biggest interest so far. I'm really interested in what the deal with Chained god is and how this world works. I also hope that Toc and the wolf god are okay (what? I like dogs). Okay, fine, maybe there are some characters I care about.
That ain't bad per se, I kind of enjoy puzzling through it as I go but it does slow things down.
And then, it's hard to care about a lot of these characters. Partly because there's so darn many of them, partly they all have weird names so it's hard to remember who they all. Partly because very few qualify as good people so when bad things happen, I can be very indifferent.
And thirdly, a lot of the events can be summarized as, "and then some magic crap happened" or, "and then some really crazy magic crap happened". Like, at the end of this book,
Spoiler
instead of a climactic battle between the Malazans and the forces of the Apocalypse, the desert raises up ghosts and spirits to destroy Shaik's armyThat being said, the main thing I'm here for is the world building. It's really cool. Like the T'Lan Imass are basically zombie Neanderthals who made themselves undead so they could finish committing genocide. Said zombies will take a detour into a realm of fire to kill an impostor god if they need too. The mundane world and magic world overlap such that parts of the world can be sucked into a warren. Pretty sure Toc was temporarily possessed by a wolf god before Toc possessed another dude.
So, that's my biggest interest so far. I'm really interested in what the deal with Chained god is and how this world works. I also hope that Toc and the wolf god are okay (what? I like dogs). Okay, fine, maybe there are some characters I care about.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The previous book in the series, so far, is the high point of the series for me, and this one struggled to live up to it. However, not being golden doesn't mean it still isn't good! Fiddler is still one of the best characters I've ever read, and im happy I got to see him take on a new role in the series. I know the next one takes the books to another new plot thread, and im still excited to see where that goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
awesomeness incarnate. was hard to sleep at night, just wanted to keep reading.
adventurous
fast-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:
Yes