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syinhui's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Before diving into Gardens of the Moon, I had come across reviews from people saying that after Malazan they could not read "average" fantasy anymore or something along those lines and I thought they're exaggerating, right? I mean just how good can this be to warrant such a high praise?
Exaggeration or not, that particular comment left a more lasting impression on me than perhaps the branding of "Best Fantasy series of all time." After all, "best" is largely subjective. But to claim that nothing compares to this - to any others of its genre, well, that's one powerful statement.
I don't even know how to review The Bonehunters without sounding like a blabbering, chaotic mess and I'm certainly not in the right mental space to analyse anything. The content within this book is staggeringly vast, to the point where it could constitute an entire trilogy on its own. The scale is absolutely mindblowing if not mindnumbing. The pacing...*chefs kiss* perfect. There are multitude of characters that in any other book I'd easily forget but somehow Erikson made everyone here memorable. If I were to find fault in this book, it would lie in some parts that tend to drag on, and of course there's the extensive explorations of philosophy surrounding war and peace, life and death, ethics, and morality etc., which can be very exhausting. Additionally, there are moments when attempts at humor feel forced, more precisely; it's a bit hit or miss, at least for me. Nonetheless, on the grand view of things, these are negligible, forgivable.
I thought I could stretch this over a span of two weeks at least, but, gods how this book consumed me! That said, I'm not trusting myself ever again in setting reading deadlines. And I have nothing but excitement for the last 4 books. If I finish this series by the end of the year or even earlier, so be it.
Exaggeration or not, that particular comment left a more lasting impression on me than perhaps the branding of "Best Fantasy series of all time." After all, "best" is largely subjective. But to claim that nothing compares to this - to any others of its genre, well, that's one powerful statement.
I don't even know how to review The Bonehunters without sounding like a blabbering, chaotic mess and I'm certainly not in the right mental space to analyse anything. The content within this book is staggeringly vast, to the point where it could constitute an entire trilogy on its own. The scale is absolutely mindblowing if not mindnumbing. The pacing...*chefs kiss* perfect. There are multitude of characters that in any other book I'd easily forget but somehow Erikson made everyone here memorable. If I were to find fault in this book, it would lie in some parts that tend to drag on, and of course there's the extensive explorations of philosophy surrounding war and peace, life and death, ethics, and morality etc., which can be very exhausting. Additionally, there are moments when attempts at humor feel forced, more precisely; it's a bit hit or miss, at least for me. Nonetheless, on the grand view of things, these are negligible, forgivable.
I thought I could stretch this over a span of two weeks at least, but, gods how this book consumed me! That said, I'm not trusting myself ever again in setting reading deadlines. And I have nothing but excitement for the last 4 books. If I finish this series by the end of the year or even earlier, so be it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Grief, Child death, Genocide, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual assault
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