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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
What is the mark of a great writer? It is when — no matter where he throws you in his story, you still find it interesting. And you find it interesting because it is the quality of the prose that makes a good writer, not the story itself, so even when he changes all the setting and, essentially, the entire cast of characters, and then by extension, the story itself at the fifth book in the series, he'll still make you lust for yet another page.
Brimming with rich imagination—I've made this comparison before when talking about Malazan, but it helps bring some capacity of perspective to those who aren't deep into epic fantasy literature: Malazan's sheer scope and high fantasy scale—to say, "dwarfs that of the Lord of the Rings," it doesn't even do justice. The texture of this world, as well as its level of realization, is incomprehensible. It's almost as if Malazan evokes memories of the past, the ancient and now-forgotten epochs.
I am often surprised at how Erikson manages to ground a particular moment. He impresses me with the ease he finds the right thing for a character to say—the correct wording for it—that allows him to retain the authenticity of his characters while still providing a moment of relief for the reader. Erikson's ability to get under the skin of each of his characters—so deep into their psyche, is frightening, to put it gently.
The last thing I want to talk about is probably the greatest and, at the same time, weirdest "asset" of Malazan, which is the way it feels so dense—Midnight Tides is around 900 pages, but it feels like 1300 for how much it says with those pages—and also when you think of everything that happened, it feels like Erikson barely scratched the surface of the character's motivations and their journey into the series. Midnight Tides felt like a set-up book, but that only speaks of the series's massive scope.
PS: Ceda Kuru Qan's Kamehameha moment was chilling.
Brimming with rich imagination—I've made this comparison before when talking about Malazan, but it helps bring some capacity of perspective to those who aren't deep into epic fantasy literature: Malazan's sheer scope and high fantasy scale—to say, "dwarfs that of the Lord of the Rings," it doesn't even do justice. The texture of this world, as well as its level of realization, is incomprehensible. It's almost as if Malazan evokes memories of the past, the ancient and now-forgotten epochs.
I am often surprised at how Erikson manages to ground a particular moment. He impresses me with the ease he finds the right thing for a character to say—the correct wording for it—that allows him to retain the authenticity of his characters while still providing a moment of relief for the reader. Erikson's ability to get under the skin of each of his characters—so deep into their psyche, is frightening, to put it gently.
The last thing I want to talk about is probably the greatest and, at the same time, weirdest "asset" of Malazan, which is the way it feels so dense—Midnight Tides is around 900 pages, but it feels like 1300 for how much it says with those pages—and also when you think of everything that happened, it feels like Erikson barely scratched the surface of the character's motivations and their journey into the series. Midnight Tides felt like a set-up book, but that only speaks of the series's massive scope.
PS: Ceda Kuru Qan's Kamehameha moment was chilling.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was not on my Malazan bingo card to get an in-depth critique of capitalism with a strong heaping of epic fantasy on top. Nevertheless, this is what this book is. The fantasy version of Wolf of Wall street, with a side dish of critique of imperialism, xenophobia and discrimination. And pretty well done since it’s both on point and extremely entertaining to read, coming as it does from avowed megalomaniac Tehol Beddict and his straight-man companion, the manservant Bugg. These two are an awesome pair drawing on the well-established buddy comedy tropes to infuse some much-needed humor in what is otherwise a pretty bleak book.
And not even bleak in the sense of the Chain of Dogs where we could at least revel in the heroism, futile though it was. Nope, no heroism to be gotten here, only the failings of human nature and their dire consequences. Only ugliness of the soul to go around. And not only in the Letherii empire, ruled by greed and egotism, but also in the Edur, stubbornly refusing to open their eyes to the truth of their past and stuck in harsh and heartless traditions. Not that their slaves are exempt from the ugliness. Even the downtrodden find a way to push someone beneath them so they can in turn step on them.
So yes, Tehol Beddict, who is at the same time extremely effective and very kind and Bugg, the funny little man of hidden depths (pun intended) were much-needed comedic relief for this tale.
I also very much enjoyed Silchas Ruin - he’s obviously meant to be a fan-favorite and that worked out perfectly in my case. Errant, on the other hand, I could really have done without. Which was probably as intended. A surprise favorite was Wither, though. I like his humor and sense of style! And Shurq Elalle and her Ublala were delightful as well.
Surprisingly, this book is where we finally get more details about the Forkrul Assail and I did not expect to like them so little as a result. I still feel for that one trapped under the rock, but yikes, I would not like to encounter one.
Oh, and obviously, Trull Sengar as a POV character is incredibly annoying. I could have done without his morose ruminations. Undinaas isn’t more cheerful but at least he has some spite and spine left. And I also VERY MUCH could have done without yet another rape as a defining character moment. The Shaik backstory was quite enough of that for a lifetime. Even though it was handled much better here I’d be happy to never have to read it again (not that there’s hope of that).
And not even bleak in the sense of the Chain of Dogs where we could at least revel in the heroism, futile though it was. Nope, no heroism to be gotten here, only the failings of human nature and their dire consequences. Only ugliness of the soul to go around. And not only in the Letherii empire, ruled by greed and egotism, but also in the Edur, stubbornly refusing to open their eyes to the truth of their past and stuck in harsh and heartless traditions. Not that their slaves are exempt from the ugliness. Even the downtrodden find a way to push someone beneath them so they can in turn step on them.
So yes, Tehol Beddict, who is at the same time extremely effective and very kind and Bugg, the funny little man of hidden depths (pun intended) were much-needed comedic relief for this tale.
I also very much enjoyed Silchas Ruin - he’s obviously meant to be a fan-favorite and that worked out perfectly in my case. Errant, on the other hand, I could really have done without. Which was probably as intended. A surprise favorite was Wither, though. I like his humor and sense of style! And Shurq Elalle and her Ublala were delightful as well.
Surprisingly, this book is where we finally get more details about the Forkrul Assail and I did not expect to like them so little as a result. I still feel for that one trapped under the rock, but yikes, I would not like to encounter one.
Oh, and obviously, Trull Sengar as a POV character is incredibly annoying. I could have done without his morose ruminations. Undinaas isn’t more cheerful but at least he has some spite and spine left. And I also VERY MUCH could have done without yet another rape as a defining character moment. The Shaik backstory was quite enough of that for a lifetime. Even though it was handled much better here I’d be happy to never have to read it again (not that there’s hope of that).
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Maybe my favourite of the Malayan book of the fallen so far. The relationship between Tehol and Bugg is touching and made me laugh out loud several times. In fact, every pet of the book that involves Tehol, Bugg and their cohort in Letheras is gold.
Half of the series finished, half left to go!
Half of the series finished, half left to go!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
This book was fantastic! I loved House of Chains and thought this one was even better. The characters in this book were, in my opinion, more interesting than the characters from the previous books. Tehol and Bugg were probably my two favorites. This is my favorite of the series so far!