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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
When I first read the back cover summary and saw only one name in the dramatis personae that I recognized, I was worried about this book. An entire book with an entirely new cast, the only person in the book being someone who played a minor role in House of Chains. I had low expectations, but this ended up being my favorite book so far!
I have seen people rave about Erikson’s writing. How much they love and connect to his characters. How rich his plots are. To be honest, until now, I couldn’t agree. For me this is the first book that I really felt connected to the characters, especially characters from both sides of the conflict. This makes the conflict so much more interesting as I do care about both sides and don’t want to see harm to either side. With this connection to the characters, I got really pulled into the plot of this book. This was also the fastest I was motivated to read a Malazan book so far. This especially surprised me because I had such low expectations of how I would enjoy this book!
My biggest criticism is the overall continuity of this story to the series. Besides mention of some characters from previous books, there really isn’t anything that ties this book to the rest of the series (as far as I can currently see). I may stand corrected later, however, for now I don’t see the bigger picture.
A reason why I enjoyed this book and why I finally am starting to see what people love about Erikson’s writing is because this book also had almost no focus on the magic system or the lore. I struggle with this soft magic system and get lost and confused. The magic was kept simple enough that I wasn’t trying to figure out what was going on. This book is a backstory, so in a sense, it felt like it was an explanation of some of the lore. As a result, I was able to focus more on the story and the characters, rather than feeling lost and confused. Which in turn allowed me to really enjoy this book!
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
Violent and sweet, tragic and funny, poignant and supremely silly. I can't think of another writer who gets away with the things Erikson does. One minute it's all completely devastating, the next there's a barrage of penis jokes. I never knew how unsophisticated my sense of humor was before I met Ublala Pung.