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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
Unexpectedly Relevant
If I call this book the perfect fantasy book, people might assume that it is a very good standard fantasy book. But, No. This is the perfect fantasy book unlike anything else in fantasy, although the latter part comes from being part of this series itself.
Not only the story so fitting and meaningful, but the characters so real (I mean Brys), the setting so unique (have you seen fantasy tackle Crony Capitalism ?), the lessons from this book are of even higher value.
It's unbelievable that this books' story is an emotional tapestry woven together by ideas of Capitalism, Authoritarianism, the subsequent alienation of the more ethical people in such regimes and the cost of not speaking up. All this while delivering a masterful fantasy book. It definitely found me at the right time.
Its a book about brothers. And the brother characters are so good. Trull is the boi. Tehol & Bugg are the boys. The dynamic between all the brothers is off the charts real. Good stuff !
Perfection. Funny when it wants to be, Poignant and heartbreaking. Tragic. Thoughtful. Unpredictable. Its the total package.
Perfection.
If I call this book the perfect fantasy book, people might assume that it is a very good standard fantasy book. But, No. This is the perfect fantasy book unlike anything else in fantasy, although the latter part comes from being part of this series itself.
Not only the story so fitting and meaningful, but the characters so real (I mean Brys), the setting so unique (have you seen fantasy tackle Crony Capitalism ?), the lessons from this book are of even higher value.
It's unbelievable that this books' story is an emotional tapestry woven together by ideas of Capitalism, Authoritarianism, the subsequent alienation of the more ethical people in such regimes and the cost of not speaking up. All this while delivering a masterful fantasy book. It definitely found me at the right time.
Its a book about brothers. And the brother characters are so good. Trull is the boi. Tehol & Bugg are the boys. The dynamic between all the brothers is off the charts real. Good stuff !
Perfection. Funny when it wants to be, Poignant and heartbreaking. Tragic. Thoughtful. Unpredictable. Its the total package.
Perfection.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
My second favorite in the series after Memories of Ice so far
Really fast read despite the size of it. It does slow a little before the ending climax, but it fits and makes sense in a book this large
Really fast read despite the size of it. It does slow a little before the ending climax, but it fits and makes sense in a book this large
Legalább annyira imádtam ezt a részt, mint a Memories of Ice-t. Pedig ezúttal Erikson gyakorlatilag dob majdnem mindent, amit eddig ismertünk és megtudtunk erről a világról, és egy teljesen új kontinensre repít minket, teljesen új szereplők közé. A Midnight Tides azért nagyon minimálisan kapcsolódik a sorozat előző részeihez, de igazából egy új szálat kapunk.* Sőt, hogy még izgibb legyen, a Midnight Tides néhány évvel a Gardens of the Moon előtt játszódik.
Több helyen is olvastam már, és nekem is az a véleményem, hogy aki nem tudta magát átverekedni a Gardens of the Moon-on, az vegye kezébe ezt a kötetet és adjon még egy esélyt a sorozatnak. Ugyanis a Midnight Tides jóval olvasóbarátabb a korábbi köteteknél. Erikson nem átall magyarázni dolgokat, kisebb a regény fókusza, jóval kevesebb szereplőt mozgat meg és szerintem sokkal olvasmányosabb is.
A Midnight Tides egyébként a Tiste Edurok és a Letherii-k kibontakozó konfliktusát, majd pedig a kirobbanó háború történetét meséli el. Persze ennél jóval többről van szó, de ez adja a keretet. Megint sikerült a kirakósból egy darabot a helyére rakni, de messze vagyunk még attól, hogy egyáltalán lássuk mi is az pontosan, amit ki fogunk rakni. És, hogy őszinte legyek, pont ez az egyik ok, amiért szeretem Erikson könyveit, fogalmam sincs hova fogunk jutni, de az biztos, hogy az odavezető utat nagyon élvezem.
(És ezt csak ilyen nagyon lábjegyzetben: Szerintetek kell-e orvoshoz fordulnom, amiatt, hogy a Crippled God az egyik kedvenc szereplőm lett? :D)
*Igen, így az ötödik kötetre, a sorozat közepén, mert ez tök normális. :D
Több helyen is olvastam már, és nekem is az a véleményem, hogy aki nem tudta magát átverekedni a Gardens of the Moon-on, az vegye kezébe ezt a kötetet és adjon még egy esélyt a sorozatnak. Ugyanis a Midnight Tides jóval olvasóbarátabb a korábbi köteteknél. Erikson nem átall magyarázni dolgokat, kisebb a regény fókusza, jóval kevesebb szereplőt mozgat meg és szerintem sokkal olvasmányosabb is.
A Midnight Tides egyébként a Tiste Edurok és a Letherii-k kibontakozó konfliktusát, majd pedig a kirobbanó háború történetét meséli el. Persze ennél jóval többről van szó, de ez adja a keretet. Megint sikerült a kirakósból egy darabot a helyére rakni, de messze vagyunk még attól, hogy egyáltalán lássuk mi is az pontosan, amit ki fogunk rakni. És, hogy őszinte legyek, pont ez az egyik ok, amiért szeretem Erikson könyveit, fogalmam sincs hova fogunk jutni, de az biztos, hogy az odavezető utat nagyon élvezem.
(És ezt csak ilyen nagyon lábjegyzetben: Szerintetek kell-e orvoshoz fordulnom, amiatt, hogy a Crippled God az egyik kedvenc szereplőm lett? :D)
*Igen, így az ötödik kötetre, a sorozat közepén, mert ez tök normális. :D
Ok I'm starting to really comprehend what's going on in these books (in that I understand what I don't understand, and understand that what I do understand is likely just a very limited understanding, at best.) I was worried when I started this book that it would be inconsequential to the rest of the series, which is a reasonable concern when only one "minor" character from the previous books, Trull, appears. But, while I still do not understand the full impact of the events in this book, I see how this book is defining the larger story. This book shows how the Crippled God gets his start in this world, at least partially. And while I've harped on wanting to know more about the larger story, that's not why I loved this book.
What I really loved about this book was how intimate it was. At the end of the day, it was about two sets of brothers, the Sengars and the Beddicts. And each family is constantly dealing with the choice between honor and blood. Each of them were so unique from the other and really played out well the difficult choices between family and duty. And the flip-flopping and betrayal that happens makes complete sense, and I'm interested to see how the Letherii and Tiste Edur join the larger story.
Erickson's ability to build suspense and attachment over the course of a single book is nothing short of masterful. His philosophical undertones bring a whole new level to each argument and character. And his comedy is a perfect pair with the colorful characters he creates and develops, and often the funniest characters have the most to say (ie. Kruppe and Tehol.)
Erickson continues to dazzle, and I am excited to continue my journey back to the Malazan empire with some new favorite characters (Tehol, Bugg, Fear, and Brys) in tow.
And now I'm halfway there. With war and betrayal and tragedy and definitely an obnoxious amount of new characters still on the horizon, I can't believe I'm saying this: Let's go.
What I really loved about this book was how intimate it was. At the end of the day, it was about two sets of brothers, the Sengars and the Beddicts. And each family is constantly dealing with the choice between honor and blood. Each of them were so unique from the other and really played out well the difficult choices between family and duty. And the flip-flopping and betrayal that happens makes complete sense, and I'm interested to see how the Letherii and Tiste Edur join the larger story.
Erickson's ability to build suspense and attachment over the course of a single book is nothing short of masterful. His philosophical undertones bring a whole new level to each argument and character. And his comedy is a perfect pair with the colorful characters he creates and develops, and often the funniest characters have the most to say (ie. Kruppe and Tehol.)
Erickson continues to dazzle, and I am excited to continue my journey back to the Malazan empire with some new favorite characters (Tehol, Bugg, Fear, and Brys) in tow.
And now I'm halfway there. With war and betrayal and tragedy and definitely an obnoxious amount of new characters still on the horizon, I can't believe I'm saying this: Let's go.
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
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
First of all, that cover over there is WAY better than mine. Too bad I have a whole set of the shitty "THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK" covers.
At any rate, this is the point where my re-read became a read, since MT is where I gave up previously. And it made a lot more sense, having reread the first four, but still wasn't as good as, say, MoI (high-water mark, as far as I'm concerned).
It's full of great characters (All the Sengars, all the Beddicts, etc.) but I felt like I never got quite enough, and never quite grasped what was going on with Udinaas or the Azath house. I suspect both of those plotlines will be clearer on reread.
This is barely a spoiler, but I was very disappointed that
I also thought, going in, that people must be overselling Tehol and Bugg, but they are not. Tehol Beddict might be my favorite character in anything, ever. Certainly in Malazan, and he and Bugg make an amazing team. I would buy a whole series of Tehol's Schemes and Ventures, especially if Bugg is along for the ride.
There's a lot of cool stuff here, and thinking back, I can't think of any plotlines that I didn't like--the Kettle/Azath plot was really interesting, it just lost me along the way, and Udinaas kept getting interesting just when I was like "Screw that" (although, Feather Witch, I understand your anger and frustration, but damn are you unfair to the guy).
Also amazing and introduced here (to me, anyway, I haven't done any of the ICE books): Iron Bars. Full stop.
Now looking forward to seeing our old friends in the Bonehunters...anyone that's still alive, anyway.
At any rate, this is the point where my re-read became a read, since MT is where I gave up previously. And it made a lot more sense, having reread the first four, but still wasn't as good as, say, MoI (high-water mark, as far as I'm concerned).
It's full of great characters (All the Sengars, all the Beddicts, etc.) but I felt like I never got quite enough, and never quite grasped what was going on with Udinaas or the Azath house. I suspect both of those plotlines will be clearer on reread.
This is barely a spoiler, but I was very disappointed that
Spoiler
we didn't end up where we started in HoC. It seems like the brothers Sengar are a long way from chaining Trull, which is fine, but I was really anticipating that final break and was pretty let down when it didn't come.I also thought, going in, that people must be overselling Tehol and Bugg, but they are not. Tehol Beddict might be my favorite character in anything, ever. Certainly in Malazan, and he and Bugg make an amazing team. I would buy a whole series of Tehol's Schemes and Ventures, especially if Bugg is along for the ride.
There's a lot of cool stuff here, and thinking back, I can't think of any plotlines that I didn't like--the Kettle/Azath plot was really interesting, it just lost me along the way, and Udinaas kept getting interesting just when I was like "Screw that" (although, Feather Witch, I understand your anger and frustration, but damn are you unfair to the guy).
Also amazing and introduced here (to me, anyway, I haven't done any of the ICE books): Iron Bars. Full stop.
Now looking forward to seeing our old friends in the Bonehunters...anyone that's still alive, anyway.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
Reread #1: 5 ⭐ This book is a masterpiece. The ending always wrecks me. Compared to my first readthrough of this book, I don't think I enjoyed it as much for the first 80% of the book. During my first read, I had bounced off of House of Chains pretty hard, so this one was a huge improvement comparatively. However, HoC has recently become one of my favorites of the series, so this one is not quiiiiite as much of an improvement on it as the first time I read it (if that makes sense?). Despite that, I stand by the opinion that this is one of the best of the series. The story is the most cohesive and self contained, but it packs quite the punch. I absolutely love the last 30% of the book. Steven Erikson is the best writer I have come across at making you care deeply for characters that have had, in some cases, very little page time.
________________________________
This book just became my new favorite of the Malazan series so far. This book is epic, tragic, funny, sad and every other emotion in between. The plot was never boring, and the characters were SO GOOD. My personal favorites are Tehol, Bugg, Brys, Udinaas, and Shurq. Trull was also great. I didn't care for him in House of Chains, but this book did the trick. As usual, the ending knocked it out of the park. Characters died that I really, really wanted to see live and others are off on adventures that I hope we get to see a glimpse of in future books.
5 stars!!
________________________________
This book just became my new favorite of the Malazan series so far. This book is epic, tragic, funny, sad and every other emotion in between. The plot was never boring, and the characters were SO GOOD. My personal favorites are Tehol, Bugg, Brys, Udinaas, and Shurq. Trull was also great. I didn't care for him in House of Chains, but this book did the trick. As usual, the ending knocked it out of the park. Characters died that I really, really wanted to see live
Spoiler
Brys :'(5 stars!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced