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A review by nonsenseofsight
Assail by Ian C. Esslemont
4.0
Assail is a really strong closing argument for Esslemont's Malazan series and is tied with Stormbreaker for my favorite of the bunch.
There are a couple of small quibbles holding it back from being a true five star experience (as per usual, they are almost all about clarity) but Assail brings a great deal of closure and heart to a lot of the loose ends of the mainline books.
For veterans of the series there's a certain mythos to the continent of Assail. We've been getting hints about how it's a playground of the gods and generally a "optional boss level" for the world of Malaz. For years now, I've imagined it as a kind of gameboard continent, with some sort of massive magical war raging... those were the breadcrumbs that had been left for me and I was initially really surprised at how wrong I was.
The continent of Assail is a bit more like Grimm's Fairytales cranked up to 11. There's a hillbilly side to it that echoes the Mott Irregulars (arguably the most terrifying collection of rednecks in fantasy). All of the major setpiece moments in Assail have a broadness to them. A kind of classical folklore flair that (while initially surprising) quickly becomes a joy to read through. Things are broader, simpler, and more dangerous.
Focal characters are all excellent. We finally get an explanation for why Kyle is called Kyle and thank goodness it's just an abbreviation (this particular nit bothered me more than any other in the Malazan collection of nits).
And more importantly, we get some closure on the T'lan Imass and Silverfox (this is from book five or six? of the mainline series... a long time to be left hanging).
All in all, it's a wild and interesting ride.
There are some threads that get dropped (a little romance for Kyle just sort of stops and doesn't get picked back up) and some of that characteristic Malazan muddy writing. But there's FAR less of that than the previous novels. There's a sort of smug smiling eliding over details at the very end of the book that felt unnecessary and cheap in an otherwise really strong final few chapters.
I'm glad I read through Esslemont's arc here. It's ultimately a pretty fun time. It adds even more color to the world of Malaz and while I know I'll be re-reading the mainline series several more times before I go through Hood's Gates, I'm on the fence about whether or not I'll be back to read Esslemont's through again. If I do, I may just bounce around and focus on the standouts. Assail is definitely at the top of that pile.
There are a couple of small quibbles holding it back from being a true five star experience (as per usual, they are almost all about clarity) but Assail brings a great deal of closure and heart to a lot of the loose ends of the mainline books.
For veterans of the series there's a certain mythos to the continent of Assail. We've been getting hints about how it's a playground of the gods and generally a "optional boss level" for the world of Malaz. For years now, I've imagined it as a kind of gameboard continent, with some sort of massive magical war raging... those were the breadcrumbs that had been left for me and I was initially really surprised at how wrong I was.
The continent of Assail is a bit more like Grimm's Fairytales cranked up to 11. There's a hillbilly side to it that echoes the Mott Irregulars (arguably the most terrifying collection of rednecks in fantasy). All of the major setpiece moments in Assail have a broadness to them. A kind of classical folklore flair that (while initially surprising) quickly becomes a joy to read through. Things are broader, simpler, and more dangerous.
Focal characters are all excellent. We finally get an explanation for why Kyle is called Kyle and thank goodness it's just an abbreviation (this particular nit bothered me more than any other in the Malazan collection of nits).
And more importantly, we get some closure on the T'lan Imass and Silverfox (this is from book five or six? of the mainline series... a long time to be left hanging).
All in all, it's a wild and interesting ride.
There are some threads that get dropped (a little romance for Kyle just sort of stops and doesn't get picked back up) and some of that characteristic Malazan muddy writing. But there's FAR less of that than the previous novels. There's a sort of smug smiling eliding over details at the very end of the book that felt unnecessary and cheap in an otherwise really strong final few chapters.
I'm glad I read through Esslemont's arc here. It's ultimately a pretty fun time. It adds even more color to the world of Malaz and while I know I'll be re-reading the mainline series several more times before I go through Hood's Gates, I'm on the fence about whether or not I'll be back to read Esslemont's through again. If I do, I may just bounce around and focus on the standouts. Assail is definitely at the top of that pile.