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thirdsaint 's review for:
Dust of Dreams
by Steven Erikson
It's widely known that Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God were supposed to be one book. Seeing as these cement block paperweights are both so hefty, it makes sense they were split up. I'm going to treat them as two separate books for now even though Dust of Dreams's ending feels like the middle and there's no epilogue, plus no Prologue in The Crippled God. Really, Dust of Dreams ends with a "To Be Continued..." feel like a two-part movie. Kind of like Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 or Dune Parts 1 & 2.
Right off the bat, I was thoroughly entertained by a critical Deck of Dragons reading that provided some hijinks before and serious implications after. I suspect, on a reread of this series, I will thoroughly enjoy every Deck of Dragons reading to see if I can spot the meaning of each since I know what's coming. This one did not disappoint. Gratefully, Tehol & Bugg shine again and I wish we saw them more. The most curious new plot thread is "The Snake". I still have no idea what exactly I'm reading and feel like I'm missing a ton of clues but I look forward to finding the payoff in the next book. That's the thing with this entry, a lot of threads aren't going to be finished and mostly in the middle of their arcs. That could be frustrating for a reader if you don't have proper expectations set, a common theme with the Malazan series as a whole.
Another major part is POV chapters involving everyone's favorite dino class. These parts were tougher to get through and, while they expound on the lore for the race, required great patience to see the payoff. Even then, it's always a bold choice by an author to have POV sections from races other than humans that feel so different. One positive, these parts provided answers for some questions I had going back a few books ago and helped a lot of events make more sense. Yet another reason why a reread will be rewarding and I am certain I will embark on in the distant future. One of my favorite moments was early in the book when there was an Elder God Social going on and… I actually understand what was being said and not said! It only took 9 books to understand the subtext of a deep conversation! I had a blast, and again, rereads are going to be fun.
Of course, I'm big on Malazan soldier banter and there's no shortage of it here. Despite Dust of Dreams being probably the second bleakest book with a ton of dark content, there's a fair amount of humor to keep the reader going before their punched in the face by another gut-wrenching section. Speaking of which, Chapter 15 is the most brutal chapter in the entire series and is famous (or infamous) as a result. It's... well... not for the faint of heart. I honestly skimmed through the descriptive bits as I don't care to read that stuff in any context but my heart was broken all the same.
One of the most amazing developments as this series had gone on, for me, has been how Erikson can create a compassion in me for some of the worst of people/characters/gods that I thought were beyond all hope. It's not done in an unbelievable or cliche way either. Compassion is the banner theme of this series and everything Erikson does with it is something people can write their thesis on for years. When those moments of compassion happen, sometimes from the unlikeliest of places, it's hard not to be moved to tears or feel strong visceral reactions when the opposite happens.
As for the final battle(s), well, all I have to say is Erikson has some serious guts to pull off what he did. There wouldn't be many authors that would have such a momentous battle with many potential casualties and have it feel like such a random act. I feel like a lot of authors, when you read their stories, can be a bit too predictable where you can draw clear lines from Point A to B to C and see how it will all line up before you get to the halfway point. The plot points and action set pieces feel telegraphed. This is definitely not the case with Malazan and especially not Dust of Dreams. With Erikson, sometimes it feels like you are at Point A and you can see Point D is further down the line but everything in between is cast in a shroud of fog that you won't see until you are upon it. Throughout the entire novel, there's this overwhelming sense of foreboding doom and no one knows what it is. When it hits... well... I felt as disoriented and angry as the characters. All of this sets up what promises to be a thrilling conclusion with The Crippled God.
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Gardens of the Moon - 9.0/10
Deadhouse Gates - 9.5/10
Memories of Ice - 10/10
House of Chains - 10/10
Midnight Tides - 8.5/10
The Bonehunters - 10/10
Reaper's Gale - 9.5/10
Toll the Hounds - 10/10
Dust of Dreams - 9.5/10
The Crippled God - 10/10
Right off the bat, I was thoroughly entertained by a critical Deck of Dragons reading that provided some hijinks before and serious implications after. I suspect, on a reread of this series, I will thoroughly enjoy every Deck of Dragons reading to see if I can spot the meaning of each since I know what's coming. This one did not disappoint. Gratefully, Tehol & Bugg shine again and I wish we saw them more. The most curious new plot thread is "The Snake". I still have no idea what exactly I'm reading and feel like I'm missing a ton of clues but I look forward to finding the payoff in the next book. That's the thing with this entry, a lot of threads aren't going to be finished and mostly in the middle of their arcs. That could be frustrating for a reader if you don't have proper expectations set, a common theme with the Malazan series as a whole.
Another major part is POV chapters involving everyone's favorite dino class. These parts were tougher to get through and, while they expound on the lore for the race, required great patience to see the payoff. Even then, it's always a bold choice by an author to have POV sections from races other than humans that feel so different. One positive, these parts provided answers for some questions I had going back a few books ago and helped a lot of events make more sense. Yet another reason why a reread will be rewarding and I am certain I will embark on in the distant future. One of my favorite moments was early in the book when there was an Elder God Social going on and… I actually understand what was being said and not said! It only took 9 books to understand the subtext of a deep conversation! I had a blast, and again, rereads are going to be fun.
Of course, I'm big on Malazan soldier banter and there's no shortage of it here. Despite Dust of Dreams being probably the second bleakest book with a ton of dark content, there's a fair amount of humor to keep the reader going before their punched in the face by another gut-wrenching section. Speaking of which, Chapter 15 is the most brutal chapter in the entire series and is famous (or infamous) as a result. It's... well... not for the faint of heart. I honestly skimmed through the descriptive bits as I don't care to read that stuff in any context but my heart was broken all the same.
One of the most amazing developments as this series had gone on, for me, has been how Erikson can create a compassion in me for some of the worst of people/characters/gods that I thought were beyond all hope. It's not done in an unbelievable or cliche way either. Compassion is the banner theme of this series and everything Erikson does with it is something people can write their thesis on for years. When those moments of compassion happen, sometimes from the unlikeliest of places, it's hard not to be moved to tears or feel strong visceral reactions when the opposite happens.
As for the final battle(s), well, all I have to say is Erikson has some serious guts to pull off what he did. There wouldn't be many authors that would have such a momentous battle with many potential casualties and have it feel like such a random act. I feel like a lot of authors, when you read their stories, can be a bit too predictable where you can draw clear lines from Point A to B to C and see how it will all line up before you get to the halfway point. The plot points and action set pieces feel telegraphed. This is definitely not the case with Malazan and especially not Dust of Dreams. With Erikson, sometimes it feels like you are at Point A and you can see Point D is further down the line but everything in between is cast in a shroud of fog that you won't see until you are upon it. Throughout the entire novel, there's this overwhelming sense of foreboding doom and no one knows what it is. When it hits... well... I felt as disoriented and angry as the characters. All of this sets up what promises to be a thrilling conclusion with The Crippled God.
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Gardens of the Moon - 9.0/10
Deadhouse Gates - 9.5/10
Memories of Ice - 10/10
House of Chains - 10/10
Midnight Tides - 8.5/10
The Bonehunters - 10/10
Reaper's Gale - 9.5/10
Toll the Hounds - 10/10
Dust of Dreams - 9.5/10
The Crippled God - 10/10