775 pages (Fantasy Fiction) Trade Paperback
This is the third book in the Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Erikson has been jumping around from continent to continent with each book. This book brings us back to most of the characters in the first book and continues their story on Genabackis. As the book goes on you realize that for the most part this is coinciding with the events that happened in the second book.
The Pannion Seer has raised an enormous army in the south. He brought about the Tenescowri, an army of people that have been driven to the brink of starvation, to the point of cannibalism. The battle centers itself in the city of Capustan. The local defenders known as the Grey Swords are set to defend themselves. A huge portion of the book focuses on how the members of the various armies and tribes start to sort themselves out. An uneasy alliance is formed between Dujek’s Army, Anomander Rake and the Tiste Andii, Silverfox and the T’lan Imass and Caladan Brood. They decide to join forces to work against the overwhelming armies of the Pannion Seer and his Tenescowri.
On the side, Toc the Younger, Tool the T’lan Imass, Lady Envy and three Seguleh warriors are traversing through Pannion lands.
Erikson method of dropping you into the middle of the story is slightly less abrupt in this book. The reader has the benefit of knowing some of the characters from the first book. He also tends to stick with a group for a bit longer. He at least references a few at a time before jumping off into something unrelated.
I enjoyed reading the book and many nights stayed up late finding out what would happen next. If you have been dedicated enough to come this far in the series I think you will be well rewarded to continue.
I am actually writing this about a month after finishing the book and have been reading a couple other things. I have taken a small break from Erikson, but will jump back in soon.
4 Emotional-Intellectual: His characters have depth and the twists and turns of the story keep most any reading enriched in the story.
3 Style Readability: The overall arching story still hasn’t been fleshed out. The reader continually finds out more about the different players. This book had the most momentum of all the books so far.
3 Long Term: As I said previously, Erikson certainly has the potential to have a long term impact on the fantasy genre. If people become interested in his work he will hold up for years to come.
10 out of 13. Overall, I enjoyed the second book more, but I am excited to see what happens as this epic moves forward.
