Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson

829 pg (Trade Paperback) Fantasy Fiction

This is the 8^th book in the Malazan series. At this point in the series I am fully mired into the story and have a better understanding of the characters, the world and how they are connected, but I am still lost on some of what is going on.

Toll the Hounds focuses mainly on the city of Darujhistan. In the book we learn more about familiar characters such as Kruppe, Cutter, Ikaral Pust, Picker, Blend, Anomander Rake, Samar Dev, Karsa Orlong and well as others. 

Karsa and Samar Dev head towards Darujhistan with a secretive character known as Traveller. Cutter gets involved with Challice who we last saw in the very first book. Anomander Rake leads in the city of Black Coral. As with all of the books in this series new characters are added and some familiar characters aren't mentioned at all. A side story line follows a young man named Harllo as he works in the mines near the city eventually leading to his escape attempt.We also get to see a lot of what is going on within the sword Dragnipur. Mappo is a shareholder in the Trygalle Trade Guild and we get to see more of what that all entails. The book seems ill-named throughout most of the book because the Hounds of Shadow are barely mentioned in the interactions of Shadowthrone and Cotillion. I'll just let you know that in the end we aren't disappointed.

Erikson is never an easy read. He expects, as a reader, that you work to understand all that is going on. In fact, I would say even the most dedicated of readers couldn't claim to grasp it all on the first read. The general consensus seems to indicate that rereading the books is more rewarding than the first time through. This seems to be more true in Toll the Hounds than in the other books save the first. Following the individuals tales within the book were easy to follow, but it connections to the whole story seem to stem mostly from the first book which I read over two years ago. Where it shines is where all of Erikson's books shine in the small scenes he presents. I enjoy getting a bite of a story that could be a short story all its own.

3 Emotional/Intellectual - The story seems to move forward the most regarding Anomander Rake and the City of Darujhistan the most.

3 Style/Readability - This was a bit harder to get through then previous books in the series, but Erikson is a master storyteller and even though I may not grasp all that is going on I still am enjoying the ride.

3 Long Term Impact - I have said this before. Erikson is a niche within a niche. Fantasy books overall are enjoying popularity beyond what they have ever experienced  Erikson is a difficult read within that genre. I think this will always keep him to the fringe of popularity. That said he deserves more recognition than he is getting.

9 out of 13. I feel like this book was transitional. That it told us a lot to lead us to what happens next. That isn't to say nothing happens, just that it has built up my interest by setting the stage for what will happen next.

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