816 p Trade Paperback (Fantasy Fiction)
This is the 9th book in the Tale of the Malazan book of Fallen series. I have been reading this series for a few years and at this point can say it is the most complcated, dense and epic story I have ever read.
Dust of Dreams starts a two book storyline. One of the interesting things about the entire series is that although the books are written in the same world, the stories aren't linear. The first two books are set on different continents and only have a couple characters in common. The timeline flows unevenly through the books. Some are set in "current" time and some hundreds of years in the past.
Erickson has a habit of dropping a reader into the middle of the story and only through lots of reading can you figure out what is happening. Sometimes it might be a few pages before you even know who you are reading about. All of this adds up to a lot for a reader to handle. In fact, I have never read anything that demands so much from a reader. I haven't started yet, but most fans of the series suggest re-reading the whole thing as it is much clearer since you have the benefit of hindsight.
Dust of Dreams follows a number of armies that are gearing up for war. A huge part of the book is following the Malazan army led by Adjunst Tavore into the wastelands. No one knows why as there doesn't seem to be a goal for this. A good part of this is spent getting to know the characters and how they are handling their current assignment. Onos Tool'an, once a T'lan Imass, but now alive leads the Barghast against whatever foe will bring back their honor and glory. A large train of children, refugees from some attack, snake across barren land looking for a means to survive. Kalyth has been chosen by the K'chain Che'Malle Matron to act as Destraint. She must set out and find a Mortal Sword and Shield Anvil to lead the armies. The last bastion of K'chain Che'Malle verges on declining into obscurity.
What I like most about Erickson's writing is his ability to take small snippets of a story and make them so appealing. All of the books have these tiny vignettes that are a beautiful work all by themselves. This is mostly because of his dramatic command of imagery. When he describes the insect like K'chain Che'Malle you can feel the oils on their bodies and the smell that fills the air around them. It is easy to get yourself into the heads of the various characters and feel like the child on the brink of starvation trudging across deserted land.
The book opens with a foreword by Erickson describing how this and the last book, The Crippled God, are intended to be one story. You can see this as a huge part of this book is character introduction (yes, still new characters in the 9th book.) and development. You can see how it is all leading up for all of the previously story lines to come together in the last book.
4 Intellectual/Emotional - It requires significant dedication to read these books and the dedication is paid off as you get involved with each of the crisscrossing stories.
3 Readability/Style - These books are huge averaging around 800 pages. I find it takes me usually a couple months to get through one which is much longer than any other books of similar style and length. Erickson's style is different than anything else I have read and that is what keeps me coming back.
3 Long Term Impact - This series is difficult to read and comprehend. The first book, Gardens of the Moon, is hard to get into and is probably the weakest of the series. With these "problems" I don't see this series ever being a huge blockbuster, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve it.
10 out of 13. This series is epic beyond anything I have heard of short of the Bible on the terms of scale and story. Only a truly dedicated reader should get into these books, but every time I finish a book a part of me wants to pick up the next one.
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