Mass Market Paperback, 666 pages
English language
Published Nov. 5, 2005
Dark forces gather in the Malazan Empire as Empress Laseen, malevolent ruler, turns her attention to Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, and Sergeant Whiskeyjack and Tattersail recover from the siege of Pale.
(Does putting zero stars count as the worst score?)
This is sort of a review (and more) of the magic in the series. I wrote it after finishing the third book (Memories of Ice) because that's when a lot of my thoughts on it crystalized, but the review is only using stuff from this book.
a-blog-with.relevant-information.com/posts/unabstracted_magic/
Reads like book three of a litrpg series. Names, places, and concepts all pile on with no background or explanation. Lots of contradictions.
1) Definitely dense, but with a lot of action. I think Erickson did a fine job introducing us to his world without too much exposition. Granted, it was a little confusing in parts, but by the time things really came to a head, I had it pretty well sorted out.
2) His characters are fairly strong, which is good since there are so many.
3) The balance of the "epic" scale was a little skewed. It was really hard to tell which God or God-like being was going to suddenly be more powerful. In this it reminded me a bit of Dragonball Z, with the characters suddenly powering up and showing new hidden strength, but with Malazan, it was harder to tell which was actually more powerful. Perhaps further reading will reveal that balance a bit more.
4) Meh... I'm bored of reviewing. :)
