Main Storyline Elements Strong, New Storylines are Filler

books:


	• Reaper's Gale: Book Seven of The Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson Tor Books, 2008 - 832 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Main Storyline Elements Strong, New Storylines are Filler

The main storylines of this book following the situation in Letheras between the Edur and Letherii as well as the guerilla war waged by the Bonehunters when they hit the continent at about the halfway point are excellent.

That being said, is there anyone that can justify the Twilight/Shake storyline or the Redmask/Awl war as being anything more than fat to satisfy Tor's need to publish obscenely long fantasy novels?

The fifth major storyline, involving Silcas Ruin, Seren, Udinaas et al seems a bit more necessary as we push closer to the truth of what these ascendants did to the dragons way back when, but did anyone actually find any of these characters likable?

And for god's sake, can we stop inventing storylines where a character such as Quick Ben may be needed for something near the end of the book, so we are forced to spend 800 pages watching them wander a featureless, barren realm until the story needs them? This happens far too often in Erikson's books as he cannot let go of certain characters, and I am convinced that the vagueness surrounding the idea of 'ascendancy' is deliberate so that he can bring dead characters back at will.

Any chance that Toll the Hounds can focus on the main story without having to invent 300 or 400 pages of filler? Imagine, a Malazan book that wraps up in about 500 or 600 pages.

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A quick hint for the whole series

For those of you who have only been introduced to the Malazan Empire through American publishers, you should know that you can order these same books through amazon.uk.co (you get the books from Europe). Erikson's eighth (8th) book has been released and like all the others it is fantastic. I strongly urge you to order the books through the European sellers, mainly because the content has not been as edited or watered down as the American versions. If you compare his Gardens of the Moon through the UK publisher to TOR there is a significant difference in book length. He's a fantastic author. His books and Ian Cameron Esslemont's books come out ahead of time through the European vendors and are not as diluted. Plus you are not paying $65.00 for a book in the U.S. when you can pay much less through the UK site. I know that this is not a book review (they are all awesome) as much as it is advice for you to check out other amazon vendors. Sorry, I really enjoy his books, I live in NY and I always order and pre-order through amazon.uk.co to get the books ahead of time and to not have them watered down.

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Complex but worthwhile

As Erikson continues this series his stories become far more complex than the previous volumes. While not an easy, light fantasy the rewards of paying attention to everything from the poetry at the beginning of each chapter to the nuances of the characters (the many,many characters) makes the effort worthwhile. When first considering reading this series, I read a reveiw of the first book that described this body of work as a tapestry and find that it is an accurate description.

It might be an easier series of plotlines to follow if each chapter was consolidated from the many shorter scenes, but as presented it is a marvelous read. The depth of the characters is phenomemal and the story continues. I have just received my copy of Toll of the Hounds and look forward to as many more of this series as Mr. Erikson cares to write.

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Not the best in the series, but still decent.

Steven Erikson, Reaper's Gale (Tor, 2007)

Erikson finally ties the Malazan and Letherii storylines together in Reaper's Gale, the seventh entry in his Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Reaper's Gale takes place a year or so after the end of The Bonehunters, when the Letherii have grown somewhat complacent under Edur rule, and the Bonehunters have sailed for Letheras in order to avenge the wiping out of an entire Malazan island's population (the why of this is explained at one point in the book). As well, some of the rogue elements get tied back in; it seems everything's happening on Letheras these days.

As always, to read an Erikson book is to gradually get lost in the story, so totally immersed that one forgets to do things like sleep and eat. Still, this isn't Erikson's strongest work, as has been pointed out by many others; to me, however, that doesn't make it any less worth reading. Erikson has created an incredible world here, and he knows how to lay out the pieces to come up with a wonderful story. If you're already invested in the series, this one's an obvious must; if you haven't yet discovered the brilliance of Erikson, the first book in the series is Gardens of the Moon, and you should start there. ****

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History book?

This book was the first of the Malazan saga that I found myself skimming. Previous books in this series compelled more interest and a thorough reading as introductions of new fascinating arenas/characters overcame shotgun character development.

Erikson's gift in crafting a believable messy universe is undeniable. Unfortunately, a loosely common yarn he threads to present this vast realm to the readers includes too many protagonists and excessive focus on peripheral players with cryptic powers whose actions often remain perplexing before and after (even volumes later) the deeds. His style of intermixing short snippets of events from many different characters within a page or two further discourages readers' involvement.

By sacrificing character development in the previous volumes, the conclusions reached with more or less the same characters in Reaper's Gale seem impersonal and uninvolving. Often, I had to remind myself that I am reading a fantasy novel not a history book. Maybe if Erikson took Tolkien's apprach to Arda... or introduced a Thomas Covenant or two!!!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

All is not well in the Letherii Empire. Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, surrounded by sycophants and agents of his Machiavellian chancellor. Meanwhile, the Letherii secret police conduct a campaign of terror against their own people. The Errant, once a farseeing god, is suddenly blind to the future. Conspiracies seethe throughout the palace, as the empire - driven by the corrupt and self-interested - edges ever-closer to all-out war with the neighboring kingdoms. The great Edur fleet--its warriors selected from countless numbers of people--draws closer. Amongst the warriors are Karsa Orlong and Icarium Lifestealer--each destined to cross blades with the emperor himself. That yet more blood is to be spilled is inevitable... Against this backdrop, a band of fugitives seek a way out of the empire, but one of them, Fear Sengar, must find the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye. It is his hope that the soul might help halt the Tiste Edur, and so save his brother, the emperor. Yet, traveling with them is Scabandari's most ancient foe: Silchas Ruin, brother of Anomander Rake. And his motives are anything but certain - for the wounds he carries on his back, made by the blades of Scabandari, are still fresh. Fate decrees that there is to be a reckoning, for such bloodshed cannot go unanswered--and it will be a reckoning on an unimaginable scale. This is a brutal, harrowing novel of war, intrigue and dark, uncontrollable magic; this is epic fantasy at its most imaginative, storytelling at its most thrilling.

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