Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)

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Memories of Ice (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #3)

4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 · rating details · 10,282 ratings · 347 reviews

The ravaged continent of Genabackis has given birth to a terrifying new empire: the Pannion Domin. Like a tide of corrupted blood, it seethes across the land, devouring all. In its path stands an uneasy alliance: Onearm's army and Whiskeyjack's Bridgeburners alongside their enemies of old--the forces of the Warlord Caladan Brood, Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii mages, a...more

Mass Market Paperback, 944 pages

Published August 1st 2006 by Tor Fantasy (first published 2001)

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May 05, 2013 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy

This review is from my first read. I will edit below shortly my thoughts after reading a second time. Needless to say, going from four stars to five should give you enough indication as to my thoughts.

Story: 4/5

1: Being Vague, rambling plot with no little believable storyline
5: Ripping yarn, clever, thought provoking

Easily my favorite in the series so far. The whole series is an epic in story telling. It is not possible to do it justice in describing it here in a book review.
The story brought...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Fantasist rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, speculative-fiction, favorites, masterwork, millitary

I damn near drowned in the endless torrents of emotion that comprised this book. I was elated, drunken and dizzy while reading. It was like I had stopped existing within myself and lived within the memories of ice. Dead House Gates and this together make for a truly majestic experience....

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Feb 09, 2013 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, canadian-authors-translators, fantasy-scifi, modern-literature, favorites, read-in-2011, malazan-book-of-the-fallen, favorite-rereads, read-in-2013

Memories of Ice is the third installment in Steven Erikson's brilliant fantasy series, "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" (MBotF). And now after completing my third reread of Memories of Ice I'm still convinced that this book may well be my favorite of the entire MBotF series. Memories of Ice is a big, big story, and the cliche 'epic' really doesn't do it, or even the series, justice. I think that it is in reading Memories of Ice that the reader really first begins to start seeing the full breadth...more

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May 07, 2013 Duffy Pratt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, shared-world

First read - 7/10/10 This was easily my favorite so far in the series. There was easily enough in this book for two shorter books, and I sometimes wonder why Erikson doesn't break up his books into shorter chunks. As it is, the books are enormous, and in the previous books, I've sometimes felt either lost or weighed down. That didn't happen here. But I guess the trend of epic fantasy has been longer books and longer series, and if that's so, then Erikson is right up there with the longest and th...more First read - 7/10/10 This was easily my favorite so far in the series. There was easily enough in this book for two shorter books, and I sometimes wonder why Erikson doesn't break up his books into shorter chunks. As it is, the books are enormous, and in the previous books, I've sometimes felt either lost or weighed down. That didn't happen here. But I guess the trend of epic fantasy has been longer books and longer series, and if that's so, then Erikson is right up there with the longest and the longest.

What sets this book apart is that it had emotionally satisfying endings. Here, not only at the end, but there was also a point in the middle of the book that could have acted as the same (after the amazing siege). Not only that, but after 3000 pages, I feel like I'm really getting to understand some of the characters, and also feel like I have some grounding in the way this fantasy world works.

There's still an annoying tendency to hide information and/or motivations, for what simply seems the sake of hiding it. But I felt that there was less of that here than elsewhere. And in some parts, it became clear that part of the reason for the "hiding" was because the characters themselves don't understand what's going on. One great example was towards the end (Minor Spoiler Coming) when one new "Mortal Sword" has a conversation with another more experienced "Mortal Sword". Part of the conversation is about what it means to be a "Mortal Sword," and ultimately neither one of them have a clue. It was a great conversation, and one of my favorite moments in the book.

Overall, Erikson shows here that he not only has a good sense of tragedy (which was on display in the previous books), but he can also carry off elegy in a very satisfying way. This book has at least four resolutions that I found to be very, very satisfying. The satisfaction came because Erikson seems to be getting better and better at writing characters and making me care for them.

I have some other books to attend to before I turn to the next mammoth volume in this series. But I'm now pretty confident that I will be sticking with this series all the way through.

On Reread: This book was the turning point for me the first time through the series (or I should say the first eight books - I still haven't read the last two). After reading it, I finally became convinced that Erikson had a masterful command of what he was doing. On re-reading, the most I can manage to say is that I'm even more amazed at what Erikson has done. When all is said and done, this series is over 3 million words long. The confusion that I had at the beginning stems mostly from the book being so tightly written. Just imagine what it takes to envision a work that's over 3 million words long and have the main problem for readers be that the writing may be too concise. The mind boggles.

(less)

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Jul 09, 2008 Guy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy, have-read-more-than-once

Tears in my eyes at the end of this one. Beautifully crafted, unexpected twists and turns, new vistas opening up in every direction: this is a deep story. We are finally (not a complaint) starting to get a feel for the outlines of the underlying conflict here, as well as who the main characters (past and present) are likely to be. Unlike one of the other reviewers here, my chief complaint is that, even at 1180 pages, the book is too short.

I am... impressed. Erikson is better, perhaps, than even...more

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May 31, 2012 Zero Restrictions Alfonso rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Aug 27, 2008 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Brian by: Chuck and Willie Siros

I just finished Memories of Ice, book three of Steven Erikson’s The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The book returns us to the characters we know from the first book, Gardens of the Moon, but we see little of the characters we met in book two, Deadhouse Gates, beyond a few cameos.

It’s good stuff. The books are thick, as is the fashion in fantasy novels following the mad success of Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Still, don’t expect anything like Jordan’s stories here. Nor is it much like Martin’s Gam...more

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May 05, 2013 Maggie K rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

October 2010: I truly loved this book-My all-time favorite Malazan novel. I wanted to give it more stars, my only issue was there was something I couldn't figure out-- why Rake would destroy Moon's Spawn...it just didnt make sense to me.
Otherwise I LOVED this book, it's my favorite Malazan read. There were three times I actually started crying, I was so moved. And I mean crying-I bawled like a baby at one point-thank god I was at home!
Truly my favorite book ever! Malazan addict!

March 2013: Upon...more

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Nov 18, 2007 Tina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, sff-fantasy

The third book of Steve Erikson's Malazan series picks up where the first book left off. The Empress Laseen has outlawed Whiskyjack, the Bridgeburners, and Dujek Onearm after their failure to capture the jeweled city of Darujistan. The seasoned soldiers are not long out of work. On the continent of Genabackis there is word of a terrifying new threat. A deranged prophet known as the Pannion Seer is on the march with a massive army of powerful mages, undead lethal warriors and thousands of canniba...more The third book of Steve Erikson's Malazan series picks up where the first book left off. The Empress Laseen has outlawed Whiskyjack, the Bridgeburners, and Dujek Onearm after their failure to capture the jeweled city of Darujistan. The seasoned soldiers are not long out of work. On the continent of Genabackis there is word of a terrifying new threat. A deranged prophet known as the Pannion Seer is on the march with a massive army of powerful mages, undead lethal warriors and thousands of cannibalistic zealots. He has set his sights on the city of Capustan to conquer the city and for its citizens to serve as food for his ravening hordes.

Realizing that the city's lone defenders, The Grey Swords, are woefully outmatched, Whiskeyjack and Dujek offer assistance. Because there are other more powerful forces propelling the Pannion, former enemies of the Malazans also offer alliance. The Warlord Caladan Brood and the mysterious Tiste Andii named Anomander Rake march with WhiskeyJack and Dujek to Capustan amidst an uneasy truce.

In the midst of this, the child, Silverfox is aging at a rapid rate as she attempts to fulfill her destiny. Ganoes Paran learns the price of having walked within the sword Dragnipur, a tribe is reunited with their Gods, an ancient wrong is righted, ordinary people become heroic, heroes are shown that they are all too human and a mortal man attempts to save a God.

Right from the start in the first book where we are plopped in the middle of a devastating war and see a young girl possessed with the spirit of a deadly assassin, we are immediately wrapped up in the lives and fortunes of a great many interesting people. There is Whiskeyjack the beloved leader, who is weary of war and politics. There is Tattersail the clever mage whose reincarnation comes at a devastating price. There is Ganoes Paran , once a pawn to be played, becomes a master of the game. There is the fat, affable Kruppe who confounds everyone he meets. There is the mysterious (and wonderfully monikered) Anomander Rake, who has untold powers and hinted at sorrow. There is Empress Laseen, who may not be as evil as we think. And there is Quick Ben, who has many surprises up his sleeve.

Although the subject matter of bloody, horrible war (along with rape, torture, cannibalism and possible world destruction) can be quite heavy, there is still humor and wonder in his writing. I like the world he has built. I like the deep history that we learn as the stories progress. I like the idea of the Deck of Dragons where the hierarchy of Gods manifests itself in a deck of cards. And I especially like the fact that while I am pretty sure whom to root for, I am not always sure whom I should root against. Even the seemingly unsympathetic characters may have good reasons to do what they do.

While I did read the books in order, I found that I actually had to go back and reread the first book in order to bring myself up to speed for this third one. The second book takes a bit of a detour and, rather than picking up right where the first book left off, it instead follows the story of Ganoes Paran's sister, Felisin and her travels in the deserts of the Seven Cities. While this was a bit of interruption in the action, it does whet the appetite for the eventual reunion of the two siblings both of whom have undergone both physical and metaphysical changes. (less)

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Mar 18, 2013 Kris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book 3 of the Malazan Empire series by Steve Erikson continues this gritty action filled adventure. In this story we learn more about the over arching plot line that is threaded through out the story and the plot with in plot with in plot that makes it up. Also through the action of the story we learn a lot more about the most powerful characters from Anomander Rake, Caladan Brood, and assorted gods and mages to the soldiers of the "outlawed" Malazan army. The story itself is about the attack on...more

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May 07, 2007 Brahm rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Malazan fans

Shelves: fantasy

Although Memories of Ice is considered by many to be the best of the Malazan books, I found it to be the weakest. This is so because of the following reasons:

-The Mhybe storyline: Literally 150 pages of a character whining with nothing important happening. It is perfectly credible that given the Mhybe's situation she would be upset and give into self pity. But why do we need so many pages going over this?

-Inane Bridgeburners banter: Pages upon pages of the Bridgeburner characters talking about n...more Although Memories of Ice is considered by many to be the best of the Malazan books, I found it to be the weakest. This is so because of the following reasons:

-The Mhybe storyline: Literally 150 pages of a character whining with nothing important happening. It is perfectly credible that given the Mhybe's situation she would be upset and give into self pity. But why do we need so many pages going over this?

-Inane Bridgeburners banter: Pages upon pages of the Bridgeburner characters talking about nothing. Erikson's humour can be very hit or miss, and here its a complete miss that wastes pages before your eyes.

-Irrelevant storylines: Although Erikson can nearly always stand his page count lowered, here it is more apparent, specifically in the storyline of Korbal Broach. It has nothing to do with any other characters, nor does it impact the plot in any way, though it can be amusing. I understand that there are novelettes devoted to the character, but here he makes an already overlong book even more so.

-Its just too fucking much. The climax at Corel is so completely over the top, even for Erikson. There comes a point when he needs to limit himself. See the climaxes of Deadhouse Gates and Midnight Tides for examples of limits and excellence coinciding.

-Kruppe. Anyone who has read the book will know why.

-The Crippled God. Namely, this book suffers from being released before Midnight Tides, which acts as a prequel and explains the Crippled God's rise. Here, an entity we have only heard mention of over the first two books becomes the series villain and completely domineering in the space of 20 pages. No build up whatsoever.

Thats not to say that there are no positives. The entire section dealing with the siege of Capustan is beautifully written, and is the best account of a siege/military operation you're likely to get in fantasy. Certain characters, like Ganoes Paran and Whiskeyjack, are characterized more coherently than in Gardens of the Moon. In all though, Memories is the worst Malazan book so far, and could be vastly improved by cutting out 200 pages or so.(less)

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Jan 26, 2009 Jana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is certainly my favourite in the series so far. I did not really care that much for any of the characters in the first two books, but the third one totally changed my attitude towards most of them. The events in "Memories of Ice" left me wide-eyed and open-mouthed and crying for my mommie. I don't believe that anyone really stays dead in the Malazan Books of the Fallen, so I look forward to the next installment fervently hoping to see all my favourites again (or in the one after that)...in...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Tim Frye rated it 4 of 5 stars

In some respects, I found this one to be a little slower and more disjointed. The cool ideas are still here (and in fact, appearing more and more often) but I found myself getting bogged down in the third act. Memories of Ice has a lot more of a Glen Cook flavor than either of the previous books, with a prevalence of Mercenary companies. I would say that admiringly that Erickson is not afraid to kill off big-name main characters, but with the rampant apotheosis in these books, one wonders how lo...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Series 6/30/08 - 9/10
The Malazan series is one of the better fantasy series I've read in a while. It's extremely densely plotted, in a very vast and detailed world. Each book takes a new jump that leaves you wondering. Sometimes the books can be a little tough to follow and the characters are not the most detailed, but I really enjoyed these books overall. I can't wait to reread and catch up with the newer books I haven't read yet.

For more info, check out:

Malazan on wikipedia
Malazan Site
Malazan ...more

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Mar 25, 2009 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Erikson doesn't give you a lot of time to breath in stories. There is always something important happening or preparing to happen. You can skim over some of the descriptive fluff if that's your style but don't skim for more than a paragraph or two lest you miss the opening to a great confluence of peoples or events that set the stage for even greater moments.

So far in the three books we have met the forces of the Malazan Empire, the people of Pale (who fought the Malazan's), the people of Darujh...more

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May 18, 2013 ChrisF rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: good-fantasy

So far in the Malazan Book of the Fallen, Memories of Ice is my favorite. The story seemed to have more coherency and a more linear/understandable plot line. Characters and threads from previous books make an entrance, which I enjoyed, especially the stories centered around Silverfox and and Rake. I really think Erikson hit his stride with character growth and the intertwining of gods, humans, and whatever else he decided to throw in the mix. The differences and similarities between races and so...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Davit Abuladze rated it 5 of 5 stars

5/5
საუკეთესო სოუ ფარ მთელს სერიაში, ჩეინ ოფ დოგსის დონის ნაწილი არ ურევია მაგრამ საერთო ჯამში ბევრად უფრო კარგი სთორი და მეტი ძლიერი ჩარაქტერია.
დალშე სპოილერი
პროლოგიდანვე ჩანდა რომ ჯაგუტებზე ბევრად მეტს გავიგებდით ამ წიგნში და მართლაც ასე აღმოჩნდა, KCCM-ები დიდად არ მომწონან, ეს მატრონის სისტემა და რამე, თუმცა მგონი მოვიცილეთსავით სერიიდან.
კაპუსტანის სთორი მთლიანად კარგი იყო, ნუ მორტალ სვორდმა რომ თავი შეაკლა ეგ საკმაოდ ცუდი გადაწყვეტილება იყო მაგრამ წიგნის ბოლოს ისეთები ქნეს მაგას ვინ ჩიოდა......more 5/5
საუკეთესო სოუ ფარ მთელს სერიაში, ჩეინ ოფ დოგსის დონის ნაწილი არ ურევია მაგრამ საერთო ჯამში ბევრად უფრო კარგი სთორი და მეტი ძლიერი ჩარაქტერია.
დალშე სპოილერი
პროლოგიდანვე ჩანდა რომ ჯაგუტებზე ბევრად მეტს გავიგებდით ამ წიგნში და მართლაც ასე აღმოჩნდა, KCCM-ები დიდად არ მომწონან, ეს მატრონის სისტემა და რამე, თუმცა მგონი მოვიცილეთსავით სერიიდან.
კაპუსტანის სთორი მთლიანად კარგი იყო, ნუ მორტალ სვორდმა რომ თავი შეაკლა ეგ საკმაოდ ცუდი გადაწყვეტილება იყო მაგრამ წიგნის ბოლოს ისეთები ქნეს მაგას ვინ ჩიოდა...
BB-ები ძალიან, ძალიან, ძალიან მაგრები იყვნენ თითქმის ყველა, ბოლოში Whiskeyjack-ზე მეტად მაგათი სიკვდილი მეწყინა და ნუ სხვების რეაქციამ საერთოდ დეპრესიაში ჩამაგდო.
ბრადი და რეიკი უფრო საინტერესო პერსონაჟებად გამოჩნდნენ და ისეთი აე-აე მაგარი ვარ სასტავი აღარაა, კალორი მიუხედავად იმისა რომ ცუდი ტიპია, ძალიან საინტერესო იყო, ფაქტიურად ყველა სცენა სადაც კალორი იყო ინტერესით გადავიკითხე, mhybe-სგან და სილვერფოქსიგან განსხვავებით.
ლედი ენვის სასტავი მთლიანად კარგი იყო, განსაკუთრებით ტულმა რაც ქნა ბოლოში ის...
მოკლედ თუ სხვა წიგნებში 5 საუკეთესო პერსონაჟის გამორჩევისას საერთოდ არ მიფიქრია, აქ მაგრად გამიჭირდა ხუთეულის გამორჩევა. ბრიჯბარნერები მთლიანად საოცარი სასტავია, გრანტლს და სონის არაუშავდათ, ჰეტანი ძალიან სასაცილო იყო, ნუ საერთოდ იუმორის მხრივ ძალიან მაგარი იყო, ბრიჯბარნერები განსაკუთრებით.
5. Itkovian Otanthalian
4. Ganoes Paran
3. Whiskeyjack
2. Onos T'oolan
1. Quick Ben

გული მწყდება ისევ სევენ სითის რომ უნდა დავუბრუნდეთ და იმ 2 დის დაპირისპირებას ვუყუროთ, იმედია მაპო, კალამი, იკარიუმი და ახალი პერსონაჟები გამოასწორებენ საქმეს. (less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Chris Giauque rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well, I finished another one. I'm still quite ambivalent about this series. I gave this four stars simply because I liked it better than the previous two. It has many of the same flaws I've complained about before - very obscure storytelling, a vast cast of poorly distinguished characters, and a tone that is still unrelentingly, determinedly, forcefully grim grim grim. I don't think even a single character ever laughs, let alone the reader. There may be an occasional smile, but as often as not,...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Richard-steven Williams rated it 2 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but Memories of Ice falls far short of the bar set by Deadhouse Gates. Erikson seems to like telling everyone how much he has defied convention in the way he sets his narrative up (read the authors foreword in the recent edition of Gardens of the Moon). However, I disagree, this whole instalment feels like 600 pages of exposition spaced by a few vignettes where, quite often, very little happens.

Unlike the previous novels, the characters often seem to...more I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but Memories of Ice falls far short of the bar set by Deadhouse Gates. Erikson seems to like telling everyone how much he has defied convention in the way he sets his narrative up (read the authors foreword in the recent edition of Gardens of the Moon). However, I disagree, this whole instalment feels like 600 pages of exposition spaced by a few vignettes where, quite often, very little happens.

Unlike the previous novels, the characters often seem to be just standing around, thinking... externally, often and quite frustratingly in italics. Literally huge swathes of the narrative are written in italics because no book ever has been able to illustrate a characters internal monologue without resorting to italics.

Action occasionally bookends these moments, but for the most part very little happens as the novel grinds inexorably to the battle it has been leading up to from the very beginning. Old enemies join allegiance easily and Erikson resorts to somewhat contrived methods to move his story arc forwards. Specifically, various characters continued visions-upon-visions which get tiresome, fast.

At times I felt Erikson had lost the reins of the vast pantheon of characters he has established. As a reader it's very difficult to follow exactly what is going on without continually referring to the personae dramatis and I couldn't help but feel this story would have benefited had some of the fat been cut away.

Erikson has obviously created a massive work or outstanding world building, but Memories of Ice reads a bit like an encyclopaedia of his imagination. A book of names and histories, a Doomsday book for the series where names are checked and places are travelled to.

Memories of Ice is a difficult one to review. Mid-series, you often find books that just act as information dumps and unfortunately that's how Memories of Ice felt to me, quite the contrary to the authors own blustering pretensions of how alternate his modes of storytelling are.

I rarely get much of a chance to read, snippets in the day usually and I'm beginning to feel this series isn't suitable for people who can't dedicate chunks of time everyday to read. There's so (too) many characters and so many plot lines that without continued reading it's easy to lose the thread. With that said, and as another reviewer alluded to, the sheer weight of exposition in this novel doesn't make it a page turner neither.

I'm hoping the next novel sees a return to the kind of form Deadhouse Gates saw, otherwise I'll probably stop trying to comprehend what is actually going on within the canon and move on to a series that knows how to follow a story arc without continual deviation from its central characters.(less)

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Nov 25, 2012 Andy Cox rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

In his previous two books set in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, Erikson showed the promise of what he was capable of. Finally, in Memories of Ice, he truly hits his stride.

The structure of the Malazan Book of the Fallen is a bit odd: Book 2 (Deadhouse Gates) follows Book 1 (Gardens of the Moon) but features largely different characters in a different situation. Book 3 (this one) is a direct sequel to Book 1, but takes place simultaneously alongside Book 2 and the ending sets up some even...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Onefinemess rated it 3 of 5 stars

The cover copy should just say “Shit happens.” Nothing that can be said in the space of a single page could really cover all the craziness in between these covers. Meaning: It’s “business as usual” in Malazan book #3.

Seriously though, now I *really* know why the back cover copy for these books was always so off-putting to me. It’s… like a wordsearch made up of cross-sections of the book.

A) It can’t possibly cover what is going on and

B) I wouldn’t understand any of it without reading the other bo...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Forrest rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cbr4

I really shouldn’t have started the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Every book sets me another two weeks behind my reading quota and now I’m in a situation where I have to read 10 books in 6 weeks. It’s not just that the books are long, though they are. It’s the nearly insane level of detail that Erikson puts into every single protagonist. Where Neil Stephenson fills with exposition, Erikson stuffs to the brim with personal narrative. I do really enjoy the level of detail that he puts into all of th...more I really shouldn’t have started the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Every book sets me another two weeks behind my reading quota and now I’m in a situation where I have to read 10 books in 6 weeks. It’s not just that the books are long, though they are. It’s the nearly insane level of detail that Erikson puts into every single protagonist. Where Neil Stephenson fills with exposition, Erikson stuffs to the brim with personal narrative. I do really enjoy the level of detail that he puts into all of these fascinating characters, but it takes me forever to work through the chapters and gods help me if I try to read before bed.

Memories of Ice draws heavily upon the established continuity of the series, picking up a few months after the concluding events of Gardens of the Moon and following the other pack of protagonists that were spun off to fight the growing threat of the Pannion Domin. It is almost easier to look at the protagonists in terms of the factions they belong to. The Malazan Empire is represented by Dujek Onearm, exiled commander and former leader of the Genabackis Invasion. Under him are the Bridgeburners, who we were introduced to in Gardens and a small collection of incredibly powerful supernatural… people. The armies of Caladan Brood, who had been the Malazan’s most dangerous enemies on Genabackis, make unlikely allies against the Pannion armies, and the Tiste Andii reappear as the third leg of this somewhat unstable alliance.

But as in Deadhouse Gates the main protagonist emerges from an unexpected direction. Itkovian is the second (or maybe third) in command of the mercenary group, the Grey Swords. His army has been hired to defend the city of Capustan from the oncoming Pannion forces, and while the Pannions boast immense numerical superiority, Iktovian is confident that the Grey Swords can hold the city until the coalition forces arrive. The siege itself takes up most of the first five hundred pages and is emotionally wrenching enough to warrant its own book.

Erikson doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war in a fantasy setting. The Malazans’ signature explosives are devastating to read about, and the effects of magic can be just as unnerving. But as bad as the everyday horrors are, the Pannion armies are guilty of some of the worst war crimes ever committed. Among their number are the Tenescrowri, an army made up of starving peasants who murder, rape and eat their victims as they pull cities to the ground and slowly starve to death. Depictions of the Tenescrowri are thankfully brief, but are deeply disturbing. In spite of the ick factor, these terrible images never feel out of place in the battle against what is effectively pure evil.

Memories has a few of the problems that Gardens had. There are more protagonists this time around and while the action is more centralized, there are enough side stories being told that it becomes very easy to get lost. The was probably a symptom of reading it on an e-reader, but there were times when I would turn the page, the scene would shift with practically no preamble and I would end up with no idea where I was any more. This isn’t helped by Erikson’s desire to explore everyone’s psychology or internal monologue. There are clearly primary and secondary protagonists in the book, but everyone seems to get equal time for personal reflection or just musing on the horrors of the war.

Thankfully, Erikson does finally take some time to explain the fantastical mechanics of his world. The nature of the magical Warrens, the role of the gods and ascended beings and the probable endgame of the series are all revealed and discussed for pretty much the first time. The much needed exposition goes a long way to unravel some of the mysteries that have been cropping up since the first book, including radically redefining the entire first battle at the gates of Pearl back in Gardens of the Moon. If you go back and look at my reviews of the first two books, the lack of term explanation was a major problem, so it’s nice to see it getting addressed.

When you add it all together, Memories of Ice is a slight step down from the fantastic Deadhouse Gates, but it does a good job of moving the series forward, rather than just exploring another side story. Principal antagonists are established and I felt, for the first time, like I knew what was going on in the larger world. The series continues to be great, if not entirely excellent, and will probably continue to suck up ENORMOUS amounts of my time, but not until the next Cannonball.(less)

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Feb 20, 2012 Zane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Review of the series rather than individual works. Check my star ratings to gauge how the books themselves stack-up. No spoilers. Summary: difficult to get into, post-modern style, well worth the effort, jam-packed with action and complexity and one of my all-time favourite authors.

Erikson writes in a post-modern style. You are catapulted right into the action and exposed to character names, lore references, magical concepts and even fantastical races with no descriptions or explanation provided...more Review of the series rather than individual works. Check my star ratings to gauge how the books themselves stack-up. No spoilers. Summary: difficult to get into, post-modern style, well worth the effort, jam-packed with action and complexity and one of my all-time favourite authors.

Erikson writes in a post-modern style. You are catapulted right into the action and exposed to character names, lore references, magical concepts and even fantastical races with no descriptions or explanation provided. This makes his work very inaccessible to new readers, who may not be as captivated by his world or characters and therefore not see the merit in finishing the books.

This also means that the books are not necessarily in chronological order. Books 2 and 3 take place simultaneously, the first part of book 4 occurs at the same time as events in book 1, book 5 occurs before book 1 etc. While this may seem confusing, and nothing described above is encouraging for someone wanting to start this series, this is actually one of the joys of Erikson's writing.

Fantasy, unlike any other genre, encourages epic plots of unparalleled complexity and intrigue with multiple point-of-view characters engaged in complementary quests. Erikson's style, though not accessible, complements the genre's central themes. Each novel increases your understanding of the world, the magic and races. Rather than bog you down with back-story and exposition, your eyes are opened as the story unfolds without any delays to the narrative.

The jumping around chronologically also allows for increased complexity in the plot, with so many subtle links that you miss. What Erikson has wrought is admirable in scope, as well as how internally consistent it is. Try write a ten book epic that isn't in chronological order, keeping each book as engaging as its predecessors while never once accidentally contradicting yourself - I dare you.

Erikson is also the only writer apart from Robert Jordan who manages to pack action of a cinematic quality into his novels. And unlike Jordan, he maintains the same quality throughout all his novels, never once disappointing.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Kiel Van Horn rated it 5 of 5 stars

So I'm a little late in writing this review. I actually re-read Gardens of the Moon after reading this one, just to refamiliarize myself with the plot. But the tl;dr point of this review: I am becoming a huge Erikson fanboy.

This is the third book in this series, apparently occurring at the same time as the prior book, Deadhouse Gates . (Which I'm prolly going to have to re-read again, too. So much happens in these books that it's easy to miss a key part. Normally, I would chalk this up to poor...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Clint rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Considering how much better Deadhouse Gates was than Gardens of the Moon, I was expecting this to be super awesome. Unfortunately, it brought back too many of the characters from Gardens of the Moons with stupid names, and apparently someone has convinced the author that his English-language puns are really good, which just never ceases to annoy me, considering no one in the book could be speaking English. And, in common with another reviewer, I thought that all the pages dealing with the Mhybe...more Considering how much better Deadhouse Gates was than Gardens of the Moon, I was expecting this to be super awesome. Unfortunately, it brought back too many of the characters from Gardens of the Moons with stupid names, and apparently someone has convinced the author that his English-language puns are really good, which just never ceases to annoy me, considering no one in the book could be speaking English. And, in common with another reviewer, I thought that all the pages dealing with the Mhybe were just so boring. Yeah, it sucks to get old fast, but there's only so much bitching and whining I can take from an old woman. His Erikson's self-conscious feminism is also getting a little old. I get it, the girls are tough, and fight like boys, and the Barghast women like to rape men and it's kind of funny, but when the women are addressed as "sir" in the military, it's kind of funny, but in a bad way. And the last 100 pages or so completely lost me, with all the dreams and soul shifting and ascension and gods coming to life here and there, I'm still not sure exactly went on there.

On the other hand, the battle scenes were just as great as they were in Deadhouse Gates. Normally I'm not interested in military type stuff, but the battles in this book are so fun. It's like watching Braveheart! And the sheer repulsiveness of the Tenescowri and the Dead Seed, the unbelievable evil torture of Toc, Envy and her 3 masked warriors and Tool along with two giant dogs waging war all alone, the final appearance of Moon's Spawn, which I won't give away because it was so unexpected. Not that it finally appears, but how and when it appears. And the epilogue, which directly links back to the most awesome part of Deadhouse gates, which I also will withhold from anyone who hasn't read it yet. In short, dudes you expect to die live or come back to life, and dudes you thought you'd see for ten books are buried at sea.

In all, I would probably have given this book another star if about 100 pages had been cut out, mostly about the Mhybe, and I would have given it five stars if all the attempts at comedy and a little of the drama between some characters was done away with (Korlat and Whiskeyjack, god give me a break). I think Steven Erikson's basic story is turning out to be incredible, and I think that the characters and situations and creatures that fill his books are almost absurdly creative and original. This book just stumbled a little. From what I've read of the next book, House of Chains, it looks like I'm about to jump into something that might be even better than Deadhouse Gates.(less)

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Jul 01, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, bought-copy, series

Well, now... It’s hard to marshal my thoughts on this one—but what I can immediately verbalise is the fact that it would be impossible to pick a favourite part of the novel, unlike with Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates. For me, I pretty much loved every part of Memories of Ice.

I also want to mention just how tight Erikson’s writing is. I was thinking about what a tome Memories of Ice is—well over one thousand pages in my edition—and yet there is not one redundant scene, in my opinion. Not...more

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May 21, 2011 Tim Hicks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I am not sure of the ... efficacy of this book. Oh, what a burden it is to write this review. But is is my duty, so ... There is much to ... like in this book, especially if you read #1 in the series. But its biggest fault for me is that there is just too much muchness, and seven more books to come.

There are plenty of big and interesting ideas here, but problems too.

The parade of ... mighty warriors continues. The bodies pile up, and so do the ellipses, and a quarter of the book is in italics...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Books-treasureortrash rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes

I really enjoyed this book. The story continues to grow in depth and complexity. It takes place simultaneously with the second book. There is an introduction of a new bad guy, the Pannion Seer and his incredibly weird army. The book still follows the Bridgeburners and gives more information about their background.

Steven Erikson is the author of the Malazan Book of the Fallen Series which comprises 10 books and 4 novellas. Memories of Ice is the third book in this lon...more Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes

I really enjoyed this book. The story continues to grow in depth and complexity. It takes place simultaneously with the second book. There is an introduction of a new bad guy, the Pannion Seer and his incredibly weird army. The book still follows the Bridgeburners and gives more information about their background.

Steven Erikson is the author of the Malazan Book of the Fallen Series which comprises 10 books and 4 novellas. Memories of Ice is the third book in this long and complex story-line. The genre is fantasy and the multifarious story takes place in a non-technological age with the use of magic involving many different peoples. There are the human people of Genabackis who are descendants of the T’lan Imass. There are T’lan Imass a group of people who are one of the founding races that underwent a ritual ( so long in the past that it predated the ascension of humans) that has made them immortal . There is the Jaghut, a race that was so dangerous the T’lan Imass undertook to completely annihilate them and it was this that brought about the ritual. The Tiste Andii, a non-human elder race that is very powerful and has use of magic. There are also Gods, who are called Ascendants. There are others as well. Some individuals have access to magic. The magic is accessible through warrens which are pathways that exist outside of the world and are believed to have been created by the Dragons. The Deck of Dragons, which is a deck of cards that is associated with the Ascendants, can be used to foretell the future. Soletaken are humans or creatures that can change their forms into animals.

There are all kinds of intrigue and secret plots, including the apparent separation between the Bridgeburners and the Empire and there are alliances made with old enemies. Also, things start coming to light about Tattersail, a former Cadre Sorceress from the 2nd Army, who we thought had possibly died. We also learn more about the T'lan Imass and their role in the story. We learn alot more about what is really going on and who is actually behind it all. Ganoes Paran's role and abilities keep growing in a very interesting manner.

This book was very detailed with lots of action and fighting scenes, some of it pretty gruesome. But overall I found the machinations to be captivating and I really enjoy reading about these characters. I am definitely going to read the next book in the series since there is lots left to happen and I am curious to see where this is all heading. The books need to be read in order, none of them are stand alone. If you enjoy reading fantasy and want to luxuriate in a long story then I recommend this book to you. Keep in mind this is not your typical fantasy, but if you are willing to give it a go and keep on plodding through, I think you too will be hooked.

For more of my reviews go to: www.books-treasureortrash.com (less)

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Mar 17, 2011 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars

(Please visit the original review, here: http://drying-ink.blogspot.com/2009/1... )
Memories of Ice deserves its acclaim, proving a worthy successor to both Gardens of the Moon (admittedly the slightly weaker book in the series, according to most fans) and Deadhouse Gates. Directly continuing the story arc discovered in Gardens of the Moon, Memories of Ice elucidates upon our key conflict, in addition to that at hand: the war with the Pannion Domin, a people led on a religious war by the Pannion...more (Please visit the original review, here: http://drying-ink.blogspot.com/2009/1... )
Memories of Ice deserves its acclaim, proving a worthy successor to both Gardens of the Moon (admittedly the slightly weaker book in the series, according to most fans) and Deadhouse Gates. Directly continuing the story arc discovered in Gardens of the Moon, Memories of Ice elucidates upon our key conflict, in addition to that at hand: the war with the Pannion Domin, a people led on a religious war by the Pannion Seer. But not all is at it seems, here, and inhumanity may be just that: inhuman. Onearms Host, united with its former enemies - Anomander Rake, seeking a motive - a reason - for his people, the Tiste Andii, to live, and Caladan Brood - will go to war for reasons not entirely their own: for Empress Laseen's hands may not be as empty as they appear. Ganoes Paran, Captain of the Bridgeburners - a regiment notorious for their unwillingness to follow a man of noble birth -, fights an endless war against himself: but his role will be needed, and the Deck of Dragons, too, is driven by necessity. And as the T'lan Imass, champions of an eternal war against tyranny, converge, a chained god seeks to fetter others. But freedom is a cruel promise, and the House of Chains grows...

Erikson's intensely moral, poignant tale will enthrall, an epic of breathtaking proportions. It's evident that the reader doesn't - and shouldn't - understand Erikson's world, a collaborative composition between Erikson himself and Ian C. Esslemont. The term convergence is definitely appropriate, here, as Erikson is seen tying the threads from the preceding novels together into a tapestry that is altogether unexpected; still, he possesses smalls. Albeit minor ones - even sappers have a tendency to launch into philosophical discussion of war, rather than its practicalities. Worldbuilding, however, aided by Erikson's archaeological propensities, is deep, and the numerous texts glimpsed throughout the book provide enthralling, if flawed, glimpses of Erikson's future vistas.

9.5/10 (less)

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Nov 03, 2010 Shafey rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am a bit surprised by the reviewers going ga-ga over the book.

This is what i think happened:
Eriksson wrote first book. It was a hit. Didnt know how to take it forward, so quickly wrote another side plot. (Deadhouse Gate) got back to the first plot. Made up a story as he went along, in the process messsing up the original plotline, addeed a lot of bathos, some romance and a lot of soul searching to fill in the gaps.

Let me pause here for a moment. I want to talk a little more on the soul search...more

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The Malazan Fallen: MOI - Chapter Twenty-Four - NO SPOILERS	20	28	May 12, 2013 01:56am
The Malazan Fallen: MOI - Chapter Eight - NO SPOILERS	40	37	May 09, 2013 05:58pm
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About Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. His best-known work is the on-going series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/steven...

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Books by Steven Erikson

Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)

Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)

House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)

Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5)

The Bonehunters (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #6)

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Quotes from Memories of Ice

“First in , Last out.

Motto of the bridgeburners” — 23 people liked it

“War has its necessities...and I have always understood that. Always known the cost. But, this day, by my own hand, I have realized something else. War is not a natural state. It is an imposition, and a damned unhealthy one. With its rules, we willingly yield our humanity. Speak not of just causes, worthy goals. We are takers of life.” — 22 people liked it

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Memories of Ice (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #3)

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