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

May 12, 2013 Terence rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

This was the least satisfying of the Malazan books when I first read it 3 years ago. Upon this third read, I like it somewhat better. I still think the slapstick-level of humor got a bit out of hand with the Ublala and Harlest subplots, but I enjoyed the Tehol/Bugg interactions more this time.

And I appreciated Trull Sengar's story more this time around, too, especially his interactions with Seren Pedac. Trull vies with Duiker and Tattersail as my favorites characters.

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Sep 15, 2011 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy

Story: 5/5

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

I must admit to starting this book with some reservation. I had just finished House of Chains and rated it 5 stars. You can read my review on that here I was completely ‘into’ the story and the characters of the Malazan world. So when I realised this story was going to be told on a completely different continent with all new characters at a time I was unsure of I was a little hes...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

Okay, having read the fifth volume in Steven Erikson's "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" series, Midnight Tides, I now think Erikson has the set pieces all in place on the board now. In finishing this novel I have to say that it truly feels like we have now been exposed to the landscapes, and most of the characters; and now it seems that the plot lines are all starting to slowly begin spiraling toward some form of a mega-convergence in the remaining four novels. I, for one, can hardly contain mys...more Okay, having read the fifth volume in Steven Erikson's "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" series, Midnight Tides, I now think Erikson has the set pieces all in place on the board now. In finishing this novel I have to say that it truly feels like we have now been exposed to the landscapes, and most of the characters; and now it seems that the plot lines are all starting to slowly begin spiraling toward some form of a mega-convergence in the remaining four novels. I, for one, can hardly contain myself!

Midnight Tides is set on the continent of Lether and tells the story of a major war that breaks out between the Tiste Edur (The Children of Shadows) and the Letherii peoples. This is the first novel to address these peoples and this continent, and none of the characters from the previous novels, with the exception of just a few of the Elder Gods, are even present. It doesn't matter a bit though. Within 50 pages, the reader is completely enthralled with the new lands and the characters. I would be completely remiss in not mentioning just a few of my new favorite characters; including Seren Pedac, Trull Senger, Brys Beddict, Shurq Elalle, Kettle, Iron Bars, and my absolutely most favorite characters in the series to date, Tehol Beddict and his 'man-servant' Bugg. Oh Lordy, you will just salivate with joy at each and every appearance (and there are plenty, trust me) of Tehol and Bugg. Seriously, some of the funniest stuff written!

The story of the 'world war' between the Tiste Edur peoples and the Letherii Empire is loaded with pathos and drama. Tears will be shed. Also, there are some very powerful explicit and implicit moral messages within this story that have application for all of us in our lives today, regardless of what country we live in. This story does tend make the reader stop and reconsider what patriotism means, and how it should be applied.

While at first blush it might be easy to question Mr. Erikson about the relevancy of this tale within the larger arc of "The Malazan Book of the Fallen", as we are on a completely new landmass with completely new characters--none of which has the slightest thing to do with the Malazan Empire. Having said this though, the careful reader will continually ferret out clues and new information associated with issues and events that have been encountered in previous novels in the series. In other words, I am suggesting that this is not only an incredibly well-written novel and engaging story in its own right, but is a very important portion of the larger 'Malazan' canvas that Erikson is carefully painting.

And did I tell you how much I love the characters of 'Tehol Beddict' and 'Bugg'? Just thinking about these two will bring a smile to my face for the rest of my life!(less)

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Nov 16, 2008 Guy rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

I'm trying to think of another book that had me laughing out loud again and again, while inbetween hovering between suspense and sorrow at the slow, inexorable unfolding of personal and world-wide tragedy... and I can't.

Interestingly, I have had experiences like this in the theater on several occasions, most often when watching Tom Stoppard plays. We recently saw Kenneth Branagh leading a stellar cast in Stoppard's new translation of Chekov's "Ivanov" during which at various times I found myself...more

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Sep 05, 2007 Dani rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book is pretty much a stand-alone from the previous four but I'm sure some characters will show up again. Two kingdoms are building up to a clash and the story flips back and forth between a set of brothers in each kingdom. This book wasn't nearly as complex as the earlier ones and would actually be a good starter book for someone who's interested in the series but intimidated by the complexity. As usual, the climax is a page-turner with gods, ascendants, undead and shapeshifters clashing a...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Kelly Flanagan marked it as to-read

Shelves: didn-t-have-time-b4-library-wanted

Although I do like the Malazan books I have read, I sometime find them hard to get into, or hard to continue. In this case I found that having 20 books that I've requested show up to the library, is a sufficient reason to put a book aside.
As well I think having a large part of the series come to me last week, has made it a bit more difficult. Seeing 5 books all over a thousand pages can be ominous. Even when you're in the 140 books in a year club! ;)

I will get back to this one, and to the serie...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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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Feb 04, 2013 Daniel Brandon rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Malazan Book of the Fallen series is an epic fantasy in all respects. Erikson was an archaeologist/anthropologist before beginning his career as a novelist, and boy does it show. The worldbuilding is INTENSE. He has something like 300,000 years worth of history mapped out, at least in broad strokes, although most of the action of the books mostly just takes place over the course of a few decades.

Anyway, book 5 is in many respects more of the same as the first four, only with mostly new chara...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Onefinemess rated it 4 of 5 stars

OK. I admit it, I had the lowest expectations I’ve had yet going into this series. Why? Because it was YET ANOTHER entirely new cast. OK, that’s not quite true – this is the backstory, or some of it at least, for a character introduced last book. Sort of like how House of Chains had that 200 page backstory for Karsa, who was first introduced 2 books before that. Except 5 times as long, and much more interesting.

The book did start very slow. Like books 1 & 4. However, it picked up with more o...more OK. I admit it, I had the lowest expectations I’ve had yet going into this series. Why? Because it was YET ANOTHER entirely new cast. OK, that’s not quite true – this is the backstory, or some of it at least, for a character introduced last book. Sort of like how House of Chains had that 200 page backstory for Karsa, who was first introduced 2 books before that. Except 5 times as long, and much more interesting.

The book did start very slow. Like books 1 & 4. However, it picked up with more of a vengeance as it had some pretty interesting characters. Tehol Beddict is awesome. Not awesome enough for me to remember his name without looking him up, but with 200+ (?) characters, that would have to be pretty damn awesome. Annnyway. So, it seems like this book takes place from a little before book one to well into book 3 – in the beginning it mentions the ascension of the two wolves to the Beast Throne that happened in Memories of Ice… of course, the raid that wiped out a city in Memories of Ice… I thought that was supposed to be the Edur too, so that would really throw things off.

It explains the background of that watery realm we keep seeing in the other books, more or less. I still don’t get how we got from this book to the opening of House of Chains & Trull’s introduction… I suppose that’s the next book? Or maybe it’s just all left between. We see some of Trull’s descendants (from that wacky encounter with the Eres at the end of House of Chains) and learn more about the world’s early years. Yeah, lots of stuff, kind of pointless to try and list it all, I wonder why I tried?

All in all, I found this book slightly better than the previous ones, so I think I’m going to have to bump the rating up.

THREE AND THREE QUARTER STARS

And now, I’m going to take a break from Malazan and read… another Malazan book!? Yes, it’s true. That’s what happens when you have two separate author’s writing two mostly separate series set in the same world. Bizarre. I’m trying to kind of keep them in sequence between the two series and, as I understand it, book one of the other series takes place before book one of this series, then book 2 at some point after book 6? Yeah, so confusing. But, what good is fantasy if it doesn’t ask us to use our brains, right?(less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Klytia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Con Maree di Mezzanotte Erikson si stacca apparentemente dall'azione principale per spostarsi su un nuovo continente con nuove razze e personaggi.
Apparentemente perché questo quinto volume del ciclo di Malazan inizia di fatto dove finisce La casa delle Catene, con Trull Sengar lo Spezzato che desidera raccontare, ad un pubblico non troppo conciliante, la storia di come venne considerato un traditore del suo popolo. Ed è infatti la storia di Trull quella che ci viene raccontata qui, rendendo Mar...more Con Maree di Mezzanotte Erikson si stacca apparentemente dall'azione principale per spostarsi su un nuovo continente con nuove razze e personaggi.
Apparentemente perché questo quinto volume del ciclo di Malazan inizia di fatto dove finisce La casa delle Catene, con Trull Sengar lo Spezzato che desidera raccontare, ad un pubblico non troppo conciliante, la storia di come venne considerato un traditore del suo popolo. Ed è infatti la storia di Trull quella che ci viene raccontata qui, rendendo Maree di Mezzanotte un vero e proprio prequel dell'intero ciclo di Malazan e che inizia con un prologo dove veniamo a conoscenza della nascita dell'inimicizia tra i Tiste Andii e i Tiste Edur a causa di un tradimento.

Parte del continente dove è ambientata la storia è popolato dalle native tribù Edur, confinate a nord e unite sotto lo scettro di Hannan Mosag, il Re Stregone, e dei suoi potentissimi maghi, i Krishan, figli dei capi delle tribù Edur di fatto tenuti in ostaggio dal re e trasformati in armi micidiali
A sud i Letheri, immigrati da un altro luogo, una popolazione ambiziosa, con un economia che definiremmo "capitalista" le cui mire espansionistiche, spinte anche da una profezia relativa alla nascita di un nuovo Impero, mirano a conquistare e soggiogare tutto il continente e gli Edur.

La storia principale si focalizza sulle vicende dei fratelli Sengar, appartenenti alla nobiltà Edur, e dei fratelli Beddict dell'impero Letheri. Oltre a Trull gli altri fratelli sono: Fear, Maestro d'armi della tribù, fedele alle tradizioni del suo popolo e al sovrano che lo governa; Binadas un mago; Rhulad l'ambizioso fratello minore la cui sorte lo renderà suo malgrado uno strumento del Dio Storpio che già conosciamo. I fratelli saranno inviati dal Re Stregone alla ricerca di un'antica spada che garantirà l'invicibilità agli Edur in una guerra contro i Letheri e che cambierà i destini di entrambi gli imperi.

Come in un gioco di specchi ai fratelli Sengar fanno da riflesso i fratelli Beddict: Hull, con un passato che lo umilia e mortifica e con ambizioni di rivincita e vendetta; Tehol uno scaltro e geniale investitore finanziario ancora all'opera, ma anche causa intenzionale di una crisi economica in Letheras con conseguente rovina del nome della sua famiglia; e infine Brys, Campione del Re, coinvolto suo malgrado negli intrighi politici di palazzo ma con un occhio e il cuore verso i suoi fratelli.
Le vicende dei protagonisti, le numerose sottotrame apparentemente slegate che trovano una spiegazione verso il sorprendente finale, le violente descrizioni della guerra con lo spaventoso uso della magia e soprattutto l'intervento delle divinità che interagiscono con i mortali rendono Maree di Mezzanotte un romanzo davvero epico.
L'unica cosa che ho trovato ancora un po' debole nello stile di Erikson è la descrizione dei momenti introspettivi dei personaggi. E' percepibile il desiderio dell'autore di trasmettere, tramite i loro ragionamenti, dei messaggi che hanno anche attinenza con l'attualità; si perde tuttavia in periodo lunghi e talvolta con frasi ripetitive e metafore poco incisive.
Anche l'unica scena di sesso, descritta tramite i pensieri dello schiavo Udinaas con l'intento di trasmettere la rassegnazione e l'umiliazione della sposa viene diluita in quasi due pagine di considerazioni che rendono il messaggio sfocato.
A paragone mi viene in mente Iron Council di Miéville, dove le opinioni dell'autore, incluse quelle politiche, sono espresse dalle considerazioni dei protagonisti con estrema chiarezza senza però sminuire il tono epico e visionario che pervade tutto il romanzo.
Per contro ErIkson esplora ed esalta la sua vena umoristica, che già si intravvedeva nei romanzi precedenti, ma che risulta qui più evidente. Gli scambi di battute tra Tehol Beddict e il suo bizzarro servo Bugg sono davvero divertenti e fanno da contralto ai momento cupi e violenti presenti nel resto del romanzo.

Un altro bel romanzo del ciclo, Erikson sembra non perdere un colpo, e un ottimo esempio di come la fantasy, anche quella più classica legata ad ambientazioni medioevaleggianti com maghi, eroi, antichi dei e profezie, possa essere reinterpretata in modo davvero originale.
Siamo a metà strada.
Ora devo solo decidere se continuare la lettura in italiano, ahimè i prossimi volumi verranno spezzati in due da Armenia, o provare in inglese. Mi sembra che Erikson abbia le idee ben chiare su come dovrà proseguire la storia e ormai la mia curiosità è stata definitivamente catturata.
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Aug 10, 2012 David Fuller rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

AN axiom in fiction is “show, don’t tell.”
Steven Erikson takes this to extremes in his latest Malazan novel, a fantasy epic jumbled with plotlines and characters.
Steven Erikson, the pen name of Winnipegger Steve Lundin, began the series with Gardens of the Moon. He made headlines in 1999 for signing a $1.6-million contract with Bantam Press for nine sequels. Midnight Tides is the fifth in the series.
Erikson, a former painter and archeologist, has garnered comparisons to J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephe...more AN axiom in fiction is “show, don’t tell.”
Steven Erikson takes this to extremes in his latest Malazan novel, a fantasy epic jumbled with plotlines and characters.
Steven Erikson, the pen name of Winnipegger Steve Lundin, began the series with Gardens of the Moon. He made headlines in 1999 for signing a $1.6-million contract with Bantam Press for nine sequels. Midnight Tides is the fifth in the series.
Erikson, a former painter and archeologist, has garnered comparisons to J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen R. Donaldson. Like both, he brings an encyclopedic sensibility to his created world.
The main stories in Midnight Tides follow two sets of brothers.
Fear, Trull and Rhulad Sengar are warriors of the Tiste Edur, a people whose fractious tribes have been forcibly united under the Warlock King.
Fear is the loyal older brother. Trull is the conflicted middle brother, patriotic but suspicious of his king. And Rhulad, the youngest, seems good for nothing but showing off and lusting after Fear’s betrothed.
The other trio, Hull, Brys and Tehol Beddict, live in rapacious Letheras, an empire in all but name. Its neighbouring countries have been assimilated by force, economics or culture. Letheras has the Tiste Edur in its sights, and each of the Beddict brothers has his own agenda.
Hull, whose knowledge was exploited to subjugate other peoples, hopes to goad the Tiste Edur into a war that will destroy Letheras. Tehol, a financial genius, engineers an economic collapse — largely for fun. And Brys, staunch bodyguard of the king, has his hands full with court intrigue.
Stories like these, if fleshed out, could have filled the nearly 700 pages, but Erikson brings in a cast of thousands, each of whom has multiple names and titles.
It quickly becomes confusing and dilutes the action.
Rather than tell the story, Erikson shows everything that happens, no matter
how minor. This actually makes it harder to follow what’s going on, as if we’re watching uncut news footage.
For instance, the near-drowning of Ormly, Champion Rat Catcher, is introduced as if as important as the return of an ancient god (which also happens). But after this appearance, we never see
Ormly again. Did we really need to know his name?
Erikson may respect his readers enough to expect them to keep up — but they shouldn’t need a database to enjoy the novel.
At one point, Tehol Beddict sends his employees to investigate local businessmen.
“Now I’m going to give you a list of names, which you’ll have memorize,” he says.
Half are fictitious, and the investigation is a wild goose chase. Sadly, this often feels like the author’s attitude.
Another axiom in fiction is “less is more.” Perhaps Erikson should pare down his side characters and subplots, and concentrate on whose story he wants to tell.

Originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press, Sunday, June 27, 2004(less)

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Mar 12, 2012 Clint rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

This was better than the last 2 books, and of course better than the piece of crap that is the first book, but it still doesn't compare with Deadhouse Gates. This book takes place way the hell before the rest of the Malazan books (so far), I can't tell if the writer needed a break from the same characters he'd been dealing with for nearly 4000 pages or if he's planning to make his already staggeringly huge story even bigger and needed to expand the base to do so. Either way, he seems to have cut...more This was better than the last 2 books, and of course better than the piece of crap that is the first book, but it still doesn't compare with Deadhouse Gates. This book takes place way the hell before the rest of the Malazan books (so far), I can't tell if the writer needed a break from the same characters he'd been dealing with for nearly 4000 pages or if he's planning to make his already staggeringly huge story even bigger and needed to expand the base to do so. Either way, he seems to have cut loose a lot of the baggage that weighs down his books, i.e., introducing tons and tons of new shit without really explaining any of it, and just expecting us to piece it together later on. The result, while not shorter (still almost 1000 pages), is a leaner, meaner story. There is still some god-fucking-awful dialogue, which he just can't seem to resist (How many times does someone say, "Aye, lass." in these books? "I would some wine, servant." "We must needs patience."), and such incredibly, incredibly cheesy shit that I'm embarassed to read it sometimes, such dark and consciously non-chalantly violence, etc., basically the same thing the previous books have had in that area.

I really liked Tehol and Bugg, though other reviews say they were kind of annoying. And I liked Shurq the undead sometime-whore with a weird, sperm-eating fish thing in place of a vagina, and her giant boyfriend with four lungs, and the Nosferatu wanna-be, and the insane immortal emperor of the Tiste Edur who's covered in gold coins, the Rat Catcher's guild, the crazy glasses the head wizard in Letheras wears, back-stabbing dragons, the Lost-type island that the Crippled God rules over inside his hut, wrapped in rags and burning noxious-smelling seeds on the fire, etc etc. These are the saving graces of this and the other books in the series; despite Steven Erikson's REALLY bad Dungeons and Dragons affectations, his imagination is insanely fertile, and yes, I have book six sitting on a table behind me right now. My god it's huge.(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 13, 2012 Poopoo Mcbumface rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't like this book.

I'm genuinely not sure what it was. I disliked HoC - still found it middling on re-read - and that likely coloured my opinion. The hideous cover art, depicting three zombie orcs or something clawing their way out of a purple ocean for no adequately explained reason, probably did not help. The fact that the plot takes us back a few years to before Gardens of the Moon and catapults us to the other side of the world sealed the deal. I found the characters grey and boring,...more I didn't like this book.

I'm genuinely not sure what it was. I disliked HoC - still found it middling on re-read - and that likely coloured my opinion. The hideous cover art, depicting three zombie orcs or something clawing their way out of a purple ocean for no adequately explained reason, probably did not help. The fact that the plot takes us back a few years to before Gardens of the Moon and catapults us to the other side of the world sealed the deal. I found the characters grey and boring, the plot insipid, the conflict banal, and the entire thing mostly carried by a string of penis jokes.

What can I say? I was young. Now I am old. My opinion could not be more different re-reading this one.

Midnight Tides takes us across the world and a decade or so into the past, to the continent of Lether and the icy lands of the so-far-elusive Tiste Edur. Predictably, war is on the horizon; the Tiste Edur alone have held out against the hypercapitalist Empire of Lether's aggressive expansionism, and certain powers seek to make use of the nomadic Edur for their own ends, starting with the conquest of their southern neighbours. The metaphor here is clear, working on several levels to deliver Erikson's thoughtful, evocative statement that the Canadians have made a pact with Satan.

The conflict is seen through the eyes of two sets of brothers. On the Edur side, we have the Sengars; Trull, Fear, Rhulad and the one nobody cares about, even his dad. On the Letherii side, the wonderful Beddict brothers, Tehol, Brys and Hull. Erikson is certainly fond of showing us the war through the eyes of the man on the ground, but never is this seen as completely as in Midnight Tides; while all these characters (apart from the one nobody cares about) come to be important in their own way, the journey is frought with torn loyalties, misinformation and manipulation. The parallelled brotherhoods turn the conflict on its head; from being a battle between two sides, both of which fall squarely into the grey area, we instead have a battle between two - for lack of a better phrase - giant bowls of dicks in which we can only hope against hope that the characters we like somehow make it out alive, in one piece, and above all, together. It's a refreshing look at the conflict, and one which works exceedingly well. All of the characters are fleshed out and intriguing, each with their own motivations and drives, and their interactions as things fall apart are simply wonderful. Special mention must be given to Tehol and his manservant Bugg, who just might be the greatest comedic duo in the series.

Other than Trull, and a handful of ascendants who don't play active major roles, no other characters we've met so far make an appearance. But don't write the new cast off; this book introduces the third major plotline of the series, and the one which proves to be of probably the most importance to the plot as a whole. First-time readers will, by this point, be feeling quite lost; we've only just started making sense of what was happening in the first few books! But from this point on, things begin to converge, and the plot threads all move inexorably towards either Lether or an Esslement book. Try to hold on for now.

Taking things to an entirely new setting, with all-new cultures and rules, allows Erikson to flex creative muscles we haven't really seen since Deadhouse Gates. Lether could easily be Bizarro America, but manages to be so much more than that. The Edur could be your standard borderline-offensive noble savage tribesmen, but prove to be nothing of the sort. The storyline could easily be a tedious lecture about how colonialism is bad, but avoids such easy answers; naturally, Lether aren't depicted as doing the right thing in subjugating their neighbours, but the Edur culture is hardly a peaceful commune of libertarian socialists - ask their slaves. When cultures, civilisation and tribalism collide, there are no easy answers. Rarer still is finding a "good guy". Perhaps the central message of the entire Malazan series - I may have mentioned something else in this context before, but I'm gaining a better understanding of it as I re-read and do these reviews - is that when everything else is bad, when the world is corrupt, people can and will still be good. Midnight Tides exemplifies this. Lether is corrupt, heartless and cruel. But its High Mage, its Champion, the Beddicts and so many others are good people simply salvaging what they can. The Edur "empire" is a patchwork nation, united by violence, slavery, cruel customs and an oppressive hierarchy. But good people can and will thrive within it. Sometimes, even those keeping up a terrible regime do it with the best - if misguided - intentions for themselves and their people. Sometimes, it really is the best of a few bad options. Erikson's story is a story of individuals striving to find the best in us. Sometimes, all that's needed is to extend a compassionate hand. Sometimes, the cost of that is high, and the obstacles seemingly unsurmountable. Sometimes, those individuals succeed. People sometimes call the Malazan Book of the Fallen a cynical, bleak series. To me, this says more about them than the books they're reading.

Erikson's writing style continues to improve. Battles are bigger and more horrifying than ever, as Erikson delivers us a completely new setting and all stakes are off. There's a certain amount of World War I parallel going on, as new and horrific methods of mass murder are discovered and gleefully employed indiscriminately to utterly bone-chilling effect. On a more down-to-earth level, the scenes of violence are more horrific than ever, countered by an evolving skill at character interaction, heart-warming moments and an evolving skill of restraint keeping every emotional impact fresh instead of overdone.

The book is not without its flaws, of course, but they are few. The backstory continues to build up, and some readers may feel lost - that said, as a standalone book, Midnight Tides may work better than any other in the series. There's plenty here to file away, but the main backstory conflict is introduced, explained and advanced within the novel. Retaining one complaint from my first read, there are a few too many penis jokes. But overall, this is a surprisingly strong novel about brotherhood, tradition and isolationism. It is quite understated and subtle in parts, and those (like I was) with an insatiable urge to find out "what happens next" may find themselves skipping through it in frustration. It might be hard not to want to return to Tavore's army and Dujek's host, but please put them aside for now; get a cup of tea, remember that the rest of the series will wait patiently until you're done, and let yourself enjoy this haunting, dark, dong-filled tale.

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May 15, 2011 Andre rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy

NO SPOILERS

Time again for an epic inspiration. When I read an Erikson novel, I find myself at various times provoked, dubious, amazed, involved and confused. His tales are so dense that I have to "rest" between novels. Presently there are ten in the series and I have no doubt I will be reading them for sometime. More high fantasy that I hope to write, he handles magic--and the cultural repercussions magic use--admirably well.

This particular novel departs from previously established characters in...more NO SPOILERS

Time again for an epic inspiration. When I read an Erikson novel, I find myself at various times provoked, dubious, amazed, involved and confused. His tales are so dense that I have to "rest" between novels. Presently there are ten in the series and I have no doubt I will be reading them for sometime. More high fantasy that I hope to write, he handles magic--and the cultural repercussions magic use--admirably well.

This particular novel departs from previously established characters in volumes one through four, and tells its tale from the point of view of two sets of brothers: the four Sengar boys and the three Beddict brothers who are culturally from opposing sides of a war of conquest. I felt Erikson did a great job of shifting between story lines. I wasn't tempted in the least to skip over chapters when left hanging because all the story threads were so well rendered.

Dense, robust, thought provoking and weighing in on average at over 1000 pages, these books are definitely not for the faint of heart or those looking for a bada-bing, bada-boom read and reset Y.A. Fantasy. These are books I'd love to see all those "fantasy nay-sayers" read and claim the genre is low-brow. I'm going to include a wonderful passage, so timely and crunchy it made me smile, as an example,

"Do not seek to find hope among your leaders. They are the repositories of poison. Their interest in you extends only so far as their ability to control you. From you, they seek duty and obedience, and they will ply you with the language of stirring faith. They seek followers, and woe to those who question, or voice challenge.

Civilization after civilization, it is the same. The world falls to tyranny with a whisper. The frightened are ever keen to bow to perceived necessity, in the belief that necessity forces conformity, and conformity a certain stability. In a world shaped into conformity, dissidents stand out, are easily branded and dealt with. There is no magnitude of perspectives, no dialogue. The victim assumes the face of the tyrant, self-righteous and intransigent, and wars breed like vermin. And people die" [emphasis my own].

Rather chilling in its relevance to present day realities.
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Nov 12, 2010 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spec-fic, fantasy

The 5th book in Steven Erikson´s rich Malazan world, this book was very good--if not quite as gripping as the last installment. Because the world and its mythology is so incredibly dense and detailed, and since it´s been over two years since I read the last book in this series, I often felt like I was forgetting key concepts. I think I´ll pick up the next book sooner rather than later.

If I have one complaint about Erickson, it´s that he´s given to philosophizing in his books, and he often puts d...more

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Aug 14, 2010 Jonathan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lots of characters in search of a war. A plethora of people drag the build up along for hundreds of pages before knocking it all on the head in a flurry of secret gods and new characters wandering in. Hundreds of loose ends, many interesting characters with an Eddings sense of humour, are not tied into the main story at all. This is all fairly readable, but quite chaotic. All of the characters with a sense of humour have the same sense of humour of course :)

In all honesty I find all of the book...more

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Aug 07, 2010 Ryelor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: highly-recommended, absolute-favorites, worthy-to-read-again

Steven Erikson keeps getting better and better with every book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. He has an incredible way of painting both sides of a conflict, showing both the good and the bad that can exist within an individual and an entire people. He is masterful at creating detailed cultures, making the strange seem real by allowing his readers to use their brains in order to "connect the dots" and make sense of the things he writes.

With most books there is usually a very clear prot...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Davit Abuladze rated it 5 of 5 stars

4.5/5
მიუხედავად იმისა რომ სრულიად ახალ კონტინენტზე და პერსონაჟებზე იყო, საკმაოდ ადვილად წავიკითხე, მარა ხეზ საერთოდ რა კავშირშია დანარჩენ მალაზანთან...
სპოილერს ბილოუ.

ნუ სულ რამდენიმე მეიჯორ პოვ ჩარაქტერია მთელ წიგნში ასე რომ მისაყოლად არ იყო რთული, უდინასი არ მომწონდა თავისი ფეზერ ვიჩიანად, ბორინგი მთელი მაგისი სთორილაინი... ბრისს არაუშავდა, ბოლოში რულადს ძალიან ბედეს ვეში უქნა, მეწყინა გარდიანმა რომ გააფუჭა საქმე, იმედია გამოჩნება კიდევ ახლა უკვე გარდიანის ფორმაში... ტრულის სთორი საკმაოდ კარგი...more 4.5/5
მიუხედავად იმისა რომ სრულიად ახალ კონტინენტზე და პერსონაჟებზე იყო, საკმაოდ ადვილად წავიკითხე, მარა ხეზ საერთოდ რა კავშირშია დანარჩენ მალაზანთან...
სპოილერს ბილოუ.

ნუ სულ რამდენიმე მეიჯორ პოვ ჩარაქტერია მთელ წიგნში ასე რომ მისაყოლად არ იყო რთული, უდინასი არ მომწონდა თავისი ფეზერ ვიჩიანად, ბორინგი მთელი მაგისი სთორილაინი... ბრისს არაუშავდა, ბოლოში რულადს ძალიან ბედეს ვეში უქნა, მეწყინა გარდიანმა რომ გააფუჭა საქმე, იმედია გამოჩნება კიდევ ახლა უკვე გარდიანის ფორმაში... ტრულის სთორი საკმაოდ კარგი იყო, სერენისას არაუშავდა, კრიმსონ გარდთან შეხვედრის შემდეგ ბევრად საინტერესო გახდა... შურქი ჰეტანის ანდედ ვერსია იყო, საერთოდ მალაზანს შავი იუმორი, სექსი და ანდედები ნამდვილად არ აკლია, რაც მართალია, მართალია... იუმორის მხრივ ბევრად უფრო კარგი იყო, წინებთან შედარებით. ჰარლესტის 1-2 სცენა ძალიან სასაცილო იყო, ტეჰოლი და ბაგი მთლიანად შედევრალური იყო... ეს ხეიბარი ღმერთი ნერვებს მიშლის უკვე, ძაან წატყნა ტვინი, იმედია მიიღებს თავისას ბოლო წიგნში...

წინა წიგნებისგან განსხვავებით არც ისე ბევრი ეპიკ პერსონაჟი იყო ტაკ შტო ხუთეულის ამორჩევა არ გამჭირვებია დიდად...

5. Harlest Eberict
4. Brys Beddict
3. Tehol Beddict
2. Trull Sengar
1. Bugg

შემდეგ წიგნში მთელი საძმო ბრუნდება, ბრიჯბარნერები, კარსა, მაპო/იკარიუმის დუო, ისკარელ პასტის სახლში შეკრებილი სასტავი(მეზიზღება სუყველა, იმედია შეჭამს გრეიფროგი)..
უკვე ხუთი მეიჯორ სპოილერი ავიკიდე ხან ფორუმებზე, ხან ვიკიზე და ხარ რედიტზე... ცვეტში გავწამდი, არადა რაღაცა დამაინტერესებს ხოლმე, 1ხელ დავაკლიკავ და აღმოჩნდება რომ ვიღაცა გამეფდა, ვიღაცა მოკვდა და ვიღაცა ვაბშე გაღმერთდა :/
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Mar 02, 2012 Anirudh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

10/10

Well, the fifth volume in Erikson's Malazan Book Of the Fallen is the best yet. After the events on the Seven cities continent and Genabackis, I couldn't have imagined that Erikson will go back in time to a completely different continent which has completely different magic systems, Gods and characters. But he does just that. And it is just brilliant. Erikson introduces us to a whole host of new characters. I don't know how he does it but Erikson describes more in one paragraph than many au...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Yashima rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This one tells the story of Trull Sengar and is actually - at least so it seems - a prequel to what is happening to Trull in the House of Chains (#4). Again seemingly unconnected to the rest and yet the Crippled God makes his appearance again. Again wonderful new characters. My favorites this time? Brys, the King's Champion, Iron Bars and of course Tehol and Bugg.

A little bit of critique is necessary however: this time there are too many new characters that are introduced without so much as the...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: pure-fantasy

Okay I really loved this one. It has a different feel about it to the others so far. More political intrigue, less of the characteristic journey of two characters. More of a building to...I was going to say finale but each of the books have built to a finale. The build is slower, more determined.

I can't decide which of the men I'm in-love with the most. Trull, a deep thinker, modest, awesome with a spear, and reliable when protection is needed. Or maybe Brys, straight forward, brilliant with a s...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Christina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy, series

Another great installment! How DOES Erikson do it again & again!! I think what truly boggles my mind is how truly complex this series is, & he was pumping out a book per year!! Wow!

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Mar 25, 2009 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This book also spans a huge chunk of time by starting with a story from ages past when Scabadari (leader of the Tiste Edur) and Silchas Ruin (the leader of the Tiste Andii) fought in a huge battle up to the more present day war between the Edur and the Leterii along with the ever present involvement of the Crippled God. If there is one thing you can say about Erikson it is that he isn't afraid of scope.

This story also offered me my frist glimpse of the Crimson Guard. In a world populated with an...more

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May 03, 2010 Viridian5 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Steven Erikson's Midnight Tides was a bit confusing to me at first because it initially doesn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the series it's in, The Malazan Books of the Fallen. It's also unusual for a book in that I didn't end up rooting for either side in the huge conflict. One side, the Letherii, has devastated its surrounding peoples through a hugely predatory form of capitalism and debt and withe the aid of really powerful sorcery, but these Tiste Edur quickly show themselves to...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Rob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: random-comments-review

...New continent, new characters, new forms of magic and new gods. Midnight Tides almost feels like a new start to the series, but Erikson will merge this new story line into the other novels quite quickly in subsequent novels. It is also the first novel that will have the story spin outwards from the Malazan Empire. Not all readers may be pleased by yet another totally unfamiliar setting but I enjoyed the change of scenery tremendously. The fact that Erikson introduces a host of fascinating cha...more

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May 10, 2011 Maciej rated it 3 of 5 stars

Piąty tom „Malazańskiej Księgi Poległych” przerzuca nas w zupełnie nieznany zakątek świata Wu, daleko od Genebackis czy pustyni Ranraku. Po czterech tomach zżywania się z bohaterami serii, tak nagły przeskok jest nieco irytujący. Z drugiej strony Erikson zastosował podobny manewr w poprzedniej części przedstawiając historię Karsy – i wyszło to znakomicie. W tej części również będziemy mieli okazję poznać wcześniejsze losy jednego z (dotychczas) drugoplanowych bohaterów – Trulla Sengara, a przy o...more Piąty tom „Malazańskiej Księgi Poległych” przerzuca nas w zupełnie nieznany zakątek świata Wu, daleko od Genebackis czy pustyni Ranraku. Po czterech tomach zżywania się z bohaterami serii, tak nagły przeskok jest nieco irytujący. Z drugiej strony Erikson zastosował podobny manewr w poprzedniej części przedstawiając historię Karsy – i wyszło to znakomicie. W tej części również będziemy mieli okazję poznać wcześniejsze losy jednego z (dotychczas) drugoplanowych bohaterów – Trulla Sengara, a przy okazji autor zaserwuje rozwiązania kilku kolejnych zagadek z poprzednich części.

Fabuła „Midnight Tides” skupia się na historii ludzkiego królestwa Letheru i sąsiadującego z nim królestwa Tiste Edur, oraz dwóch rodzin – po jednej z każdego księstwa: czterech braci Sengar, oraz trzech braci Bedict. Oczywiście Erikson nie byłby sobą, gdyby nie dorzucił do całej opowieści jeszcze kilkunastu innych postaci, z których każda posiada swoją historię i otwiera nowy wątek fabularny, a konfliktu dwóch królestw nie skomplikował intrygami bóstw i umierającym domem Azath – więc tak jak i w poprzednich tomach czeka nas wielowątkowa jazda bez trzymanki, odpowiedzi na kilka pytań z poprzednich części, oraz cała masa nowych wątków, niejasności i tajemnic. Ponadto, jak zwykle Erikson zaskakuje rewelacyjnymi motywami i pomysłami, zarówno związanymi z poszczególnymi postaciami, jak i samą kosmologią świata Wu – więc jeśli komuś, podobnie jak mnie, spodobał się na przykład motyw rąk Heborica to i tym razem się nie zawiedzie.

„Midnight Tides” traktuję jako rodzaj pit-stopu dla Czytelnika – możemy złapać chwilę oddechu po wydarzeniach na Genebackis i Ranraku. Na taki a nie inny odbiór tej części cyklu składa się kilka czynników – najważniejszym jest oczywiście chwilowe porzucenie bohaterów poprzednich części. Jednak dla mnie równie ważne okazało się coś innego – w porównaniu z poprzednimi częściami, „Midnight Tides” jest bardzo lekką lekturą. Oczywiście nadal dostajemy swoją porcję hardcoru i makabreski, ale jednocześnie książka naszpikowana jest elementami humorystycznymi (niekwestionowanymi gwiazdami są tutaj oczywiście Tehol i Bugg).

Podsumowując, kolejna dobra części cyklu – choć znacząco różna od poprzednich. Choć podobnie jak one pozostawia głód, który można zaspokoić tylko sięgając po kolejny tom serii. (less)

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Nov 30, 2010 Zach rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

It occurs to me that this series is a lot like Lost, minus the stupid soap opera melodrama (mostly) and with the ridiculousness ratcheted up to 11. A sensible narrative? Who needs it? Meaningful character studies? Not really, although Erikson does nod in that direction from time to time. No, what we have here is an ever-escalating series of mysterious and epic, epic, epic mythological backstories and historical events that are mostly only vaguely hinted at (or explosively overturned by some sort...more

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May 22, 2011 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Midnight Tides, the 5th book in Erikson's Malazan series, was another entertaining read. However, as it features an entirely new local, with an almost entirely new set of characters and races, I found myself back in the semi-lost and confused state that Gardens of the Moon put me in. This resulted in it taking a little more time for me to get through than the past couple of books.

An absolute ton of background information is presented in this book. So much so, that I am sure I am going to forget...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Nev Percy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

First ramble:

One bad thing about Amazon: you can't control which cover you'll get.
I got the ugly one that's a bit less in-keeping with the others I own than the alternative one I'd hoped for (and which, technically, was the image on the site where I clicked to purchase from).

We're accustomed to Erikson's inclination to throw you in at the deep end and let you figure out what's what as you go along (or not) -- as per his introduction to Malazan I, [i]Gardens of the Moon[/i].
This one appears not j...more

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

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