"... “In life, as in war, more is lost when hope dies, than by a cold steel and slaughter. —” ..."
Now this is what I call a very strong*** 4.44 ***
"... “In life, as in war, more is lost when hope dies, than by a cold steel and slaughter. —” ..."
Now this is what I call a very strong and promising debut! I had no idea what to expect, but was very pleasantly surprised by this author and his first published book of Epic Fantasy with some Grimm-Dark overtones. I am a fan of the genre, so you might think I would be easily pleased, but I assure you it is not so. Having read hundreds of books within the same genre, it becomes harder to find something that doesn't bug you one way or another... Yes, we learn all the usual tropes and even learn that little is truly new in its core, all being a variation on a theme, all trying to delve into the mysteries of the Human Experience... What is left to every author is to add their point of view to the Collective and hope to convey their unique take in the best possible way they can. I think, Mr. Brian Lee Durfee has gotten to a great start with this first book in a planned series of five tomes.
"... ““Trust is fleeting, while betrayal is timeless. Alas, life is crowded with lies. So be bloody, be brave, be happy. For at the end of every tale, nobody is who they seem to be. . . . —” ..."
The number Five is significant in the world he has created, weaved in its mythology and daily symbolism. This is a harsh world, shared by humans, humanoid monsters and other creatures, all used to a life of violence, since it seems the only way to survive and be seen as worth the notice of the gods is by fighting and earning your right to live by being on the side of the strongest. This is a world where war is a daily occurrence, but it becomes an even scarier place when a Warlord Prince puts his armies on a path of conquest, behind which a religious prophecy, which is seen as heresy by the mainstream church, seems to be the driving force. Different groups of people on different sides of the conflict, believe that they would be the fulfilment of the prophecy, or at least that they know who is involved and what the outcome should be. However, prophecies are a tricky thing, always vague enough to never have a real handle on them. Add to the mix preconceived notions, religious beliefs, retelling errors, who is telling the prophecy and what is their angle, who is reading the prophecy and what is their life experience and ability to relate or understand the context, and so on and so forth... Mix it in with the distance of time from when the prophecy was written and the moment those involved have decided it is time for its fulfilment, and you have a great variety of beliefs and translations, all having fanatical followers and creating numerous factions working against each other, making for layers and layers of storylines, people with diverging backgrounds and destinies, all weaving a singular epic adventure of war, torture, betrayal, political mayhem, duels, assassins, love, hate, youngsters growing up and old soldiers disillusionments, hope and complete despair... Everything we humans are, should and shouldn't be. And this is only the beginning!
"... ““human cruelty was to never be underestimated, always to be believed in,” . . . —” ..."
I would recommend this book to all who love the more Epic, Heroic, Grimm-Dark, and Militaristic Fantasy genres. It takes a while to get going, but it is mostly because the author is creating the foundation for a very big scale work in a world unknown to us. As a debut, this is very successful and the reader could see the author's growth even within this book. It is also one of the best looking and comfortable to read 800 page books I have ever come across. The publication and the art are awesome and I loved the experience of reading the actual book tremendously! I am going to order the next book right away and if I have a main issue with it, it is that only two of the five books have been published so far and I am not known as a very patient person, so I hope we get the rest published as soon as possible!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book ...more
I believe Craig Schaefer is Machiavelli reborn... Or at least a very good student of his. This is the series where he channels his*** 4.65 ***
I believe Craig Schaefer is Machiavelli reborn... Or at least a very good student of his. This is the series where he channels his previous incarnation and gives us a glimpse into his devious, manipulative, murderous, merciless, double-crossing, brilliant soulless mind. Yes, there is some humanity mixed in there, with just enough love and warmth to make you able to get through the politicking and scamming, worthlessness of regular lives and only counting the people of "importance" as worth minding or living at all... No character is black or white - they are all toward the darker shades of gray and even when you know their evil inclinations, the reader is steel compelled to root for them and their ingenious villainy. Base all that on 15th century Florence and add religion to it, you come up with the Revanche Cycle, one of the most under-appreciated series in contemporary Fantasy.
Why are more people not reading this author??? He is easy to read, his prose is not overwhelming or complex, he is a great storyteller and his world building is rich without being overly-descriptive. His characters are relatable and he has a gift to make them come to life with minimal angst or emotional and descriptive baggage. His books even make it to Audiobooks, if this is a preferred method for taking in books all together. So far, this is his only Fantasy series, with "Daniel Faust" and "Harmony Black" his Urban Fantasies with mystery elements and some heavy Pulp Noir influences. If you are a fan of anything in the neighborhood of those genres, I would strongly recommend any and all of those works, you will not be disappointed! I know I never am:):):)
Livia Serafini, Renata Nicchi, Aita, The Owl and several other ladies are so bad-ass and kicking it, that they give just as good as they got to the group of male characters, who are also strong, smart, powerful and devious! As you might guess, I am feeling the girl-power more here, but I think it is more my chosen perception than an actual imbalance. The plot is so convoluted and changing, that you can't help it but be on your toes at all times keep your adrenaline pumping. It is fun!!! What are you waiting for, go get it and read!!!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you Need in the pages of a Good Book!!!...more
Gahhh! This was one very difficult read, but totally worth it! Empress is dark, bleak, vile, desolate and disturbing, but I could not stop*** 4.25 ***
Gahhh! This was one very difficult read, but totally worth it! Empress is dark, bleak, vile, desolate and disturbing, but I could not stop reading for a second! The opening scene throws us into a horrifying, denigrating, and very telling of the world episode in the kitchen of a Man and his "she-bitch", discussing the fate of the "she-whelp", which by the misfortune of being female is only good for barter or selling for money, since otherwise she just uses-up the resources rightfully belonging to The Man and his six sons. In this world a female doesn't even get a name, this is how little they are regarded. The place is mostly desert, the people very poor, the G-ds always present and in communication with the world's inhabitants. This World is reminiscent of the time from the Old Testament, when G-d was often in a very bad mood, liked to smite folks for the slightest insult, real or perceived, and made His desires clear to the few he deemed worthy to hear His voice. The Unnamed G-d with the Scorpion as His sign, is not a very loving G-d. It demands constant animal sacrifices, and hundreds of thousands get killed in its name.... The g-d-speakers are its priests and they are the creators and enforcers of the g-d-laws. The only other individuals who could enforce and create rules and laws are the Warlords and their entourages. They rule over free men and slaves with an iron fist. This is a low and base world, where slavery is the norm and slaves are lower than cattle. Women are lower than that...
The world building is immaculate!!! You can feel the sun scorching the skin and everything around you, you can experience the need for water in a visceral way, and the sand in every crevasse of your body is almost tactile!!! The abuse the slaves are put through is so devastating, you want to do something to help them, but your own impotence to do so is stifling! The language used for all the narrative is dialect-specific and I did not find it bothersome - the opposite, it made me immerse myself completely into the story and the region it is playing out in. As much as it helped create the atmosphere, it also gave me the needed something different to which to hold on in order to create some separation, or the story would have been unbearable to get through. The religion is based on several such I have encountered in history, and just as them this one is cruel and merciless!!! Imagine on top of that, having the G-d itself tell you what to do at all times and give you no chance at personal choice or freedom of ideas, since all has to be in the G-d's name, or else!!! I would think this would be a terrible place and culture to belong to...
Our main character, whom no one can call a protagonist, since she is nothing like such, is that same she-whelp with no name, who was sold as a slave and gave herself the name Hekat. She was bought because she is beautiful, is 12 years old, and the flesh-traitors plan on investing into her so they can sell her as a noble's concubine eventually. In the beginning of the book you want to root for her, the pathetic, ignorant, abused slave girl, who is just starting to discover the world beyond her desert village. You can see she is brave and smart, and you know that given the chance she will become something! But her personality is mostly formed already in that hell-hole of a place, and one more disappointment pushes her over the edge, bringing our the worst in a smart, strong young girl having all that baggage behind her, and developing coping mechanisms perfectly understandable for a world where the G-d walks among its people. The readers' desire to root for her quickly dissipates, turning from hope, to pity, to possible understanding, to "I hate her, she is horrible", to WTF???? Even her best qualities conspire to make her more scary and despicable. She is one sociopathic-narcissistic-mass-murderer!!! The one weakens, her love for her son, is also barely palatable and eventually makes things worse... There really aren't characters in the book I can say are "good". There are some flashes of possibly positive traits in couple of them, but just by being part of this culture and religion, they are not good in any way we might think of it. This is the story of how cruelty creates and perpetuates itself. It is very difficult to read, but darn it, it is sooooooo poignant and original, I feel lucky to have fallen onto it! I can't wait to read the next two books in the series!!!
This is not for everyone. If you need a light in the darkness or a character to whom you can give some love and feel good about, this is most probably not for you. But if you want to read something very different and can take the bleakness, I would say give it a try. You might be surprised!!!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you Need in the pages of a Good Book!!! ...more
This one was soooo much better than the first! It was exciting and addictive! The style of writing has improved leaps and bounds! I have*** 4.75 ***
This one was soooo much better than the first! It was exciting and addictive! The style of writing has improved leaps and bounds! I have nothing but praise for this book and this up and coming young author! The only problem - the next book is not yet!!! I would go nuts waiting for it!!! Strongly recommend it to all fans of Epic Fantasy!!! ...more
A Buddy Read with the MacHalo Freaks, since obviously we need to lose all faith in humanity!
WTH???! I am completely stunned and broken *** 4.35 ***
A Buddy Read with the MacHalo Freaks, since obviously we need to lose all faith in humanity!
WTH???! I am completely stunned and broken right now... When did Schaefer become a grim-dark writer? He must have done it behind my back because I always thought of his work as a Dark UF, but with some humor and hope at the end of the tunnel outcomes. I know this is straight Fantasy, but I still thought.... Alas, this story, which started as the story of several young people who were on their way to better their future and those of their families, turned into a tale of how the world could crush down and rip apart every last drop of humanity even from the most well meaning soul, destroy the dreams that make us better, and leave us empty and soiled in a puddle of our own fluids and waist... Death is the easy way out. Schaefer leaves us wishing to get inside the story and destroy those characters who hurt our protagonists, but even more, hurt us... 👿... Oooo, the pain of futility!
Mr. Schaefer, I really love your work, but I really, really wish that with this book we are done with the spirit-crushing stuff and the next two books you have dedicated to building our faith in humanity once again! Leave us at least one, hopefully more, characters of which we could be proud of and even care for. Maybe, possibly even give us some, I am even afraid to say it, happy ending??? Please?... Oh, well, they have been written already and I am just crying in the wind... I will fearfully attempt the next volume... Let's hope for the best!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come!...more
"...“The Malazan way,’ he breathed. ‘The murderer’s touch. A brush of cloth. A sip of wine. The gleam of a blade as fine as a snake’s tooth.*** 4 ***
"...“The Malazan way,’ he breathed. ‘The murderer’s touch. A brush of cloth. A sip of wine. The gleam of a blade as fine as a snake’s tooth. Your name whispered just as you fall into sleep.”..."
This is the world of Malazan, just as dark and bloody as ever, only told by a different bard. He is not either better or worse than the bard who tells us the story of the Malazan, Book of the Fallen, he just has his own voice and his own way of telling us a story, and I truly appreciate that. Just as I love the Flight of the Bumble Bee played by a heavy metal band, or played by a violinist, I can enjoy either not only for their similarity and basic theme, but because of their differences as well. The world would be a very dull and boring place if all artist, writers and musicians expressed themselves exactly the same way.
Unfortunately, in the case of the Malazan World, I feel the need to start with the previous paragraph, because the works of the two creators of this world, Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont, are intricately connected and a comparison between the two is almost inevitable. They are different, no question about it, and I guess it is up to the personal preferences of the readers to decide which stile fits their tastes batter, but for me, and I hope most readers approach this series in the same way, the two compliment each-other perfectly. Where SE is edgy and at times heavy on the prose, ICE tends to go about telling a story in a more traditional way, softer around the edges and with more moody and spooky details in the world-building. SE overwhelms with his innate power of emotion he can bring out of the debts of your soul, while ICE sneaks up on you insidiously, but still potently.
"..."Why are you killing us???"..."
I still get goose-bumps thinking about that sentence...
If you plan on taking on this series, I have to say that it would be a loss not to read the books written by ICE. Not only do they give a background and feel in gaps of the mythology, but they would be just as good if read as The Malazan Empire Series on its own. In this first book of the series, all the action takes place in the span of one Shadow Moon Night, when the Warens (something like magical dimensions) can coalesce, and creepy creatures of different worlds could roam the streets of the magically heavy Isle. The local residents know not to leave their homes and huddle in fear behind locked doors, only the uninformed or those who look for trouble dare step outside. This is the night we are introduced to the old, grizzled elite soldier Temper, who is hiding in plain sight, as just a veteran waiting to retire on a bedraggled post on Malaz Island. The other protagonist is Kiska, a young girl who fancies herself a spy, although she is not working for anyone, since the local Fist, which is like a General in the Empire Military, is refusing to give her a chance and higher her. She is naive and dreams of a future away from the Island, adventures and anything where she could get an adrenaline rush. Temper is not of the locals and Kiska is just looking for adventure, thus they both end up involved in the perilous activities strangling the life out of the Island on that fateful night.
It so happens that four of the familiar to us characters of the Book of the Fallen have major roles with their political and devious machinations. Emperor Kellenved and his partner Dancer have been missing for the past year, leaving Surly to the Imperial Regency. Many think that this night will be the one Kellenved returns to reclaim his throne, while Surly and her Claws are there to make that impossible. We also have the High Mage Tayschrenn and he is much more interesting here than in any of the books of the Fallen I have read up to now. We also get a good idea who Edgewalker is, and I love how all the peaces are falling into place of the overall picture!!!
"..."Kiska fairly wailed: ‘But what of Kell – the throne?’ ‘I am sorry. That is a minor concern given everything at stake this Conjunction.’ ‘Minor! ’ Kiska believed she could hear the dried flesh at its neck creak as the head turned to her. ‘Yes. In the larger picture. I am sorry. Now, you must go.’ ‘But wait! I have so many questions. I—......"..."
So, if you are like me and just need to know all about the Malazan World, or are just looking for a good darker Fantasy, this is a very good way to go! I know I just can't get enough:):):)
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you find what you Need in the pages of a Good Book!!!...more
Before you take my rating as just another four stars, let me explain. Some will read this and think it is the biggest bunch of bull ever*** 4 ***
Before you take my rating as just another four stars, let me explain. Some will read this and think it is the biggest bunch of bull ever written. And they will not be wrong. Some will read it and say, yeah, OK, I see the metaphor, I understand the gist, but it has no plot to speak of, it is too verbose, and self-indulgent, nothing to good... And they will be right. Still others will read it and feel their soul finally understood, and will call it not just a book, but a revelation. They will be completely correct as well. This is the reason I wish I could give it 0 stars and 5 stars at the same time, if there was a way to do that without messing with the author's GR rating. But I experienced all of those stages while reading this 200 page novella.
It started with the languid, indulgent manner of a bard's storytelling and I thought, OK, this is just the introduction, it will be interesting. The first 20% persisted in this manner, and even I, who love the cadence of the language as much as anyone, after the 10% mark wanted to dose off, go clean, or even do laundry!!!! The HORROR!!!! The introduction of the group of characters on a pilgrimage to the Indifferent G-d was over-long and over-clever. Being cheeky is fun, when it is in small measures and you can cherish the moments as a jewel, but in an ocean of jewels, you will most likely drown...
We have representatives of most branches of society, among which we have a group of knights, hunters, some thugs, as well as a dancer and several writers, poets, and storytellers. On their pilgrimage they have to cross the Crack'd Pot Trail, which is a desert. The knights and the hunters are after the necromancers and murderers, B&K, who have been leaving a path of carnage behind and a reward awaits those who capture them. Around the 20th day the gang have run out of food and water and decide that they have to start eating members of the party. So, they organize a contest, in which the most worthless (the way the group sees it, they are less useful than the horses) individuals, the writers, poet and storytellers, will have to beguile them with their craft every day, and whoever is the worst as judged by them, gets killed and eaten in the evening. Talk about Hunger Games:):):) This is the premise and this is the book.
Once we got to that premise I started getting hooked. For the purpose of brevity, I will call the artists, the writers. So, all the writers got into telling their stories, and this is where I saw the genius of Steven Erikson come to life. We could put ourselves in the position of the writers, the audience and the critics at the same time. It was so real, so true, so cruelly straight-forward, he beat us over the head with a bludgeon!!! This symbiotic but most cannibalistic relationship between the author, his critics and the public whom he works for, takes on a very macabre shape in the bulk of this book. They do not call it Grim-Dark for nothing!!!
Imagine yourself being thrown in a situation like that! For starters, you and your work have been judged as worthless, thus you can be the first to be used as food for all the "real members" of the group. Those who matter. Second, those are just random people. You have no idea what they might or might not like. Do you try to send fillers as to what could be the most approved of way to tell a story and then tailor your stile and presentation to them, or do you stay true to yourself and hope they like what they see/hear? Are you confident enough in your own ability to put your life on the line for it? Will the audience understand you, where you are coming from, what you are trying to achieve? And what if you are good enough for the audience but the critics, those who at the end decide your fate, hate everything about you? And what are their motives and values? Are they the same as yours, or the audience, or are they completely different from all else? How do you keep everyone happy and satisfied, and at the same time try to keep true to yourself and all you believe you stand for? And is borrowing or "inspiration" from others OK, and how different do you have to be? The questions are so many, and Erikson is able to present them in such an unbelievably entertaining and gritty way, that I am not sure I will ever be able to think about this thematic without thinking of this book! I thought I loved him once I read Deadhouse Gates, then I thought I am in-love with him after I read Midnight Tides, now I am not sure what to think anymore... He has entered that zone in which I put those I would hope I never meet, because he has arisen to a pedestal level, and reality usually brings those folks down... So I just would like to admire him from very, very far away:):):)!!!
This being said, I am not blind to the verbal vomit that was happening at some intervals. A GR friend of mine called it "verbal masturbation" and I think this is much more precise, because SE ravels in his self-indulgence during the whole book. Unapologeticslly so, and I admire him even more for that!!! He does not try to meet his fans's expectations, he is on his soap-box and he is going to make it count! However, since we are all being self-indulgent, I have to admit that on top of the love-hate relationship between the author, critics, and the readers, the warning tales of watching out whom you invite into your own "house", and the hilariously absurd poet who tried to sell the stories in rime, so he can reach and encourage "the children", my most favorite and cringe-worthy parts were the horrifyingly awkward and ridiculously humorous in a very dark and jarring way sex scenes!!!! The first one was tragically inadequate and the second, completely impossible:) And I cringed and laughed with abandon:):):):) Don"t judge me, I am weird:)
So, I am not sure I can recommend this book to people, because I am not sure who might like it, but if you are a writer of any kind, or are interested in sociological experiments, this might be very interesting for you, that is hoping you can get over the first 20% without giving up. I know I will never be able to erase it from my mind:):):)
P.S... I walk up the next morning and thought about how much our current government resembles that judging crowd. The first thing they tried to slash when they took office, was the funding for the arts and education, as well as almost completely defund EPA, science and diplomacy, which heavily relies on the ability to communicate with language... But the money for military and weapons went way up. We, as people are devaluing our hearts, minds and souls... It is just so sad and insidiously damaging! Let's hope by the time another Renaissance emerges, we have not sunk into this millennium's Dark Age!😞😞😞
Now I wish You All Happy Reading and may you Always find what you Need in the pages of a Good Book!...more
I can't give anything but a 5 ***** rating for the whole series!!!
"... “Nostalgia was like a disease, one that crept in and stole the colour fromI can't give anything but a 5 ***** rating for the whole series!!!
"... “Nostalgia was like a disease, one that crept in and stole the colour from the world and the time you lived in. Made for bitter people. Dangerous people, when they wanted back what never was.”...
However, this was one of the most difficult on my psyche read I have ever embarked on... And I recommend it to every adult out there... !
"... “Against a broken heart, even absurdity falters. Because words fall away. A dialogue of silence. That deafens.”...
I finished... I feel like I have been run over by a bulldozer!!! I am emotionally exhausted and completely spent... I have no coherent thoughts at the moment... I need a drink! And some chocolate ice cream... Review? Eventually, when I can actually give the thinking to my brain, not to my soul...
"... “And now the page before us blurs. An age is done. The book must close. We are abandoned to history. Raise high one more time the tattered standard Of the Fallen. See through the drifting smoke To the dark stains upon the fabric. This is the blood of our lives, this is the Payment of our deeds, all soon to be Forgotten. We were never what people could be. We were only what we were.
Remember us.” ― Steven Erikson, The Crippled God... ...more
A Buddy Read with my Fantasy Fanatics @ BB&B! Because we love ALL FANTASY!!!
I need to start with one of the best quotes from the book,*** 4.65 ***
A Buddy Read with my Fantasy Fanatics @ BB&B! Because we love ALL FANTASY!!!
I need to start with one of the best quotes from the book, which I find eternally true and very current!!!
"... “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 a 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 multitude of perspectives, no dialogue. The victim assumes the face of the tyrant, self-righteous and intransigent, and wars breed like vermin. And people die.”...
Amen!!!
In the end of the previous book, the Tiste Edur Trull Sengar decided to tell his story to his undead companion. This book is that story.
Midnight Tides connected with me on an intellectual level much more than the previous couple of tomes. I had a visceral emotional reaction to "The Chain of Dogs", which was book 2, I really enjoyed the other three books, but this one spoke to my current state of disillusionment with the world around me very cerebrally. We would like to be able to compare the fictional and fantastical empires of Malazan and Lethar to long dead empires of ours, but Lethar's problems were very closely related to our Western powers of today. The systematic destruction of the middle class with the growth of both groups of the very rich and the very poor, is becoming the perfect growing field for all that the majority of us find deplorable and unthinkable, but it starts insidiously creeping up on civilization and it cyclically destroys it from within... Rich and poor with no vast middle class for stabilization, is a revolution waiting to happen. And we once again never learn from history's lessons.... But the best way to make the point of this book I will let my very favorite character of the whole Malazan series up to now, Tehol Beddict, lay it out the way only he could!!! :
"... “As they walked, Tehol spoke. ‘…the assumption is the foundation stone of Letherii society, perhaps all societies the world over. The notion of inequity, my friends. For from inequity derives the concept of value, whether measured by money or the countless other means of gauging human worth. Simply put, there resides in all of us the unchallenged belief that the poor and the starving are in some way deserving of their fate. In other words, there will always be poor people. A truism to grant structure to the continual task of comparison, the establishment through observation of not our mutual similarities, but our essential differences. ‘I know what you’re thinking, to which I have no choice but to challenge you both. Like this. Imagine walking down this street, doling out coins by the thousands. Until everyone here is in possession of vast wealth. A solution? No, you say, because among these suddenly rich folk there will be perhaps a majority who will prove wasteful, profligate and foolish, and before long they will be poor once again. Besides, if wealth were distributed in such a fashion, the coins themselves would lose all value—they would cease being useful. And without such utility, the entire social structure we love so dearly would collapse. ‘Ah, but to that I say, so what? There are other ways of measuring self-worth. To which you both heatedly reply: with no value applicable to labor, all sense of worth vanishes! And in answer to that I simply smile and shake my head. Labor and its product become the negotiable commodities. But wait, you object, then value sneaks in after all! Because a man who makes bricks cannot be equated with, say, a man who paints portraits. Material is inherently value-laden, on the basis of our need to assert comparison—but ah, was I not challenging the very assumption that one must proceed with such intricate structures of value? ‘And so you ask, what’s your point, Tehol? To which I reply with a shrug. Did I say my discourse was a valuable means of using this time? I did not. No, you assumed it was. Thus proving my point!’ ... "
If the Malazan Empire is the mirror of The Roman, then the Letherii society mirrors the Byzantine Empire in its most decadent. Rome and its military structure, together with their laws, engineering, and religious Pantheon, were a power which conquered, took everything, but also propped-up the peoples it enfolded into their empire. There were taxes in money and people, but overall, they worked under a set of rules which were pretty reasonable (this is speaking as a person of today, I am not sure the people at the time perceived it the same). Byzantium drowned under the wight of its arrogance and greed. Their sense of "destiny" and belief in supremacy made them entitled and incapable of correct objectivity when it came to their military power, their enemies and the internal decay that was eroding the core of their culture. It is sad, because they had gone complaisant, soft and fat, but the arts, literature, music and intellectual culture were flourishing. It would take centuries for them to reach the same levels, until which humanity in that region had lost most of its soul...
"... “Progress... is the belief from which emerge notions of destiny. The Letherii believe in destiny - their own. They are deserving of all things, born of their avowed virtues... Destiny wounds us all and we Letherii wear the scars with pride... We have a talent for disguising greed under a cloak of freedom. As for past acts of depravity, we prefer to ignore those. Progress, after all, means to look ever forward, and whatever we have trampled in our wake is best forgotten’ ... "
Everything in Lether exists only as far as its value goes. Gold can see a person and his family live well, or the lack of it can turn a family for generations to come into "indebted" = slaves. The ruling King, his Queen and their child, the Prince, are secure in the military and magical power of their kingdom, and see themselves as the fated rebirth of the foretold Lether Emperor and kin. The ruling class and the army leaders are so sure in their military prowess, that they start wars in order to gain more slaves and ultimately gold, with not a care for the people they conqueror. The poor are just a fother for the front-lines, to absorb the losses and perform the clean-up and manual labor. They are just throw-away lives, not real... Unless you are that poor person or their family... Udinaas is one of those indebted, who has been captured by the Edur and is a slave to them at the moment. Even as slaves, the Letherii continue segregating among themselves according to their status before being captured...
"... “Udinaas well understood his own kind. To the Letherii, gold was all that mattered. Gold and its possession defined their entire world. Power, status, self-worth and respect—all were commodities that could be purchased by coin. Indeed, debt bound the entire kingdom, defining every relationship, the motivation casting the shadow of every act, every decision.’ ... "
The Tiste Edur tribes live in the shadows of legends which paint them as the victims of betrayal, while denying them the greatness they see themselves as deserving. However, the distinct and warring Tiste Edur tribes have now united under the Warlock King and are preparing to claim their destiny at the head of the Letherii Empire. Theirs is a tribal culture where coins have value only as decoration of the body of the fallen warriors. They have trade and slaves from the people they conquer, seeing no point in gold as a commodity. Being barbaric in the eyes of Lether, they are vastly underestimated and the inevitable clash, which the Letherii provoke, is bound to be much more contested than the refined and arrogant royals and army expect. After all, the Warlock King has made some very powerful and angry new allies...
So, we have very traditional clashes of cultures, but the book is much more than just that. It is layer upon layer of stories, human fates, political intrigues, economic plots for collapse of the money market, and most of all, we have the various g-ds starting to really show their hand in manipulating the pawns of their choosing. Old, Elder, New, not-completely ascended and forgotten G-DS are starting to steer and the hapless humans, as well as other races and creatures, they use and abuse, in most cases are left bereft of a choice or having say in any of their participation on the game board of the all-powerful. Some of those G-DS arose some sympathy in me, but most of them are petty and selfish, and I wanted to smack or destroy them, if possible both! However, the mortals, or mostly mortals, we get to meet in this book for the first time, were endlessly entertaining, however pathetic, non-to-bright, undead, powerful or genius they might have been. On the Edur side I was very partial to Trull Sengar, whom we met in House of Chains. However, both of his brothers were very memorable, each in their own way, as well. On the Lether side, well, the list is longer, but I am completely in love with Tehol Beddict, the middle of another three brothers, who lives as a failed destitute businessman, with his faithful man-servant Bugg, who is much more than he appears. His philosophical musings made this book a pleasure for me to read. Seren Pedac was also interesting, although her path is very difficult to read about... Great characters who delivered comic relief are the undead Shurq Elalle and her amazing makeover, the three ladies business partners of Tehol, their bodyguard, the complete opposite of Karsa in everything but physical appearance, Ublala Pung, and all the members of the Rat Catcher Guild!!!! I was particularly partial to every moment the Guild's "inspector" was on page:):):):) This multitude of the character ensemble made the massive book fun to read and easy to follow. The story was very linear and flowed in a manner not typical for the previous books. However, it was paced perfectly and I was very, very pleased with it. As always, I would highly recommend this series to all those who love Epic and Military Fantasy and do not expect romance or rainbows to come with it. The author once again shows the ugly face of war and the crime that it perpetuates on the individual as well as humanity as a whole. Brilliant!!!
"... ‘Destiny is a lie. Destiny is justification for atrocity. It is the means by which murderers armour themselves against reprimand. It is a word intended to stand in place of ethics, denying all moral context.’ ... "
Now I wish you All Happy reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a Good Book!!!...more
"... "Insofar as Else Tage could see, the Firaldian Peninsula was where insanity went*** 4.25 ***
A buddy read with my friends @ BB&B!
*** 4.55 ***
"... "Insofar as Else Tage could see, the Firaldian Peninsula was where insanity went to retire.”..."
Second time around and it is even better!!! The immense knowledge of historical events in Middle Europe during the Middle Ages and the way Cook presents it to us are like a sadistic, but very addictive game and I could not stop trying to put the puzzle pieces down just the way they are supposed to fit together... It takes a lot of time and concentration, but it is a really worthy read for the fans of both military Fantasy and History.
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"... "Else nodded and smiled but also rolled his eyes. “This is getting hard to follow. I’ll be writing reports and sending them to me keeping track of what I’ve been doing and offering suggestions on how I can influence me to behave in ways that I’ll find more useful toward accomplishing my goals where spying on me is concerned.”..."
I wonder how boring the world would be if there were no writers like Glen Cook in it... Actually, I refuse to even imagine such HORROR! If there was no Glen Cook, then there wouldn't be the Black Company, and there would not be this Alternative History Fantasy, The Instrumentalities of the Night, which is another enthralling and mind-boggling Tour de Force by one of the most deceptively simplistic authors I have ever read! For the ease and accessibility of his prose, his plots and characterizations are so complex and multilayered, that when you first start one of his books you feel like you were dropped in the frying pan, the oil is over your head and you are expected not only to swim, survive and persevere , but finish cooking and serve a diner for your future in-laws... And your boss... This tendency to start his stories at a seemingly random point in the middle of action is one of my personal favorite characteristics of GC's storytelling, but it is also one of the reasons many people find confusing and many give up early on. I understand, but I do wish they would continue. All the random seeming scenes, with no visible connection to each other, every one of them is just a building block and eventually everything comes together, you just have to trust the author to lead you through the minefield of backstabbing, politics, machinations, power struggles, betrayals, battles, magic, gods and demons. And in the end you are happy you have couple of more books to look forward to!!!
Else lives in a world which mirrors ours but in Medieval Times and more specifically, in between the first two Crusades... Else is a captain in the army of the Eastern peoples and after returning from the Holy Lands, he is sent back to infiltrate and spy on the Western Church Patriarch and his cronies, who are just looking for a reason to go on another crusade and plunder everything on the way. His mission - get close to the heads of houses, something like heads of City States, and do everything possible to distract them so they don't even think about invading the Holy Lands again. It sounds completely impossible, but hey, he is just a soldier and has no other choice but accept. Tom Cruise, anyone ☺?
Well, I forgot to mention that while on his way back home, Else had used the first dynomite powered bomb like weapon and was able to kill a demon, which is more like an old time minor pagan god, which the current prevalent religions call demons, or more appropriately, The Instrumentalities of the Night! Tum-tum-tuuuuummmmm! Well, obviously those creatures are not happy and decide they have to rid him of his life... They have to get in line, since Else's mission is so dangerous and unpredictable, he gathered enemies every step of the way, all of them wishing for his painful end! The Instrumentalities find two Humans to use as their proxy and those characters are absolutely fantastic!!! Loved their story arc, loved all the gruesome situations they found themselves in, ... I lovedpretty much everything!!!
My favorite part of reading this book is the unmasking of the historical equivalents of this fictional world and ours. Since I am a bit of a History nut, this felt like a puzzle with high payoff at the end:-) And it being made up gave the author a great canvas to work with! And he did not disappoint 💓!
I have to make myself stop here, or I run the risk of delving into the plot and giving something away... I just want to end by recommending this to history and fantasy fans, although I would not think it appropriate for the very young, since it is a bit on the violent side - it is Medieval Time after all!
"... "THE GODS OF THE ANDORAYANS REFLECTED THE NORTHERN FOLK THEMselves. Which meant that they were rowdy, drunken, not too bright, drunken, violent, drunken, and short-sighted. While often drunk.”..."
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you Need in the pages of a Good book!!!...more
My second read leads me to believe that this is a series that only gets better with re-reading!!! I find myself needing to bump my rating this time My second read leads me to believe that this is a series that only gets better with re-reading!!! I find myself needing to bump my rating this time to
*** 4.44 ***
so it isn't full 5 stars - this way I have space to bump it more the next time I revisit it:):):)
A buddy re-read with the folks at FBR! Because once is never enough when it comes to Malazan!!!
"..."Tell me, Tool, what dominates your thoughts?" The Imass shrugged before replying. "I think of futility, Adjunct." "Do all Imass think about futility?" "No. Few think at all." "Why is that?" The Imass leaned his head to one side and regarded her. "Because, Adjunct, it is futile."..."
*** 4 ***
A buddy read with the Epic Fantasy Warriors at BB&B!!! Because we need to get our Evil Magic On!
How the hell does a person do a review on a book like this??? This is the first book in a series, which in scope rivals WoT, SoIF, and TBC. I have found that on such books with multiple POV's and story arcs and multi-directional story-lines, it is almost impossible to even try an attempt at delving into the plot. So I don't think I am even going to try.
"..."“Through the gamut of life we struggled for control, for a means to fashion the world around us, an eternal, hopeless hunt for the privilege of being able to predict the shape of our lives.”..."
This little quote should give you all some idea of the tone of the book - it is dark, it is bleak and it is violent! With the first pages we are thrown into the action, no knowledge of what is going on or who the bad or the good guys are. We meet some of the main characters right away and see them later growing and changing through the years. This is where it really reminded me of TBC, where we hit the ground running as well, and all the characters had the potential to do good or bed equally. I think this is what makes this type of writing so compelling - you never stop wondering about the true intentions of the characters and the potential for betrayals and backstabbing are infinite. But this is also what makes the characters so human and relatable, since in real life we are all faced with "gray" choices - no black or white, no true right or wrong. They usually try, just like us, to do what they think is wright, until deeper understanding and seeing the bigger picture shows them which side of history their stories will be told on.
"..."«Such is the irony of life,» Kruppe proclaimed, raising one pastry-filled hand over his head, «that one learns to distrust the obvious, surrendering instead to insidious suspicion and confused conclusion. But, is Kruppe deceived? Can an eel swim? Hurrah, these seeming muddy waters are home to Kruppe, and his eyes are wide with wonder.»”..."
Kruppe turned out to be my favorite character, with his excessive flowery speech, spewing hyperbolies and riddles, and the obvious "more than he seems" place in the story. But I digress...
So, this is the tale of the Malazan Empire, which looses its Emperor in the beginning of the book and now, nine years later, the Empress Laseen is trying to take over all the free cities on the continent of Genabackis, and two of them seem to be giving the Empire a hard fight. After a very questionable takeover of the city of Pannion Seer, where the Empress made obvious that she does not give a damn about who and what she destroys, as long as she appears to be the winner, killing off thousands of her own troops using mages and demons to do so, as well as keeping the disgruntled survives under her thumb. As one of her enforcers she uses Adjunct Lorn, my second favorite character of the book. She was "the job" and she tried so hard to kill the person inside of herself, in order to be able to keep on being "the job". I was fascinated by her and looked with anticipation for every moment she got some page-time.
So, the Empress of this militaristic Empire, sends a team to try to destabilize and do as much damage as possible to the free city of Darujhistan in order to prepare it for a takeover. Even better if they can take it over with subterfuge or bribary, but they should be ready to do anything that is needed to accomplish their goal. Thus we get to meet the The Bridgburners lead by Whiskeyjack, the resident mage Quick Ben, Tattersail, the warrior mage lady, and the newly added Captain Paran, who seemed to be the character around whom most action seems to be happening. I would not call him the protagonist, because in this format I don't think there is a protagonist at all... There are many more characters on the side of the Empire, but it would be impossible to name them all.
"..."No soul can withstand the sun's bones of light and reason dims when darkness falls - so we shape barrows in the night for you and your kin." "Forgive my interruption, then," said I. "The dead never interrupt," said the mason, "they but arrive.”..."
The Free City of Darujhistan is described as a beautiful and prosperous city-state where a number of colorful characters live. First and foremost is the son of the city, the loquacious Kruppe, possibly a thief, who together with the members of the Thief Guild and the Assassins Guild tend to hang out at the Phoenix Tavern... Crocus is a young thief apprentice who unfortunately gets noticed by a god and his life takes on a very severe turn. They also have a City Council as well as a mage shadow council, The Alchemist being their leader, who seem to be the true strength behind the power in the place.
Those are the Human players. This is where this book becomes complicated. We not only have humans, but we have a bunch of other races, ascendant beings, gods and Elder gods... There are levels of magical warrens, which are the places that give magical power to the adepts who have the affinity to them... All of the supernatural beings seem bored and all of them entertain themselves by entering into wars, games of power and influence, and of course, the lives and politics of humans. They choose individuals as their pawns and strive to affect the narrative in such a manner as to harm or diminish others of their ilk. I am sure, that almost I got the gist of the story and understood what is happening, there were details I either completely missed or went over my head. However, I am not discouraged and am sure that things will crystallize as the series develops.
"..."“Those whom the gods choose, ’tis said, they first separate from other mortals—by treachery, by stripping from you your spirit’s lifeblood. The gods will take all your loved ones, one by one, to their death. And, as you harden, as you become what they seek, the gods smile and nod. Each company you shun brings you closer to them. ’Tis the shaping of a tool, son, the prod and pull, and the final succour they offer you is to end your loneliness—the very isolation they helped you create.”..."
So, overall, this story strongly reminded me of TBC and I feel that this made it easier for me to keep up with the action and not get lost in the forest from the get-go. I loved the world building and the characters were perfect for such a volume of action and developing legend for the series. Once past the middle of the book it read much quicker and it took a reader-friendly form. It all comes down to familiarity, which is always harder in the cases when the world and its systems are completely made-up and new to us. It is an Epic and Militaristic Magic and Gods world and if any of this sounds interesting to you, you should definitely give it a go. Only be prepared and in the mood to concentrate, because it does not spoon-feed you information and full attention to detail is needed. I personally am looking forward to the next volume!!!!
"..."Self-righteous wrath had planted more corpses in the ground than an empire could lay claim to,”..."
Mow I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!!!!...more
I am not exactly sure how I feel about this installment in the Raven Shadow Series. It is getting interesting, it is keeping its violent*** 3.75 ***
I am not exactly sure how I feel about this installment in the Raven Shadow Series. It is getting interesting, it is keeping its violent edge, and the story is a bit more spread geographically, since our heroes, Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, Princes Lyrna, young warrior and brother of the Sixth Order Frentis, the newly introduced young bastard daughter of the Trueblade Reva, and the man who brings it all together in his chronicles, the Historian and slave Veniers are scattered to different parts of the Realm and the Empire. Vaelin Al Sorna was the major point of interest in book one and we all got attached to the young man who went through so much and kept his sense of honor and justice. I think I was also one of those, who was looking forward to find out more about his romantic life, his future choices and all that is his life while given to the Volarians. Anthony Ryan had had different ideas, obviously, because he gave POV's to all of the main characters and Vaelin became just one of several, his story line still important, but not as central.
"... “Your realm is an insane place. In Volaria, no-one goes hungry, slaves are no use when they starve. Those freeborn too lazy or lacking in intelligence to turn sufficient profit to feed themselves are made slaves so they can generate wealth for those deserving of freedom, and be fed in return. Here, your people are chained by their freedom, free to starve and beg from the rich. It's disgusting.”... "
Yes, the Volarians are coming!!! To arms!!! Que dramatic battle music.
The Realm, where Lorna's brother rules at the moment, has many problems and its Fiefdom Lords do all types of hostile machinations among each-other, but there is no slavery and there is still an expectation of an individual freedom. There have even been new attempts at legalizing religious freedom, although this is not going so well. The Volarian society, on another hand, is build on slavery and despotism, with those at the top having almost no regard for any but those of their own rank, if even that. Since they establish their place in the power scale by how many slaves they own, they have set their eye on taking over and subjugating the Realm, making it a land to supply their always depleting slave pens. The death of the Bright Hope in a duel with Al Sorna has given them a pause, but now the wheels of their maneuvers cannot be stopped. The historian Veniers finds himself once again in the middle of the action, being a slave in the house of the Volarian General who is in charge of the operation.
"... “Beware the seduction of the quick conclusion. Do not indulge in the answer you desire until you know all you need to know.” ... "
While the enemies are putting their game pieces in place, Al Sorna has returned, a changed and disheartened man, who has no more faith and chooses to leave the Sixth Order, giving the chance of the King to appoint him the Lord of the North Tower, which currently is without a Realm leader. Having returned hope to look for his sister and Frentis, he gathers what he owns and travels to the North, where he is thought of as a bringer of war. However, war is the furthest thing from spilling blood. However, a girl who is bent on vengeance takes the road with him and he decides to teach her as much as he can, knowing that she will need all the help she could get with the coming danger. Reva is the character whom I truly enjoyed, since she is very emotionally manipulated and trained to hate, but finds her better self by the end of the book and still keeps her kick-ass badness:) Another such character was the new traveling companion of Princes Lyrna, Dahrena, a warrior from the Lornak tribe, with whom the Princes went to negotiate a peace treaty. Her people are very direct and physical in the way they express themselves, and I dearly hope we get more of her in the next book!!! But as strong as those women are, they are also true human beings and all the war, destruction and slaughter takes a toll on their souls...
"... "I have done things here. In defending this city I have done things ... I thought them right and just as I did them, now I don’t know. Now I wonder if I mistook rage for right and murder for justice. " ... "
So, if I obviously enjoyed this book, why do I have misgivings? Two things - one, I am not sure that all of the violence had a true purpose. Yes, I know it is a war and trust me, I know how it could be, but it does seem like the author wants the people in his book to suffer, all of them, no matter what they are doing or who they are, and all of them are not always involved with the war or even the action... There is a sense of jaded self-hatred running through the whole book, which I feel has nothing to do with the plot or the given world. Second, I think that there is an unnecessary inflation of named characters who have also very little to do with anything, except to be told eventually that they are dead in some horrific or useless way... I think this becomes confusing for the reader, since we know nothing more about them than their names and that they parish, which only adds to the reader wondering if they missed something and that character was somehow important so we should grieve for them... Once you figure that no, they were just a randomly named person in the crowd, the impact when some of the more important characters meet an unfortunate end is just not there, or is at least very diminished. I think this is the difference when comparisons are made with authors like Cook, Erikson and Jordan - they have all those named characters, but even with minimal words, they all have their personality and real place in the story, often planned chapters or even books ahead, thus the effect is devastating, no matter how many of them we loose and why.
"... “If the stars in the sky are not fixed, then nothing is fixed. Nothing is eternal, all is temporary and ever-changing.” She turned away from the stars, meeting his gaze. “Nothing is fixed, my lord. No course is so set it cannot be changed.” ... "
Despite the weaknesses, I enjoyed the story, even though it did depress me a bit and I need to watch some of the Winter Olympics to bring my Happy Back! So this is what I am going to do and hope for a good third and last book in the trilogy!!!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many more Wonderful Books to come! ...more
Second time around even better than the first!!! What was I thinking! This deserves to be rounded up to 5 stars!!! But the pain.... Just *** 4.85 ***
Second time around even better than the first!!! What was I thinking! This deserves to be rounded up to 5 stars!!! But the pain.... Just as painful and potent as the first time!
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*** 4.35 ***
A buddy read with my family and friends at BB&B! Because we love Fantasy and are a bit of masochists too...
"..."And the fact remained, whatever games the gods played, it was hard-working dirt-poor bastards like him who suffered for it.”..."
Epic Fantasy of this scope deserves a better reviewer than me... I get so overwhelmed not only by the plot-lines and multitude of emotions the cast of characters brings on, but from the experience as a whole, that I loose the ability to break everything down in a logical and concise way. Thus I usually give up and go with the emotions the book invoked in me rather than bungle my way through a real critique.
"..."The world is shaped like a beetle’s ball of dung, and it travels through a chilling void around the sun. The surface floats in pieces, on a sea of molten rock. Sometimes the pieces grind together. Sometimes they pull apart. Pulled and pushed by tides as the seas are pulled and pushed.”..."
The book does not seem that long when you look at the page count. 920 pages is a lot, but I tend to read books of this length in 2-3 days max and not even think about it. However, by this time we have become well acquainted with Steven Erikson's style of writing and it is as dense as they come, thus making the most of every page, not letting your mind wonder in moments of lull.. You don't even realize how much our brains count on those moments of slow-down and light content in books in order to process the information as a whole without feeling overwhelmed with data by the end. No wonder some of my fellow readers feel like they need to get a college credit after finishing every book n the series:):):) Well, despite the scope of the novel, Erikson has found a way to keep us involved in the lives of all sides of a conflicted alliance between very reluctant frenemies. However, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, becomes the basic stepping stone in this book. And just as in the book before, although in a very different way, death.... A lot of death....
"..."“Death and dying makes us into children once again, in truth, one last time, there in our final wailing cries. More than one philosopher has claimed that we ever remain children, far beneath the indurated layers that make up the armour of adulthood.”..."
Here in "Memories of Ice", we are back with the company of Dujek Onearm's Host, Whiskeyjack and Captain Paran with the Bridgeburners, making alliances with Caladan Brood with his army and the dubious Kallor, the Tiste Andii led by the ever awe-inspiring Anomander Rake, and a bunch of mercenary armies, all with the purpose of stopping the hungry, cannibalistic masses of the Pannion Domin, led by the Pannion Seer. The action is happening at the same time as the events form the previous book but on Genabackis instead of the Seven Cities. So, little communication exist between the Adjunct Army, the Malazans who are involved in the Storm of the Apocalypse, and our bedraggled host of Bridgeburners, apart from the delivery service which supplies both at an enormous cost but with mind-blowing ability!!!
"..."We humans do not understand compassion. In each moment of our lives, we betray it. Aye, we know of its worth, yet in knowing we then attach to it a value, we guard the giving of it, believing it must be earned. T’lan Imass. Compassion is priceless in the truest sense of the word. It must be given freely. In abundance.”..."
This book was easier to read, mostly because of our familiarity with the way SE tells a story and the return of well-liked characters from book 1. However, we have a ton of new and wonderfully enchanting characters, which I think made this book work. Lady Envy with her entourage were some of my new favorites, a very horny Barghast warrior lady, the Shield Anvil - a warrior with a heart full of empathy big enough to take the pain of many suffering souls, and a couple of female Bridgeburners who steal your heart with strength, banter and hidden vulnerability, which made me fall in love with both of them at the same time!!!! However, as far as old favorites go, this was the book where the true character of Whiskeyjack shone in all of its glory with its humanity, nobility and strength, while Kruppe was the light of the bunch and where SE shows his chops as a writer, in my humble opinion. I think if it was not for him and the ladies, this book would have been like a load-stone on your heart. However, those characters provided the much needed comic relief, as well as the humanity back in our allied army.
"..."Kruppe denies the existence of elusive complexity regarding self, worrisome wizard. Simplicity is Kruppe’s mistress – in joyful conspiracy with his dear wife, Truth, of course. Long and loyal in allegiance, this happy threesome”..."
We also get to learn a ton of background on some of the races and G-ds, while creating a much bigger and better picture of the world as a whole. We get a better understanding of the powers involved, although I am sure this is only the tip of the iceberg, and how they got to be the way they are. The Deck of Cards is also being established as much more than just a tool for fortune-telling or a game and one of our heroes is taking a prominent spot in its hierarchy. Silverfox and her T'lan Imass had an interesting plot-line and their relationship with the Barghast, Moranth, as well as the way they experience life after thousands of years of existence, is absolutely fascinating!!! Tool was wonderful as always, and i think some more earthly pleasures are going to be in his near future:):):)
"..."They were human once, these women. They lived in villages and towns no different from this one. They were wives and mothers, tending their homes and yard animals. They danced, and they wept, they were pious and respectful in propitiating the old gods. They lived normal lives.”..."
If I compare how this book differs from the one before it, I have to say it is in the attempt at having moments of light banter and glimpses of hope and humanity. In "Deadhouse Gates" we were battered by devastation, pain, helplessness, hopelessness, complete demoralization and strangulating depression which comes with the reality and cruel indifference of war. It was gut-wrenching, soul-stripping and left me with the feeling of hopeless bleak raw pain. While there we were shown the atrocities of war, here we see how in the name of faith and hope for any sort of salvation, we are capable of striping ourselves of our humanity, inflicting war on ourselves and once that is exhausted, on the rest of the world. The hungry, barely armed host of the Pannion Domin, throwing themselves as a mass on the well-trained and armed soldiers like devouring army ants, trying to eat their enemies in the midst of the battle, insane with huger and abuse, stripped to their most base instincts, will be for EVER tattooed on my mind as an example of complete dehumanization!!! However, we still get the other side of the coin in our very human Bridgeburners, Reeve, Barghast and other incidental characters, which keep the candle of hope and faith in humanity alive. This hope is what makes "Memories of Ice" an easier book to read and probably why, even with the tremendous losses we suffer among our favorite characters, many fans of the series have it as one of their favorite books. I personally had a much more visceral reaction to the DG, but I totally appreciated the change of mood, such as it is, in MoI. I actually laughed out loud during some of the conversation with Kruppe or the previously mentioned lady warriors and loved every second of it!!!
"...“War is not a natural state. It is an imposition, and a damned unhealthy one. With its rules, we willingly yield our humanity.”..."
So, if you love Epic Fantasy, or any military genres, and have some tolerance for heavier content with difficult at times imagery, but full of action and multitude of well-thought out plot-lines, as well as very memorable and compelling characters, this series is for you!!! It is not easy-going and there are no rainbows and fluffy clouds or coy romance, but there is a lot of substance and wonderful pay-off! It is not a perfect book, but it is oooo, so worth it:)
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you find what you NEED between the pages of a good BOOK!!!...more
Pain, despair, pain, demoralization, pain, beautiful writing, pain, more pain... I need a drink and maybe a month of very mindless *** 5+ ***
Pain, despair, pain, demoralization, pain, beautiful writing, pain, more pain... I need a drink and maybe a month of very mindless chick-lit, then possibly I could return to write a review... Pain...
"...“Giving advice to a child is like flinging sand at an obsidian wall. Nothing sticks. The brutal truth is that we each suffer our own lessons—they can’t be danced round. They can’t be slipped past. You cannot gift a child with your scars—they arrive like webs, constricting, suffocating, and that child will struggle and strain until they break. No matter how noble your intent, the only scars that teach them anything are the ones they earn themselves.”..."...more
I have no choice but to give it at least five stars! This is an author who never stops to grow and continues to thug on every emotion I am capable ofI have no choice but to give it at least five stars! This is an author who never stops to grow and continues to thug on every emotion I am capable of and some new ones I had no idea I was capable of. If you are a fan of Fantasy, on the darker side, and can cope with some seriously grand philosophical musings on both micro and macro levels, presented in more than realistic way, and can handle some human tragedy... You have to check this series out! I can't begin to even touch on the plot, but if you have the patience to let the author lead you wherever he may, and the ability to concentrate in order to catch the majority of the detail and information, then you HAVE TO READ THIS SERIES! I hope you got my slight hint and follow my advice 🙂!...more
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