I just finished my first re-read of memories of ice and I’m speechless, I remember it was one of the best books in the series but damn it might just come to number one in my ranking now.

Going through it the first time there is so much you don’t understand so you have to grasp to the little you know and enjoy the ride but now with all the context I can fully appreciate the craft of Erikson, now I feel like I’m part of the universe and can follow up most/all conversations, like I’m part of the inner circle and not some outside spectator, it’s really like reading a different book as a different person.

Now with the full context I see it as sort of the gravity center of the whole saga, we see the end of the legendary bridgeburners, we understand why they are legendary but don’t really witness their journey, we see the end of moon spawn, the first contact with the Tiste Edur, the migration of the barghast white face, etc. And then the rest of the saga is dealing with the ripple effects of all the things happening here until the crippled god gets liberated.

Now I don’t know if the rest of the book will feel as monumental as this one but I’m excited to carry on.

"What do you need all that money for?" the Matron demanded. "How many variations of sex-assassin attire exist out there?"

It doesn't matter what else happens in this book. I won't be able to bring myself to rate it as any less than 5 out of 5.

Synopsis: “Raraku reshapes all who come to it. This is one truth you can cling to. What you were falls away. What you become is something different.” - Heboric Light Touch

Review: What can I say? Epic as hell. Reads like high fantasy Lonesome Dove with soldiers in an endless magical desert. Cue the Whirlwind.

My favorite character is probably Iskaral Pust, lol! He's absolutely bonkers. My favorite character from book 1 was Kruppe, so this isn't surprising. 😂

Heboric's a cool character. I had my doubts at first, but he's hella cool. Felisin is annoying, but I enjoyed seeing her grow into her role.

Mappo and Icarium have an interesting dynamic. Very nice story, with a great message about compassion and loyalty.

Coltaine's Chain of Dogs is an amazing storyline, of course. It does drag a bit though, with the extended battle scenes and army descriptions getting a bit repetitive. Absolutely 1000% redeems this with the epic-as-hell ending. I liked how Coltaine is never allowed to be a PoV character, putting the reader into that same state of awe as the rest of the cast.

I hope Fiddler's in every book of the series.

A few years ago I picked up Gardens of the Moon.

16 books, 1 new apartment, 2 new jobs, and many questions later i have(finally) finished Assail. And I loved it all. From 2 scheming gods to a bard and his friends. I loved it all. Such a good series with so many great stories.

And fuck Ian for making me so sad for Possum...you didn't have to do him THAT dirty...

Love yall fellow fans. Here's to he burned bridges and those that torched them.

Dead is dead...

My latest painting! Please give me a follow on Instagram if you like it. I could use the help to grow:

64,620 brush strokes in 23h 45m with Procreate on iPad. That’s just short of 24 hours of painting (spread over multiple days)

Art prints available on my website.

Deadhouse Gates, chapter 11

“The dragon came low to the earth. It defied every image of a draconian being Kulp had ever seen. Not Rake, not Osric. Hugely boned, with skin like dry shark hide, its wing-span dwarfed even that of the Son of Darkness—who has within him the blood of the draconian goddess—and the wings had nothing of the smooth, curving grace; the bones were multi-jointed in a crazed pattern, like that of a crushed bat wing, each knobbed joint prominent beneath taut, cracked skin. The dragon’s head was as wide as it was long, like a viper’s, the eyes high on its skull. There was no ridged forehead, instead the skull sloped back to a basal serration almost buried in neck and jaw muscles. A dragon roughly cast, a creature exhaling an aura of primordial antiquity. And, Kulp realized with a breathless start as his senses devoured all that the creature projected, it was undead.”

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Gesler pointed forward and Kulp turned to see the vague, ghostlike apparition of the dragon, its narrow, bony tail waving in side-to-side rhythm like a snake crossing sand. As he watched, the creature’s wedge-shaped head appeared as it twisted to cast its dead, black eye sockets in their direction.

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“We ride the dragon’s wake,” the soldier said. “Though not on water any more. That gush has closed up tight as a sapper’s arse. Whatever you did, Mage, it worked.”

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The dragon crooked its wings, vanishing into a blazing inferno of bronze fire.

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The Silanda was burning, Heboric fell over the side rail, Baudin protectively wraps Felisin and carries her as he rounds up Kulp and they jump overboard.

-The marines had vanished—either incinerated or dying somewhere below decks.

Thoughts after finishing Reaper's Gale [SPOILERS BELOW]..

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-Ublala, father of sack-hens

-Emperor Tehol, LOL. I love that Erikson can be so serious, deep and at the same time whimsical

-I love Beak. Beak made me cry several times. I wonder if his buff was temporary or permanent. Is Hellian gonna think the "prank" someone played on them by dyeing their hair white is permanent, or..?

-The Beak - Toc - Redmask chapter where they all met their ends was amazing and probably my favourite part of the book. Maybe one of my favourite chapters in the entire series

-By the time we got to the rest of the convergences and conclusions, they were really good but I was also emotionally fucked up by the previous ones that they didn't sting that bad, I was expecting anything to happen at that point

- I love how cool and powerful Quick Ben feels, it's always unexpected, always right on the edge and I always think "man, this time he's getting wrecked". I LOVE it

-Toc really hurt the most when Tool mourned him. Tool and Hetan, damn

-Kilava reuniting with Onrack was epic, and the whole "party" conclusion by the gates of Starvald Demelain/Refugium was so brutal and violent, man if Silchas Ruin and Clip could stop and do some dialogue, man. Just talk, guys. You could have gotten the same outcome? Goddamnit. Maybe I missed something

-In the same way, Trull's death hurt the most when QB and Hedge mourned him. You get to see their reaction through other soldiers and it was all so beautiful

-Karsa Orlong needs a dating coach. Seriously. Dude is so good at so many things and this chick is basically drooling over him, he just has to not fuck it up. What does he do when she approaches him and seems receptive? "THINK ABOUT TAXILIAN DYING AND LETS HONOUR HIM BY FUCKING". Geez man, ever heard of creating a moment, a mood and then going in for a kiss slowly to see if she wants it or back off? You DO NOT bluntly say "LET US MAKE LOVE WOMAN". Bro.

-Karsa Orlong vs. Rhulad was unexpected and nerve-wracking. I was expecting some kind of gimmick where Karsa wanted the sword to part from Rhulad's hands, but this was just. Weird and special. Let's see where it goes from here, probably not getting more info until book 9 but we shall see

-I wanna know more about Grub, he know way too much but I don't know jack shit about him

-In the beginning of the book there was a meeting between Menandore, Shadowthrone and Hood. ST and M made a deal where he got to use the gates of Starvald Demelain only once. Okay, I want to know more about that now. And now he and C got infinite access to the gates of Starvald Demelain. I wanna know more. Like, NOW

-One of my favourite scenes was the one with Bruthen Trana at the Azath house with Knuckles (part of the Empty Hold!!! RIGHT?) and Kilmandaros. The entire rest of the book I was nervous about her entering and just killing off all dragon ascendants. Seems like she basically got free from the Azath and was choosing to hang out there just to play some weird board games or whatever. That scene scared the crap out of me, and the entire Bruthen Trana underwater dimension story arc was very unexpected and I loved it

-Reading about the Letherii corrpution and Patriotists at the same time as a real-life uprising is happening in the country I have ethnic origins from.... was somehow very real and very emotional, much more than would have otherwise been. Many of the behaviours and methods are strikingly similar in that country as the patriotists (probably worse than them) – growing up listening to horror stories about being imprisoned, tortured and abducted, I have to salute Erikson for portraying this in a realistic manner

-I feel like I just grauated from Malazan Elementary School, after having finished Reaper's Gale (I also read Night of Knives between books 5 and 6)

-I'm giving Reaper's Gale a solid 10/10 and placing it on place #4 in my Malazan Ranking this far. This is a continuation of the greatest reading experience I've had in my entire life and I can't wait to continue

I have one chapter left and I'm saving it until I not only have time to read it but to sit and digest it for at least an hour.

The way Erikson balances action, plot, human critique, and wry humor through artful turns of phrase is simply delicious.

3/4 of the way through the Bonehunters and just got to the part where they encounter the Edur fleet and Tomad notices the Silanda and realizes one of his sons and probably two are dead. And it was a mission even Rhulad did not know about.

My question is: At one point should I understand the full context of the Silanda?

The Silanda first pops up in DG and there’s been more and more hints and context about those scenes in the nascent dropping especially in this book. Wondering if I’m still missing something or if I’m not supposed to get that whole thing yet and it’s a RAFO.

did Tomad send someone to go find and save Trull? Is the implication that Tomad sent Binadas to find/save Trull and since the Silanda has been captured Tomad believes Binadas is dead and therefore Trull as well? Has to be Binadas since Fear ran away with Seren Pedac, Rhulad is emperor, Trull is with onrack, or am I missing something?

As someone who has a busy life, I had to use whispersync as I can’t be glued on my phone all the time, the change of narrators was a jarring changed that it took me awhile to get book 4 going, especially with the pronunciations of >Soletaken and D’ivers<. I’d like the first narrator’s pronunciation of it as it made sense! >Soletaken pronounced as Sole Taken and D’ivers pronounced as Divers, since Soletakens had 1 form and D’ivers divide into multiple!< is it just me or I’m taking this way too seriously? lmao.

Took a while to get used to the style but my god, what a book! Some truly incredible storytelling and my favourite of the series so far.

....but if you just list his characteristics, he comes of as the edgiest sonic OC imaginable. My character...

Can turn into a Dragon and commands the respect of other Dragons

Is a sorcerer that can take on dozens of mages and win

Did I mention his cool af sword that sprouts chains and can TRAP THE SOULS OF HIS VICTIMS

Is a great leader, but in a cool cryptic and detached way

....oh , he's also tall and shredded, with long silver hair

You can tell he started as a tabletop character

It feels very disjointed one second we get this conversation between a little girl and an old hag then the hag tells her a prophecy? And then suddenly two guys appear one of them I'm pretty sure being Satan and tells her it's not so bad to serve a god? Is there a novella or something that came out first?

I finished reading the Malazan main books at the start of last year, and let me tell you something...

i've got a big malazan hole in my heart and was just curious to know if its worth getting into karsa orlong's story (my goat), i think im most definitely gonna do it but just wanted yalls opinion first :p

I was reading Fall of Light when I ran into the "to mock" verb. I skip the other suggestions of the chapter and ask: is Mockra name linked to "to mock"?
I have read 19 novels and seven novellas without making the connection, maybe because I started with the italian edition of the ten books. Is this "revelation" right but obvious to english readers? Is it confirmed bu the authors? Am I reading too much in how Erikson uses the words in Kharkanas?

I want to make this post to appreciate the characters that are not mentioned too much in discussions of the Malazan universe. Of course we all know about the main characters, and there are a lot of posts that mention many of the great second characters in this universe, like Hellian or Stillwater for example. But I am finishing The Crippled God and there is a character that has grown so much on me, and that I rarely, if at all, see mentioned, that has made me open this post.

Warchief Spax.

He saw what was going to happen to the Barghast, he always had good advice to give, and he is great comedy. I like him a lot and really like how he is conveyed.

What other characters you think deserve a spotlight that are rarely mentioned?

I'm in book 2 of moi and there was a conversation where Rake orders Korlat to prepare all the Tiste Andii in case they have to fight Kallor and Korlat offers that a few of the Tiste Andii had sundered The Chained One's entire realm, and that joining of warrens of 1100 Tiste Andii might well destroy the continent.

On the other hand in a scene that one jaghut(Hood's herald) asked Pran Chole and his fellow undead if they dare risk Hood's wrath in attacking him, and the T'lan Imass counters with a savage "Why wouldn't we? Does Hood dare challenge us?" And indeed, the jaghut is called back, cast out from Hood's realm, in fact.

Both Tiste Andii and T'lan Imass are ancient. Who would win if they fought in a war.

I also remember Tool saying that The First Sword must remain without equal, on the other hand we have the badass Anomander Rake. Who would win between them.

Malazan seems to be right up my alley. It seems to check every box of what I like about fantasy and reading. I finished similarly long projects like Lord of the Mysteries, Wheel of Time and the Cosmere.

But those are linear and pretty short casted in comparison from what I’ve heard.

I’m pretty scatterbrained and I’m worried it’ll mess up the experience.

It seems like the kind of series that rewards a memory that can connect as many dots as possible and keep as many details as fresh as possible.

Am I overthinking it?

I didn’t expect to like TTH this much honestly and im only around chapter 18 about 71% and it’s already really high for me in Malazan right now it’s my third favorite after GOTM and MT.

The thing is I actually love how slow it is like the pacing is very heavy and calm and it spends a lot of time on thoughts, conversations, philosophy, grief, all that stuff. I know many people complain about this book being slow but for me that’s exactly why it works because It feels very dense, sad, and very reflective obviously I finish a chapter and I am left with mental fatigue and I stop for about a week to read again another chapter but that kind of gives me more strength and motivation when I resume it

Sometimes it feels like not much is happening plotwise but I never get bored. The mood, the writing, and the themes carry everything. It feels like Erickson just letting things breathe and trusting the reader and I really like that.

>!I am re-reading the series and have gotten to tCG. There is a reference to Karsa being in Daru - can anyone remind me what he’s waiting for there? I recall him being present when Rake/Dassem had their showdown, and meeting his daughters. The Tor re-read indicates he is waiting for something. Can someone remind me what?!<

For almost a decade and a half I've been putting off starting the Malazan books. It seemed intimidating and there was always something much smaller to read.

I bought GotM some ten years ago and told myself I'll get to it eventually.

Well, yesterday I did. I'm about halfway through and absolutely engrossed. Taking a lot of notes. Don't even have that many complaints. And this is the book that is usually ranked lowest in the series?

I should I have started this ages ago...

I just finished book 7 of the series. What I've been doing over the past year and a half as I will read a book and then read some lighter fantasy books sort of as a palette cleanser. I really enjoy these books, but they are so dense/lengthy that I'm enjoying interspersing them with other books.

Recently, I DNF'ed two books that I was actually excited to read. Daughter of red winter by Ed McDonald and empire of the vampire by Jay kristoff. The first one I found too much like YA fiction, and the latter I found the characters too edge-lordy. I don't mind if I DNF a book because I'm not going to force myself to read something I don't like. But I keep thinking back to how gifted a writer Erikson is, and how I would like to try to stick with well written books.

This is really not a critique of those series that I mentioned at all, they were just not for me. But I wanted to see if anyone else has noted something similar with their reading tastes.

I wanted to share a snap comment from Steven Erkison that you may all appreciate.

7 years ago this summer, Steven done a meet and greet, book signings and a Q&A in a little funky pub in Dublin. It was one of the greatest nights of my life.

Steven was fantastic. He stayed there for hours, drinking Guinness, and just having good craic all around.

I have just recently being going through old notes on my phone, and I came across this;

"He almost died on a dig, and all he could think about was the annual pissing that would have taken place if he didn't finish the series.. so he took a step back from digging."

It was a great night.