The ravaged continent of Genabackis has given birth to a terrifying new empire: the Pannion Domin. Like a tide of corrupted blood, it seethes across the land, devouring all. In its path stands an uneasy alliance: Onearm’s army and Whiskeyjack’s Bridgeburners alongside their enemies of old–the forces of the Warlord Caladan Brood, Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii mages, and the Rhivi people of … of the plains.
But ancient undead clans are also gathering; the T’lan Imass have risen. For it would seem something altogether darker and more malign threatens this world. Rumors abound that the Crippled God is now unchained and intent on a terrible revenge.
Marking the return of many characters from Gardens of the Moon and introducing a host of remarkable new players, Memories of Ice is both a momentous new chapter in Steven Erikson’s magnificent epic fantasy and a triumph of storytelling.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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A towering work of imagination – Steven Erikson is the best writer I’ve read.
This is such an epic story, I figured a typical review couldn’t do it justice, so I asked for some help from the characters who always know best.
Harllo: “I won the best friend award for this story. My only regret is that I had but one life to give in defense of those I love. (But, then again, Gruntle becomes a cat, I’m not over fond of cats…)”
Itkovian: “I signed up for the role of Shield Anvil, thinking I’m in for a bit of a laugh as some great warrior – instead, it all gets turned on its head and I become Saint Itkovian. But still, I’m ‘nonetheless,’ chuffed by the role and the opportunity to steal scenes left, right, and center.”
Stonny Menackis: “I still negotiating with Steven Erikson for a spin off story worthy of my charisma. ”
Talamandas: “I’m firing my agent. I’m a fracking ‘sticksnare,’ I mean, get real! What’s up with that? My besty Hairlock ended up as a wooden puppet and look what happened to him. My guess is that my role will be short lived. If that’s the case, I’m suing.”
Ganoes Paran: “‘Pick a card he said. Pick any card.’ – never trust an author, a shifty, ruthless, untrustworthy creature, the lot of them.”
Quick Ben: “It was a pretty demanding set of scenes, really tested me, but I think I’ve pulled through OK, and I’m looking forward to the next engagement, but I’m missing Kalam, I must catch up with him some time soon. Yeah, missing the big guy.”
Twist: “Did Quick Ben just say, ‘Bug Guy?'”
Mok: “After this gig is complete, I’m planning to set up a world-wide chain of martial arts studios and merchandise outlets. It’ll be awesome.”
Kallor: “After a long and distinguished career of murder, mayhem and tyranny, I – ‘fall into a hole?!’ – c’mon, that can’t be right?!?! Who wrote this?”
Picker: “Blend, c’mon, where the fracking hell are you? Geez, you’d think that a tent this small wouldn’t have a damn hiding space worthy of the name.”
Gruntle: “Stonny, I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, stop shining that lantern light onto the floor … now, hang on a second, not the ball of wool…”
Random Tenescowrie: “I thought I was signing up for a role in ‘World War Z,’ then I found myself outside the city of Capustan. What can I say? The role was short but at least the catering provided plenty of hot food.”
I was also able to sneak a microphone into this world and overhear a couple of choice conversations, such as,
The K’ell Hunters.
K’ell Hunter #1: “What is that loping towards us.”
K’ell Hunter #2: “Two dogs, overlarge I would think.”
K’ell Hunter #1: “Ah! Battle beckons.”
K’ell Hunter #2: “Actually, one is a wolf, and the other one is ridden by an undead creature with a flint sword.”
K’ell Hunter #1: “It matters not. Our sword hands will slice, our talons will shred, and our undead teeth will dice…”
K’ell Hunter #2: “They are accelerating … now they blur!”
K’ell Hunter #1: “For the Pannion – Arrrgh, Gak!”
K’ell Hunter #2: “Damn i-”
Hetan and the Mortal Sword of Trake
Hetan: “I hear that Lions can have sex 200 times in a day.”
MSoT: “Trake is a Tiger.”
Hetan: “Close enough….”
And finally, Whiskeyjack and Korlat,
Whiskeyjack: “You know I’ll always be with you.”
Korlat: “How can you say that?”
Whiskeyjack: “I’ll never leave you.”
Korlat: “Never?”
Whiskeyjack: “Never. I’ll always be in your heart.”
Korlat: “Can that be enough?”
Whiskeyjack: “It will have to be my love.”
Korlat: “Whiskeyjack? … Whiskeyjack…”
And there you have it, clearly another classic Erikson super-epic, super-monster of a book and well worth 5 stars – strongly recommended for anyone who loves a long and involving super-epic fantasy read.
In a word….EPIC.
One of the most epic books I’ve ever read, the battle scenes in this story now rank right of the top of my epic fantasy reads (yes, that includes LotR. This is that good.)
While it ‘suffers’ from the same tangents as the rest of the series, the ever-present ‘hard to follow’ curse, I rarely lose direction of where things are going. A bunch of really great characters propel the story forward, and I like Anomander Rake more and more as a potential lead of this series. Of course, I say that without knowing at all where anything is headed but at the moment I’m confident in calling Rake the lead of this story.
There are more new characters to be introduced to, my favorite being Lady Envy, as well as the continued plots of many of the original characters. This entry is definitely Whiskeyjack’s, and you’ll see why when you read it.
One thing I’m not yet up to speed on is the deck of cards, or the deck of dragons. I’m not sure what the mechanics of this ‘game’ are supposed to be. Is it simply a game-within-the-story? Or is it an actual plot-driven facet of this world? I’m confused by it, but I assume further books will expand on it.
Oh, and dinosaurs with swords-for-arms! Kind of stick in your mind’s eye quite well!
As I’ve previously said, I highly recommend the Malazan series, and I’m only 3 books in thus far. That’s how good it is.
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I don’t like to think that I cry that easily.
But Steven Erikson seems determined to prove me wrong.
In my journey to finish the Complete Malazan series this year, I just finished the novel Memories of Ice.
It was one of the very best fantasy books that I have read this year.
Incredibly complex world building. Deeply layered and fascinating characters. A mysterious plot. Friendship, redemption, betrayal, and failure all have their day in the sun here. In my mind, these books represent some of the best fantasy has to offer, and in my opinion, that’s doubly true of the sub-genre of dark fantasy.
For a book that is nearly a thousand pages, I felt like I flew through it, always eager to return for more. It’s one of the rare enormous fantasy stories that I don’t think I would hesitate to read again.
A story that leaves me with last memories, Memories of Ice…
Memories of Ice is the third installment in Steven Erikson’s EPIC (and yes capital letters are required) ten book series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. As I try to process all of the thoughts and emotions that I experienced through this journey, I am somewhat at a loss for where to start—due to the vastness of that journey and the profoundness of it. In short, this is quite possibly the greatest series I have ever embarked upon.
While all of the books in the voluminous series are, well—voluminous, this book was especially so. I have read larger books, but what I found interesting about Memories of Ice in particular is that it really felt like it could have almost been broken into two separate books. I will not spoil anything, but I honestly felt like the book could have ended after the siege of Capustan. It felt as if so many story arcs had reach a concluding point, that it would have been easy to just tie up other loose ends and slap a bow on it and call it a day. Then the second half of the book begins. At that point, I wasn’t sure what to think, I mean there is a reason why J.R.R. Tolkien cut the Lord of the Rings into separate installments. There was such a level of finality after the battle at Helm’s Deep, that taking a moment to stop and reflect on everything that had just happened was not only natural, but it was needed and it was good.
Steven Erikson on the other hand said, “No soldiers, keep on marching.” I’m glad he did. That’s not to say that the conflict or the story is rushed in any way, because it isn’t. He advances the story, while still allowing the reader to really process everything that has occurred. Then you realize there is so much that hasn’t even unfolded yet.
Memories of Ice is a fantastic read in so many ways. In this installment we finally get back to some familiar faces from the first book, Gardens of the Moon, like Whiskeyjack, Ganoes Paren, Quick Ben, and Kruppe, beloved-honorable-trusted-fat-little-Kruppe. For all that lack of character development that most of the characters suffered in Gardens of the Moon, Erikson rights the ship here. You get to know these characters (and many, many more) very intimately. You get to understand their history, their motivations, and the short comings so much better.
This book also continues to pull back the veil, if only slightly, on the masterwork that is the Malazan Book of the Fallen. The readers get to understand so much more about the deep world that they have been thrust into, and the staggering truth that you come to realize, is that despite reading three massive tomes, you are just scratching the surface. There is still so much more to explore, and I eagerly await it.
I do have two gripes with the story at this point, and at this point, I suspect that they will persist through the series. The first is the issue of romantic relationships. For all the wonderful things Erikson develops, romance is not one of them. These romantic relationships still periodically pop up throughout the storyline, yet they just seem far-fetched to me, because they are rarely developed. In some instances, it seemed that Erikson attempted to validate the relationships after the fact, but rarely was it believable to me. The amount of random lusty sex, which thankfully all takes place “off camera”, is also a bit much to believe. There are times when a man and a woman just look at each other, and the next thing you know she is off measuring his sword length. I don’t mind those aspects being present in the world, just make it more believable.
The second gripe that I have is about the dialogue. Now my brother said the dialogue is one of his favorite aspects of the series, but I still haven’t figured out why every soldier feels the need to verbally blast, curse, or damn their companions in almost every conversation. While I don’t particularly enjoy blasphemy, I understand where it fits into Erikson’s world and his narrative, but do all these soldiers literally want to curse their friends to damnation? Because in Erikson’s world, those are very real fates. In any case, those are not deal breakers in any way, and they don’t take away from these ridiculously good stories, but it would be refreshing to see them improve in the future installments.