Signor Finzione

I think you've come to the wrong place, Tim.

I think we should post our reviews in these threads too, in case someone reads these but doesn't know we've reviewed them in our reading logs.

Review: 'Memories of Ice' by Steven Erikson The ravaged continent of Genabackis has given birth to a terrifying new empire: the Pannion Domin. Like a fanatical tide of corrupted blood, it seethes across the land, devouring all who fail to heed the Word of its elusive prophet, the Pannion Seer. In its path stands an uneasy alliance: Dujek Onearm's Host and the Bridgeburners ­ each now outlawed by the Empress ­ alongside their enemies of old including the grim forces of Warlord Caladan Brood, Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, and his Tiste Andii, and the Rhivi people of the Plains. But more ancient clans are gathering. As if in answer to some primal summons, the massed ranks of the undead T'lan Imass have risen. For it would seem something altogether darker and more malign threatens the very substance of this world. The Warrens are poisoned and rumours abound of the Crippled God, now unchained and intent on a terrible revenge... Memories of Ice, the third book in Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen, leaves the events of the previous book behind and returns instead to the continent of Genabackis, which was the location of Gardens of the Moon. Many characters from the first book re-appear here, such as notable favourites Anomander Rake, Quick Ben, Kruppe, Tool, Toc the Younger, and Whiskeyjack and the rest of the Bridgeburners. Mixed in with these are several new additions: there’s Hetan the randy Barghast, Gruntle the grumpy caravan guard captain, Kallor the immortal grudge-holding warrior, Itkovian the tragic servant of a lost god, the mysterious and unflappable Lady Envy, and of course the sinister pair of necromancers known as Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. All of these characters are thrown together as a result of a dubious alliance against a malign empire known as the Pannion Domin. The characters, both new and old, are incredible, and many of the novel’s best moments are character-centred rather than action-driven. Quick Ben’s casual confrontation with the necromancers, Rake’s late-night conversations with Whiskeyjack, Lady Envy’s continuing attempts to exact obedience from her companions, and just about anything involving Kruppe – all contribute to make Memories of Ice feel like a living, breathing part of the Malazan world, rather than just the next step of the story. That’s not to say that the action falls flat, of course: Erikson gives us a plentiful share of the usual fast-paced battles, awesome warrens, explosive weaponry and bickering gods. He also introduces many new elements: some of these are simply brilliant, while others are downright terrifying (we now have K’Chain Che’Malle stalking the world, lightning-fast dinosaur-like undead beings with blades for arms. Yikes!). But Memories of Ice isn’t all action and horror. Erikson’s capacity for beautiful tragedy, honed to a fine art inDeadhouse Gates, is also deftly applied here: he has a real knack for twisting the knife in your heart before you even realised you’ve been stabbed with it. There are so many small moments which left me blurry-eyed, more so because I wasn’t expecting them. And then there’s the humour, just as deftly placed, a welcome complement to the pathos seeping through the whole tale. The segments following Lady Envy and her motley companions are a delight to read, as are Kruppe’s befuddling monologues and Picker’s interactions with her disparate squad of soldiers, particularly Antsy. However, a lot of the book is spent following an army on the march, and as such many of the locations (campfires, command tents, hilltops) become quite repetitive. Erikson also seems to have suddenly acquired the desire to explain things in detail, and to re-cap or clarify things that have already happened. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – in fact, I reckon Gardens of the Moon might have benefited from this in places – it does occasionally feel as though a huge chunk of the book is taken up with conversations between characters regarding something that has just been described, and it sometimes feels as though we’re having to experience some events several times before moving on. It’s as though, upon proof-reading the book, the author slotted in an “exposition inside a command tent” scene wherever he thought his characters’ motives weren’t 100% clear. I think it’s this repetition that contributes to the relatively slow pace of the novel. Despite the fact thatMemories of Ice contains two major – no, epic – battles, along with several exciting skirmishes and powerful displays of magic, I think it suffers from being just a little bit too long. Erikson takes almost 1200 pages to do what he could probably have accomplished in 900, and while I would usually disagree with the concept of “too much” Malazan, I have to observe that this is the first time so far during my re-read of the series that I’ve felt a tiny bit disappointed. I always remembered Memories of Ice as my favourite of the series, full of undead monsters, creepy necromancers, gritty warriors and epic conflict. What I didn’t remember was the sheer volume of command tents, hilltop parleys, and Ganoes Paran’s stomach pain. It really says something about Erikson’s writing that, despite all of these gripes, Memories of Ice still remains one of the best books I’ve (re-)read this year. The last 200 pages or so more than make up for the slow patches scattered throughout, and I doubt anyone familiar with the series would be able to read them without blurry eyes and a wobbly bottom lip. Contrary to my own recollection, Memories of Ice is not quite as enthralling asDeadhouse Gates . . . but, as with the other books in the series, it touched me in a way no other series has ever quite managed to. 5/5

WOW great haul! I remember being scared to death of The Werewolf of Fever Swamp when I was a kid. I also used to love Cate Tiernan's Wicca series. I hope the book Coraline is as good as the film!

Just finished it. Whiskeyjack. Itkovian. The Bridgeburners. The Jaghut child. Tool saying goodbye to Toc. Duiker beginning his tale. . . . yeah, I'm a wreck.

Something the Throne of Shadow says to Paran on p969: "Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness! The Edur have sworn to destroy Mother Dark. You must warn him! Poisoned souls, led by the one who has been slain a hundred times, oh, 'ware this new Emperor of the Edur, this Tyrant of Pain, this Deliverer of Midnight Tides!" I don't remember ever noticing this before.

Deadhouse Gates! Deadhouse Gates! Deadhouse Gates! Congrats again on the new job - I imagine having something like that on your CV will make you even more employable in the future.

No - everyone else has a problem. We're the normal ones! Can't wait to see them!

What a shame. How on earth did he manage to make dinosaurs boring???

185 books! Oh my goodness. Well done! Sorry to hear about the library sale. How annoying. Hopefully you can still pick up a few bargains tomorrow.

I can totally understand that. They're beautiful covers. (And what's inside them isn't too shabby either ). I've had one of them on my wishlist for about three years, if that counts.

Hi Dave! Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing your reading blog if/when you set one up! Macbeth is awesome.

Yeah, it's confusing because there's 5 books but there's 7 books. At least you realised in time.

I'm like Poppy and Gaia: I usually only really do this around winter time. I like to read books that remind me of Christmas. This year I'm planning on re-reading Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and also one or two of the Harry Potter series (they always remind me of Christmas, since the first couple of films came out around that time of year at the cinema years ago. I also re-watch all of the films around Christmas time, as well as the TV adaptation of Hogfather. ) Other than that, it's usually just non-Christmassy fantasy fiction all year round.

I just remembered something that made me laugh: the bit where Kallor threatens Quick Ben, and QB makes him fall down a hole.

Not usually, as I'm not really a fan of the horror genre and I generally just allow Halloween to pass me by. However, I've been wanting to read something by Joe Hill for a while, and had decided to read either Horns or Heart-Shaped Box this month even before he was chosen for the October read. How about you, Michelle?

Don't forget to read A Feast for Crows first!

Oh, don't say that! It's taking me long enough to read as it is.

Ah, but have you got your NEWTs as well? Also, GCSE's are generally obtained at age 16 upon leaving high school. Kids can then choose whether they wish to go on to study A-levels at a sixth form college before progressing to university at the age of 18. I believe in the states they have to stay in high school until they're 18?

Deadhouse Gates taught me the same thing. Yeah, he sounds like an idiot.

I'll second Swastika Night. It's a dystopia set in an alternative future - kind of bleak in places, but very good.

I love how cool he is about being awesome, as in his throwaway comments about using the flat of his blade. I've just read up to where the Bridgeburners arrive in Capustan. The whole 'defence of Capustan' was quite a lot shorter than I remember it being.

Thank you! I kept wanting to call her Chella.

What's the name of that weird bendy woman from the First Law trilogy? I can't remember at all and it's driving me crazy!

No problem! It actually sounds like you know a lot more about the finer points of the English language than I do.