A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen - Midnight Tides

This isn't a review of the book, but of the product itself. I purchased this believing it would be the same cover as pictured, but it was actually a new edition with alternate cover art. It's still a good copy but I bought this solely because I was looking for the version in the picture. I was trying to get a matching set of all 10 books since there isn't a box-set available. I hate mass market paperbacks so I figured I'd go for the regular paperbacks as they all have pictured the covers in the style shown. But both this and book 6 The Bonehunters came in newer editions. the store should really change the picture of the cover if they no longer carry them in that version.

I read twice the whole serie and my first impression remains: they are a masterpiece of modern fantasy. The second time I enjoyed much more the use of the language, the whole structure of the books and the depth of the characters ideology. Somehow feels like they are written to challange the lector in more ways than just looking in a dictionary for unknown words.

Steven Erikson crafts another stupendous web of vibrant characters and plot. Comic relief in the form of Tehol and Bugg lighten an otherwise dark book, and I look forward to devouring the rest of the series.

Midnight Tides introduced a whole slew of new characters from the outset, with the only one I recognized being Trull Sengar. As the story progresses, you learn who the new players are and embrace them more (a la Deadhouse Gates or House of Chains first portion). By the end of the book, I was extremely pleased with the story. The way this book fits into the overall puzzle that Erikson has been piecing together from 1-4 of the Malazan Series is perfect. It makes perfect sense, and I already miss those characters now. If you find yourself missing Quick Ben, Kalam, Cotillion and company, rest easy - the characters in this book do a more than adequate job of filling in. Very solid book, and a key piece for the story arc as I see it.

Another excellent book in the series. About the same level of enjoyment for me as DG and MoI, and a step up over HoC for me. As a first time reader, I still had no issues with the new cast of characters and new continent -- Erikson once again delivered a superbly epic tale. I do recommend following along the Tor re-read as I am doing with my first read through the series, to help cement/unlock more understanding of this richly complex saga.

Next up: I'm going for NoK before tBH. (Not going to read all the ICE books interspersed with the main Malazan series, but I'm going along with the recs to put NoK before tBH, and will also add ROTCG in its recommended spot later on.)

I doubt it needs saying, if you've made it to Book 5 -- but this series is one of the best ever!

While reading book 4 you are introduced to Trull Sengar and he promises that he will tell the story of how he got to where he is. Book 5 starts with a younger Trull, and the assumption is that, 600 pages later at the end of the book you might have some understanding of how he got to the events in book 4. Well, that assumption could not be further from the truth. 600 pages later you learned a whole lot about a number of characters who all die anyway, but at no point does any of book 5 tie in with anything from books 1-4.

I can only hope that somewhere in books 6-10 I will begin to understand how the gold coin plating and waxing ceremony of the Edur matters. Or how undermining the "stock markets" of Lether but then not actually acting on it to cause an economic crash matters. Or how Shand, Rissarh, and Hejun having lots of sex with Ublala Pung matters. Or how the death of the Pack and B'nagga affected the parthenon of gods in meaningful ways to the final outcome of the story. Or really any of it at all.

Had this been a stand-alone story it would have been interesting. As part of a larger series that it has absolutely nothing in connection with for 600 pages it was impossible to get through.

The Malazan series is extremely long fantasy done right, but if you are not excited with the prospect of reading ten books, you might not be as down as I am. There's a lot of switcheroo between character POVs, but when everything starts coming together it's extremely satisfying. There's definitely a solid magical presence in the series, but it's not over-used as a last-minute character salvation mechanism, and there's a coherent system behind it. I'm only on book 6, so there's still time to go downhill, I suppose, but so far there has been no 'a wizard did it'. I like it.

Oh, but start with Book 1. This isn't a great series to try to jump in the middle of.

This novel introduces a new story line that I understand is used in the sequence of novels finishing the series. No spoiler alerts here but I guarantee you will occasionally either laugh out loud or have a smile on your face as if you were watching a Marx Brothers movie.
I found myself highlighting certain passages in this novel because I thought Erikson's statements on destiny and war through his characters were well thought out and easy to comprehend.
Another great read and I already have moved on to The Bonehunters.

A must read of any fantasy reader, especially if you're an RPG fan. The origin story of Trull Sengar, introduced in The House of Chains proves surprisingly interesting and there are some great new characters in the kingdom of Letheras. As a negative side - somewhat usual in Steven Erikson's novels - there's some almost jarring contrast between tragedy and comedy.

After reading several books in the Malazan series I was starting to worry that the depth of the landscape could bear no more fresh ideas or interesting story lines. Midnight Tides surprises with a totally new cast of characters in a brand new setting that manages to stay true to the overall width and breadth of the Malazan experience. Highly recommended. Looking forward to book 6.

It seems Erikson becomes a better writer with each book and in this book he has finally matured into an efforless storyteller. For the first time in the series, I don't have to scratch my head and wonder at what is going on. In other words, the story flows beautifully from start to finish and all the story lines are interweaved nicely. Sure this book doesn't have emotional impact of Memories of Ice or Deadhouse Gates, but it's a great story expertly told. I would take off half a star for his somewhat trite attempt to discuss the evils of capitalism.

Another book of wondrous confusion. Starts slow and it is a bit painful of you are longing for the characters of past books. Leave them aside and look at it as if a new series. Things start making sense closer to the end. A great story by itself. Some randomness but I'm sure the puzzle will come together in the next few books.

Why stop now? Sure, we're getting introduced to an entirely new cast of characters and empire, but the story continues. Erikson's characters and the philosophies they represent remain fun, flushed out and interesting.

I ,iked this one a lot I just wish it referenced some of the other characters in the other books or explained the time difference. Was is before or after the previous books, etc.
besides that, as usual very entertaining and I appreciated the humor in this one tremendously.

Best book in the series so far, and i thought nothing could beat Deadhouse. For that matter I didnt think any character could beat Karsa, but now I get a whole book of incredible characters. Honestly, if you've read up until now, you can't wait to pick up the next book. I just hope it's not too long before we see Tehol and Bugg again.

A friend got me hooked on this series and now I'm not sure if I'm glad or mad - very tough reading - very intricate plot lines - and a plethora of characters - it all wraps up nicely at the end, though.

If you enjoyed the other books in the Malazan series, you will enjoy this one. For myself, I found the first third of the book left me somewhat uninterested. That changed as I read further and by the end I was enjoying the story greatly.

This series is for the mature reader and does not have a "cookie cutter" story line. I love the complexity of this series and its unpredictability. It is a little on the dark side and requires concentration to read, but worth the endeavor.

I gave up reading this... it was just too much of a snore-fest... After reading the first three in the series and really loving the characters, I was disappointed by book 4 where most of the characters and story lines were completely different... Flash sideways to book five, and I believe we've now gone backwards in time and to another different "world", and frankly, the book just drags and drags and drags...

The content of the book is really good, probably Erikson's best in a series of very delightful books. Sadly, the implementation for the Kindle leaves some things desired. Firstly, the book seems to be scanned in via OCR, revealing several errors ("rn" instead of "m" in some words for example) common with OCR. At other times only parts of a sentence is italic, other words are in normal face. Interestingly the more difficult things (like names) are usually correct.

Secondly, and this is the really annoying part, someone forgot to put two line spaces in when the narrative thread (and there are many in the book) changes/a new paragraph begins. Without the line space there is no indication of it, and it looks as if the paragraph continues on, and it is very annoying when you only realise after the confusion of a few sentences that simply don't fit to the narration that you have changed characters and narrative thread because a new paragraph had begun. Owning the paper version of the book I know that there is a clear indication of paragraphs in it. The earlier Kindle versions of "The Book of Malazan Fallen" do not have this particular problem (they however all have the same issues regarding OCR errors).

Book 5/5
Kindle-implementation: 3/5

I am reading book six right now, and while Erikson has his moments, they are few and scattered. He has too many plot lines, and does not bother reminding the reader who some of the more obscure characters are who suddenly reappear two books after you last encountered them. His take on the meaninglessness of life is grating, as is his very limited imagination in understanding divinity. His idea that gods are just "ascended" souls, and that gods can fall, and that gods are limited is a really pathetic take on godhead. There is some humor, I like several of his characters, but the level of violence and despair is so great that all of his characters should have all committed suicide long ago. No real person would keep putting one foot in front of the other if the real world was as awful as his world is.

This book takes place in an entirely new area of the world, that for some reason is completely isolated and less developed than the rest of the world. In addition we learn of settlements of other non human races that don't quite fit the mold of what we'd expect from previous characters such as Anomander, and Karsa Orlong. The story is mainly progressed via the viewpoints and interactions of three brothers with those around them. The three brothers are interesting, 1 is hilarious, a second just feels tragic, and the third is a whiny baby. Fortunately 1 and 2 get the most face time.

This book is so incredibly boring to get started. Not only does it completely divert from the far more interesting Malazan Empire it is just a boring story. Well so I thought but after the mid way point it picks up rapidly and continues to quicken its pace up to the fantastic finish.

I wish I could change my stars to 4.

Very disappointed in condition of book , it looked as it was just shoved in the box with 2 other books that arrived with it. The first 127 pages approximately and the cover were bent back and their is no way to return it to its new condition. The other books were not ruined, and this is the first time this has happened. Hopefully it will be the last time.

Where to start on a review for this book/series? I mean with something on the epic scale and imagination as this story, characters, and world building. The Mythology of the world alone is on such a epic scale. So much to comprehend.

All I have been hearing since I started reading Fantasy again in 2011 is “you have to read Malazan!” So I finally listened and started. I think I have a new obsession. I can now see what everyone has been going on and on about for all this time. I am hooked and I now need more! So yes I will be continuing this series, and I can’t wait! I know more greatness awaits and I am highly anticipating the journey to come.

Overall a great read. I was entertained, I loved the epic sprawling world created here, and I want to go right into the next book and get more from this series. This might not be for everyone but after starting this series, I know it is for me. A magnificent read. The only thing I can think to describe it is a mind blowing. Everything is just so rich and complex, and such a joy to wrap your mind around.

I loved the first four books, and this one is great as well. I keep thinking the change of locations, story lines, and characters are gong to lessen these books, but they never do. Such fantastic and intriguing characters. That reminds me of a question I always seem to get asked when I post these reviews. Who are your favorite characters from this book? So a new section in my Malazan reviews. FAVORITE CHARACTERS FROM THIS BOOK: This book introduces quite possibly my favorite character duo’s of all time! Tehol Beddict and Bugg. Oh how I love the witty banter. I could read about them talking and playing off each other for ever I think. What a great dynamic they have. I can’t get enough of them. Hopefully more of this dynamic duo to come. I have a few good feelings for Udinaas, but he can also be annoying at times. I feel bigger things to come for him, maybe?

As you know if you have read my reviews before I am not about long reviews with synopsis and spoilers. I just give my opinion on my experience with this book and you can take it from there. Now on to the next book.

5/5 Stars!

Another monster epic of a book in the amazing Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I'm in awe of Steven Erikson's story telling ability. He handles a vast array of characters with a deft touch that blows my mind with how seamless and varied his characterization is.

A direct parallel to his characterization skills is his ability to weave multiple narrative threads together into a seamless (there's that word again) whole that is both logically coherent (no plot holes) and arranged for powerful emotional effect.

This is super-cool writing, and there you have it, another amazing, wonderfully entertaining installment in the Malazan super-epic, monster-stupendous, superlative-superlative [INSERT SUPERLATIVE].... (I'm literally out of words) novel.

Recommend to anyone who loves to be entertained*

*Warning - must read books 1 -4 first, lest a spell of confusion will occur upon your mind.

Slight 8/17 revision
Midnight Tides, volume 5 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, strikes out in different directions. It provides an entirely new setting, an almost entirely new cast of players, and a story independent of what has come before in the series. Despite these changes, Erikson certainly remains consistent in producing quality work. Like all of Erikson’s entries, MT is a story vast in scope and rich in imagination, with superior plotting and wonderful characterization.

One quality that sets MT apart from other Malazan books (and I’ve read all 10 in the series) is that the story is simply more readable, with a better narrative flow. Erikson clearly has done a better job at writing a more accessible book, weaving his multiple plot threads together in a more user friendly way. Erikson is a top-tier fantasy writer whose writing style-I’ll admit-occasionally makes for tedious reading. However, I found MT, which focuses on the martial conflict between Letheras and the Tiste Edur, engaging throughout.

MT is also the funniest of the Malazan entries. This isn’t to say that Erikson’s other books lack humor, but here in book 5, especially with Tehol, his manservant Bugg, and their entourage in the city of Letheras, Erikson’s humor really shines. By the way, it seems worth mentioning that Letheras and its denizens seem partly inspired by Fritz Leiber’s stellar and enjoyable fantasy work. My only complaint about Erikson’s humor, and it is not an enormous one, is that the big gag concerning Ublala Pung runs on for far too long.

Another distinguishing aspect of MT is its especially hard hitting social/political commentary. MT takes commercial civilization to task. Erikson points out flaws in a system “run by greed.” Internally, one sees exploitation of the mass of people, who do not share in the bounty, and the promotion of a “soft,” less than vigorous lifestyle among the favored few. These trends do not bode well for the system’s long-term survival. Externally, Erikson’s commercial civilization is driven by an imperialist imperative: war is in the service of business. This entails the destruction of other cultures, and a progressive rationale/excuse for self-serving behavior (think of Seren Pedac’s “destiny is a lie” speech) that reinterprets the past to meet contemporary agendas. Erikson also utilizes fantasy magic so as to dwell on ugly “modern” warfare with its mass destructiveness and its qualitative difference from earlier forms of warfare. The distinction between combatant and non-combatant is obliterated, for instance, and traditional martial qualities (many of which are ennobling) are no longer operative. All in all, Erikson provides a nightmarish critique of capitalism/modernity.

However, for those who would either celebrate or deride what they consider Erikson’s leftist “political slant,” it is well to keep in mind that Erikson’s goal here is not actually to cheerlead for a particular system. He does not depict a “better” progressive society than Letheras, nor does he romanticize a backwards looking society as opposed to Letheras’s progressive, commercial society. (The Edur had significant flaws even before being corrupted by the Crippled God.) Erikson, despite his hard hitting criticisms, does not supply some sort of alternative political blueprint. More than anything, he seems to be pointing to the limits of politics.

For instance, Erikson communicates through the voice of an Elder God that all human systems are flawed, because they are run by humans! In Erikson’s story, power corrupts leaders, and the many find shelter, security and stability in being followers. There are depressing cycles of tyranny through history. Earthly political perfection is chimerical. The struggle/conflict between the Letherii and Eder is in some sense meaningless. A Letherii slave to the Edur muses that “we are just the fallen…the dust swirling around the ankles of the conquerors as they stride on into glory…Can one ever see the fallen? And if so, what emotion is born in that moment?...the answer was…recognition.” This both points to the problem of power, and to the solution, to the extent that it is even meaningful to speak of one. As a more than human figure says: “Hope persists, and its voice is compassion, and honest doubt.” (Trull Sengar, of course, emerges in this book as an exemplar of such advice.) This same super-human figure says “The only relevant struggle for balance I acknowledge is that within ourselves. Externalizing it presumes inner perfection, that the internal struggle is over, victory achieved.”

In many ways MT diminishes the notion that politics is of ultimate importance; nevertheless the struggle for inner balance and harmony takes place in a social context. Indeed, Erikson quite powerfully stresses the importance of friendship for personal growth, renewal and flourishing. In a book that ably highlights the value of several friendships, one partner in the most impressively depicted friendship of all, a figure whose stature inherently provides more power and security than any any merely human kingship could ever achieve, can say to his companion: “You resurrected me in the pleasure of existence, and you cannot comprehend how rare that is.” The same speaker is also gently challenged by his friend to better actualize his enormous potential, and seems to make progress in this direction by the end of the book.

In a series where so many of the entries are approximately the size of War and Peace, MT has-refreshingly-the second shortest word count of all 10 Malazan books; only Gardens of the Moon is shorter. And compared to GotM, MT tells a relatively straightforward story that doesn’t start by throwing us into the middle of the action. Given that the story in MT predates GotM and does not depend on any of the first 4 volumes, and given that MT is such an impressive entry and more accessible than the earlier books, I’m partially inclined to recommend MT not merely as a stellar Malazan entry (which it certainly is), but also as the first Malazan book a newcomer should start with.

I thought it was strange that the fifth book in a series should only contain one character that had been in any of the prior four books. Loving so many of the characters prevalent in the previous books I wanted to see what they were up to. However, upon completing Midnight Tides I am still in awe with Erikson, his style, substance and the stories that are being weaved. Every title he has written in this series I struggle to comprehend how they get better than the previous books..

The plot is about two local communities and we get a great omnipotent perspective provided mostly as a tale of two families. Sengar (Tiste Edur) & Beddict (The Letherii). The relationships between the brothers on both sides is intriguing. Two races that have not been interpreted to any great degree prior to this book yet I imagine what has happened here is pivotal to the overall consequences of the series. Some of the scenes are amazing. The Sengar brothers fighting Soltaken wolves to find a requested prize on fields of ice, the meeting of the two factions are the Letherii throne & Kettle finally meeting Silchas Ruin. Additionally I liked the complexity of Rhulad and his relationship with his servant. (I don't consider these to be spoilers hence why I put them here :) ) Once again, Gods are in the mix of the action like the Aenied and the Iliad. I believe what makes this series stand out is its originality. I like a lot of fantasy novels but a lot of them are re-jigging Tolkien or what has come before. The world, races and epic-ness depicted here is astronomical and I truly believe I will not be able to enjoy fantasy books to this degree after this series as I know its quality cannot (or would be highly unlikely that it will) be replicated.

I loved Tehol & Bugg's relationship. I imagined a sort of Blackadder/ Baldrick scenario with the 'manservant' however being cleverer than he made out. Bugg was always too busy to work. Hmmm.

I cannot wait to read the next book. A lot of what I said in my positive review of House Of Chains could be placed here but I do not wish to repeat. If you have got this far in the series, you know it is amazing and reviews are pointless. Carry on, enjoy it. I can't wait to see how everything weaves it's way together, culminates and finalises. Peace x youandibooks.wordpress.com

I would give the first half of Midnight Tides a 4 out of 5 stars. However, I'd give the second half a 6 out of 5 so I guess I can settle at a 5-star rating.

Steven Erikson has the uncanny ability to make me care about characters and their circumstances in a relatively short amount of time. He has done this three times now. Midnight Tides begins - again - with an entirely new set of faces (except one), and a new continent. New people, a new place, new conflict. Like before, it threw me off. It even caused some initial disinterest, after having read about characters whom I love in the entire previous book. But then, like before, I was wrapped up in the story and perhaps grew even more invested in these characters than the ones from previous installments. Midnight Tides is a book that (with a few minor changes) could have worked as its own Fantasy stand-alone, and worked incredibly well I might add. That is how good it is. And yet this is just a piece of the epic saga Erikson is telling.

I'm officially at the halfway mark now. And if the previous five books were any indication, I have a long and magical road ahead of me.

Steven Erikson introduces a completely new cast of characters for the third time in this series, and I have to admit that at first this wearied me. We are introduced to the Tiste Edur, including Trull Sengar, whom we first met in House of Chains, along with his family and the encroaching Lether Empire, a corrupt, expansionist kingdom where wealth and debt are everything.
Chronologically, Midnight Tides is the earliest book in the series, taking place before Night of Knives and the beginning of House of Chains. Among the things we learn are the origin of the Nascent realm and some of the history of the Edur and the Andii, with a brief glimpse at the K'Chain Che'Malle as well.
The Tiste Edur are very different to the other societies in the series, but writing such complex, layered and varied characters and societies is one of Erikson's greatest strengths.
For the Lether side of things, we meet the Beddict brothers. There is Hull, the Sentinel broken by the inadvertent betrayal he had visited upon people he had considered his friends. Second is Brys, the kings champion and a swordsman without compare. Lastly, there is Tehol, the amiable yet acerbic sloth living in squalor (and just a towel) after he lost a fortune. Tehol is without a doubt the best part of the book, with his wit and sarcasm lightening up every page that he is on, and his relationship with his manservant Bugg is my favourite part of the book and remains my favourite character dynamic of the whole series.
Coming in close second is the character development of Trull's youngest brother Rhulad, introduced as a brash, arrogant warrior desperate to prove himself. I will not spoil anything that happens there, but it remains a fascinating character arc.
Among the Edur are a great many slaves, including Feather Witch, one of the rare people with the ability to cast the Tiles (the ancient precursors to the Deck of Dragons) and Udinaas, a young man infatuated with Feather Witch, which causes him to get mixed up with a Wyval and a shade named Wither.
Perhaps the reason why I struggled with this one for the first half was because it directly followed from the brilliant House of Chains, and returned to the sluggish beginning of the first two books in the series. Looking back at it however, it is hard to find anything which I really didn't like, it's just that the pacing in the first third of the book was quite a chore to get through.

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Well, it took me quite some time to get through this book and after finishing it I couldn't decide how many stars to give it. It took awhile but I think I have decided to go with 4 stars. It was just so slow at the beginning with a whole new plot and tons of new characters that I just couldn't get into it, so I was going to give it 2 stars. About half way through things finally started to pick up and I became more familiar with the characters, so I bumped my rating to 3 stars. Once I finished the book and looked back on everything I had read I decided to go with 4 because it was still a fantastic book and I would enjoy reading it again. It just wasn't my favorite of the series.

There are tons of new characters to learn while reading and I thought it was overwhelming, so I took my time and actually wrote down everything I knew about each of the characters. This helped to keep them straight since they were all so new to me. I always like to know in a book like this which characters are the most important to follow. There are quite a few who are important but my favorite characters were the three Sengar brothers and Tehol Beddict and his manservant Bugg. I thought they all had unique personalities, were well developed, and Tehol and Bugg were hilarious together. I am sure they will become your favorite characters too. Other important characters include the Warlock King, Udinaas, Brys Beddict (Tehol's brother), Hull Beddict (Tehol's brother), Turudal Brizad, Seren Padac, and Kettle. At least these were the ones that were the most interesting (besides Turudal who wasn't until the end) and most important, in my opinion.

Throughout the book we also get to learn a little more about the Crippled God and are introduced to the Crimson Guard who are rather interesting and I can't wait to see more of them. I do believe there are spin-off books that focus on the Guard, so I will have to get those at some point.

The plot of the book was pretty easy to follow, especially after the first few chapters. Even though it switched between a lot of different people almost all of their stories were interesting to me and I was able to understand what was going on. I also liked how we get to see a lot of Trull Sengar (from the previous book) and what may have lead to his shorning in House of Chains. The one thing I get totally confused about is the time frame of all of these books. I still have no idea where this book fits into all of the rest, except for Trull's story. How many years apart are they or do they overlap? I have no idea. I'm just going to have to print up a massive timeline that I find online. Oh well. There could be worse things.

Overall, I did enjoy the book even though it took a long time for me to get into it. It is a great addition to the series and once you get pass having to learn all the new characters I'm sure you will enjoy the book as well.

This gets a 4.5 stars from me - The previous 4 books all got 5 stars. I had two main issues with this book:

1. It took me FOREVER to get through the first 150 pages...at least 3 week - because I just couldn't get into the story. I don't like the Tiste Edur and I didn't find Trull that interesting in the previous book, and it was just a real effort for me to get the pages turning. That being said - around page 150 I found the story really took off and I couldn't put the book down.

2. This book is so PREACHY - The previous books all had a bit of "preachiness" and soap-box moralizing in them, but not so much that it bugged me or seemed out of place. However, with this book, I feel like I was beat over the head with it at every turn. To me it began to border on the absurd, it felt like every other page was Erikson's views on war, capitalism, communism, socialism, greed, poverty etc. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with his opinions - I'm only saying that it felt very heavy handed in this book (way more than any of the others up to this point). This was the first book of the series where I found myself skipping paragraphs because they were entirely internal monologues of repetitive philosophizing.

Other minor issues:

* Udinaas and Feather Witch were so boring. I really disliked that POV.
* I also really hate [ the plot device of having a god "nudge" a character to drink poison, simply because he thought it was poignant. It just made no sense

There was tons in this book that I love though:
* Tehol and Bugg - love, love, love - almost as funny as Iskaral Pust
* I enjoyed seeing the Ceda doing science. It's one of my pet peeves in fantasy that all scientific progress seems to cease because of magic
* I though Iron Bars and crew were amazing. I hope to see more of them in future books.
* I'm obsessed with the Tiste backstory (for all 3 races). I really enjoyed getting a bit more about all of that.

A really good, fun read, but probably my least favorite of them all so far.

Midnight Tides bewildered me at first - it seemed more like a prequel, or an outlier, as it introduced a whole new cast of characters and a plotline occuring before the "main" plot. However, as the story went on, more and more links surfaced that show that it's connected to the bigger story told in the first 4 books of the series, and the timelines began syncing with events during points in some of the previous books. At this point, the links are tenuous and ready to be drawn in to the other plotlines.

The worldbuilding again comes to the fore, as two new empires with their own distinct cultures, and numerous other societies with THEIR own distinct cultures, are put into play. A few reviewers have commented on perceived ideological overtones - one of the societies is, if not capitalist, then has strong parallels to capitalism. I think they've missed the point though. Whilst Erikson occasionally goes over the top with his criticisms, he also does this with the other empire, and for the better part he continues raising moral ambiguities, just in a slightly different fashion to those raised in earlier books. It's clear, to me atleast, that Erikson is very thorough with his worldbuilding, and very thoughtful in the points he raises and how they relate to the certain character conflicts.

Oh, and there are lots of character conflicts in this book. They're abundant, and executed near-perfectly. This comes with a cast of diverse characters, most of which I found endearing and likable, and all of which were caught in an area of grey - there are no stereotypical evil characters here. He does, however, stumble with female characters. Most of them aren't strong; most of them fall into the categories of either damsel-in-distress or so uber-female that they're basically men dressed up as women. Unfortunately, there are few exceptions to this, and it's starting to tell; there are hints at deeper complexity, but they rarely come to the fore.

However, there's enough time to get involved with the characters, which blunts that blow, and also makes the characters more appealing. Several of the twists of the story, and what happens to the characters, were emotionally moving. Many of the conclusions were rushed, though, which detracted from the impact of what had happened.

I think, were this not the starting point for a whole new plotline, this would have been the best book in the series to date. It's just as engaging as Memories of Ice and House of Chains - on par, or better, with the opening section of book 4 - and both of those had an entire book each to build on. Looking forward to the next entry in this plotline.

4/5

I enjoyed this story. Within both sides of the war you can find parallels to our own culture. Have we created a class of the Indebted? Is greed one of our main motivators in our culture? How about the Tiste Edur, who have twisted their own history to make themselves appear better. To desire peace, at the tip of the spear. Only to get swept up in the wake of something none of them agree with, but are incapable to stop. Many of these parallels can be drawn for just about any country at some point in its history. The story was told creatively, it got you to think, without becoming preachy about it. You find yourself rooting for so many of these characters, regardless if they are in opposition of each other. Overall a good story, but it takes a bit at the beginning of it to adjust yourself to the new setting - away from where the other books had been centered.

excellent high fantasy series but should really consider checking out he wiki page for malazan book of the fallen. it gives you a rundown of all of the books that are in the series and accompanying series along with the author's suggested reading order.

Steven Erikson, Midnight Tides (Tor, 2006)

I can't believe it. If Memories of Ice had not already placed Steven Erikson at the top of the current spate of fantasy writers turning out series, each book of which would make a fine doorstop, then Midnight Tides would have done just as well. Both books in the same series? Steven Erikson is, without doubt, a force to be reckoned with.

It occurred to me about halfway through Midnight Tides that Erikson writes to formula--four hundred fifty pages-ish of strategy, tactics, and getting to know the principal players in whatever aspect of this massive wargame Erikson is setting up, and then one hundred fifty pages-ish of the big battle that everything's been leading to. The characters are usually the same, outwardly. There's the fish out of water (Withal, in this volume), the outsider forced to choose a side (Hull Beddict, and to a lesser extent Seren Pedac), the calm, disaffected warrior (Brys Beddict and Iron Bars), the comic relief (Tehol and Bugg), the gods who have manifested among men, a Jaghut who's somehow survived for thousands of years despite the T'lan Imass having wiped them out. Yep, in pretty much every volume. (I don't recall there being a Jaghut in Gardens of the Moon, but that's minor). Where Erikson rises above other formula writers, and to use the obvious comparison, we'll take the grande dame of formula writers, Dame Barbara Cartland, though any other would suffice, is that Erikson's characters, of whatever aspect, are deep and richly-drawn in a world he has created down to, it seems, the minutest detail. It doesn't matter how much you research your historical romances, there will always be bits that no one thought to write down, and most of the time, there are bits you gloss over in order to keep the story going (or to keep the reader's eyes from watering when you describe the stench of, say, the streets of medieval Paris). Erikson has no time for that sort of glossing. All the hard, ugly detail is here. And all of it contributes to make the Malazan Book of the Fallen the best series currently going, in any genre. And Midnight Tides stands with Memories of Ice as tied for the honor of best book--so far--in the series.

We met Trull Sengar, the outcast (and, perhaps, last remaining) Tiste Edur, in House of Chains. He played a minor role, and all we knew about him was that he had been bound and left to die by his brothers. How did he get that way? Midnight Tides is that story, or at least part of it. It takes place in the Letherii and Tiste Edur empires, a large portion of Genabackis which we haven't previously seen. As such, Trull Sengar is the only character we know, and we don't know a great deal about him. (There's another character we're middling familiar with, but to reveal him would be a spoiler at this point.) As we open, the Edur are preparing for a delegation from Lether, the two sides having existed in uneasy truce for some time. The delegation, and the treaty that comes from the meeting, are supposed to formalize the peace between the two kingdoms. Neither is terribly sure they actually want peace, and are convinced the other side does, in fact, want war. The problem, as it usually is in Erikson's books, is that the two kingdoms are not the only players on the field, though neither side is yet aware of who else would put their fingers in this pie. Aside from the war, there's Tehol Beddict, his manservant Bugg, and various employees of his, involved in a secret money-making scheme; Shurq Elalle, the undead thief; the Azath Tower, guardian over various imprisoned immortals, and Kettle, its undead child keeper; the shadow wraiths of the Tiste Edur, who are not at all what they seem to be; Kuru Qan, Lether's chief mage, slowly going mad as his old friend Brys watches; Buruk the Pale, a merchant selling Letherii steel to the Tiste Edur; a number of previously-conquered races subjugated by the Letherii; the Crimson Guard, whoever they may be... and far too much more to keep going on about here. Erikson's novels are always Cecil B. DeMille epics with their casts of thousands, but the six hundred plus pages we are given mean we can get to know all these personalities, and get to know them perhaps all too well.

Midnight Tides is a book of pure setup, really. Sure, there's a war, and all the accompanying action, but it has little to do on the surface with whatever it is Erikson's been building up to in his main story arc. (Or so it would seem, since it's pretty obvious this is all taking place far enough in the past for Trull Sengar to have been left wherever he was for quite some time.) That it could be a book of pure setup, that we could know from the outset it's pure setup, and for it to still be as good as it is is astonishing. It's also interesting to notice how Erikson uses the book of setup to fill in some of the gaps in our Genabackis knowledge (how are the Edur and the Andii related, anyway? And how do the Toblakai fit into it all? How are the Deck of Dragons and the Warrens related? That sort of thing. [Oh, you'll have to do some digging in your own memories to come up with that last one, but it does get answered here, after a fashion, despite the Deck never making an appearance.]). Either Erikson is the most enormously gifted fantasy writer currently in existence, he's the most enormously gifted plotter currently in existence, or a combination of both. Whatever the actual situation, the end result is the same: the Malazan Book of the Fallen takes the idea of the entertaining, immersive read to an entirely new level, and Midnight Tides is one of the series' high points. An absolutely fantastic novel that will quite easily make my top ten reads of the year. *****

I respect Erikson's productivity tremendously. It is no easy feat to pump out a thick volume every year and maintain consistency and continuity. Thankfully, Erikson has managed to avoid the Robert Jordan curse (so far).

After every Erikson book, I have the same first impression: Too much! I would love to be an imp perched on the author's shoulder pleading with him that "less is more". Erikson creates with such excess--in characters, ideas, storylines, etc.--that the novel often left me with a headache. I believe that the reader suffers some disconnect due to the abundance of major characters (at least 6) and important supporting characters (a dozen). It is difficult to sympathize and understand one character, much less several.

At first, I thought that the novel would be better if it were 100 pages lighter. I mean, Shurq and Ublala are funny, but are they necessary? Do the three sisters serve a significant purpose? Sometimes I think that his world building overshadows his characters, who are starting to feel alike. How many god-like warriors can one world have?

On second thought, I recognize that volume and audacity are part of Erikson's style. He wants to confuse and bewilder. He strives to populate a massive world with lots of significant, powerful characters. Asking him to tone it down would only damage his world building, which is the strength of the series. He has created something new and different. The best way to read an Erikson novel is to revel in the size, scope, and originality.

I am not surprised that many consider Midnight Tides one of the best in the series. By limiting the novel to (mostly) one setting, Erikson tells the clearest story yet. I also like how he contrasts the Edur and Letherii societies. For example, Lether is founded on money and greed, yet Edur bury their dead in a coating of coins. That is not a coincidence. I also like the parallelism: for example, both societies features brothers as major characters, the Sengars in Edur and the Beddicts in Lether. It is also his funniest novel, exemplified in the banter between Tehol and Bugg. I recommend it to anyone who is tired of elves and orcs.

Steven Erickson continues to satisfy the thirst for epic fantasy written in captivating chunks. His Malazan series continues to deliver with excellent stories, memorable characters, believable interaction and a solid back-story that draws them all together.

Much like LE Modesitt (my personal favorite in the genre) Erickson delivers his epic story in discrete chunks, that provides a vast, sweeping drama encompassing his well structured and delivered world, yet each story can stand equally well on their own, or the universe he has created can be entered at any point in the story line and be just as enjoyable.

Also like Modesitt, he has brought a unique perspective to the whole genre, by bringing in an anthropological and social construction and transformation twist, that separates it from other worlds, and expands the scope and scale of the world and its denizens. All in all, this is a different stylistic approach in a genre that is crying for new styles and voices to appear. Kudos.

He has managed to keep this flow, something (Robert Jordan lost about 5 books ago......) by making each book deliver a feeling of relevance and completion, even if they leave you wanting more.

I have enjoyed this so much, that I have turned "across the pond" to order the next books from England, as they are publishing them before they do stateside.

I highly recommend these stories, and encourage readers to jump right in, regardless of the volume that catches your eye.

Midnight Tides continues The Malazan Book of the Fallen in very much the same spirit as House of Chains. It opens, somewhat bewilderingly, on an entirely different continent where humans and Tiste Edur live. The human empire of the Lethari have successfully subjugated all the other inhabitants except the Edur through the introduction of a Capitalist marketplace and ensuing debts and servitude. The Edur are aware of the looming threat and are preparing to answer it.

The book delves into the nature of commerce, rulership and conquest. It also deals a great deal with guilt, pain and power. The core threads follow two families, the Lethari Beddicts and Edur Sengars, specifically the sons of those families. It will be the fates of those sons that decide the outcome of this narrative.

This book has all the features I've come to expect for Erikson's work: a well developed and active pantheon, an ever expanding and still seemingly logic magic system and an expansive world. It also features something I'm not sure I've noticed as much in other books but perhaps through my own oversight, threads are woven into this story that clearly reach into the prehistory of the series and threads that likely won't be answered for several more books. I enjoy that level of construction in my epic fantasy.

There are only two things that kept this out of the five star camp. First, as often happens with Erikson's work, reading it is somewhat exhausting and I found my attention waning at the 3/4 mark. I don't feel that he pads his books but at the same time they are a tremendous undertaking. The other challenge was something I had not previously seen with Erikson. The books is dark, extremely dark and the way Erikson tries to deal with this is through the introduction of comedic characters. There are times where the adventures of Tehol and Bugg are a little too hammie. Erikson was right to include some humor and I have no idea how he could have done this better but at times it broke the flow just a little too much.

If you enjoyed House of Chains, this is more of the same but with a more spread out perspective. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

When I read House of Chains, the sections I disliked the most were the ones dealing with Trull Sengar. I wasn't attached to the character at all, and found his storyline to be rather boring. I dozed through his sections. Reading the summary for Midnight Tides, I was very anxious that the entire novel dealt with Trull's backstory. Luckily, he was a much more realized character, supported by several others who were equally interesting and fun to learn about. This was the most well-paced entry of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series to date, with the best climatic chapters where so much happens that it is amazing he was able to fit it into only fifty pages.

Midnight Tides begins before any of the previous four novels and ends about the same time as House of Chains (relatively). The timelines on all of this is rather hazy but never detracted by enjoyment of the story. On the continent of Lether there are two sides in which there is much tension: the human Letherii Empire and the Tiste Edur. This is essentially the story of two families, each on their respective sides. The Sengar brothers (Trull, Fear, Binadas, and Rhulad) are very wary of their Warlock King, who has united the Tiste Edur under one banner. This king is able to use magic coming from an unknown source, and it worries them. From the Letherii, there are the Beddict brothers: Hull, Tehol, and Brys. Tehol's storyline is especially inventive and fun to read as he tries to bring down a city economically.

The greatest strength of Midnight Tides is the ease in which you can remember the characters. There aren't as many as the previous novels, which is important as we explore a new system of magic and an enitrely new continent. Not much is very familiar here. Instead of having characters broken up in three or four locations, it is divided by just two: the Tiste Edur chapters and the Letherii chapters. Each character being easily recognizable is very helpful in getting immersed into the story. The secondary characters aren't quite as easy to remember, but they aren't as important and there aren't as many of them. Erikson's characterization as improved once again, as well as his mechanics. There isn't too much description, or dialogue, etc. Once again he accomplishes a complete story, but leaves it open for the sequels. The only problems I had were fairly small in scale. One subplot builds up only to have nothing happens. As a result it feels like there are wasted pages. Also, we never actually see Trull getting banished (the whole point of the story). It's a decision that I don't agree with. I felt Midnight Tides could have been stronger if it had that sequence in the novel (and I personally would have liked to see scenes back in the present where Trull and co. are fighting off their new mysterious enemy).

I'm now halfway through the Erikson's epic. There certainly is no sign of the ending (though its great to see the main antagonist get more screentime this novel; and to not completely fail, for once), but that isn't too much of a problem. A lot of questions raised in the first four novels are answered at some point so far (mainly everything relating to the Tise Edur and the shattered warren). If the series follows Erikson's model for each novel, then the next entry -- The Bonehunters -- will begin the convergance of everyone seen in the series.

4/5

Malazan Book of the Fallen Book Ratings (from best to worst):

Midnight Tides -- 4/5
Memories of Ice -- 4/5
House of Chains -- 3.5/5
Deadhouse Gates -- 2/5
Gardens of the Moon -- 1/5

Just amazing stuff. I can't really say much that hasn't been said already, but I will say that I agree that this may be the best book in the series.

I was worried that a book with no characters I'd met before (and no Bridgeburners, rawr) would be boring, or I'd have trouble connecting. Wow, was I wrong. I should have trusted Erikson. Tehol Beddict, Bugg, Iron Bars...some of the best characters in the series to date.

The book is emotional, bringing tears to my eyes multiple times. The action is incredible, and you literally won't be able to stop turning pages when you get to the final hundred.

Before this, I read "The Sword of Truth" by Goodkind and various Riftwar novels by Feist. I thought those were great fantasy, but man...This series makes them look like trash in comparison. That's not to diss on Goodkind/Feist...I will always hold them in my heart. That said, they can't compare to "The Malazan Book of the Fallen." These books are what fantasy should be.

They're amazing, and this book is amazing. Read them as soon as you can.

Midnight Tides works well as a stand alone novel, and (while this is not true for later books), there is no need to read any of the first four books in order to understand the events in Midnight Tides. Erikson is know for his myriad characters, and in Midnight Tides the author introduces us to an entirely new cast of characters, along with a new continent, new nations, new everything. In fact, the only relation that Midnight Tides has to the first four novels is the character Trull Sengar (whom readers will remember from House of Chains, and a few characters from the Crimson Guard Mercenaries (who were briefly mentioned in Gardens of the Moon and Memories of Ice). However, while Midnight Tides can be a stand-alone novel, it isn't. Instead Erikson uses the book to introduce the other half of his meta-narrative that is woven throughout the series. In the first four books we have grown to know, and either love or hate, the Malazan Empire. In Midnight Tides we are introduced to the Letherii and the Tiste Edur. To use a valuable cliche, Midnight Tides introduces the other shoe.

Overall: 10/10

Midnight Tides is, simply put, one of the most effective books that I have ever read. All of the technical details, from writing, to plot, to character, to pacing, are strong, and on top of this the book is filled with a copious amount of social commentary largely focused on the materialistic nature of modern society. Midnight Tides is also the only novel in which I have ever see economic commentary effectively presented. While it has been attempted in a few places (Star Trek and Star Wars off the top of my head) it generally comes across as contrived, idealistic, or ridiculous. Erikson manages to make his points succinct and realistic, while still making them clear, and obvious.

Writing: 9.5/10

Midnight Tides is one of Erikson's shorter books, and much of the wordiness that causes problems for some readers is not present. This is not to say that it is a short book, it weighs in at nearly a thousand pages, and is still a monstrous read for most people.

Characters: 10/10

I love Erikson's characters, and I've never had trouble keeping track of who is who (although I know a number of people who do), so a whole new cast struck me as a wonderfully pleasant surprise. Characters on both sides of the line, Letherii and Tiste Edur, are well developed, interesting, and each has his or her specific purpose. My favorite characters in the novel are most definitely Tehol Beddict and his rather incredible man-servant Bugg, who provide some of the best comic relief in the entire series. My least favorite are Rhulad Sengar and his rather horrific wife. However, even the characters that I didn't like are well done.

World: 10/10
Erikson has a gift for developing his worlds within the novel, and the continent of Lether is no exception. With an entire new land to develop, Erikson is able to recreate some of the ideas in his world, delving into the deeper history of the world and how it became what we have seen in the first four Malazan Novels. Early on there was some speculation that the events of Midnight Tides took place in another world, or in the distant past of the world of Malaz, but these ideas have now been thoroughly quashed by the contents of later novels. However, much of the book feels like a look into the history of Erikson's world, and this will delight many careful readers.

Plot: 10/10

The war between the Tiste Edur and Letheras is a strong plot, and it well formed, developed, and executed. Erikson is known for complex plots, but this one is fairly simple - though it certainly has twists and turns in its execution. While the basic plot is simple, there are many subplots that lend complexity to the story and serve to develop each important character very well.

Pacing: 10/10

Erikson's books are not thrillers, and so you should be ready for the long haul. However, this book is not nearly as difficult as either Memories of Ice or House of Chains, and this makes it feel like a much faster read.

Commentary: 10/10

I love the depth of Erikson's commentary, and the commentary in Midnight Tides is both excellent, and directly applicable to modern society. I won't ruin the story by giving away all of his points, but Erikson has some very strong ideas about current trends in society, religion, and economics that are clearly expressed in Midnight Tides. While strong social commentary is evident in each of his Malazan novels, Midnight Tides is by far the most obvious.

Conclusion:

Midnight Tides is worth reading whether you have followed the series or not. Honestly, I encourage everyone to read this novel, even if you never think twice about any of Erikson's other works. It is both an excellent story, and an excellent source of much needed social criticism.

I absolutely love Erikson's work. He creates great memorable scenes in his novels, and in this one especially there were characters that delighted and intrigued me.

Paradoxically though, I also intensely dislike Erikson because of the way he throws epic set pieces around just for the sake of being epic. I loved this book and Memories of Ice, but in both I was highly confused by all of his deities, people becoming dieties, children of dieties roaming around with ill defined agendas, dieties posing as people etc, etc, etc. In fact, at the end of Midnight Tides one of the characters is revealed to be some God, and though I know it should have given me goosebumps or something, it struck a very flat note. I couldn't remember the context of the God (Was he important? Was he good/bad? Was he known by one or more other names? Was he in a different book too?) and found myself wondering why I should even care. It was as though Erikson were in the background saying:

'SHAZAAM! He's a God! Bet you didn't see that coming! I so totally ROCK!'

For once, I would like it if he came out with a novel that wasn't so pretentious. If you wanna throw in dieties, fine, but give them a little more context and have them actually MEAN something to the storyline. If you want to make vague references to events that might have happened a few thousand years back, also fine, but please make it have greater relevance to the story. Erikson throws so much world building minutiae around (especially in Memories of Ice) that after a while it begins to really detract from the story.

All that said, I really liked the characters of Tehol, Bug, and all the other characters that were associated with them. The dialogs were some of the funniest I have ever read, and the motivations behind these characters was brilliant. The larger story was not overly compelling, but for this cast of characters alone the book easily merits 3-4 stars.

I didn't know what to think coming into this one because it is a completely different story in and of itself with barely any connection to the series as a whole. We've seen other authors do this, i.e. Terry Goodkind, and fail miserably. Erikson, though, seems to have pulled it off.

This monster of a book is a lot to get through, and the cast of characters can be a little daunting, but Erikson's writing pulls it all together. With this book we get the back story for Trull Sengar, the only character to be found in any other book in the series. My only wish is that since we we're getting the back story why not show us how Trull came to be trapped in the warren of book 4? Either way, the same story telling is here that really shows gods among men, really shows who are the strong and who are the weak. This has been something I have admired of Erikson for a while, that he can effectively show why someone is more powerful, or explain the uniqueness of a certain person and so on. That is how he has been able to write about gods and not fall on his face, because he can effectively show who they are in comparison to everyone else.

My only wish is that Erikson will get back to the main storyline that he created through book 4. This doesn't detract from this book, but it would detract if he were to write too many books in the series that were tangential storylines such as this one. Be that as it may, there is a lot set up in this book that can ultimately make for some great storylines as they join with the rest of the series.

I would recommend.

4 stars.

Midnight Tides is the fifth book of Steven Erikson's 10-volume series The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Unlike other multi-volume big-book fantasy writers, Erikson's production has been consistent: about a volume per year and he has completed 7, of which five are available through his US publisher, Tor.

This book is somewhat different in tone and feel from the first four. This is partly because it introduces the third main story thread of the series after the Genabackis and Seven Cities plotlines from previous books. There are other major differences.

First, the action occurs before the events of volumes 1-4. Second, the characters, other than one from book four, House of Chains, are entirely new. Third, the story focuses on a distinct conflict between two peoples -- the Tiste Edur of the northlands and the human empire Letheras that seeks to expand and conquer. Fourth, the two sides are shown through two major families, the four Sengar brothers (Fear the elder, Trull the dutiful, Binadas the mysterious, Rhulad the covetous) of the Edur, and the three human Beddict brothers (Hull, who has been broken by his past; Tehol, who is an eccentric genius; and Brys the King's champion). Erikson displays family relations, political alignments within the two societies, bonds between brothers and the separate societies through these two lenses. This is one of the most emotionally charged books of the series.

Unlike Gardens of the Moon, which basically started after a cataclysmic event and revealed details of the situation later, Midnight Tides has a set beginning -- the Warlock King who has united the Edur tribes seeks a powerful talisman to maintain control, while the Letheras empire threatens to conquer the whole continent. Within this background are the numerous story threads in each Erikson book: political intrigue, gods and monsters interacting with "normal" people and references to the overall arc of the story which Erikson started to divulge in book 3. And of course, there's plenty of action: from small parties fighting in the arctic wilderness to major military battles.

This book is also flat-out funny -- the interaction between Tehol and his amazingly resourceful manservant Bugg is among the best comic relief in any major fantasy series and it enlivens book 7, Reaper's Gale (available in the UK and Canada) too.

The detractions are standard for the genre -- the books are long and completion is years away. All of the volumes except the first are more than 600 pages in trade paperback and they're getting longer -- book 7 is more than 900! But the quality of Erikson's work hasn't diminished, unlike so many other major "doorstopper" fantasy writers. And his publishing pace is good: it takes him 8 months to write each volume and he's hitting a one-per-year rate for new books (Tor is publishing US versions of previous UK editions every 8-9 months). So making the commitment is more rewarding than it is for some other works.

Overall, the series, and especially this volume, is highly recommended

I didn't know what to think coming into this one because it is a completely different story in and of itself with barely any connection to the series as a whole. We've seen other authors do this, i.e. Terry Goodkind, and fail miserably. Erikson, though, seems to have pulled it off.

This monster of a book is a lot to get through, and the cast of characters can be a little daunting, but Erikson's writing pulls it all together. With this book we get the back story for Trull Sengar, the only character to be found in any other book in the series. My only wish is that since we we're getting the back story why not show us how Trull came to be trapped in the warren of book 4? Either way, the same story telling is here that really shows gods among men, really shows who are the strong and who are the weak. This has been something I have admired of Erikson for a while, that he can effectively show why someone is more powerful, or explain the uniqueness of a certain person and so on. That is how he has been able to write about gods and not fall on his face, because he can effectively show who they are in comparison to everyone else.

My only wish is that Erikson will get back to the main storyline that he created through book 4. This doesn't detract from this book, but it would detract if he were to write too many books in the series that were tangential storylines such as this one. Be that as it may, there is a lot set up in this book that can ultimately make for some great storylines as they join with the rest of the series.

I would recommend.

4 stars.

I had Midnight Tides on my shelf for a few months before I read it. After finishing House of Chains, I was completely in awe of Erikson's masterpiece series. I wanted more immediately, but I knew that MT would not offer me the characters or settings I was familiar with. So, I waited on it...reading other books, reading around the Internet to see whether or not I could skip MT and move directly to The Bonehunters (book 6 of the series). After seeing on Wiki that this book introduced a storyline I probably should know before BH, I picked it up. Am I ever glad I did not skip this one!

Yes, MT introduces you to an almost completely new set of characters and a new continent in Erikson's world. BUT, these characters are well developed, very interesting, and (now I see) going to very integral to the larger Malazan series storyline.

As usual, Erikson does a great job putting you in his world. This new continent of Lether is just as interesting and full of history as the others. Erikson's writing in MT might just be his best in the series so far. The action is great, descriptions of places/people is great, and some dialogue is genuinely funny. Seeing The Crippled God take an active role unlike the previous four books was also very good.

I am very anxious to get back with the Malazan Army, etc. in Tne Bonehunters, but MT was excellent and should not be missed.

Midnight Tides (2004) is the fifth Fantasy novel in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, following House of Chains. In the previous volume, the Chosen One fell before her sister. Afterward, Pearl and Lostara Yil informed Adjunct Travore that her sister was dead.

The survivors of the Army of the Apocalypse scattered back into the desert. Cussers fell here and there. Holy Raraku rose and became an inland sea. Karsa Orlong threw 'Siballe into the sea and then rode West into the wastes.

In this novel, Hannan Mosag is the Warlock King of the Tiste Edur in the Six Tribes Confederacy. He has cowed the chiefs of all six tribes, although the Merode resisted the longest. Hannan is assisted by the K'risnan, the hostage sons of the chiefs and his apprentices in magic.

Tomar Sengar is the husband of Uruth and patriarch of the Sengar Bloodline. He has four sons: Fear, Trull, Binadas and Rhulad. The eldest three are warriors, but Rhulad is not yet blooded.

Feather Witch is a Letherii slave of the Sengar household. She is also a caster of the tiles and a reader of the Path of Holds. She reveals the future.

Idinaas is a knotter of nets in the village. He had been a sailor on a Letherii whaler until the Tiste Ebur longboats caught them taking whales in their waters. The warriors left the whaler officers tied to the body of a whale for the sea predators to devour and took Udinaas and the other crewmen back as slaves. He also belongs to the Sengar household.

Engara Diskanar is the King of Lether. He resides in the Eternal Domicile within Letheras the City. His Queen is Janall and Quillas Diskanar is his son and heir.

Kuru Qan is the Ceda -- Palace Sorceror -- to the King. Triban Gnol is Chancellor of the King. Unnutal Hebar is Preda -- Commander -- of the Letheran Army.

The Beddict siblings are the products of a marriage between a cowardly husband and a financial genius wife. It ended with the death of both parents, apparently by suicide. Hull is the eldest and is the Letherii Sentinel in the north. Tehol is the second son and a financial genius like his mother. Brys is the youngest, the best swordsman in the kingdom and much like his father.

Seren Pedac is a Letherii Acquitor -- a guide and factor -- who has been hired to take Buruk the Pale and his party to the Tiste Edur tribes. Hull Beddict is also included within the party. They will stay over for the Great Meeting between the representatives of the Tiste Edur and those of the King of Lether.

Errant is the remaining god of the Letherii. Elsewhere he has been replaced by the Oponn Twins. Errant never replies to his worshipers nor does he grant their prayers. But he does continue to meddle in their lives.

In this story, Trull Sengar travels to the Calach shore to gather jade. He finds that the tusked seals have returned early to their breeding ground and are being harvested by nineteen Letheran ships. He returns to his village to spread the word.

As he nears the village, he finds Binadas and tells him of the events. Then he sees Fear and tells him. Finally, he takes Rhulad back to his lodge to hear the news as Trull informs his father and mother. Tomad sends Rhulad to tell the Warlock King.

Hannan Mosag calls a council meeting and has Trull retell the events on the Calach shore. The chiefs are ready to slaughter the Letherii, but Mannan Mosag has another plan. He intends to invoke the magic of Kurald Emurlahn.

In the north, Hull Beddict confesses to Seren that he will be trying to disrupt the talks between the Tiste Edur and the Letherii. He has seen too many tribes accept trading privileges with Lether and become dependents of the kingdom. Eventually, their tribal structures and ways were destroyed.

Meanwhile, in Letheras, Tehol Beddict is approached by three "sisters" who want him to sabotage the Letherii economy. They are half-breeds who have seen their tribes become degraded dependents of the Letheran system. He has already done something similar in a small way, but now Shand, Rissarh and Hejon want him to drive the economy into the ground.

This tale leads the Tiste Edur to invade Lether. They confound the Letheran army with potent magic and primitive tactics. And the Letherii turn on themselves.

The story is more of a bridge to an upcoming story than most of the series. The ending leaves plenty of obviously unresolved threads. It is very long -- the mmp is 960 pages -- so maybe the original story was severed at a conventient point and the last half was published separately (see Reaper's Gale).

As usual, this story has a very large casualty list. The battles destroy thousands. Still, heroes abound. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Erikson fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of economic slavery, political intrigue, and armed conflict.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Steven Erikson does it again. By 'it' I mean that he has provided us with another masterpiece. That is praise I can't give to a lot of contemporary fantasy novelists, who, based on current offerings, seem to be pressed to release something readable. Erikson's ability to create and tell a story is criminal. How are we, as readers, supposed to function normally at home and work if he keeps us so engrossed in his stories. I can't even remember my girlfriend's name, and I definitely haven't gotten any work done this week. I'm lucky my boss hasn't caught me reading on the job. Honestly, I don't think I will last much past the next U.S. release of Mr. Erikson's.

It's only been 10 minutes and 37 seconds since I finished reading Midnight Tides and I am already going through withdrawal. I only hope that Mr. Erikson stays well ahead of the U.S. publishing with his writing. Despite the long wait for his debut, american readers have definitely been spoiled with the rapid fire release of his novels, a new novel every 8 to 10 months.

That being said, lets get to the fun stuff! While it only has a few of the characters that have appeared in previous episodes of The Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and most of them only mentioned in passing, it exhibits a strong class of characters with whom the reader is immediately drawn to. As with previous novels, the black and white, good and evil dichotomy is ignored at the character level. Each character is likable or detestable based on their personal actions and merits.

It has been said that each of the books in Steven Erikson's series can be read as a stand alone novel, which is true to a certain extent. Read them, you'll see what I mean. Erikson doesn't jerk his readers around with to 'be continued' episodes at the end of his books, and while prior knowledge about characters and preceding events helps orient the reader, it isn't as important with Erikson's Malazan saga. However, it is my opinion that each of the novels should be read in the sequence they have been released, with the exception of Midnight Tides. I could have started with this book and not noticed the difference. Although, I do believe that having a good introduction to the Malazan Empire and its major players is important, hence the release of the prior 4 novels.

Midnight Tides takes place in a completely new geographic area and involves 1 new group of people, the Letherii, and 1 group of people that was briefly touched on in preceding novels, the Tiste Edur. Of the Tiste Edur we have already been introduced to Trull Sengar, as he played a significant part in the previous novel House of Chains.

In fact, it appears that Midnight Tides has been released out of chronological sequence in the series, occuring at a period in Trull Sengar's life prior to his involvement in the story told in House of Chains.

At the beginning of reading the book, fans of the `Bridgeburner' characters may be a little disappointed that none of them are involved in Midnight Tides. That disappointment will not last long. Erikson, has gone to great lengths to bring to life new, and possibly more engrossing, characters in this release. Two names come to mind, Tehol Beddict and Bugg. Those are only two of the great new characters introduced in the story, be ready to enjoy a whole new cast of characters as they live, die, and fall into the history of Erikson's gargantuan story.

Vaipre
Vaipre's Weekly Fantasy Lense

This installment of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series introduces us to the Lethii and the Tiste Ande battle for an empire. This is the final of the 3 major plot lines to be introduced by Erkison. The humorous interchanges between Tehol and Bugg keep you turning the pages. As with his other books, it took me 3 days to get through the first 300 pages, and one day for the last 633! Once the momentum picks up, you can't stop devouring chapter after chapter...
There are only a couple of very tiny interactions to the first 5 books of the series -- concentrate on this as a new story as you read it. Some of the characters he introduces are very interesting -- a living dead girl, an ancient, conflicted mage, and a deity serving in a most conspicuous manner with the mortals...

I'll be short which is something Steve Erikson isn't. I have started the series from the begining and was somewhat angry that this series flutters around. Those who have read the series knows what I mean. Any, this book had little to do with the books that went before it. However, this is a great book, tremendous plot twists, and ending that left you tragically very unsatisfied. Sorry for you Bryes, Maylen, Hull, Ceda, etc. Still what a story!

I have given up on Erikson completing the previous stories and books, and giveing me more of the characters I fell in love with. Where are you Apsalar and Tattersail? Now just accept the genious of the characters whenever they appear. Don't fall in love with any characters because you may not see them again, just go with the flow and be in moment. You will not be able to root for Harry and hope he pulls it out in the end. Not that kind of series, much darker, deeper and more complicated than you can imagine. That said wow! Wow and more wow! This book you can pick up and read without knowing what had gone before. Even though Trull was in the House of Chains you didn't have to read the House of Chains to know what was going on. In fact this could be the first book in the series and historically it is the first book in the series as far as when these events occurred. I didn't give this book 5 stars because the ending left me lacking, quite frankly like all of this books have left me lacking at the end. However, Eriskon is about the journey not the destination. Buy this book and be amazed.

The entire fifth novel of "The Malazan Book of the Fallen", "Midnight Tides", precedes the initial installment "Gardens of the Moon" and addresses events leading up to and including the Letherii and the Tiste Edur war. This is the first book absent of the Bridgeburners whereas Trull Sengar from "House of Chains" stands the exclusive connection with any of the earlier novels.

As expected, additional characters with various titles in a different part of the realm create added baggage to an already overwhelming plethora of information. A few notable characters are exceptionally remarkable, Shurq Elalle the undead thief, Tehol Beddict and his mysterious manservant Bugg (with rather humorous interaction between the two), and the Avowed soldier Iron Bars who's little shown but appears to have great potential.

I believe the Beddict brothers' story to be more attractive while the Tiste Edur brothers' development as marginally passable. Many conclusions seem rushed, ranging from plot resolution to character deaths. I can only speculate the subjects will continue in future tales.

The maps are acceptable but the hopeless appendix provides names with little information. Given the abundant quantity of characters, an improved comprehensive appendix is necessary including racial characteristics, relating magical powers, and describing creatures.

Thank you.

Ericson is an unbelievable author how has not been given enough coverage in the US. The first 5 books of this series have been out for a while in the UK and i ordered them from there and found them well worth it. The Malazan Book of the Fallen series is the best in fantasy, bar none. Do not hesitate to pick these up.
Midnight Tides is the 5th book in the series that began with Gardens of the Moon. Is set on a distant continent that is about to break out into all out war between the Tiste Edur and the Kingdom of Lether, all put into motion by the Chain God. I havent gotten to the end of this yet, about 2/3rds of the way there and i cant put it down. Great characters, funny dialog in places, incredible battles and magic. Get this series!

This one by Erikson took me a while to get into, the first of his books to do so. I think it was a combination of the writing style, as it was the same as all the pervious books, and because this is a new setting, with new characters. Trull Sengar and the Crippled God are the only previous characters mentioned in any of the previous four books. So I'll admit I was bored throughout the first part of the book. But as usual with Erikson he somehow made this into an excellent book.

The second half picked up when the Tiste Edur began their conquest, and ended in the royal throne room in Letharas. This build up to the final showdown had some twists and turns, but still ended up the way you thought it would, which was unexpected. This is weird to state, but somehow Erikson made the obvious still a mystery up until the end. So the second half of the book made it exciting for me, but as it stands this was my least favorite book in the series. But that's not saying much as the series has been excellent.

I would have given this book 4.5 if it was possible, but only full stars allowed and therefore it gets the lower of the 2.
This series is the best I have read since Cook's Black Company, and Stackpole's Dragoncrown Cycle. To me it even over shadows the Fire and Ice series from Martin.
I ordered all 5 from the UK, and even after paying shipping, I don't regret the purchase one bit. If you can find these, PICK THEM UP!
Unlike the first 4 books, this one is not about, nor does it involve the Bridgeburners. This is where the loss of the half star comes from, and it's possibly just my own little peeve. I get annoyed by the introduction of all new characters 5 books into a series.
After finishing the book, I stopped minding it at all. While not yet appearing to fit into the grand scheme of the first 4, it stands on it's own.
Erikson is a major player in the fantasy field in my mind. He EASILY tops both Goodkind and Jordan for epic fantasy and is a serious challenger to the perpetually delayed Martin.

It is hard to change gears with Steven Erikson. You love his characters so much that you want them in every plotline and page of his series. When House of Chains ends, you love a new character as much as you missed the others when it first starts....with Midnight Tides, the resentment will be a little more sharper b/c Trull needs to grow on you. The Tiste Edur plotline is tough to get into at first, but as it picks up steam and when it finally climaxes, you are along for the ride.

Above all...nothing beats Rhulad Sengar's tangle with some "war veterans". A laugh-out-loud scene that makes you realize where some "fit" in the scheme of things. Midnight Tides is a very important novel to the series, b/c it carries another step by the Crippled God to amass power. And once this is realized, the plot and series becomes clearer....and it becomes the natural step from House of Chains to the very next after...The Bonehunters.

I'm a big fan of fantasy novels, having read well over 500 in the last 10+ years since I've discovered this litterary niche. Erikson continues to impress, and he is quickly becoming my favorite author as his world building skills are unparalleled.
I first discovered his "Gardens of the Moon" a couple of years ago while I was travelling back and forth to University. I stopped into the bookstore just off campus and was caught off guard by the sort of post apocalyptic setting depicted on the cover. I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, other than Orson Card's work, so I was hesitant, as I couldn't really tell by the short synopsis whether the setting was fantasy or sci-fi. Rest assured fantasy lovers, this is as good as it gets!
His heroes are memorable, and I was actually moved as some of them eventually die in the course of the series. The world and the political intrigue possesses a vastness I have never encountered in a book before. Even though this one, his fifth novel, revolves around a different set of main characters, the political intrigue between the "Gods" is still very much present. I was a bit disappointed to have to delve into a new set of characters, but I wasn't disappointed, as they are some of his best persona's.
If you can, run to the bookstore and pick them all up. Lock yourself inside for a week, you won't regret it!!

Midnight Tides is a departure from the world and characters of the previous entries in Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series. It contained some engaging characters, interesting plot twists, and somewhat fleshed out Erikson's universe. The banter between Tehol and Bugg made them easily one of my favorite pair of characters in fantasy.

But the book was also a bit longer than necessary and, a couple of times, I felt myself really having to push through the book. Overall, I enjoyed it, but, after this, I will be taking a bit of a break from Erikson's work to read some shorter pieces of fiction.

At first I couldn't get into this book of the Malazan Series. It started off with new characters and new plot lines. But, as you read you realize how it all ties in together with the other books, just like Karsa's story in House of Chains. In the end, I loved this book. The humor is more evident, especially between Tehol and Bugg. Their conversations can't help but make you smile and laugh! I tried to place this book in order of which books out of the series I liked best and I couldn't. It was right up there with Memories of Ice and House of Chains! If you've liked this series so far, you will not be disappointed with this one!

Another malazan book of the fallen. I found this one as interesting as the others and with a degree more humor – – particularly enjoying the antics of Tohal and his not so quite so manservant. Onto the next!

A Malazan book without the Bridgeburners?
For me, this book seemed to take on a different tone than the previous books in the series - a little more sombre, a little more introspective (character wise). While there are some battles, this book does not proceed with the same pace and action as the previous books.
Perhaps it is this difference that makes this a good read. You are drawn into the characters and constantly find yourself trying to figure out how each of these characters fit into the overall plot line of the series.
I eagerly awaited this book and wasn't disappointed in the least. I can't wait for the next one!

Okay, I normally hate the people who review a book before it's out, but I'm submitting this as more promotional than anything else. I ran across this series when I was living in the UK last year, and it is incredible, better in fact than the early Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan.
We here in America are just getting these books for the first time, and I highly encourage you to read them all. Erikson writes real characters, gripping stories, and incredible (but not boring) detail. This man has a fertile imagination, and isn't afraid to use it.
The only problem for most of us here is that his early books are hard to find right now. However, thankfully, Tor is picking up the slack and will start publishing them this year, starting with Gardens of the Moon in a few months.
Do yourself a favor... if you enjoy fantasy at all, check out this series!

For the third time in the series, Erikson starts off a book with characters, setting, and history completely new to the reader. As deep into the series as book five, this would be considered taboo for most writers. Yet somehow, I came to enjoy each and every one of the new characters. The story is again epic, yet it seems extremely well managed and simple, as if Erikson is getting even more comfortable with his complex and broad scope of storytelling.
Despite the fact the story tells of a tragedy spanning two empires, humour is abundant in this book. The amusing exchanges between Tehol Bennedict and pretty much anyone he meets keeps the mood light in the face of the dark nature of the novel as a whole. The book starts slow since the reader is unfamiliar with many of the characters, but like all the preceding books, it takes off a quarter of the way in, and builds to an incredible climactic ending which pulls together threads spanning a continent.
Within the scope of the series, the only book I enjoyed more was Book 3, Memories of Ice. Within the scope of the entire fantasy genre, I'd still say the same. Including Tolkein, Jordan, Goodkind, Martin, Donaldson, Feist, and about 15 others I've read. Erikson is by far the best and brightest author to come into the fantasy scene since Martin (and better than Martin anyway).
Warning however, to those who don't enjoy complexity in plots and ambivilant characterization in their main characters, for that is here. And that's why I'm going to stay here right until the end.

With this book Erikson departs from the familiar characters of the last 4 books and drags us to the land of the letheri, where death is ineffectual and the elder gods still hold supreme. The letheri are caught up in a mad need for expansion and conquest, mainly due to their God the Errant who detests stagnation and nongrowth. They have set their sites on clans of the tiste edur, who are the remnants of a huge army of edur and andii that were led against an army of K'Chain Che'Malle thousands of years ago. However the letherii are grossly underestimating the edur "savages" who are led by a warlock king with an unknown ally.

This book fully explains the mystery of Trull Sengar's forced exilement.

I'm half-way through this book, and I've been late for work every day this week. I can't put it down.
At first I was a little irritated that Midnight Tides bears little connection with the first four books of the series, but by a third of the way in I was hooked. Now I'm beginning to see the connections, and expect this part of the series to clash with the earlier parts pretty soon.
This book concerns the Tiste Edur who, earlier in the series are mentioned as living on a distant contenant. The timeline is confusing at first, but it all seems to be taking place at the same time as the previous book. However, I'm not at the end yet, and so I could be wrong. Just about the only familiar character in the book is the crippled god, everyone else is new, but there are some nice surprising links to the first four books.

This book is about on par with the other books in terms of story, so if you liked the others, this one equals them in story. It is very slow in the beginning, and once again the author is throws out a bunch of new terms in the beginning and doesn't explain any of them for a long time. As other reviewers have said, there are a lot of great, funny conversations and situations, especially with Tehol and Bugg. I really liked it, but it left a little gap between Trull in the fourth book and Trull in the fifth book. Hopefully it will be explained in book 6.

This is the fifth book in the Malazan series and Erikson does something amazing with it. He introduces a whole new set of characters on a different contintent. There are a few characters from the other books, but its mostly new characters.

This is another great book in the series and anyone who is a fan of Erikson or Martin will love it.

Another fantastic work by Mr. Erikson. I believe he is the best author currently writing this genre. His ability to write multiple plot lines, while maintaining a large cast of believable characters is a testament to his talent. His works evoke every possible emotion in a reader and this latest addition is no exception. This is not your run-of-the-mill juvenile fantasy with hobbits, orcs and elves. He has created a very believable world with flawed heroes and sympathetic villains. With Midnight Tides, I found myself referring to previous books to tie together plotlines and the scope is truly epic. As far as I'm concerned, the next book cannot be published soon enough!

I retract my assignment of "Weakest Book in Series" from House of Chains and reassign it even more vehemently to Midnight Tides. Not only was it weak, it became so dull about 2/3 through I skimmed through the rest of it just to get it over with. Yes, it is a prequel, but with very tenuous ties to the rest of the series. We are given some rather pointless "insight" on the personality of the Crippled God but nothing that changes the game, so to speak.
All the characters in this book are pretty flat, so it's hard to make yourself care what happens to them, except for Trull Sengar, but of course we already *know* what happens to him, thanks to House of Chains. Udinaas the slave and Seran the Acquitor in particular are dreary, dull characters whose POV scenes bog the story down considerably.
Also, it seems Steven Erikson is developing a tendency to go on rambling, meaningless, existential rants at random intervals throughout the narrative. This was starting to happen in House of Chains but it is even more pronounced here, and it becomes downright tiresome.
Just as tiresome are Erikson's sudden polemics, never-before present in this series, I thought. The first four books were full of non-absolutes and moral ambiguities, but Midnight Tides seems to be a never-ending tirade against capitalist societies like Lether and the wrongs they visit on other peoples (like the Tiste Edur) in the name of "progress" (I felt that Noam Chomsky would love this book). Erikson may have some good points, granted, but it gets wearing when he never shuts up about it, nor does he present any alternate viewpoint. Lether and its ways are purest evil, and don't you forget it.
That's not to say that the book is without good points. The scenes with Tehol and Bugg are pricelessly funny. The scenes with Trull in the Tiste Edur village are also well written and engaging, but as a whole the book falls flat. I think I expect more from the man who wrote Memories of Ice, undeniably one of the best doorstopper-sized fantasy volumes ever put to paper. I still am willing to let Erikson pick up the ball again with The Bonehunters; I am hoping that book will not give me cause to give the series up for good.

I was an anthropology major in college with only 9 credit hours to go then I switched my major. Reading Erikson remindes me of why I took anthropology in the first place. The scope in which this man writes within simply leaves my jaw wide open. This book is such a page turner as it slowly reveals the making of many great characters to come. I've read every book of his to date and each one (book) has its place. Each book gets better than the last. Each book pulls you into your own life with new angles to see your personal experiences. You will actually grow as a person by reading epic fiction! I had given up on fiction until I gave it one last chance with Erikson and wow, simply wow. I'm so glad I'm alive now, right now, breathing the same worldly air that this amazing writer breathes. Seriously folks, buy or borrow, but, read this and all his other books. But, do it in order starting with Ian's book Night of Knives. If you've missed one or Ian's book look for them and read them anyway even it it's out of order because you'll gain a greater understanding and depth of the many philosophies and world views his imagination can stir to the surface.

Now, find a comfy chair, a good pillow,maybe a blanket (it's cold where I live this time of year) and a glass of your favorite beverage. Get yourself in the most comfortable position possible have a sip and open this book. It begins by being great right out of the gate, so, be prepared and happy trails!!!

Anyone that has read my previous reviews for Erikson's work will recognize that I consider his ongoing series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, to represent one of the major achievements in epic fantasy. My comments here are directed instead to the review posted by Publishers Weekly: "high fantasy"? To characterize Erikson's writing as high fantasy is both preposterous and misleading; romanticism is entirely lacking, and Erikson's saga shares nothing in tone with Tolkien or his many adherents. Instead, his writing is truer to the often amoral ethos found in the earlier heroic epics of Homer or the Germanic and Scandinavian sagas and eddas. Those seeking high fantasy would be best advised to stick to the likes of Lackey, Feist, Brooks or Weis.

I'm sorry; I don't get it. This is the fifth of Erikson's books that I've read, and each one has yet to actually satisfy. His books are ambitious and the world building great, but his characters are flat and the magic "system" is seemingly incomprehensible.
This book is another display of that. The most interesting characters to me are the brothers Beddict, Tehol especially. Tehol's interactions with Bugg are especially amusing. However, this highlights a weakness of his: nearly every one of his bizarre characters (Tehol, Iskaral Pust, Kruppe) are bizarre in that they speak in strange inside jokes or other such eccentricities. Most other characters are stock; almost all soldiers are the exact same with highly introspective internal dialogue.
Like all of his other books, the plot moves along with either random interventions from gods or massively powerful and unexplained mages.
Personally, the most interesting plot point was Tehol and the Tolls. Unfortunately, it's never explained exactly how he gets control of the stock market and it never really figures into the story as he doesn't rig a collapse of the economy as the whole country is already in possession of the Edur. Also, the readers get a very distinct view of the author's view of capitalism: greed ruins the world and all capitalists are rapacious. He goes the Goodkind route on this and beats you over the head with his philosophy a few times with it; the relief is that it's not as heavy handed as Goodkind's.
In all, a book that had good ideas, yet fails to make it. Just like his other books.

Steven Erikson once again weaves a masterful tale. It's amazing to me that such an epic and deeply rich world builder is a master at developing such interesting and sympathetic characters.

Stop reading this review and start reading this book.

I don't know about the average fan, but seeing a price tag of $321 for a NON first edition - specifically TOR versus the true Bantam edition, just boggles my mind. Sorry pal, I'll definately pass on this crazy offering.

I have stuck it through 5 books. I have tried to see this as the best new fantasy series. However, after a couple months away, I have my doubts. I don't know if I'll return to the Seven Cities, or to Paran, or to the Hounds, or the countless other gods, demi-gods, dead races, crippled Gods, or Warrens. After 2 months away from the world, I can safely say that there is no one I care about finding out how they are doing. Kalam....let's see....where was he? what was he doing? Something about the Claw and the other older society of assassins. Captain Paran? Ok so, you entered some world inside the back of a table and there was a gimp God and you got some cards and you got to shuffle them around. But, then your lover, who is now like 10 years old, and in the body inhabited by 4 other beings, doesn't remember the one hot night you had together...And Felisin...What a dynamic character. Scorned by your family. sent to labor in the mines. A heartfelt journey with Heboric and that other guy who came back as Hood's warrior. After you became Sha'ik, I lost interest. Your character development flattened and you got so boring that I was glad to see your sister shove a sword in your belly. I just didn't care about you anymore. You could have been so much more. Oh, and Karsa...I was so intrigued by your quest to avenge your people. To bring about the end of those who stole your people and your land. But, then you hooked up with Felisin, went to look for a new sword, and forgot all about your people. What the hell man? No one ever dies. If you get stuck, just open a Warren. Are your really dead if you die? Are you there Whiskeyjack? Your tomb was glowing, so are you really dead? You sneaky bastard...you're gonna come back at some point aren't you? But, you know what? I don't care anymore....

Anyone that has read my previous reviews for Erikson's work will recognize that I consider his ongoing series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, to represent one of the major achievements in epic fantasy. My comments here are directed instead to the review posted by Publishers Weekly: "high fantasy"? To characterize Erikson's writing as high fantasy is both preposterous and misleading; romanticism is entirely lacking, and Erikson's saga shares nothing in tone with Tolkien or his many adherents. Instead, his writing is truer to the often amoral ethos found in the earlier heroic epics of Homer or the Germanic and Scandinavian sagas and eddas. Those seeking high fantasy would be best advised to stick to the likes of Lackey, Feist, Brooks or Weis.

I give this book one star when compared to the standard i expect from the author. If it was a newcomer i'd give him 2.5-3 stars, but for Erikson to disapoints me like this once again i have to voice my saddnes with a one star review.

Much has already been written the twostars revies, so i won't be repeating that. What i feel right now, as i've decided to chunk the book after 150 pages, is like finding Erikson and slaping him sensless. What is about writerrs that makes them think they have to come with new charachters and irrelvant dribble when it's 5 books into the saga? How do they expect us to care? To put it short, this is like a filler in anime series...no relevant main story. I couldn't get into House of Chains(took me 2 months to finish it) because there was no charachters that would make me stomach the lame parts just to get to their chapters. This one is even worse, you start hoping everyone would just die so the book would end and with it your misery.

One other thing that starts to irritate is how apstract and undifined the whole warren-magic-worlds system is). Essentialy it allows Erikson to write whatever he wants at any point because nobody understans the system or how it works and eventualy it starts to border on ridiculuos as the author helps himself with inveting whatever is needed rather than building it properly.

Exuce my poor English. I hope Bonecasters can restore my faith in this series, as the last two books pretty much shattered it. And to think i was so exicted to have found this series after the first 3 books...

The best Malazan book so far - because it has nothing to do with the Malazan Empire whatsoever (why it is included in the Malazan Book of the Fallen is another question - there are no Malazans, fallen or otherwise).

There is, of course, still no point to all the armies that assemble - they are all wiped out without a fight by magic and gods, as usual, to provide some groovy "special effects", bodycount and mandatory ghastliness. But at least this time 'round there isn't the feeble and ridiculous plan of conquest by hiring the local Assassins Guild. Indeed, Midnight Tides is thankfully bereft of the abundance of assassins found in the Malazan parts of this interminable epic. And someone has the grace to notice that armies are pointless in this world.

Also thankfully missing are Kruppe and Iskaral Pust. We still had the obligatory whining, infantile pacifist bilge from supposedly hardened soldiers, but it doesn't dominate the book like it did in Deadhouse Gates or Memories of Ice. As usual, folk turn into gods or archmages or can kill gods without raising a sweat (the Avowed) for no rhyme or reason or credibility, but that's Erikson for you. It isn't quite as bad as in the previous volumes.

And for the first time, even if it was childish and simple, one of his awful poems actually rhymed! I had been wondering how it could be that every poet from every culture from the entire "history" of this alternate world had no idea of structure, rhyme and meter. All "poems" sounded exactly the same and - surprise, surprise! - all were postmodernist and utterly lacking the most basic notions of structure. Boring, dull, obsessed with repeating words like blood, doom, bones, crows, death and so forth, these dismal introductions to the chapters have become progressively funnier in just how bad they are.

But it was mostly harmless, if pointless as usual and anti-climactic. If the purpose was to give the background of Trull Sengar and a few others, it could have all been told in about 50 pages if the writer had the talent. He does not.

I think Midnight Tides is the best Malazan book so far - because it has nothing to do with the Malazan Empire whatsoever. There's no Malazan involvement, so why it is called a Tale from the Malazan Book of the Fallen is a bit strange, but avoiding the Malazan Empire and its lack of even imaginary credibility is a major positive for this work.

There is still no point to all the armies that assemble - they are all wiped out without a fight by magic and gods, as usual, to provide some groovy "special effects", bodycount and mandatory ghastliness. But at least this time 'round there isn't the feeble and ridiculous plan of conquest by hiring the local Assassins Guild. Indeed, Midnight Tides is thankfully bereft of the abundance of assassins found in the Malazan parts of this interminable epic.

Also thankfully missing are Kruppe and Iskaral Pust. We still had the obligatory whining, infantile pacifist bilge from supposedly hardened soldiers (has Erikson ever spoken to an actual soldier? I come from a military familiy and have never heard such whining drivel), but it doesn't dominate the book like it did in Deadhouse Gates or Memories of Ice. As usual, folk turn into gods or archmages or can kill gods without raising a sweat (the Avowed) for no rhyme or reason and defeats one's suspension of disbelief, but that's Erikson for you. It isn't quite as bad as in the previous volumes.

And for the first time, even if it was childish and simple, one of his awful poems actually rhymed! I had been wondering how it could be that every poet from every culture from the entire "history" of this alternate world had no idea of structure, rhyme and meter. All "poems" sounded exactly the same and - surprise, surprise! - all were postmodernist and utterly lacking the most basic notions of structure. Boring, dull, obsessed with repeating words like blood, doom, bones, crows, death and so forth, these dismal introductions to the chapters have become progressively funnier in just how bad they are.

But it was mostly harmless, if pointless and lacking all credibility even as fantasy, as usual. If the purpose was to give the background of Trull Sengar and a few others, it could have all been told in about 50 pages if the writer had the talent. He does not.

I get that Erikson loves creating new cultures.
But he really stops telling the main story. If this book did not tie into the later books, I would suggest skipping it all together.
There is really no main plot movement here, and you could basically read a Wikipedia summary and get past this book.

The Tiste Edur are not very interesting, and get dropped in the later books. They stop being anything more than generic tribal people #4.
With yet another 10 new plot threads added (many of which never actually get wrapped up in the end of the series) this series starts reaching plot overload, where it gets really hard to start caring about each and every minor plot, and it becomes easy to lose all focus.

I think that this is the weakest of all the novels, and it became even more obvious as the series continued. Erikson's attempt to write a tribal Tiste people just falls into flat out stereotype.

Save your money, skip this book in the series, you will not miss anything, or lack any knowledge of anything else.

If you thought that the way the previous book started with 200 pages on karsa was boring, than do not even buy this book as it takes place thousands of years before the main story line.

If you liked the Karsa gaiden, then by all means, enjoy.