Book Review: Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson (The Malazan Book of the Fallen book 5)

“Destiny is a lie. Destiny is justification for atrocity. It is the means by which murderers armour themselves against reprimand. It is a word intended to stand in place of ethics, denying all moral context. “

                       -Steven Erikson, Midnight Tides

Today is a public holiday in Australia.

A gloomy day.

Rain filled the dark, grey sky as I close the last page of Midnight Tides, the fifth book in The Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Finally, I have reached the halfway point of this enormous series. I am truly impressed by this book, so without further delay, let me write a review for this book.

Synopsis:

The story in Midnight Tides takes place on the continent of Lether. The kingdom of Letherii, and an ancient people known as Tiste Endur co-habited on this continent. The Warlock King of Tiste Endur united the tribes after many years of warfare. The price of this unification is a pact with a twisted, hidden power with a motive of its own.

To the south, the Kingdom of Letherii is an expansionist society. Having annexed all of its neighbours, Letherii's next target is the land of Tiste Endur. As a scheduled meeting is about to take place between the Warlock King and the Letherii delegation to discuss a treaty, a storm is brewing, waiting to be released that will forever change the fate of these two people....

What I think about this book:

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a huge series, so congratulations if you have made it to this book, the half way point in the series. Many fantasy series suffer from the “middle book syndrome”, where the middle book of the series doesn't live up to readers' expectations. This is not the case with Midnight Tides.

In this book, Steven Erikson introduces a completely new story arc, a cast of (almost) all new characters, and a new sub-continent. This new story arc, and these new elements, are all masterfully explored and introduced in a very good story. Comparing Midnight Tides with previous books, this book has less actions. However, what you will get here is vivid, imaginative world building and memorable character development.

There are many stars in this book. Two of my favorite characters in this book, are Tehol Beddict and his servant Bugg. Tehol possesses genius intellect, while his servant Bugg has a mysterious origin. In the story, this brainy, eccentric duo set off on a mission to topple the corrupted economic structure in the city of Lether, their story is both satirical and very relevant to our 21^th century, materialistic society.

Through the eyes of Tehol and Bugg, and the many conversations between these two individuals, we are shown how greed and inequality impacts a civilization and its people. Their conversations are humorous and touching, at the same time, like a reflective mirror, their conversations reflect the fundamental problem with the way we define "value" in our own world. Another interesting character, is Rhulad Sengar, arguably the antagonist of this book. Yet, as the story unfolds, I wasn't so sure if Rhulad is the victimizer, or a victim to a greater scheme, plotted by a sinister, hidden power. In fact, I felt great sympathy towards Rhulad at the end of the story.

The star of this book, is Trull Sengar, the brother of Rhulad Sengar. This introspective Tiste Endur warrior acts as the pivotal character in this book. His relationship with his brother further flesh out the supporting characters in this book.

Every book in the Malazan series has a theme. For example, in book 4, House of Chains, the story explored the theme of vengeance and its consequences. In book 3, Memories of Ice, it explored the theme of compassion and its nature. In Midnight Tides, the story explores the problem of greed. The Letherii society value money as the most important thing of all. Their society is obsessed with the accumulation of wealth, and this obsession led to indebtedness and slavery. The Letherii economic system is capitalism on steroid, it is a system that punishes anyone who don't play well in the game of money making. It reminds me of the boom and bust economic system that dominates today's materialistic society, where we often think the righteous path of life is all about accumulating wealth and social status. Through this story, Steven Erikson shows the foolishness of this system and belief, how it can lead to corruption, loss of freedom and the ultimate collapse of a civilisation from the inside out.

I really like this book. It has fascinating characters, a vast, imaginative world, and a thought provoking story that seems most relevant to our world. In Midnight Tides, this fantasy novel has hit the truth about the problems in our contemporary world. If you haven't read The Malazan Book of the Fallen, then do yourself a favour, mark this on your reading list.