“Don't
worry. I am like most people. I can keep my eyes and still see
nothing.”
- Steven Erikson, Dust of Dreams
Some
say wars are meaningless. Steven Erikson set out to explore the
meaninglessness of wars, in Dust of Dreams, the 9th
book and the pan-ultimate episode in The Malazan Book of the Fallen
series. I was very excited when I finished reading Dust of Dreams,
and I couldn't help but congratulated myself for having made it this
far. After reading 10,000 pages, now I am only one book away from
finishing this super epic, fantasy series. Without further delay,
let me review this book.
Synopsis:
On
the continent of Letherii, Adjunct Tavore commands the Bonehunters, the last great
army of the Malazan empire. In the name of
redemption, Adjunct Tavore and her army are marching into the desert
wastelands, to make a final stand against a deadly, ancient enemy.
Should they succeed, this deed of heroic, though unwitnessed by
history, will forever change the fate of the world.
Meanwhile,
Onos Toolan, became the newly appointed warleader of the Barghast
clan. Onos' policy of peace is causing much dissatisfactions among
his war-hungry followers. Can Onos succeed in leading the
Barghast clan to a new era of peace?
On
a dark, fateful night, the Deck of Dragons was read, ancient powers
unleashed, demanding a final confrontation of all powers new and old.
The last chapter of The Malazan Book of the Fallen is about to hit
the stage...
What
I think about this book:
I
find Dust of Dreams more enjoyable than its predecessor, Toll the
Hounds. This is because the pace of the story is faster than in Toll of the Hounds. In Dust of Dreams, a few new
characters are introduced, but most are returning characters from
previous books, so readers will be familiar with the characters and
their stories. However, just like all Malazan books, the cast of
characters is huge, and it is still quite difficult to keep track of
the stories.
In Dust of Dreams, multiple
story arcs develop simultaneously, while they do relate with each other, and converged in the end, but this book also features a huge cast of
characters, making this book very dense. It is not an easy read. However, if you
have made it this far to Dust of Dreams, chances are that by now, you should be familiar with the style of these books. Every Malazan book is meant to be a self contained novel, until Dust of Dreams, where the book ended with a cliff hanger, setting up the stage for the next book, the final chapter to this series, The Crippled God.
Overall,
I found Dust of Dreams more enjoyable than Toll the Hounds. Having
said this, I didn't enjoy
this book as much as the first 5 books in
this series. There is no doubt, that Steven Erikson is an excellent
writer, although these books are very dense, but the story and the
world he created in these books are vast, imaginative, and unique,
but for me, after Midnight Tides, reading the Malazan books have
become a chore, reading these books demand a reader to make a lot of
commitment. In my opinion, so far, all books after Midnight Tides are
too long. They could have been much better if they were shortened by 200 pages. At this point, even before I read the final book, The
Crippled God, I have already come to accept that this series has
already peaked somewhere back in book 3 (Memories of Ice) or book 4
(House of Chains), and the last 5 books in this series are just not
as enjoyable as the first 5 books.
Having
said this, as a big reader of fantasy fictions, I still find The
Malazan Book of the Fallen series remain unmatched, in terms of
scope, depth, originality, and imagination. This is definitely,
one of the best fantasy epics in the genre.
With
great excitement, I will start reading The Crippled God, the final
book in this series. Thank you for reading this review, and stayed
tuned, until the next time when I will be reviewing The Crippled God,
the final chapter to The Malazan Book of the Fallen.
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