Book Review: Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson (The Malazan Book of the Fallen book 9)

“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 9^th 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.