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josiah216's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ejmorris1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
clarks_dad's review against another edition
5.0
Is it me or is Erikson channeling a bit of Terry Pratchett in this one?
Mancy the Luckless finds himself trapped aboard the sailing vessel Suncurl with his new masters, necromancers extraordinaire Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Having booked passage out of Lamentable Moll with all due haste, the trio find that their new crew is being pursued themselves for mysterious reasons. There's also something not quite right about the ship itself. It's the nails. The nails are all wrong.
Erikson repeats a pattern that worked well in his first novella: Emancipor Reese finds himself in the middle of a confluence of unlikely events that truly seems to justify his lamentable appellation. The dialogue is witty and hilarious while the tale manages to be terrifying because of the confined nature of the setting. A killer is loose on the small ship Suncurl. One that appears to be able to vanish and reappear at will, striking terror into crew and passengers alike. The juxtaposition of humor on grotesquerie works brilliantly and produces a Tarantino-esque feeling. It doesn't get much better than the killer arguing with themselves (I know, don't worry, the grammar makes sense once you learn the truth):
I've also come to really love some of the minor side characters populating these short tales. The Lees of Laughter's End is home to Briv, Briv, and Briv—a cook's assistant, a cross-dressing rope braider, and the carpenter's helper— as well as Birds Mottle, Heck Urse, and the truly unfortunate Gust Hubb (whose slow dismemberment throughout the narrative adds a bit of schadenfreude to the tale) who seem to be ripped straight from the celluloid of a Three Stooges film, and the dynamically batshit crazy mother-daughter duo Bena Elder and Bena Younger.
This is probably my favorite tale set in the Malazan world yet. It's narrative contains all the best elements of world building I expect from Erikson while keeping the tale intimate and focused with a smaller cast of characters and a more claustrophobic setting. The lore aspects of the forgotten god and mysterious idols from collapsed civilizations adds the texture that I love in Erikson's work. A good one-sitting read.
Mancy the Luckless finds himself trapped aboard the sailing vessel Suncurl with his new masters, necromancers extraordinaire Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Having booked passage out of Lamentable Moll with all due haste, the trio find that their new crew is being pursued themselves for mysterious reasons. There's also something not quite right about the ship itself. It's the nails. The nails are all wrong.
Erikson repeats a pattern that worked well in his first novella: Emancipor Reese finds himself in the middle of a confluence of unlikely events that truly seems to justify his lamentable appellation. The dialogue is witty and hilarious while the tale manages to be terrifying because of the confined nature of the setting. A killer is loose on the small ship Suncurl. One that appears to be able to vanish and reappear at will, striking terror into crew and passengers alike. The juxtaposition of humor on grotesquerie works brilliantly and produces a Tarantino-esque feeling. It doesn't get much better than the killer arguing with themselves (I know, don't worry, the grammar makes sense once you learn the truth):
"Why are we angry? You fool. How dare other people be still alive when we aren't? It's unfair! A grotesque imbalance. We need to kill everyone on board. Everyone. Devour them all!"
I've also come to really love some of the minor side characters populating these short tales. The Lees of Laughter's End is home to Briv, Briv, and Briv—a cook's assistant, a cross-dressing rope braider, and the carpenter's helper— as well as Birds Mottle, Heck Urse, and the truly unfortunate Gust Hubb (whose slow dismemberment throughout the narrative adds a bit of schadenfreude to the tale) who seem to be ripped straight from the celluloid of a Three Stooges film, and the dynamically batshit crazy mother-daughter duo Bena Elder and Bena Younger.
This is probably my favorite tale set in the Malazan world yet. It's narrative contains all the best elements of world building I expect from Erikson while keeping the tale intimate and focused with a smaller cast of characters and a more claustrophobic setting. The lore aspects of the forgotten god and mysterious idols from collapsed civilizations adds the texture that I love in Erikson's work. A good one-sitting read.
novoaust's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Marketed as a dark horror comedy, that is exactly what this provides. A lot of Erikson's strengths are present and I enjoyed the novella as a whole but it failed to grab my like Erikson's other works. I was hoping to get more info about the three main characters these novellas follow and that wasn't the case.
Still, the horror aspects had me interested and the dark humor seemingly gets better and better. Onto the next one!
Still, the horror aspects had me interested and the dark humor seemingly gets better and better. Onto the next one!
mferrante83's review against another edition
4.0
The Lees of Laughter’s End is the third novella to star the necromantic duo of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, as well as there hapless (and luckless) manservant Emancipor Reese. This novella takes place immediately after our “heroes” have escaped Lamentable Moll aboard the ship Suncurl and now make their way towards the city of Laughter’s End. While its strict chronology might make it a bit of a difficult read for those who missed out on the earlier novellas I felt that this entry was the strongest of the three with the characterization of the three main characters spot on and with the secondary characters sketched with a deft hand.
Full review here/
Full review here/
acardattack's review
medium-paced
2.75
It isnt as good as the first one (chronologically), not enough of Bacuherlain, Korbal Broach or Emancipor, and I just didnt like the setting or the main thing driving the plot.
I have some higher expectations on the rest of the novellas though as this is the lowest rated. I just have to adjust my expectations
mhedgescsus's review against another edition
5.0
Check out my YouTube channel where I show my instant reactions to reading fantasy books as soon as I finish the book.
An enormously funny Pratchett style dark horror story set in the Malazan universe - What a combo!
I am a huge Malazan fan, and think virtually all of the books in this universe - regardless of which author it is (there are two Malazan authors) are top tier books. However, reading the first book in this series I was extremely disappointed. It was trying to be a comedy and set the stage for more books to come, and ultimately failed in both regards.
However, this follow up book (I'm reading these in chronological order, no publication order) made me laugh out loud constantly, gave me a huge grin on my face at all other times, and was the best book that is under 200 pages that I have ever read.
When Steven Erikson is trying to write comedy, the only other fantasy writer that can even be compared with him is Terry Pratchett, and this book was at the top tier of Erikson humor. It's a dark, DARK book but somehow balances that by making you laugh. It's a wonderful combination that I would never think was possible. People are dying gruesome deaths at the hands of hideous abominations, and I'm sitting there loving every single moment of it. And I say this as someone who absolutely hates horror books.
I do not think you will get large enjoyment out of this book without first reading Malazan: Book of the Fallen, or at the very least the first three books of that series, but if you have and you thought the characters of Bachelain and Korbal Broach were the least bit funny, this book will likely leave you in stitches.
An enormously funny Pratchett style dark horror story set in the Malazan universe - What a combo!
I am a huge Malazan fan, and think virtually all of the books in this universe - regardless of which author it is (there are two Malazan authors) are top tier books. However, reading the first book in this series I was extremely disappointed. It was trying to be a comedy and set the stage for more books to come, and ultimately failed in both regards.
However, this follow up book (I'm reading these in chronological order, no publication order) made me laugh out loud constantly, gave me a huge grin on my face at all other times, and was the best book that is under 200 pages that I have ever read.
When Steven Erikson is trying to write comedy, the only other fantasy writer that can even be compared with him is Terry Pratchett, and this book was at the top tier of Erikson humor. It's a dark, DARK book but somehow balances that by making you laugh. It's a wonderful combination that I would never think was possible. People are dying gruesome deaths at the hands of hideous abominations, and I'm sitting there loving every single moment of it. And I say this as someone who absolutely hates horror books.
I do not think you will get large enjoyment out of this book without first reading Malazan: Book of the Fallen, or at the very least the first three books of that series, but if you have and you thought the characters of Bachelain and Korbal Broach were the least bit funny, this book will likely leave you in stitches.