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drowqueen's review
5.0
Some of the most beloved characters of the Malazan fandom are inteoduced in this awesome tome. Trull Sengar, Beddict brothers, Bugg, Shurq Elalle to name a few. Tehol Beddict is out of this world cool. His constant bickering with Bugg is hilarious and full of great dry humor. Some of the most hilarious scenes in the entire Malazan series are in this very book. Letheras, while being criticism of ruthless capitalism, is an example of stellar worldbuilding. I love the vibe and the atmosphere of this book. Some of the Tiste Edur world parts were a bit of a drag for me but very minor, Tehol and Bugg more than make up for it.
I can't wait to reread this book cause of Tehol and Bugg!
I can't wait to reread this book cause of Tehol and Bugg!
despetitescollines's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence
brittney_tyler's review against another edition
5.0
Star Rating: 5 stars
Note: This is the 5th book in the Malazan series, at least in the order that I have been advised to read them, so this will not be an in-depth review.
If you’ve been following my reviews for the last year or so, then you’ll know that I have recently discovered the Malazan books by Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont, and have fallen head over heels in love with them and pretty much reading one per month for the last several months. The one I was most recently able to get to is book 5 in the order I’ve been told to read them, Midnight Tides. This book takes a character, Trull, that we meet in book 4 and tells part of the back-story of how he ended where he was at the beginning of book 4, House of Chains.
If you have heard anything about this series, then you’ve probably heard that it is extremely complex with pages of characters and terms to remember, at least, that was what I heard before I randomly decided to pick up the series after the first couple books got donated to the library that my mom works at. Although I have to say that is a fair description of the series, it isn’t actually that daunting if you’ve read a couple of other series and, therefore, have some experience with series of this nature or if you are willing to take notes or to use the resources at your disposal. (There are websites for many epic fantasy and science fiction series that you can utilize for summaries of previous books before you jump into the next one or to look characters and terms you may have forgotten.) Also, Erikson uses a set structure for his books that makes them really easy to navigate. For instance, his books are almost always divided into 4 parts: part 1-world building, part 2-characters, part 3-themes, and part 4-ties it all together. This makes it very easy if you need to flip back and look something up that you may have forgotten and gives you an idea of where you’re at or where you’re going if you do happen to get lost. Although, I don’t recommend this to the first series in this vein that you pick up, I think if it interests you, you should try it and not be too intimidated as it isn’t that daunting once you get the hang of it.
The other general thing that I want to address is how the personal experiences of the authors play into their work. Both Erikson and Esslemont are practicing archaeologists and anthropologists and in every book that I have read so far their experience in their “day jobs” colors their writing in some way. In this one, it was their exploration of how oceans, tides, and water have such an importance to native cultures, not only in the Malazan world but also in our own, even going so far as to mention that it causes convergent mythos, in that, different cultures around the world share stories with the same key elements, lessons, or themes. I understand that this may not be interesting to other readers, but it is amazing to me as there was a point in my life where I was considering the same career track that Erikson and Esslemont pursued, and I feel like it adds a uniqueness to their writings that I don’t see very often. After all, in order to create a well-rounded fantasy or science fiction world with rich and vibrant history, don’t you need to understand our own?
When it comes to this book specifically, I really enjoyed the allusions and themes that he used to tell Trull’s back-story. Although I can’t go into specifically what those allusions and themes are as I don’t want to take a chance of spoiling anyone, I really like how a lot of them focused and delved into the depths of the dichotomy between the Tiste Edur and the Letherii as it not only added angles to the conflict within this book that I hadn’t considered but also the overarching conflict that has been going on across the series.
All in all, this was an amazing addition to the series and I can’t wait to read more. 5 stars and this series continues to be a powerhouse!!!!!
Note: This is the 5th book in the Malazan series, at least in the order that I have been advised to read them, so this will not be an in-depth review.
If you’ve been following my reviews for the last year or so, then you’ll know that I have recently discovered the Malazan books by Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont, and have fallen head over heels in love with them and pretty much reading one per month for the last several months. The one I was most recently able to get to is book 5 in the order I’ve been told to read them, Midnight Tides. This book takes a character, Trull, that we meet in book 4 and tells part of the back-story of how he ended where he was at the beginning of book 4, House of Chains.
If you have heard anything about this series, then you’ve probably heard that it is extremely complex with pages of characters and terms to remember, at least, that was what I heard before I randomly decided to pick up the series after the first couple books got donated to the library that my mom works at. Although I have to say that is a fair description of the series, it isn’t actually that daunting if you’ve read a couple of other series and, therefore, have some experience with series of this nature or if you are willing to take notes or to use the resources at your disposal. (There are websites for many epic fantasy and science fiction series that you can utilize for summaries of previous books before you jump into the next one or to look characters and terms you may have forgotten.) Also, Erikson uses a set structure for his books that makes them really easy to navigate. For instance, his books are almost always divided into 4 parts: part 1-world building, part 2-characters, part 3-themes, and part 4-ties it all together. This makes it very easy if you need to flip back and look something up that you may have forgotten and gives you an idea of where you’re at or where you’re going if you do happen to get lost. Although, I don’t recommend this to the first series in this vein that you pick up, I think if it interests you, you should try it and not be too intimidated as it isn’t that daunting once you get the hang of it.
The other general thing that I want to address is how the personal experiences of the authors play into their work. Both Erikson and Esslemont are practicing archaeologists and anthropologists and in every book that I have read so far their experience in their “day jobs” colors their writing in some way. In this one, it was their exploration of how oceans, tides, and water have such an importance to native cultures, not only in the Malazan world but also in our own, even going so far as to mention that it causes convergent mythos, in that, different cultures around the world share stories with the same key elements, lessons, or themes. I understand that this may not be interesting to other readers, but it is amazing to me as there was a point in my life where I was considering the same career track that Erikson and Esslemont pursued, and I feel like it adds a uniqueness to their writings that I don’t see very often. After all, in order to create a well-rounded fantasy or science fiction world with rich and vibrant history, don’t you need to understand our own?
When it comes to this book specifically, I really enjoyed the allusions and themes that he used to tell Trull’s back-story. Although I can’t go into specifically what those allusions and themes are as I don’t want to take a chance of spoiling anyone, I really like how a lot of them focused and delved into the depths of the dichotomy between the Tiste Edur and the Letherii as it not only added angles to the conflict within this book that I hadn’t considered but also the overarching conflict that has been going on across the series.
All in all, this was an amazing addition to the series and I can’t wait to read more. 5 stars and this series continues to be a powerhouse!!!!!
patremagne's review against another edition
5.0
Son of a bitch. In true Erikson fashion, the last third of the book is insanely emotional, insanely exciting, and insanely good.
alexanderp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Erikson continues to amaze me with creating all of these new characters, who I come to love by the end of the book. Bugg and Tehol only being the latest pair that I've come to adore. Still many many questions as to how the various threads will weave together, but now that I am officially half way through, it feels like all the players have been met and we can settle in for the long descent down.
harry365's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
thedashdude's review against another edition
5.0
An initially confusing prequel novel. Similar to starting Gardens of the Moon, but a little easier. The tragedy of the novel is appropriately tragic, the nations involved are interesting, and Tehol and Bugg steal the show.
bmb3md's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Declaring this my favorite in the series so far. It's dark and brutal, but balanced with moments of levity where Erikson's humor shines. The commentary on empire, colonialism, greed, debt, and capitalism is not at all subtle, but really impactful in painting the futility of the violence that ensues throughout the story. The narrative is Erikson's tightest, with the different storylines all fitting together in a more cohesive way than other MBotF books, and the worldbuilding he commits to when explaining different cultures, races, and empires adds such rich color to this story instead of falling into the trap of other fantasy books where the "other" races are inherently primitive and bad.
I can see where people might struggle with starting book 5 with an entire new cast of characters in a new setting and in a vague timeframe in relation to the rest of the series. At times it's difficult to get out of the "so why do I care about this" mindset as you learn another detail that feels so disjointed from HoC and the rest of the story, but honestly if you've gotten to Midnight Tides, you've learned enough about Erikson's bullshit (in the best way) to just roll with it.
I don't love the prevalence of sexual violence in this and other Malazan books, or any books for that matter, there are some plot points that never get answered in this installment which can be frustrating after 900+ pages, and a few of the character stories/arcs didn't capture my attention as well. But overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book and am excited to see how it fits within the broader series.
I can see where people might struggle with starting book 5 with an entire new cast of characters in a new setting and in a vague timeframe in relation to the rest of the series. At times it's difficult to get out of the "so why do I care about this" mindset as you learn another detail that feels so disjointed from HoC and the rest of the story, but honestly if you've gotten to Midnight Tides, you've learned enough about Erikson's bullshit (in the best way) to just roll with it.
I don't love the prevalence of sexual violence in this and other Malazan books, or any books for that matter, there are some plot points that never get answered in this installment which can be frustrating after 900+ pages, and a few of the character stories/arcs didn't capture my attention as well. But overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book and am excited to see how it fits within the broader series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
samerulesapply's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75