Reviews

Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson

adamkull's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

4.25

brittney_tyler's review against another edition

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5.0

Star Rating: 5 stars
Date: 12/27/23 – 1/12/24

Note: This is the 10th book in the reading order of Malazan that I’m choosing to follow so this will not be an in-depth review.

Even though I am trying to add some more variety into my reading this year to broaden my horizons, I’m also trying to make progress in the series that I already have running, especially with the potential of adding more from the new authors I’m exploring. After all, I don’t want them to get lost in the shuffle, you know. Anyway, the book I was able to get to most recently off my list is Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson, book 10 in the reading order that I’m following.

Although I can’t give you a synopsis of this novel with its placement in the series and the fact that this series is one of those that is really hard to explain, I can try to express why this series is so amazing in broad strokes by discussing the central themes/motifs, literary devices, and academic background that the author uses to craft this master work.

As I have mentioned in previous reviews of this series, both authors who write in this world have academic backgrounds in archaeology. For someone who has an interest in archaeology, I really enjoyed witnessing how their background colored their world- building and thematic conversions. Having read multiple books in this genre, I am used to the troupe of a world with lots of hidden or lost history that is slowly being rediscovered over the course of the novel/series; however, the way that these authors choose to do this is by using their aforementioned archaeology background, using topics of human evolution and evolution in general and the geologic events that happen throughout a world’s journey (ice age, changing/shifting climate, plate tectonics),which is a new and unique take on a troupe that could become stale and one I enjoyed and it really added a new spin onto some of my favorite themes.

Speaking of those themes, we have the traditional ones of the responsibility of being “chosen” and the cycle of history and civilization, the act of witnessing, and an exploration of godhood as well as ones we don’t see very often such as the inevitability of fate, the futility of war, and the fallacy of empire. As stated before, the background of the authors allows them to explore themes in new and exciting ways, which for someone who has read a lot in this genre is incredibly refreshing. They also employ the use of various literary devices to further their world-building and theme exploration such as mirroring, reoccurring motifs, and juxtaposition, which adds a lot of layers and depth to their narrative.

All in all, this was a great installment in the series and I loved how it wrapped up a lot of our storylines while progressing and opening others up for more exploration. Although I do not recommend this being the first series you read in this genre, I do hope you give it a try at some point in your reading life. 5 stars!!!!!!

zeph1337's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

So, at this point all of these are pretty much bangers and it is getting a little hard to rank them internally. But I am gonna do my best here.

Reaper’s Gale is the continuation of all the storylines started in Midnight Tides which then intermingle with some of the events from The Bonehunters. There is also one completely new storyline being introduced here. 

The one thing that drags this book down somewhat is that new storyline. It wasn’t that I disliked this part, in fact I enjoyed seeing both parts of this new conflict between the big empire and some tribal people and I think it probably has a big influence in the overall scope of the story (especially the intermingling with parts of the story from Memories of Ice) but I just felt like I was way less invested in it compared to the rest of the book. Still good but kind of just the weakest part of the book for me. Also how the whole storyline got resolved within this book felt very anticlimactic to me and also just poses more questions than answers. So it ended up being a little frustrating. 

Lack of investment is not something I can fault the rest of the book for. In fact at this point it seems crazy to me that I complained about a lack of emotional investment in one of my previous reviews. I teared up multiple times during my reading of this. Man, these characters really go through some stuff and I’m just gonna say that tragedy really strikes hard here and you can’t just help but feel for them. It is often just magnificently epic and tear jerkingly sad at the same time. 

It is a credit to Erikson’s characterization that even completely new characters that are just seemingly not very important side characters can produce moments like these. His ability to do a lot with very little time seems unmatched.

On the topic of characters let’s briefly touch upon some beloved returning characters. Gotta mention Karsa Orlong even though he didn’t have that much to do, he just steals every scene he is in and the ending of that plot was incredible. Tehol and Bugg are still the funniest duo in this universe and I absolutely loved every bit of the continuation of their story. Trull and Onrack and their beautiful friendship are just a gem and the Malazan 14th army just has way too many colorful characters to choose from, and of course there is Udinaas and his unlikely set of traveling companions that always just feels like a powder keg just waiting to explode. So much tension!

I think as the continuation (and culmination) of Midnight Tides I have to rank Reaper’s Gale higher than that book and also there is no way that I am gonna rank it higher than The Bonehunters which just was a book that I loved the whole way through and that just doesn’t hold through for one part of Reaper’s Gale. I also think that I am still gonna hold House of Chains in higher regard as it was the book that finally made me fall in love with the series. With that being said Reaper’s Gale is, as of now, my third favorite Malazan novel. 

I will probably pick up Toll the Hounds pretty soon as I would love to finish the series before the end of the year. 

dylan_markiewicz's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

alexisbraswell's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

thedashdude's review against another edition

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5.0

Seeing the Malazans and the Letherii finally interact is brilliant. The other plotlines do an excellent job standing up to such a spectacular conflict. Seeing the impact of Midnight Tides on both cultures is a delight, and it almost managed to have the happiest ending of the series.

lootgoblin's review

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3.0

http://readfantasybooks.wordpress.com

After reading so many books in a series it becomes more difficult to rate them against each other, but after some consideration I think I am rating Reaper's Gale at a 3.5. It was still a great book, I just didn't enjoy it as much as the others.The story really didn't become interesting for me until the last 150 or so pages when everything started coming together. There were also a bunch of new characters and this late in a series that tends to bother me, especially if they don't play a role later on or are difficult to tell apart.

In this novel there are so many different things going on. The large part of the book was the invasion of Tavore's army into Lether; there was also Fear and Silchas Ruin and their company who attempt to find the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye. We find out later that Trull and Quick Ben as well as a long lost Bridgburner attempt to find the soul as well. Not to mention Icarium and Karsa who await the duel with the Emperor. I have to say that anything with Trull, Onrack, Quick Ben, Fiddler, and Tehol was pretty interesting. I loved the part of the book where we get to see Tool again, but it was also very upsetting. There is so much going on that I can't even explain it all here. I believe that if you read the book you will enjoy it, maybe even more than I did. I know everyone has their favorite characters and enjoys their parts of the story more than others just like I do.

All of our favorite characters are back in this novel. Quick Ben has to be one of my favorites and there is just so much we still don't know about him. We do get to see a lot more from him in this book though. His story-line is fantastic! There are also Fiddler and Bottle whom I can't get enough of either. Even though I hate new characters so late into a series, I really enjoyed Beak, a mage in Tavore's army. He really leaves a lasting impression and is quite different then the other mages.

As always Bugg and Tehol are very entertaining and it wouldn't have been a book without them! A lot happens with them in this book and it was amazing to find Tehol in the position he was in at the end of the book. Also, Karsa and Samar Dev's story was great! I love Karsa as a character and his final battle with the Emperor was incredible and just like him!

There are TONS of other characters including Toc the Younger, Redmask, and some new ones as well. There are just so many to keep track of it becomes a little overwhelming. At least I know who my favorites are, and hopefully there won't be so many new characters to keep track of in the next book.

The writing and world building in this and all the previous novels is fantastic. The world is huge and we get to see more of it as we read each book and learn more about all these different people. I can't believe Erikson came up with such a detailed, complex, and complicated world.

Overall, I thought the book was great, but just not as good as the others. It wasn't until the final few chapters when I decided I couldn't put it down. Hopefully, the next book will move a little faster for me. If you are enjoying the series then I highly recommend reading this one; I know you will enjoy it, probably more than I did.

mdw_yunux's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

tylerlong59's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

ellimtt's review against another edition

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3.0

First read June 2022, 5⭐️
Second read February 2024, 3⭐️