Initial Reaction: Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont
This is a tough reaction to write, coming on the heels of my thoughts on Reaper's Gale a week ago. I've actually been attempting to read Return of the Crimson Guard (RotCG henceforth) for 3 weeks now, and just can't get into it. I know its a long book, but I'm around 250 pages in, which is 25%...so it should have done something to reel me in by this point. Unfortunately, it hasn't. In fact, combined with my slight disappointment with Reaper's Gale, RotCG might force me to take an extended Malazan break. RotCG just isn't doing it for me in many ways. I don't find the overall writing as engaging as Erikson, and the language just feels clunky in (many) places. I'm not interested in any of the characters thus far (though Kyle has potential), and the story seems even harder to understand than the Erikson books. The latter surprises me, but Erikson has improved on that area as the series has progressed. Maybe it is my lack of interest that is the root of my confusion...I might not be reading carefully enough to keep everything in my head. And I will admit I have bounced around in several different books while trying to read RotCG.
So, I am wondering if i just need to take a break from Malazan. Or if I should just skip the ICE books and read the 10 Erikson books. As I have mentioned, I would like to finish the "core" books to gain a feeling of accomplishment, considering I have spent a good part of the last 18+ months reading the first 7 Erikson books. On the other hand, I would like to give myself a chance to enjoy the ending of the series. Maybe some time away would do me good, even if it bugs me to be so close to finally wrapping up the main series. I know I will miss some plot elements if I read the ICE books separately (after reading all 10 Erikson books), but after struggling with them so much, I think it would be better to try them at a later date.
At this point, I'm not sure what I will do. You might see an "Initial Reaction" post for Toll the Hounds in the next few days. Or you might see me talk about some indie books. At least once a year I make a pledge to read some of the popular indie books that show up on the Kindle fantasy bestseller lists, and usually within a day or two I abandon that pledge. I've been feeling the itch to try some indie works again, but given my horrible track record with my promises to cover them here....who knows if I'll actually read any of the indie samples I sent to my Kindle earlier today.
New Fantasy Releases: Week of May 15, 2012 (Thomas Covenant now in digital format)
Sorry for the late post..I'm on vacation this week so I have less blogging time than normal. As hinted at in the blog title for this post, it looks like the original 3 Thomas Covenant books are now in digital format (I assume this is the first time they have been available here in the US).
-The Illearth War (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (older book now in digital format)
-Lord Foul's Bane (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (older book now in digital format)
-Power That Preserves (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (older book now in digital format)
-The Bone House (Bright Empires) by Stephen R. Lawhead (tpb, digital)
-Diablo III: The Order by Nate Kenyon (hc, digital)
-Legacy of Wolves: The Inquisitives, Book 3 by Marsheila Rockwell (digital release of an older book)
-Railsea by China Mielville (hc, digital)
-The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers (tpb, digital)
-Bones of the Earth, I: Karras the Kitten (Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga) by J.C. Hendee (digital)
New Fantasy Releases: Week of May 8, 2012
It's Tuesday, which means it is time for the list of this week's new releases according to Amazon...
-The Citadel (Classics Series) by Richard A. Knaak (digital release of an older book)
-The Eye of the World: Book One of 'The Wheel of Time' by Robert Jordan (tpb, digital..this is the release of the new trade pb edition..the one that has the same cover art as the e-book editions. My review copy only mentioned tpb editions of the first 3 books, but I really hope the entire series gets this treatment).
-The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (Wold Newton) by Philip Jose Farmer (digital release of an older book)
-The Wizards Conclave: The Age of Mortals by Douglas Niles (digital release of an older book)
That's it for this week, actually.
Reaction: Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson
I finally finished Reaper's Gale (book 7 in the Malazan Book of the Fallen) a couple of weeks ago and wanted to give a brief writeup.
I must say that this one is probably my least favorite in the series so far. That's not to say I didn't like it, because I did (mostly). But I just didn't quite get into it as much as the previous books. I would even go so far as to say that there has been a little drop off for me, as I really liked the first 5 books, liked The Bonehunters a little less, and now this was another small step down.
The story is still almost as confusing to me as it has been the entire series, though I feel Erikson is doing a better job of overtly helping the reader follow some of the (seemingly) several thousand plot threads. I think there are 2 main reasons I struggled a bit with Reaper's Gale. First, at this point in the series, I feel like most of the Malazan soldiers are blurring together for me. Its getting harder and harder to really tell them apart. I'm not sure if it is due to my bad memory, the sheer number of them, or if there are just a few different character types for the soldiers. I guess it is probably a little of all 3. The other hindrance to my enjoyment is that, for the most part, it didn't heavily feature the characters I have enjoyed. I've never been a big fan of Udinaas or Karsa, unfortunately (forgive any mispellings...too lazy to look them up, and I don't have the book with me at the moment).
It seems like the last couple hundred pages were the best part, as usual for this series. I know it is impossible to maintain that pace for 1200 pages...and I love me some BFF (Big Fat Fantasy). But I find myself wishing the books had been trimmed back to maybe 800 pages or something.
While this might seem like a negative review (lacking positive feedback), I still highly enjoy this series, and (mostly) enjoyed this book. Part of the problem might be due to a bit of Malazan burn out. I would still highly recommend this series, and look forward to continuing with the next book.
In fact, I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to read Return of the Crimson Guard. But more on that tomorrow....
Refurbished Kindle Fire for $139 (Again)…Today Only
Amazon is once again selling refurbished Kindle Fire's for $139 here in the US. The deal is only good today while supplies last. They still had them in stock at the time of this post. You can find the deal here.
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