⋙ [PDF] Toll the Hounds Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765310088 Books

Toll the Hounds Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765310088 Books

Download As PDF : Toll the Hounds Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765310088 Books

Toll the Hounds Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765310088 Books

Its hard to review these books. I want to gush and ramble about all the little specifics that I loved about the book, but Goodreads isn't the place for that. Reddit however, is. So I'll leave it there. The best I can do here is try to give a broad sense of why I enjoyed it so much, and why, yet again, this Malazan book pulled another 5-stars from me. It's not that rare for me, I know, I know. But still.

I started this one expecting a slow build-up. The first quarter or half of these books are typically slower than the back half (as is true of many books), but I expected this one to be especially slow, because of the collective opinion I have seen from readers of the series. Its no secret that Toll the Hounds is a bit slower than the others. And while typically a collective opinion of that sort might cause some trepidation as I began my reading, I think that it actually enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I went in with no expectations, and therefore was in no rush to get anywhere. I let the story unfold in front of me at its own pace, and enjoyed it immensely.

I was especially pleased to be reunited with a few characters that I haven't seen in several books. Getting reacquainted with them was fun, and seeing several other characters meet up in unexpected ways was satisfying as well.

While Toll the Hounds is heavily introspective compared to the other books, it has perhaps the most entertaining ending of any of the books thus far. Absolutely gripping. I teared up, I fist-pumped, I held my breath, I literally stamped my feet in excitement. It was just so damn good. One hundred percent worth a somewhat slower build-up. Now, from what I understand, the next two books are really one book split into two (a result of sheer length I presume). So after a quick break, it'll be onward to the two-part finale. At this point, I think Erikson will have a tough time showing himself up after that ending.


Tags : Toll the Hounds: Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen [Steven Erikson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV><DIV><DIV>In Darujhistan, the city of blue fire, it is said that love and death shall arrive dancing. It is summer and the heat is oppressive,Steven Erikson,Toll the Hounds: Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen,Tor Books,0765310082,Fantasy - General,Fantasy fiction.,Canada,ENGLISH SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,FICTION Fantasy General,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fantasy fiction,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Epic,Fiction-Coming of Age,GENERAL,General Adult,Monograph Series, any,United States

Toll the Hounds Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen Steven Erikson 9780765310088 Books Reviews

This was a tough and long book. There is time spent in a kind of weird limbo ( inside of Anomander Rakes sword) which wasn't explained all that well. Erikson's attempts at explaining chaos and the way to combat it inside the sword were not crisp.
Many of the leaders and protagonists in this story were frustrating beyond belief, as they did not share with their charges / partners what could and must be done. While the self sacrifice is all well and good for the right cause, I felt it missed the mark in the case of Rake and Nimander, for starters. Then there is Kruppe, who has the unique power to have a birds eye view of much of the events, past and future, and is content to let things happen, even as he plays his games of stealing pastries while gliding through the streets. So as usual many of the motives do not make sense and this results in some bizarre endings. Sadly this thread is not picked up until Esselmont's Orb, Scepter and Throne, and I really don't know if Esselmont can manage the humor Erikson brings to this city. it was a good deep read with several disappointments in terms of character's fate.
This book felt a bit more subtle then previous ones. A bit more personal for the characters involved. While epic things of grand scope happened, they were more individually based. No grand armies but grand clashes of personalities and will. Will and perspective seem to a time that ebbs and flows but is always present in this series.

It seems “the best of them” must always die (I won’t spoil who) which is why even though death fills the series and some are off-hand and “petty” the best characters always get a good cause/reason and often that reason is a surprise - which is great.
This is one of the more imaginative fantasy series out there but is also frequently quite frustrating due to its logical inconsistencies, frequent abstractons that make little sense and contribute little to the story and the incessant jumps between storylines and characters whose connection to one another becomes clear only after hundreds of pages, if ever. Toll of Hounds is not better or worse than any of the other books in this series, all of which I would recommend but only if you can read the entire series together as the multitude of stories and characters, compounded by the issues summarized above make this very difficult to read other than in a continyous fashion where you can fully enter the author's world. This is not necessarily a bad thing as I had the same experience reading James Joyce's Ulysses, arguable one of the best books ever written. In addition, the series is about a universe which is (probably) very different from ours where gods are mortal and flawed, one can travel through multiple dimensions and magic is as real and powerful as physics so suspending logic and consistency and embracing a bit of chaos are probably necessary components of fully appreciating this series. However, some tighter editing and a little more appreciation that the reader may need some orientation and grounding on occaision could have taken this from a really excellent and imaginative read to a true masterpiece. It is possible that if one could read the entire series several times through, then these frustrations would dissipate but for the first time through, it takes a bit of work to reap the rewards of the author's fertile imagination.
Erikson goes too far into the deep end with a very dark, morose, and rambling edition. While the prior books are among my all-time favorite reads, this one just moved too slowly and was much to dreary to rate any higher. Too many depressingly dark monologues, not enough balance. Too much mystery to the back story that dragged on and on, meted out a tiny parcel at a time. Even Kruppe was made to sound repetitive and boring. Not his best work, hope he bounces back with the next.
Its hard to review these books. I want to gush and ramble about all the little specifics that I loved about the book, but Goodreads isn't the place for that. Reddit however, is. So I'll leave it there. The best I can do here is try to give a broad sense of why I enjoyed it so much, and why, yet again, this Malazan book pulled another 5-stars from me. It's not that rare for me, I know, I know. But still.

I started this one expecting a slow build-up. The first quarter or half of these books are typically slower than the back half (as is true of many books), but I expected this one to be especially slow, because of the collective opinion I have seen from readers of the series. Its no secret that Toll the Hounds is a bit slower than the others. And while typically a collective opinion of that sort might cause some trepidation as I began my reading, I think that it actually enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I went in with no expectations, and therefore was in no rush to get anywhere. I let the story unfold in front of me at its own pace, and enjoyed it immensely.

I was especially pleased to be reunited with a few characters that I haven't seen in several books. Getting reacquainted with them was fun, and seeing several other characters meet up in unexpected ways was satisfying as well.

While Toll the Hounds is heavily introspective compared to the other books, it has perhaps the most entertaining ending of any of the books thus far. Absolutely gripping. I teared up, I fist-pumped, I held my breath, I literally stamped my feet in excitement. It was just so damn good. One hundred percent worth a somewhat slower build-up. Now, from what I understand, the next two books are really one book split into two (a result of sheer length I presume). So after a quick break, it'll be onward to the two-part finale. At this point, I think Erikson will have a tough time showing himself up after that ending.