Nolyn

3.5 stars. Enjoyable enough but had quite a few weaknesses even by Sullivan's own standards. But also I've read enough Sullivan by now that his schtick does wear thin in spots. Also suffers for being a "oh wow I haven't thought about xyz in like 800 years, lmao" type of story, except I'm coming to it having read all of Malazan over the last 3-4 years...yea. One of these earns its "characters are super old" stripes and the other very does not.

Really enjoyed this book. Not sure if it’s because I’m in a different place or due to the author taking fan notes, but this opener is significantly better than any of the previous series books. First Empyre was ok, and many of the people are referenced here but this is the book we wanted to read. Pure Sullivan proses, concise and yet descriptive, and loads of fun and heart.