Return of the Crimson Guard

I found the writing for this noticeably better than Knight Of Knives; action was clearer and it just felt more like a malazan book. Saying that, given the large cast, people going under multiple names, and the number of different locations, I did find myself flicking back or checking names on the malazan wiki just to keep track of things.

Seeing the empire from a different viewpoint is really interesting, and encountering some familiar characters in a different light does feel like it adds to the whole malazan tale.

Overall, thoroughly enjoyable and I'm looking forward to continuing Esslemont's Malazan stories.

A quick review for (would-be) readers of the Malazan series: I am currently reading all of the Erikson and Esslemont books for the first time (and having an absolute (Moranth) blast with the series) and wanted to share my thoughts about this particular novel.

The reason for that is that this novel has a somewhat slow start, but I am extremely happy I finished it. If you're in doubt about continuing this book (or even if you're not sure about the other Esslemont Malazon books) my advice would be to keep going, if you liked previous Malazan stories.

The reason is that the book gets so much better in the second half: the pace picks up, some of the characters come alive (and there are some abolutely brilliant characters later on) and there is a lot that happens in the book that is absolutely worth reading here first, instead of via Erikson's books.

Personally, I am using this thewertzone.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-better-malazan-reading-order.html reading order, so that might have influenced the previous point: if you read all of Erikson first, for instance, your experiences will vary.

In short, keep reading if you like Malazan, this book will pay off.

A quick review for (would-be) readers of the Malazan series: I am currently reading all of the Erikson and Esslemont books for the first time (and having an absolute (Moranth) blast with the series) and wanted to share my thoughts about this particular novel.

The reason for that is that this novel has a somewhat slow start, but I am extremely happy I finished it. If you're in doubt about continuing this book (or even if you're not sure about the other Esslemont Malazon books) my advice would be to keep going, if you liked previous Malazan stories.

The reason is that the book gets so much better in the second half: the pace picks up, some of the characters come alive (and there are some abolutely brilliant characters later on) and there is a lot that happens in the book that is absolutely worth reading here first, instead of via Erikson's books.

Personally, I am using this thewertzone.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-better-malazan-reading-order.html reading order, so that might have influenced the previous point: if you read all of Erikson first, for instance, your experiences will vary.

In short, keep reading if you like Malazan, this book will pay off.