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Took me a while to finish this third book, not necessarily because of the book, but it is somewhat less fluently written than especially its predecessor, Deadhouse Gates.

The weight of the myriad of characters who all have to be revisited makes for a less concentrated tale, and as we are back on the continent of Genabackis where the first book ended there are a lot of destinies we have to return to.

But that aside the book is still a weird and surprising kaleidoscope in a world that is truly original. No obvious template lifted from history, like when a people is modelled over the Romans, the Vikings or the Mongols. The cruelty of the previous book is also there in all its macabre glory... as in really nasty macabre. The author seems to try to counter weigh it with some almost Jesus-like characters. Not my favourite element in the books, which also goes for the slightly sentimental solemn passages. But there's humour and imagination to make this minor flaws - thinned into only small nuicanses over the 1000 pages.

So all in all a fine reading experience that demands a lot of the reader - and now that you got this far you just have to go all the way anyway, right?

The second book of the Malazan Empire's escapades is not for the weak of heart. It is somewhat simpler - following fewer and more defined storylines, than its predecessor (Gardens of the Moon) which makes for an easier read. There's still plenty of characters you will need to take in, even though some of them were also in the last book chaining things a little bit together. You are still thrown into medias res without the author bothering to explain much about all those ancient races and civilisations, the concepts of soletaken, d'ivers, ascendancy etc. I sort of like this, reading slowly and taking notes... what is a Jhaghut? What is the Tiste Edur and what is their relationship with the Tiste Andii mentioned in the previous book? Ha, the author don't give a shit about our hardship and wont give you any explanation! You are on your own in this strange world. But at least you will early on come to understand how enormously complex the history of this place is.

Then there's the cruelty and the inhuman trials that the characters have to go through. The only book I can think of that matches it in this regard is Salammbô by Gustave Flaubert (which it actually has a lot of other things in common with). When you have finished this you can relax with a book about the siege of Stalingrad or the Mongol Invasions.

The book has (like the previous volume) a lot of interesting and unorthodox characters. It is heroic, epic and quite martial, but offers a lot of other flavours too - including a quirky humour. It is easier to read than Gardens of the Moon, but still complex beyond reason.

I like it.

As soon as you turn the first pages of this book you know that you are in the high fantasy genre. You are thrown in medias res, and have to cling to the sentences to understand what all those names and concepts mean. There are some very pictorial scenes of magical battle that fascinates and some rather quirky characters who amuses... but it is a bit of a mouthful.

Then you start realising that this is not the common high fantasy fare after all. There are no direct analogue in human history, as is otherwise typical of fantasy universes (ie. those are Romans, those are European medieval kingdoms etc.). There's an originality to the people and customs described, and beneath it all the complexity of the history of not one, but several ancient civilisations lurks.

The tone might at times be a little too heroic and grandly, and there's a lot of recurring inner dialogue used to characterise that might have been skipped. But all in all the sheer richness of the world and the originality of the characters compensate these minor flaws. The book is hard to get hold of, but you have nine more books in which you can get familiar with the universe, so read slowly and enjoy being in a world that only resembles ours in its cruelty.

Definitely recommended.

Picked it up from a display at the Library on a whim, and was blown away reading it. Sarr has built his book as a literary mystery and in the tradition of such books it is very intellectual and complex. The first book I was thinking of when reading it was Possession by A. S. Byatt - same intricate composition underneath what seems to be a simple genre piece of romance and mystery respectively.

The book main theme is how European colonialism changed all the many cultures in Africa on a devastating and fundamental level, but also (by its own example) that all these African cultures in term has changed Europe, and will continue to do so even more in the future. It is not just a book about France and Senegal, but a book about all of Africa and all of what we call the West from South America to Poland. It shows us that we can't go back when we are conquered, abused and lectured by other people, but that going forward we will also change them no matter how many master race complexes they have. That all human cultures mix and move forward.

The ambition of the author is colossal and still he succeeds.

(I read it in Danish and has translated my review from that version)

Tog den fra en hylde på biblioteket ved et indfald og blev blæst væk. Sarr har bygget sin bog op som et litterært mysterium, og som bøger nomalt er i den tradition er den meget intellektuel og kompleks. Den første bog jeg tænkte på som sammenligning var Besættelse af A. S. Byatt - samme indviklede komposition nedenunder hvad der synes at være et simpelt genrestykke af henholdsvis romantik og mysterie roman.

Bogens hovedtema er hvordan den europæisk kolonialisme på et ødelæggende og basalt niveau ændrede alle de mange kulturer i Afrika, men også (ved sit eget eksempel) hvordan alle disse afrikanske kulturer allerede har ændret Europa og vil fortsætte med at gøre det i fremtiden. Det er ikke bare en bog om Frankrig og Senegal, men en bog om hele Afrika og alt det, vi kalder Vesten fra Sydamerika til Polen. Bogen beskriver hvordan vi ikke kan gå tilbage når vi bliver undertvunget, misbrugt og belært af andre kulturer, men at vi med tiden også vil ændre dem, uanset hvor mange herrefolkskomplekser de har; at alle menneskelige kulturer blandes og bevæger sig fremad.

Forfatterens ambition er kolossal, og alligevel lykkes det ham.