
Yes, it's time for your daily dose of incoherent
Erikson-praise. Well, maybe not
quite that extreme, but I concede the point: I like Steven
Erikson. However, the fact remains -
Memories of Ice deserves its acclaim, proving a worthy successor to both
Gardens of the Moon (admittedly the slightly weaker book in the series, according to most fans) and
Deadhouse Gates. Directly continuing the story arc discovered in
Gardens of the Moon,
Memories of Ice elucidates upon our key conflict, in addition to that at hand:
the war with the
Pannion Domin, a people led on a religious war by the
Pannion Seer. But not all is at it seems, here, and inhumanity may be just that: inhuman.
Onearms Host, united with its former enemies -
Anomander Rake, seeking a motive - a reason - for his people, the
Tiste Andii, to live, and
Caladan Brood - will go to war for reasons not entirely their own: for Empress
Laseen's hands may not be as empty as they appear.
Ganoes Paran, Captain of the
Bridgeburners - a regiment notorious for their unwillingness to follow a man of noble birth -, fights an endless war against himself: but his role will be needed, and the Deck of Dragons, too, is driven by necessity. And as the
T'lan Imass, champions of an eternal war against tyranny, converge, a chained god seeks to fetter others. But freedom is a cruel promise, and the House of Chains grows...
Erikson's intensely moral, poignant tale will enthrall, an epic of breathtaking proportions. It's evident that the reader doesn't - and shouldn't - understand
Erikson's world, a collaborative composition between
Erikson himself and Ian C.
Esslemont. The term convergence is definitely appropriate, here, as
Erikson is seen tying the threads from the preceding novels together into a tapestry that is altogether unexpected; still, he possesses smalls. Albeit minor ones - even sappers have a
tendency to launch into philosophical discussion of war, rather than its practicalities.
Worldbuilding, however, aided by
Erikson's archaeological propensities, is deep, and the numerous texts glimpsed throughout the book provide enthralling, if flawed, glimpses of
Erikson's future vistas.
Find it here:
UK US
9.5/10
Every one of these I read I am drawn more and more to these books. Next year can't come soon enough for me. I am going to try my best to get through my stack here for this year then next year dive into these, even if only one each month.
ReplyDeleteI really like this review. Gives me a little bit of what to look forward to. Thanks!
I hope you don't mind. I awarded your blog an award over at My World. http://melissa-melsworld.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI felt you have a lot of great information here to share that I wanted to let others know and stop by to join in.
Thanks! I have to admit, I'm in my Erikson-reread phase right now. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think - as for the award, thank you again! It's very, very complimentary.
ReplyDeleteJust visiting from Melissa @ My World and wanted to say hi and well done on your award. Not a huge fan of science fantasy/fiction but I enjoyed reading your reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks. :) Glad to hear you still enjoyed the reviews - I will be covering some non-SFF in the future, but SFF is certainly the focus here!
ReplyDeleteIf this book doesn't deserve a 10, then I don't know what does.
ReplyDelete:P I saved my 10 for DoD, but I agree totally.
ReplyDeleteMelissa(my world) has been trying to get me to start reading this one forever :) I'll have to get them now. Great review, glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI came over here from Melissa's blog and so I'll be a new found follower :)
Thanks! I do succumb to Erikson fanboy-ism on occasion, but it's always entirely deserved. Memories of Ice is simply a superb novel! I've got several other Erikson reviews lined up, as well as The Quiet War, and some belated posts. :)
ReplyDelete"(admittedly the slightly weaker book in the series, according to most fans)"
ReplyDeleteReally,you shouldn't pay attention to that kind of thing. Just judge the book on its own standards. But maybe I'm the conveied here, because I simply know the rating of the book the other way around (GotM as weakest). ;)
"The term convergence is definitely appropriate, here"
Having read GotM and DG, "convergence" is definitely a word Steven Erkson uses a lot. For whatever, trivial reason.
Well, I was referring to GotM back there :)
ReplyDelete"Gardens of the Moon (admittedly the weaker...)"
I was mentioning it being a worthy successor to GotM and DhG, actually. Sorry.
As for the word, I totally agree. But the term certainly fits for the plot threads in MOI, in my opinion. :)
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