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Loading... Dancer's Lament: Path to Ascendancy Book 1 (edition 2017)by Ian C. Esslemont (Author)
Work InformationDancer's Lament by Ian C. Esslemont
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Esslemont has a completely different style of prose than Erikson, do with that as you will. It's a much lighter read, but after coming straight off of MBotF it felt a little bland. ( ) One of the best Malazan books so far, in my opinion. Pulls back the curtain on many things, without leaving them lacking in mystery. And sets the stage for the series. In all the other books I have read, the Malazan Empire is just a reality - here it is more of a possibility that is barely showing itself. This is a complement. I am blown away by how normal this books is. All Malazan books are a bit of a mess. I love Malazan books, but these aren't Sanderson or anything. They are labyrinthine, complex, confusing, and other adjectives. Point is, trying to get to the "point" or "soul" or "heart" of these books is anywhere from a chore to a piece of vector calculus. ICE continued the trend, most notable in Return of the Crimson guard a book that will forever haunt me in its apparent pointlessness when isolated from it's greater universe. This book (and series, I'll assume for now) triumphantly bucks this trend, with a focused plot, singular main character, and most importantly, clear and simple emotional stakes. I get what all of the major characters are trying to do, and why they aren't doing it. Again, the previous Malazan books (barring a few) didn't have this, and that's fine for them, but what a breath of fresh air it is. I like this change of pace. This was really, really good. It was my first ICE book from the Malazan world, and I jumped in here because I was a bit daunted by continuing with Toll the Hounds (despite absolutely loving the ending to Reaper's Gale). We mostly follow Dorin, probably more famous by his other moniker - Dancer. He's got a great voice, and the book is a lot faster paced than Erikson's Malazan books. There is less philosophical pondering and banter between characters but this doesn't mean they aren't well developed. Definitely recommended to everyone who wanted to get into Malazan but found Gardens of the Moon hard to get into. This is a complement. I am blown away by how normal this books is. All Malazan books are a bit of a mess. I love Malazan books, but these aren't Sanderson or anything. They are labyrinthine, complex, confusing, and other adjectives. Point is, trying to get to the "point" or "soul" or "heart" of these books is anywhere from a chore to a piece of vector calculus. ICE continued the trend, most notable in Return of the Crimson guard a book that will forever haunt me in its apparent pointlessness when isolated from it's greater universe. This book (and series, I'll assume for now) triumphantly bucks this trend, with a focused plot, singular main character, and most importantly, clear and simple emotional stakes. I get what all of the major characters are trying to do, and why they aren't doing it. Again, the previous Malazan books (barring a few) didn't have this, and that's fine for them, but what a breath of fresh air it is. I like this change of pace. no reviews | add a review
It was once a land ravaged by war, minor city states, baronies and principates fight for supremacy, and then the rival cities of Tali and Quon formed an alliance and so Quon Tali came into being. However that was generations ago, that dynasty has collapsed and the regional powers are now clawing at each others throats once more. But at the heart of Quon Tali lies the powerful city state of Li Heng which has for centuries enjoyed relative stability under the guidance of the powerful sorceress known as the "Protectress". She is not someone likely to tolerate the arrival of two particular young men into her domain- one is determined to prove he is the most skilled assassin of his age; the other is his quarry - a Dal Hon mage who is proving annoyingly difficult to kill. The sorceress and her cabal of five mage servants were enough to repel the Quon Tali Iron Legions, so how could two such trouble-makers upset her iron-fisted rule? And now, under a new and ambitious king, the forces of Itko Kan are marching on Li Heng from the south. His own assassins, the Nightblades, have been sent ahead into the city, and rumours abound that he has inhuman, nightmarish forces at his command. So as shadows and mistrust swirl and monstrous beasts that people say appear from nowhere, run rampage through Li Heng's streets, it seems chaos is come - but in chaos, as a certain young Dal Hon mage would say, there is opportunity . . . No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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