Midnight Tides

OH MY GOD TEHOL AND BUGG MY HEART.

I have nothing of any substance to say anymore. Steven Erikson, you destroy me. ( )

Ok thank you Seth for remind me that I need to post a review on this one and also make a shelve for it…

Here my review: everybody that knows me is aware of the fact that I’m terrified of paraphilia in books… why? You ask… well I dream most of what I read… (by the way I hate Cormac McCarthy for making me have one of the most fuck up nightmares I ever had…) that being said I think this book cured my fear of necrophilia!!!!! Hooray for sexy undead comic relief characters!!!!!
( )

This book also spans a huge chunk of time by starting with a story from ages past when Scabadari (leader of the Tiste Edur) and Silchas Ruin (the leader of the Tiste Andii) fought in a huge battle up to the more present day war between the Edur and the Leterii along with the ever present involvement of the Crippled God. If there is one thing you can say about Erikson it is that he isn't afraid of scope.

This story also offered me my frist glimpse of the Crimson Guard. In a world populated with an endless amount of total badasses the Crimson Guard seems like they fit in perfectly. That little taste is enough for me to want to read more about them and I will, eventually, once I get into Erikson's partner's books - The Novels of the Malazan Empire authored by Ian Esslemont.

Thus, even though this book started off a little slow by the end Erikson had won me over again. ( )

I had to think about this. If it were not for [b:Gardens of the Moon|55399|Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)|Steven Erikson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255890454s/55399.jpg|2646042], [b:Deadhouse Gates|55401|Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)|Steven Erikson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170449617s/55401.jpg|3898716], and [b:Memories of Ice|175983|Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)|Steven Erikson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172439345s/175983.jpg|836462], this would definitely be my favorite in the series. And that's not to be a smart-ass; those three books were seriously that good. Enough to stay ahead of a 5-star book that I really enjoyed.

The thing that struck me the most with this book was the fact that it was mostly linear. That is to say, it had a beginning with its prologue that happens alotathousand years ago. It has a middle, with rising action and enjoyable characters. And it has a climax, where something happens to make the read go "dayyyyum". It read like a novel, from beginning to end, without all the "whatthefucks?" being tossed about. In other words, I actually UNDERSTOOD most of what was happening. Or at least enough to cruise along nicely with the story. Those that read Erikson know that this isn't always an easy task.

But that being said, this book rocked. I absolutely loved the characters of Tehol and Bugg. It seemed like the narrative took a turn whenever these two appeared, with their cast of co-conspirators. It became like a Terry Pratchett novel when they were around. Tehol is a nobleman who (supposedly) lost his fortune through bad business decisions but is in fact scheming behind the scenes of many endeavors. Bugg is his loyal and quite busy manservant. When together, they are a riot. The banter between them made me laugh out loud several times.

The main part of the book revolved around Trull Sengar and his Tiste Edur clan. Their chief has united all of the other clans under his and they are looking southward, to the Lether kingdom. Trull is a very interesting character in that his is different than the other Edur. He actually sees the tragedy in what is happening around him, and while he is unmatched in his battle skill, not always ready to jump in with bloodthirsty battle-lust.

It is often stated that this could be one of the entry points into the Malazan series. The events of this book happen on another side of the world from the first four books and except for Trull Sengar himself, it introduces entirely new characters. Trull was a minor mysterious character in [b:House of Chains|55398|House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)|Steven Erikson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170449616s/55398.jpg|836472], Book 4. This tells his backstory and brings new light to the character. And the novel overall sets up for when Erikson will later bring all of his storylines together.

Let's just say that I'm definitely looking forward to that.... ( )

This is the first of the series that I really don't like all that much. There are some great characters and some interesting elements, but the negatives far outweigh them. Tedious anti-capitalism ranting, laughable gender relations musing, more rape and hamhanded attempted psychonanalysis thereof (the one thing in Erikson's favor on that subject is that the females are as likely to be callous incidental rapists as the males.) While there's a kernel of a good story here, this book drags. ( )