This turned out better than I expected.
One down nine more to go.
The sheer number of books in the series is intimidating. Most people say that this series is confusing and they were right in a way. The author didn’t explain lots of stuff in time, he just drops everything at once, no build-up whatsoever. Even though I was prepared, I had to use Malazan wiki fan page to know most of the terms in the book. If you understand the major terms, places, and characters, understanding the book will be a piece of cake.
Unfortunately, the wiki fan page could not help me with the POV shift. This book has at least 15 different POVs, no warnings, and rarely a paragraph demarcation. One moment you are reading about one character, the next someone else’s. Even with all these flaws, I have to admit it's a great book. The magic system is amazing- people with magic store it in a place called warren, the number of warrens you can control tells how powerful the person is.
The book is also diverse.
Worldbuilding and Writing
The world-building is exquisite, I love the depiction of the world so much, it was nicely done. The writing is great, especially with the fact that it is written in multiple POVs and I could still get the story; certainly not your regular multiple POV book.
Characters and Plot
I just have to join these two categories together here because there are both intertwined and Malazan is not your regular epic fantasy. I’ll demarcate the characters based on their place of origin and role in the book, this should help in understanding the book. Don’t worry, this review is spoiler-free.
The Malazans
The Malazan empire has conquered all cities and towns in the continent apart from Durajhistan and Moon Spawn( will explain them in detail). The major Malazan players are:
Laseen- The empress
Lorn- Her adjunct (the empress was rarely in the book, Lorn was more present)
Whiskeyjack- A sergeant that was not always a sergeant with his squad which includes...
Quick Ben- A mage
Kalam- A former assassin
Mallet- The healer
Then, there's Hedge, Fiddler, Sorry(she is really important), and many more. The squad is known as the Bridgeburners.
Tayschrenn- The empire’s high mage (fancy word for sorcerer)
Dujek one-arm (The high fist i.e general)
Tattersail and Hairlock- Also mages
Finally, Captain Paran one of my favorite characters in the book, answers to the adjunct and is also the newest captain of the Bridgeburners. He really went through a lot and the fact that he didn’t give up is amazing.
Durajhistan
The Malazans want the city because it's the only thing stopping the Malazan Empire from being in total control of the continent. The nobles, mages, and assassins all want power. Will they surrender or fight?
The major players
Baruk- An alchemist and Mage
Rallick- An assassin on his personal mission
Murillo- A spy
Kruppe- A man who is more than he lets on
Crokus- A thief (you might be wondering what his role is in all the politics but trust me he is quite important)
Moon’s Spawn
Moon’s spawn is a giant rock that looks like a tooth. It hovers above towns and cities and is inhabited by the Tiste Andii, immortal creatures of darkness that were in the world before there was light. They are immortal, with cool magic also have cool fighting skills. They have black skin and can shapeshift into dragons.
Anomander Rake is their leader also known as the first son of darkness and Lord of High House Dark. He wields a double-handed sword called Dragnipur (there is also something more interesting about the sword). Oh, and he is my favorite character in the book.
Caladan Brood is a sort of general. He leads the Tiste Andii army.
Serat (pretty sure I didn’t spell her name well) is the leader of the Tiste Andii mage of assassins.
Ascendants
Also known as gods, people worship them. They are people that die and are brought back to life by an unknown force. They also have cool powers and warrens.
Ammanas aka Shadowthorne is Lord of High House Shadow and controls the shadow warren. He has seven giant hounds that do his bidding.
Cotillion is his companion aka patron of assassins and the Rope.
Oponn, these are twins, the god of luck and the goddess of chance.
These ascendants just keep messing with mortal life for their personal gain.
