Jurjen
This is probably one of the densest books I have ever read in terms of the sheer number of events that occur throughout it. So much happens in The Bonehunters, it's wild. So many names, so many places, so many POVs, such rich history, great dialogue, memorable characters, harrowing setpieces, satisfying conclusions. For a lot of this book, it's Malazan at its best. At the same time, it is almost the counter-opposite of the book preceding it, being Midnight Tides, which is still my favourite.
Midnight Tides had essentially a brand new cast, a much more limited scope in its story, and it was incredibly focused. And this mix, in addition to fantastic character writing, dialogue and pacing, made me really appreciate Erikson changing the Malazan formula up a bit. But with The Bonehunters we are “back” to what Malazan was before The Bonehunters, as its stories are interconnected more than ever. As much as I did think The Bonehunters was great, it's a bit sad that none of the last 4 books will be able to recapture what made MT special to me.
After having read 6 Zan books, and finally understanding the world and cast of characters pretty well, everything is a lot easier to understand than earlier on in the series, and overall I would say enjoying Malazan is a more relaxed experience. Getting back to some of the characters introduced since book 1 was a lot of fun, and so was seeing them interact after years of being apart (and the 1.5 years since I read House of Chains lmao). If I had to make 2 criticisms, it's that it meandered a bit in the middle 25%, and it didn't really have some of the hard-hitting emotional gutpunches Midnight Tides, Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice had, though overall I would probably rate it pretty similarly to those latter two.
Malazan is unique, and it will continue to be so. I'm here for the ride.
This is probably one of the densest books I have ever read in terms of the sheer number of events that occur throughout it. So much happens in The Bonehunters, it's wild. So many names, so many places, so many POVs, such rich history, great dialogue, memorable characters, harrowing setpieces, satisfying conclusions. For a lot of this book, it's Malazan at its best. At the same time, it is almost the counter-opposite of the book preceding it, being Midnight Tides, which is still my favourite.
Midnight Tides had essentially a brand new cast, a much more limited scope in its story, and it was incredibly focused. And this mix, in addition to fantastic character writing, dialogue and pacing, made me really appreciate Erikson changing the Malazan formula up a bit. But with The Bonehunters we are “back” to what Malazan was before The Bonehunters, as its stories are interconnected more than ever. As much as I did think The Bonehunters was great, it's a bit sad that none of the last 4 books will be able to recapture what made MT special to me.
After having read 6 Zan books, and finally understanding the world and cast of characters pretty well, everything is a lot easier to understand than earlier on in the series, and overall I would say enjoying Malazan is a more relaxed experience. Getting back to some of the characters introduced since book 1 was a lot of fun, and so was seeing them interact after years of being apart (and the 1.5 years since I read House of Chains lmao). If I had to make 2 criticisms, it's that it meandered a bit in the middle 25%, and it didn't really have some of the hard-hitting emotional gutpunches Midnight Tides, Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice had, though overall I would probably rate it pretty similarly to those latter two.
Malazan is unique, and it will continue to be so. I'm here for the ride.
