Toll the Hounds: Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen: Amazon.ca: Steven Erikson: Books

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Reaper's Gale (Malazan Book 7) by Steven Erikson
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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Book eight in the intensifying Malazan series (following 2007's Reaper's Gale) sees the grinding, bloody clash of newly created deities against longstanding, increasingly powerful Gods. The Crippled God, born in the city of Darujhistan, and the Dying God, who bleeds a poison that enthralls and addicts his followers, both vie for a place in the formal pantheon, using humans and the goddess-descended Tiste Andii as pawns in their unholy, greedy game. Warrior-hero Anomander Rake subtly manipulates the factions from the sidelines. Finally, the gods' slaves and representatives and the common people of the Darujhistan meet in one dark, thunderous, transformative night. This is a praiseworthy entry in the massive series encompassing multitudes of characters, complex plot lines and grotesque violence, but it's not lightweight in tone or in heft, and new readers will be entirely at sea. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Truly epic in scope, Erikson has no peer when it comes to action and imagination, and joins the ranks of Tolkien and Donaldson in his mythic vision and perhaps then goes one better.”--SF Site

"Extraordinarily enjoyable . . . Erikson is a master of lost and forgotten epochs, a weaver of ancient epics."--Salon.com

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8 Reviews

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3.2 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Malazan Saga continues on...but with a struggle...3.5 Stars, Oct 15 2008

By	R. Nicholson - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Toll the Hounds: Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Paperback)

This is the 8th book in Steven Erikson's 'Malazan Book of the Fallen" series.

Of all the books in the Malazan series, this is, without a doubt, my least favorite...I will explain

First, the pros;

Overall, this series is epic fantasy at its best; in fact 829 pages in this book alone. There is intrigue, magic, unexpected enemies and friends and even some erotic moments; not to mention the usually backstabbing and clandestine plotting. In this book we are reacquainted with some old friends from previous tales, e.g. Cutter, Druiker, Karso Orlong (Toblakai warrior), Anomander Rake and last but not least, the ever loquacious, forever famished, mound of round, Kruppe.

Erikson's strength is his use of prose to describe people and their surrounding, all the while weaving a tale his characters come alive in; this latest installment is no exception. In fact, this may be the first in all the books that may be somewhat overwritten because of some of these perceived strengths. Which leads me into commenting on...

The cons;

1.)As with previous Erikson works, the book starts off by given brief glimpses of several different developing stories. The problem here, in my opinion, is that unlike previous books, most of these story lines do not really develop into something resembling a plot until well after the first 200+ pages.

2.)In addition to the slow development, the writing seems heavy and difficult to follow; I had to almost 'study' sections to try to figure out what Erikson had his characters doing and saying.

3.)I found I became 'weary' of trying to interpret the vague, unclear conversations and happenings that occurred through out most of the entire novel. Eventually I stopped trying to figure out the difficult passages and just concentrated on sections that I found easy to understand; I don't think I'd have finished the book otherwise.

4.)I never thought I'd ever hear myself saying this about an Erikson book, but I found myself somewhat bored by some of the dragged out, confusing descriptions and tales; almost to the point of skimming them.

5.)And last, I don't think I've ever been so happy to finally finish a book

Conclusion:

A Malazan tale that slogs through a slow beginning, middle and end. That is not to say there weren't some great moments in this book, because there were, many in fact; and this is the reason I rated the book as high as I did.

I seems to me that Erikson has 'stumbled' with this book; he knows what he's talking about, but I can't say the same for me. I wonder about other readers; I'm I the only one to notice this tendency towards 'unreadability'?

I hope Erikson gets back on track with his next installment; one more book like this and he may begin to lose some of his loyal followers. Difficult to rate this book, so I settled for a 3.5 and rounded it up to a 4.0 (rather than down to a 3.0 ) because I decided to give Erikson the benefit of the doubt...for this one.

Ray Nicholson

Addendum Nov 15/08
For anyone who wished to continue to satisfy their "Malazan" addiction, or for that matter, want to read a Malazan story that's a little less confusing and has more action than the last book by Erikson, may I humbly suggest the newest novel by Ian C. Esslemont, 'Return of the Crimson Guard'. A book with a riveting story and some fantastic action; and written with a simplicity of language that I've started to miss with some of Erikson's latest books (especially 'Toll the Hounds')
IF your a 'Malazan' fan, you'll not be disappointed.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gotta agree with the 3 previous posts, Oct 5 2008

By	D. T. S. Wong "5deadlyconans" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book 8) (Paperback)

Like the other reviewers here, I found this book quite difficult to get into. It does seem like Erikson has taken a different approach to writing this novel and it is an approach, quite frankly, that does not work. There are passages where Erikson squeezes in his views on religion, theology, economics, etc. but in an overly verbose and unenjoyable way. Interspersed in the novel are the meat and potatoes of the book where the plot is driven forward and the characters developed. I too found myself skipping over the former parts to get to the more interesting paragraphs. I don't even bother reading the poems that start off each paragraph anymore. I don't see the point.

I love Erikson's other works and recommend those to all my friends looking for a great fantasy read. Sadly, I can't say the same for this book. I will finish it just so I know what is going on for the next book. Hopefully Erikson (or his editor) gets this series back to what made it popular in the first place.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent...but not comparable to the rest, Oct 2 2008

By	perreaml (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book 8) (Paperback)

This series is my favourite series of all time. The ability of the author to capture and hold the attention of the reader is astounding to say the least. There is so much going on in each novel that it is truly awe-inspiring that Mr. Erikson can even bring each storyline together for a conclusive mind-blowing finale. And he does this over and over with each subsequent publication.

That being said, although this book easily surpasses the majority of other epic fantasy novels out there, it was my least favourite of the series. This may sound a little odd but I found this book extremely "wordy"...and not in a good way. The style was completely different from his other novels. Almost as if Kruppe narrated the whole thing in his off the wall dialog (which at times I could swear it was him). It was a tad annoying and because of its excessiveness, not a whole hell of a lot happened in 3/4 of the novel. The book is about 900 pages long, but it is only the last 200 pages where Mr. Erikson's skills really shine through like the previous novels. At times I was in tears...but I have to admit that I was slightly confused at the end of this novel with regards to the doings of Rake. While the characters within the novel (like Draconas) appear to have an epiphany about Rake's goals...I still feel like I have missed something vital that may come back to haunt me as I continue the series. I have even felt the need to check online for an "explanation" of what happened, although no luck finding this information as of yet.

I sincerely hope Mr. Erikson reverts back to his writing style as seen in the previous novels. Although a superior novel, it was not up to par with the others in the series.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Just can't finish it!
I never thought the day would come when I wouldn't be able to finish a Steven Erikson book, but I think it is finally here!! Read more

Published 11 months ago by Keren

2.0 out of 5 stars What Happened?
I was very excited about this novel at first. Later, not so much. In fact I am still struggling through it. Read more

Published 12 months ago by A. Dixon

4.0 out of 5 stars The Malazan Saga continues on...but with a struggle...3.5 Stars
This is the 8th book in Steven Erikson's 'Malazan Book of the Fallen" series.

Of all the books in the Malazan series, this is, without a doubt, my least favorite... Read more

Published 13 months ago by R. Nicholson

2.0 out of 5 stars Toll The Hounds
A dissappointment from my most favourite author. Normally I would read a 900+ page Erikson book in about a week or two. Read more

Published 13 months ago by A. Moses

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Developments in the Malazan World(s)
Those of us who have read the first books will not need persuasion to pick this one up, but it is not for those who just want a taste of Erikson's work to see what all the fuss is... Read more

Published 14 months ago by vrai

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Toll the Hounds: Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Hardcover)

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