How many authors take the 5th book in the series and go to a completely new part of the world, with an entirely new slate of characters, almost ignoring what had been going on in books 1 through 4? You would think that could be frustrating, but it works brilliantly in Midnight Tides, my second favorite Malazan novel.  Remarkably, Erikson manages to keep every book in this series fairly self-contained despite everything clearly building to something extraordinary. That is especially true of this book.

I loved this book from beginning to end. As with Memories of Ice, the prologue was particularly epic. Then we move forward to the story of Trull Senger and the Tiste Edur. Trull is about the only returning character and one I cared little about in House of Chains, but his story and that of the Tiste Edur was great. Their conflict with the Lethari Empire make up the bulk of the book and within the Lethari Empire we get some of the best characters Erikson has brought us. Tehol and Bugg made me laugh nearly every time they were on the page and the humor of their scenes was only part of the joy they brought.

I hate giving away too many plot points, but the influence of the Crippled God looms large in this story in completely interesting and appropriate ways.  This series just gets better and better. It is so different than everything else I have read, so much going on and still so much to see.  I cannot recommend this series enough.

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!