Memories of Ice
From LeoWiki
| Score | Title | Author | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.4 | Memories of Ice | Steven Erikson | High Fantasy |
| Technophilia | 7 |
|---|---|
| Secularity | 8 |
| Quality | 9 |
| Xenophilia | 6 |
| Personal Tilt | 7 |
(Memories of Ice is the third standalone book in its universe. The fifth volume, Midnight Tides, has recently become available in UK and Canada. The first volume, Gardens of the Moon, has recently become availabe in US.
The abolished 2nd Army of the Malazan Empire joins forces with the Tiste Andii of Anomander Rake and the irregular of Caladan Brood to check the terrible expansion of the Pannion Seer's theocracy.
On the other side of the Pannion Domin, Toc the Younger gets tossed out of the warren of chaos. He links up with the bonecaster Tool and the oddly named Lady Envy, daughter of the slain elder god Draconus.
Quick Ben, a squad mage and my fav character, does his utmost to prevent the death of Burn, the sleeping planet goddess on whom everything rests.
Finally, the Elder God K'rul gets in the thick of things a after a slight 200000-year sabbatical and is generally a swell chap all around.
Characterizations are very good. People are built up into real individuals. Some die.
This book's flaw is the implausibility of the antagonists. There's an excuse for their actions -- they are driven by a mad and vengeful alien god -- but excused implausiblity is implausibility nonetheless.
The actions peaks during the siege and subsequent fall of Capustan. There is a lot of really kewl violence. The image of Gruntle, possessed by an ascending god, as he fills the streets around his last stand with a pile of corpses 20 metres tall and 200 metres wide is a very powerful one.
My aversion towards Pannion Domin as villains lies in their similarity to the way Lovecraft hoped to elicit horror in his writings -- "Oh, no, not orgiastic cannibalistic nudists! Won't someome please think of the children?" Rather unmodern.
If my panties were in a bunch, I'd complain about Hetan, a female Barghast, getting to rape any man she comes in contact with. "No" to her means "Please drag me by my legs into the bushes and fuck my brains out." Oh, well.
In our culture, males are always assumed to be undersexed and wanting It. Eh.
Memories of Ice isn't as good as the second book, Deadhouse Gates, but it is an enjoyable romp in the same universe. I wouldn't read it before the others.
See Also
- Gardens of the Moon
- Deadhouse Gates
- Memories of Ice
- House of Chains
- Midnight Tides
- The Bonehunters
