Midnight Tides: (Malazan Book of the Fallen 5)

This is the weakest of the Malazan books up to this point. By far. Only Eriksen's abilities as a writer got me through it. But his writing qualities can't disguise the fact that in nearly 1000 pages very little happens. There are three or four battles, but since each of them is glossed over in a page or two it hardly matters. I was expecting the tedious approach of the Tiste Edur armies to at least culminate in the sort of confrontation we had at the end of Memories of Ice, but no, it was a damp squib. Then I was expecting the imminent re-emergence of Silchas Ruin to have some impact, but he just slunk away. What was good was the description of Letheras and particularly Bugg and Tehol. The Letherii were far more interesting than the boring Tiste Edur, for all that Eriksen seemed to liken them to Sodom and Gomorrah combined, perhaps revealing his own political prejudices.Eriksen has always been verbose, but bloating has begun to hear it's head. It first appeared in Memories of Ice, with the boring, navel-gazing Mhybe subplot. It largely disappeared in House of Chains, but in Midnight Tides it's back with a vengeance. Once again we have Hamlet-lite navel-gazing, but this time it's absolutely interminable. Other traps Eriksen has fallen into is unkillable and all-knowing heroes, the Sengar clan and others. Someone should tell Eriksen that if your heroes are always right/smarter/luckier/can't die etc. then the victory has no meaning. And even when they do die they are magically healed or resurrected. When I was reading it I said to myself 'Tehol isn't dead', 'Udinaas isn't going to stay dead' because it had all become so utterly predictable.Eriksen has fallen from a high level to one that barely reaches mediocre. I hope it's not an indication that he has peaked and is going downhill.

Quite possibly my favourite malazan book on par with deadhouse gates. I just loved each and every one of the characters. Usually in books with many points of view I just want to skip to the exciting characters. This was not the case in this book. Each plotline and character was so engaging! I wish I could forget this book and read it all over again. Thanks Steven!Tehol & Bugg <3

Erikson is the fantasy writer for the real fans of the genre. His story telling is imaginative, vivid, sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny! This book, although not his best, is certainly his funniest with the banter between Tehol and Bugg being beautifully written. His world is rich and varied, but he doesn't overburden it with unnecessary detail. You should read this book, but read the others first!!

Bought as a gift they're very happy with it

Great present for boyfriend who loves this series. Arrived quickly, nice quality