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Malazan Book Seven - Reaper's Gale
Sep. 4th, 2017 04:44 pmI started Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson in January this year, I think. It's the seventh in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and weighs in at 1260 pages. I got halfway through and set it aside for several months, before picking it back up again in August.
I had no clue what was going on when I started reading it again, but then I can never remember the details of what's happened in previous books anyway, so that didn't bother me too much. Whether or not I can place a particular character, or appreciate the significance of a particular plot point, I always find Malazan absorbing, and the writing is so good. I just let it carry me along, and I generally pick up the salient points as I go.
The last third of this instalment, though, contained a great deal of convergence and conclusive action. Lots of disparate characters ended up in the same place, there were several pivotal battles, and quite a few both major and minor characters met grisly ends. There had also been a 2000-page build-up to one encounter in particular, which finally occurred, and resolved itself in a very unexpected and satisfying manner.
I remain incredibly impressed that anyone can sustain a story over such a huge number of words, and I will definitely be reading on to the end of the series. After all, there's only another 3,600 pages or so to go!
I had no clue what was going on when I started reading it again, but then I can never remember the details of what's happened in previous books anyway, so that didn't bother me too much. Whether or not I can place a particular character, or appreciate the significance of a particular plot point, I always find Malazan absorbing, and the writing is so good. I just let it carry me along, and I generally pick up the salient points as I go.
The last third of this instalment, though, contained a great deal of convergence and conclusive action. Lots of disparate characters ended up in the same place, there were several pivotal battles, and quite a few both major and minor characters met grisly ends. There had also been a 2000-page build-up to one encounter in particular, which finally occurred, and resolved itself in a very unexpected and satisfying manner.
I remain incredibly impressed that anyone can sustain a story over such a huge number of words, and I will definitely be reading on to the end of the series. After all, there's only another 3,600 pages or so to go!
