Midnight Tides

Midnight Tides – Steven Erikson

A Tale Of The Malazan Book Of The Fallen

<>“Describe your contract offer,” Ormly demanded. “but be advised, we don’t do private functions.”
“What does that mean?”
“I won’t waste my breath on explaining… unless it turns out to be relevant. Is it?”
“I don’t know. How can I tell?”
“Well, that’s my point exactly. Now about the contract?”
“All right,” Tehol said, “but be warned, it’s complicated.”

The Malazan Book Of The Fallen owns every modern fantasy series. Every one of them. The story is long and complicated. Five books in, I have no idea how things will turn out. I’m not even sure if there will be a conclusion.

The fifth book in the planned ten part series, the timeline is around the same time of the events described in Memories Of Ice. In a distant continent far away from the Malazan Empire and its myriad manipulations, are the lands of the Tiste Edur and the kingdom of Lether. Tiste Edur, the children of Shadow and Lether the once legendary first empire, now poised at resurrection according to prophecy. It is also the story of two sets of brothers on either side. The Sengars, a powerful warrior family of the Tiste Edur. Fear, Trull, Binadas and Rhulad. In the kingdom of Lether, a trio of brothers, Beddicts Hull, Tehol and Brys.

A nervous peace is shattered and both empires move against each other. Pawns in a game of gods.

Erikson once again just blows me away with the scope of this story. A brand new continent, two new civilizations, a host of memorable characters and a kickass story. The seeds for this book were planted in Memories Of Ice, the third book of the series although I doubt if the writer will ever confirm that. The Tiste Edur body that was found in Memories Of Ice was our first look at the children of Shadow. The appearance of that body is explained here in book 5.

This book also has the most humour in the series so far. The interactions between Tehol Beddict and his servant Bugg make for some completely laugh out loud moments. The Letheri are by and large irreverent, decadent and live by their own set of casual rules. The Edur are fierce warriors who take themselves far too seriously.

The release of every new book in the cycle means that I have to go back to the beginning and read all the other books. I’m sure that when I get down to it quite a few little bits and pieces will fit in. They usually do with Erikson.

Midnight Tides is a great book but in the scheme of the Malazan Books Of The Fallen it seems more like a place holder. Much like Book 1, Gardens Of The Moon set the stage for the Malazan Empire, Midnight Tides sets the stage for the Tiste Edur. They are no longer the children of Shadow but now bow unknowingly to the Crippled God. There are a fresh bunch of threads that need to be resolved and if Erikson is going to stick to the planed 10 book cycle, there’s only 5 more books to finish this. I can’t wait.