Customer Reviews

Return of the Crimson Guard: A Novel of the Malazan Empire (Malazan Empire Novels (Unnumbered))

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"We are so close. Queen's Prophecies, the completion of the Vow is within reach! We can break them! Why then these doubts, these worries? None afflicted at the beginning. Everything was so clear then. the sides so cleanly drawn, our cause so pressing. Now, though, I can hardly muster the effort to go through with it. For whom did they fight?"

As I said in my Night of Knives review, the thought of Esslemont sharing Erikson's world has always made me nervous. Night of Knives managed to calm those fears slightly, but it was a different sort of novel, and filled with flaws of its own, so I entered Return of the Crimson Guard - a monolith of Erikson's proportions - with more than a hint of trepidation. I wouldn't say that Esslemont fails at crafting an epic here, but I wouldn't really say that he succeeds, either. Esslemont's writing style is highly developed in some areas, but is sorely lacking in others. As a result, your opinion of the book is likely to go up and down in tandem with Esslemont's competence at writing the current scene.

Beginning a Malazan novel is always an upwards climb. You've got a few dozen plot threads and characters to acquaint yourself with, most of (or, in this case, all of) them new. In general, the beginnings of Erikson's books are a myriad of half scenes, with the reader frantically trying to latch on as things escalate. The main part of this boils down to characterization and prose. Return of the Crimson Guard is the novel about the Malazan Empire, where Esslemont seeks to communicate the answer to all of our questions about it before both he and Erikson move, in large part, to foreign shores. More than being a novel about the high seats of Malazan power, however, it is, like every Malazan novel, first and foremost about the characters - some high ranking, but most low - that we see the events through.

In a novel with a dozen viewpoints, it's absolutely essential for each character to have at least one distinctive trait that we can immediately latch onto, so that we can tell who the hell they are when they pop up again. At this, Esslemont is adept, but, when it comes to later filling in those stark outlines with details, he falls horribly short of Erikson's standard. Almost none of Esslemont's characters have any depth to speak of, ranging from clichés to empty shells that act for reasons that are impossible to decipher. It is telling, I think, that all of the characters that have any depth to speak of in this volume are not viewpoint characters and are, generally, viewed only from the periphery.

Compounding the problem of characterization is Esslemont's prose. Though it's never truly flawed, it lacks the richness and flowing nature of Erikson's. It is, in short, a workman's prose, there to get the ideas across and nothing more. As a result, the times in the text when Esslemont tries to awe the reader, such as another look at the jade statues from House of Chains, fall flat. The combination of the bland prose with the shallow characterization makes the beginning of Return of the Crimson Guard a true barrier. Once you power your way through the opening, however, Esslemont begins to play to his strengths.

Esslemont's prose comes alive when he describes combat. All of a sudden, what was only a paragraph ago so much ho hum description, or what have you, lights up with new fire as soon as someone throws a punch. Esslemont's style, in these scenes, becomes almost staccato, and you understand what his prose was going for the entire book. His grace at battle isn't only on the small scale. Esslemont's grasp of military battles and tactics seems excellent and is a joy to read.

The pacing of the last third of the book is the opposite of the beginning. Where the opening was starting a thousand different threads with no payoff in sight, Return the Crimson Guard ends with literally hundreds of pages of climax. Now, the amount is a bit excessive, and I won't deny that it could've been stronger if some had been cut, but the jaw dropping confrontations, and the political machinations that go along with them, are by far and away the strongest part of the book. Esslemont adds layer after layer of complexity, sub plot after sub plot exploding at once, that it almost beggars belief.

And then he adds one too many layers, and it all sort of falls apart.

Return of the Crimson Guard is, fundamentally, concerned with the question of Laseen. Is she running the empire well, playing a deeper game than anyone realizes, or is she merely a pawn that exceeded her station? For most of the book, Laseen is Esslemont's one unqualified success. The enigma of her character grows in the absence of any close viewpoints, and her plans become more twisted and more daring with each half step they take into the light.

The problem with Laseen's climax isn't the decision that Esslemont took. It's his and Erikson's world, and I can't even begin to guess the causes or ramifications of the conclusion, so I'll wait till I have that information before passing judgment on who did what. What is unforgivable, however, are the implications of what happens to Laseen. By making her oblivious of something that every reader, no matter how unobservant, knew for thousands of pages on end invalidates any intelligence that reader might once have ascribed to her. The remainder of her plan simply does not matter. Whether or not she was ever cunning becomes irrelevant, that act of ignorance leaves the reader forever unable to view her as anything but clueless.

Esslemont answers the question of Laseen's plan, yes, but in a superficial, meaningless way. He checks "yes" and "no" to each aspect of her being, telling us whether she knew this and not that, or whether she was interested in him and not in her, but nowhere do we understand the character herself. The missing piece at the center of the novel turns out not to exist. The enigma is never penetrated; it is destroyed with its secrets intact.

Return of the Crimson Guard is a novel where the number of plot twists is only matched by the endless fluctuations in writing ability. Though he has a rocky beginning, and several very obvious shortcomings, Esslemont eventually overcomes his problems and draws the reader into his story. Night of Knives gave us the surface of Laseen's climb to power, but we saw it from a cinematic perspective only; none of the depths of character or motivations were revealed. Return of the Crimson Guard promises to rectify that, and, for a while, it seems poised to do so. And then, Esslemont reverts to the same superficiality that his debut displayed, solving every question without understanding why we wanted the answers in the first place.

I haven't given up on Esslemont. As long as he's cowriting one of my favorite series, I'm not even sure that I can give up on him. I have, however, lost quite a bit of faith in him. I suppose I can only hope that Stonewielder is as much of an improvement on Return of the Crimson Guard as Return... itself was to Night of Knives. Or, failing that, that his treatment of my beloved Darujhistan isn't as skin deep and superficial as everything that's gone before.

'The Return of the Crimson Guard' by Ian C Esslemont, is the second book revolving around Steven Erikson's original 'Malazan Book of the Fallen' series.

It is my understanding that both Erikson and Esslemont are good friends and are co-operative co-authors of the Malazan world, and both are agreeable to and welcome each other contributions.

I'd like to comment on two different facets...

First, this book...

I was enthralled with this story right from the very beginning. It was well written, fast moving and exciting. There were the usual assortment of Malazan characters both good and evil who are forever plotting against one another, or someone or something. There was magic, treachery and betrayal, interesting event filled treks and voyages and some incredibly exciting battles. Also present was the witty and bantering camaraderie of the Malazan army regulars; a special group of mercenaries reminiscent of the 'bridgeburners' or the 'bonehunters' of previous novels. This book, simply had it all.

In traditional Erikson fashion, Esslemont starts off with several short glimpses involving many different persons or groups, however these stories progressed quickly, resulting in a tale that grabs you and just doesn't let go. The individuals' tales were told serially, but because each tale was so well written and interesting, you hated to see one segment come to an end, only to begin an account of someone else's adventure.

Also, there was an extensive list of the characters' names with their locations and 'occupations'; this was really helpful as there were a tremendous number of individuals from various geographic locales.

The only minor negative:

While there is an good general-overview map of the entire area where a lot (but not all) of the action takes place, it would have be so helpful to have had a detailed map of the area where a lot of the fighting took place, particularly for the last third of the book. There are so many groups fighting in so many place, and even though these areas are fairly close together, I found it very confusing to try to keep locales and geographic distances in perspective.

Second, Erikson and Esslemont...

This book, 'Return of the Crimson Guard' recaptures the style of writing that made the Malazan series SO great; it's the type of writing that Erikson needs to get back to.

I'm not sure what's going on with Steven Erikson, but, to me, the last book, 'Toll the Hounds' was at times quite confusing; especially some of the dialogue and also certain events and occurrences. I actually found myself skimming areas because it was difficult to follow OR I just got bored with the protracted mundane situations.

A few more novels of this quality and Esslemont may well become the preeminent writer of the future works in the Malazan series.

Conclusion:

A true Malazan tale to sink your teeth into; any Malazan fan/addict will be thrilled with this effort. It's got that quality of writing coupled with an intriguing story line what will pull you in from page one. It's a book that will make me read late into the night and have me looking forward to some quiet time to return to the story. (and no fantasy/adventure novel has done that recently since Joe Abercrombie's 'The First Law' trilogy)

Easily 5 Stars...more if I could.

Ray Nicholson

Imagine if JRR Tolkien had a partner that co-created Middle Earth and all its history and characters with him. Now imagine that partner wrote books parallel with Tolkien dealing with other stories in the world they created. Sounds like fun, right? Well, this is Ian C. Esslemont and Steven Erikson with the world of the Malazan Empire. In my opinion, the most comprehensive fantasy world and epic created in recent history.

Return of the Crimson Guard is a vital addition to the overall storyline started by Erikson in his Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Where Esslemont's debut, Night of Knives, was good, it was so because of its relation of the Malazan world and my (and other fans') craving for it. Crimson Guard is a very well-written, essential story that must be read by any Malazan fan. I won't try to summarize the plot, except to say that the book chronologically takes place after Erikson's Bonehunters book and that many new and interesting characters are introduced here.

Like Erikson, Esslemont easily works together many sub-plots into one convergence of great importance. Esslemont writes massive battle sequences very well, and the book really becomes a page-turner for the last 1/3. The breadth of this book is a leap beyond the single-locale Knives book, and it rivals any of Erikson's works. I agree with an earlier reviewer that states that this book represents what Erikson needs to get back to in his series.

I am so grateful to have two talented authors to provide these excellent stories. Bring on so more!

Wow, what can I say? I am a huge fan of the Malazan Tales of the Fallen series, having read all of Erikson's books (including the novellas), and this book ranks up there with Erikson's finest.

The pacing, the characters, the action, the dialogue--all handled extremely well for Esslemont's second book ever. In all fairness, he have a slam-dunk subject to deal with, as Steven Erikson has been building the tension and curiousity about the Crimson Guard virtually since Gardens of the Moon.

For those wondering, this book is about three times the size of Night of Knives. I had to purchase it off of fleabay to get it sooner, and it was worth every penny. I am going to leave it for a few days and then read it again.

As compared to Toll the Hounds, I liked this book much better--Toll the Hounds seemed to wander a bit and lose focus--Erikson was clearly experimenting a little with his style.

In short, this was an amazing book. I cannot wait for more from either Esslemont or Erikson. Buy this book! You will not be disappointed!

Return of the Crimson Guard (2008) is the second Fantasy novel on the Malazan Empire series, following Night of Knives. In the previous volume, a Jakatan two-master raced northeast under full sails toward Malaz Island, pursued by Stormriders. A few people were stuggling to stop the Stormriders as they neared the island.

The night of the Shadow Moon was fast approaching. Ghosts and revenants walked the streets and Shadow Hounds attacked the populace. The Shadow cultists were gathering and the Claws came to defeat them. Only fools and predators would be walking in this night.

In this novel, K'azz S'Avore is commander of the Crimson Guard. He has been missing for a century.

Skinner is Captain of the First Company of the Crimson Guard. He is an Avowed, sworn to find Duke K'azz. Black the Lesser is an Avowed within the First Company.

Shimmer is Captain of the Second Company of the Crimson Guard. She is an Avowed. Stoop, Cowl, Smoky. Blues, Fingers, and Treat are Avoweds within the Second Company.

Tarkhan is Captain and Viel -- assassin -- of the Third Company of the Crimson Guard. He is an Avowed.

Cal-Brinn is Captain and Mage of the Fourth Company of the Crimson Guard. He is an Avowed. Iron Bars is an Avowed within the Fourth Company.

Kyle, Stalker, Badlands and Coots are a recent recruits of thr Third Inductioo of the Crimson Guard. They are serving in the First Company.

Greymane is a lieurenant in thr Crimson Guard. He is a renegade Malazan.

Ghelel Rhik Tayliin is a ward of the Sellaths. She is the last of the Tayliin family line.

Traveler is a man on a quest of vengeance. He is accompanied by Ereko, a Thel Akai.

Laseen is the Empress of the Malazan Empire. Surly succeced Kellanved to the throne after assassinating him.

Possum is the Malazaon Clawmaster. He succeeded to this position after the disappearance of Topper.

Rillish is a Lieutenant in the Malazan Fourth Army. Chord is his company sergeant.

Atelen Tinsmith is the Malazan squad sergeant of Hands, Nalt, Heuk, Honey Boy, and Least of the Unta Harbor Guard. They have basically retired in place.

Storo Matash is a former Captain of a saboteur company. Now he is the Malazan squad sergeant of Shaky, Hurl, Sunny Silk, Jalor, amd Rell at Li Heng.

In this story, Kyle stares up at the Spur. His company has a contract to take the towering formation, but there is not any way up the sides. Yet Stalker remembers a bit of information about the Spur.

Stoop sets a group of sappers digging up the basement floor. They find stairs leading down, across and then up again. The stairway climbs up through a hollow shaft. Kyle is at the back of the troops as they climb up the endless stairway.

Close to the top, the troops are attacked by a revenant. Then a warlovk appears in mid air and attacks the soldiers. Greymane stabs the warlock and he flies up the shaft.

At the top, they are confronted by another man. The magus or Ascendant brings down lightening from the clouds. Kyle believes that the magus is a Spirit of the Wind and runs to defend him.

Cowl appears to stabs the magus and white light blinds everyone in the vicinity. When they recover their sight, the magus is gone. It seems that Kyle's sword took most of the blast.

Afterward, the Crimson Guard waits for the winds to die down and then go down the spire in a basket. The company heads for the coast and starts negotiating for passage. When negotiation are not productive, Kyle is part of a group that swims out to take the ships from the locals.

While the company is sailing back to Unta, Kyle witnesses Skinner and Cowl kill Stoop. He escapes from the killers and flees into the brush. Later, Stoop's ghost warns him that the pursuers are closing in, but Stalker, Badlands, and Coots join up with Kyle. They flee through the brush.

Traveler and Ereko start building a boat. Then Kyle and his friends try to steal the vessel, but it is too heavy to launch into the sea. Traveler makes a deal with them and they sail together down the coast.

In city of Unta, Possum is watching a crowd that has come to Reacher's Square for the executions. Laseen is also here. Then his target appears and they talk between themselves as he is killing her.

In Li Heng, the magistrates complain that the repairs arw completed and the Sawn Gate is still closed. Storo asks Hurl and Sunny about the readiness of the gate and Hurl says it will stand for fifty years. Sunny states that it will fall sooner or later, so Storo allows the magistrates to use the gate.

In Quon Tali, Ghelel Rhik Tayliin is sparing with Quinn -- the family fencing-master -- in the stables. Quinn hears soldiers outside and warns Ghelel to be quiet. He checks outside and sees Malazan soldiers from the local garrision.

Ghelel is not convinced of the dangers, so Quinn picks her up and takes he into a stall despite her struggles. He opens a trapdoor and drop her into a small cell. She starts to yell as he lowers the trapdoor and he threatens to knock her unconscious.

Ghelel remains quiet and soon falls asleep. Meanwhile, the soldiers ransack the stables. After dark, Quinn opens the trapdoor to check the stables and the main doors.

Quinn smells an ambush outside the stable and ducks back inside. Bolts fly through the door. Quinn and Ghelel duck out the back and fight their way to the woods.

On the Wickan frontier, a Malazan patrol discover a burned camp with Wickan bodies. Settlers eating at the fires ignore the Malazan troops. When Chord asks about the situation, the settlers say that the Wickans had attacked them and are now prisoners of war.

The leader is upset with Chord, so he gives his knive to a Wickan girl and she kills the armed settler with a quick slash. Chord takes the surviving Wickans back to the fort. Other settlers lay seige to the fort, but Rillish refuses to give the Wickans to them.

This tale brings everybody to Li Heng. Even Rillish and the Wickans ride there. A great battle results and then another.

This story finishes off most of the Old Guard. The next installment in this series is Stonewielder.

Recommended for Esslemont fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of political intrigue, physical and magical combat, and large battles. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

I have read and would consider myself a fan of Steven Erikson's Malazan Books of the Fallen, and this book is a worthy addition to that series. In fact, I can only assume the two authors were collaborating given the wide-ranging impact of events in this book. So, from that standpoint, this book is easily worth a rating of 4 stars. However, the Kindle edition, to which this review applies, was rife with typos, mis-spellings and strange word/paragraph breaks. I can only assume that the scanned copy was not given a serious copy editing job before release. The poor job really detracted from the finished product - and this is the first time I've ever had to make that complaint - which resulted in my knocking the review down to 3 stars.

As a fan of the Malazan series, I was excited to get this book about the vaunted Crimson Guard. However...

The best way to express it is to compare it to a movie brought to a TV series. Sometimes it turns out good, but in this case it was atrocious. It felt like some 3rd-rate generic story with the Malazan names filled in. The writing style is shallow and bland. The characters talked more like we do today, instead of the more elegant prose typical of Erikson. Descriptions were hashed out in a few short phrases. There was no build of character or story, no sense of awe or wonder.

I came across this one sentence mid-way through the book:

"The tower shuddered then as if it had taken a terrible blow from a stone as big as a horse thrown by a monstrous trebuchet such as those Hurl had seen rotting and broken after the siege of the island fortress of Nathilog."

What kind of convoluted nonsense is this!

Don't judge a book by its cover. In this case, the cover is beautiful. But the words inside leave much to be desired.

Return of the Crimson Guard is the second of Ian C. Esslemont's books set in the world he helped create with Steven Erikson, whose longer-established Malazan Empire series has been going for years (the tenth and final book is due out in January). Esslemont's first Malaz book, The Night of Knives, took place a bit back in the pre-history of Erikson's series, set on the night that the old emperor Kallenvad and his companion Dancer ascended into the realm of Shadow and Laseen became empress. It was a much more constrained book than Erikson's: much shorter with fewer points of view and focused on a single night and locale as opposed the sweep of time and geography we tend to see in the longer series. In my review of NoK, I said I thought that brevity hurt the book a bit, with some abrupt or rushed sections. Return of the Crimson Guard goes in a completely different direction, one Malaz fans are more used to: it's twice as long (over 700 pages), has multiple narrators, and covers much more space and time than Night of Knives. Did these major narrative changes make for a better book? I'd say "yes, but . . ." as RotCG is I think a much better book, but one with a good number of flaws, some held over from NoK and others new to RotCG.

Return of the Crimson Guard jumps ahead in time (just after Erikson's book six, The Bonehunters) to an empire coming apart at the seams. Its far-flung campaigns have taken their toll, some ending in near-disaster w/ huge loss of life (Seven Cities). Now, weakened, the Empire faces rebellion in its heart as formerly conquered/dead nations rise again on the continent of Quon Tali, some led by Malazan "Old Guard"--those loyal to Kellenvad who now seek to bring down Laseen. As if civil war at its core wasn't enough, the Empire also faces an old, old foe: The Crimson Guard, a mercenary group so dedicated to the Empire's destruction that a century or so ago they swore a vow to never rest (or die) while the Empire existed. Now the Guard, which has fought the Empire across the world, is regrouping and returning at the Empire's weakest moment (though the Guard itself faces inner division).

In general, the far greater length of the book is better suited to the scope of events, allowing Esslemont the time to develop plot and not rush through things as was the case in Night of Knives, making this a more enjoyable read. Esslemont's ambitious undertaking of such a huge book, though, comes with problems in pacing, transitions between scenes, and structure. The book sometimes stuttered in places where either the amount of time spent with a particular storyline didn't seem justified or where entire storylines themselves seemed unnecessary or a bit out of place. It's possible (or probable) that some of these kind of orphaned plotlines will bear fruit for later books, but they needed to be more seamlessly connected here, such as a plot line detailing a young woman, Gehlel, the sole remaining heir to a pre-Empire ruling family.

There was also a bit of a sense of "and then . . . and then . . . " happening in the latter part during the big convergence of events, where perhaps cutting a few events and being more selective would have served him better. The same holds true somewhat for the battles, which take up a large, perhaps too large, part of the book. So I guess after complaining his first book was too short by a 100 or so pages, I'm now complaining his second is too long by 200 or so: there's just no pleasing some people it seems. I do think though some of the issues are a relatively new writer feeling his way toward his craft and I expect his third book will show improvement in all these areas.

The characters, like the plot, are a bit hit and miss. Ereko, Traveler's companion, is a sharply drawn, moving character whom I wish Esslemont had done a bit more with, especially at the end. Kyle, a young recruit in the Crimson Guard, mostly acts as a witness to events (though he has some major moments of his own) and so isn't particularly interesting; he certainly didn't do much for me. A group of mages in the otatoral mines are just not given enough face time for us to care too much, we come and go to them in such scattered fashion, and they're so severed from the rest of the plot that it's hard to care much. When they do play a role in the larger plot, it's a dramatic one but I'm not sure it was a necessary one, save for possibly one result. It felt more of a desire to add one more "topper" to the "and then . . . and then" convergence of events mentioned earlier.

Where Esslemont does shine with characters is two places in particular. One is the city of Li Heng in a plot line involving the characters Hurl, Storo, Rell, and others. The other place is with a group of Malazan sappers/grunts, in particular Sergeant Jumpy. The book truly comes alive with these characters, who speak like real people and whose actions are funny, moving, gripping, tragic, inspiring, and on. Cutting this book of some of the extraneous scenes and characters would have been like cutting a diamond and letting these characters shine all the brighter. As it is, they really carried me through the narrative, acting as bright beacons through those parts where the structure, the characters, the plot lines, the overabundance of alliances and characters and battles or battle plans made me feel I was wading through just too much.

Return of the Crimson Guard doesn't match Erikson's books, but as I said in my review of Night of Knives, that's really an unfair comparison as they are two authors at very different stages. RoTCG is absolutely an improvement on Night of Knives, and where it falls down, which it does perhaps a bit too often, it's more a matter of ambition and reach by a young author still learning his craft. Those are the kinds of flaws I can live with, especially when Esslemont shows with Sergeant Jumpy et. al. the potential for becoming an extremely strong writer. I recommend Return of the Crimson Guard, albeit with the above caveats, and look forward even more to his next novel, based on the improvement he's shown from book one to book two.

And despite 40 years of reading fantasy, I can't tell the difference between their styles. Before they came on the scene, my favorite fantasy writer was Glen Cook. And had been for about 20 years. Glen's Black Company series is THAT good. But the team of Erikson & Esslemont goes him one better. If you like your fantasy written for adults, dark, gritty, and with worlds that are believable, these are the writers for you. Not that they're completely dark. There's just enough lightness and humor in there to make it believable and help the dark parts hit that much harder. I cannot recommend the Malazan books higher. Hopefully Ian will be as prolific as Steven has been. If he had seven more available at Amazon as Erikson does... I'd buy them today!

This novel, by the co-creator of the malazan world, may be the best novel in that series by either author I have read. Some familiarity with events up through The Bonehunters in the main sequence, as well as Night of Knives by this author, would be very helpful in understanding some of the situations/persons in this story. Additionally, this novel advances major plot threads of the main sequence, and will be necessary reading for readers wishing to follow the main series.

My review will contain spoilers. The reader is warned. If you have not read this book and intend to, do not continue unless you want major plot threads at least partly revealed.

This novel is a very tightly written book, and as others have commented, it reminds me of the style erikson used to write with. The author brings in a few characters he introduced in Night of Knives, others from various Erikson books, and with this book essentially picks up the series after The Bonehunters, following events in the Malazan empire (which the 2 books following bonehunters did not cover). I am unclear at the time of this review on the time-line as far as Toll the Hounds, for example did Traveller's sequence here occur before or after that novel?

The author, despite having so many potent participants in the story, seems to avoid any obvious deus ex machina devices. One is left wondering about a few items (how does traveller arrive at the perfect moment for a major plot event; were we ever told before about Laseen's talents beyond being empress?; What was Kallor doing in the place he was located when he entered this book?)

The author's style is a great pleasure to read, there are none of the introspective, metaphysical, or philisophical or otherwise unintelligible monologues we are treated to in Toll the Hounds, but instead an amazingly thick plot in <700 pages, following at least 10 major distinct persons/threads, some of which converge later.

I hope this author continues to produce work like this, because this is the best military fantasy book I have read in at least a year.