Customer Reviews

Toll the Hounds: Book Eight of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the 8th book in Steven Erikson's 'Malazan Book of the Fallen" series.

Of all the books in the Malazan series, this is, without a doubt, my least favorite...I will explain

First, the pros;

Overall, this series is epic fantasy at its best; in fact 829 pages in this book alone. There is intrigue, magic, unexpected enemies and friends and even some erotic moments; not to mention the usual backstabbing and clandestine plotting. In this book we are reacquainted with some old friends from previous tales, e.g. Cutter, Druiker, Karso Orlong (Toblakai warrior), Anomander Rake and last but not least, the ever loquacious, forever famished, mound of round, Kruppe.

Erikson's strength is his use of prose to describe people and their surrounding, all the while weaving a tale his characters come alive in; this latest installment is no exception. However, this may be the first in all the books of this series that may be deemed somewhat overwritten, mainly because of some of these perceived strengths. Which leads me into commenting on...

The cons;

1.)As with previous Erikson works, the book starts off by given brief glimpses of several different developing stories. The problem here, in my opinion, is that unlike previous books, most of these story lines do not really develop into something resembling a plot until well after the first 200+ pages.

2.)In addition to the slow development, the writing seems disjointed and difficult to follow; I had to almost 'study' sections to try to figure out what Erikson had his characters doing and saying.

3.)I found I became 'weary' of trying to interpret the vague, unclear conversations and happenings that occurred through out most of the entire novel. Eventually I stopped trying to figure out the difficult passages and just concentrated on sections that I found easy to understand; I don't think I'd have finished the book otherwise.

4.)I never thought I'd ever hear myself saying this about an Erikson book; I found myself somewhat bored by some of the dragged out, confusing descriptions and tales; almost to the point of skimming them.

5.)And last, I can't remember the last time I've been so happy to have finally finished a book.

Conclusion:

An intriguing Malazan tale that had potential, but unfortunately got mired down with a sluggish beginning and middle; the last section (Toll the Hounds) was better...but overall, a somewhat 'difficult' read. That is not to say there weren't some great moments in this book, because there were, many in fact; and this was my main reason for rating the book as high as I did.

I seems to me that Erikson has 'stumbled' with this book; he knows what he's talking about, but I can't say the same for me. I wonder about other readers; I'm I the only one to notice this tendency towards 'unreadability'?

I hope Erikson gets back on track with his next installment; one more book like this and he may begin to lose some of his loyal followers.

Difficult to rate this book, so I settled for a 3.5 and rounded it up to a 4.0 (rather than down to a 3.0 ) because I decided to give Erikson the benefit of the doubt...for this one.

Ray Nicholson

I can certainly relate to those who are annoyed by the frequent jumping from one character (or group of characters) to another every 2-3 pages or so, but if you stick with "Toll the Hounds", everything eventually coalesces into a stunning conclusion, as at least one central theme is resolved. Here are some reasons to hang in there:

1. Mother Dark turned her back on her children, the Tiste Andii. Her son, Anomander Rake, assumed responsibility for the fate of his people. The purpose of his sword Dragnipur is revealed, and is not what it seems. Rake's fate and purpose are revealed in stunning fashion, enough to justify reading "Toll the Hounds".

2. Traveler: who is he, and what brings him to Darujhistan? Another revelation sure to surprise those familiar with earlier books. Never assume the departed do not return.

3. Hood, God of death; what is he behind the hood? His purpose is also revealed; the dead are collected for a reason, and and marching towards their fate.

4. A new player is introduced; the Dying God. The visceral corruption of his blood compares to the Crippled God.

As usual, several players are called upon to make terrible sacrifices, and redemption abounds. As always, a few Bridgeburners fight against extinction. And of course, another group of intrepid travelers bumble and stumble their way towards their destination in comedic fashion, trying not to get themselves killed in the process.

I know the book starts a little slow, but stick it out; the conclusion is worth the price of admission.

Regardless of your taste in genre, Erikson's ability to develop literally dozens of characters, each with different and fully realized personalities, and place them into world's and cultures as vast and complex as our own makes this book worth getting to know. It's an insight into laughter and despair, hope and futility...it's an insight into our own lives in a way that leaves you entertained and wanting more.

If you're someone who devourers books in one or two sittings I don't think you'll get as much out of this book as otherwise you might. The writing itself is beautiful and is on a level that makes it difficult for me to read most other people's offerings as they just don't measure up. As always, Mr. Erikson broke my heart after making me love his characters. Being incredibly powerful in these stories just means your sacrifice will be even greater.

I did not find this book a difficult read, but I took my time and read it slowly. I didn't look for connections between the different groups involved in the story, but instead enjoyed them as separate stories that in the end all combined into a neat package. I always ache when I finish another Malazan book, but I think this one was even more draining than Deadhouse Gates (which really tore me up emotionally). I feared, based on some of the reviews I read here, that I would be disappointed in this volume, but instead I believe it is one of my favorites.

I don't know what to say, I just had to say something. This author is on a whole other level. I'm aware of all the criticisms heaped on him about length, divergent plots, overload of characters, dropping you right in the middle of things, but his writing is detailed and superb. The overall arc can be hard to follow and understanding things can be elusive but if you sit down and read through the whole series so far you'll find it's not nearly as complicated as you think. You will realize that instead of laying out the story as past present future, he builds the history and all necessary knowledge as you go along. Like life you never know the whole story or the history or the answer to everything or how to do anything or why something happened unless you keep going.

It is unlike traditional fantasy which has a simple cut and paste storyline. Even the greatest fantasy writers suffer from the problem of taking Tolkien's Middle Earth and changing the details, as well as stories and plots that follow Tolkien's blueprint with the only variations caused by those varying minute details. Erickson however, deviates from the traditional model. There are always protagonists and antagonists but it's hard to find any truly good guys or bad guys. The guys you're egging on might capture a town, rape the women, and slit the throats of the others. While the guy you consider the bad guy might try to save those lives and give water to a thirsty enemy. Like real life, the lines are blurred and good or bad is often determined by the situation and the opponent rather than a specific moral bent. Because of that, the characters that are truly moral and good and the ones that are just hopelessly bad stand out from the rest of the gray area folk.

I could go into the plot of this novel but if you haven't read books 1 - 7, there's no point. Read the series either you will hate it, or you will love it, but you won't be indifferent and without opinion.

This was my favorite book of the series, it might have been slower paced but the build up became that much greater and Erikson did not let down. Reading Nietzsche and Existential works along side this book during my school semester made it that much more amazing. I can see how some of the readers didn't take to this book as much as the past books in the series. This book's poetry and philosophical ideas come from a much deeper source which gives the Malazan world a more mysterious beauty. Erikson's poetic preludes to each chapter make this a pure masterpiece. This is the best fantasy series of all time. And Esslemont's editions are only going to keep making it better.

Erikson at his finest. By now he can write the best quality epic fiction effortlessly. If you know and love the Malazan books, this will be another masterpiece for you. Events come to a head in a BIG way, with big consequences. Some of my favorite under-exposed characters from previous books get the chance to shine. All in all a winner.

I eagerly awaited Toll the Hounds as I became enthralled with not only Erikson's writing style but also the world that he and Esslemont created. So when the book arrived I immediately started reading. And nothing took off, nothing happened. I kept on reading, waiting for Erikson of old to find its way to the pages of Toll the Hounds.

Part of the problem was that this book has an even bigger character roll call than the other books because of how many storylines merged together. So we kept flitting from one character to another and we never really got a chance to get into any one character. When you did it flipped over to somewhere else! Add to that the plot going nowhere and it made for a tough read for the first 200-300 pages.

Oh but did it pick up, to my heart's joyous content. Finally the characters began to take shape and plot lines started merging. When it did I was even more enthralled than in previous books, excepting maybe Reaper's Gale. We got to see virtually all the main characters, with the exception of Ganoes Paran, Icarium, the Tiste Edur and a few other major characters, other than that we see everyone! We watch Karsa Orlong continue his death giving ways (and a twist, we finally see fear in the Toblakai - who'd a thought, which only added more to his character... You'll have to read on to see what could truly cause fear in such an awesome character). The hilarious Kruppe, the funny Bridgeburners, and Iskaral Pust are joined by the likes of Scorch and Leff and the Bole brothers to add such a complex comedy aspect to such an epic fantasy. My favorite scene is when Iskaral Pust rides at his swiftest speed, legs kicking and head bobbing, only to go at the agonizingly slow pace of the mule he but rides, to eventually be met by Kruppe on his warmule. This scene made the whole book worth it as I giggled and laughed out loud.

But there is also the serious and ever violent side of Erikson's writing that is present. The merging of gods, young and old, and ascendants and the power struggles inherent to such meetings. We see Black Coral, home of the Tiste Andii and Anomandor Rake. There are many deaths of characters you've read a lot about, which of course makes way for new players in the struggle for control.

I think this of all Erikson's books accomplished the most in furthering the plot. There was a true convergence of power struggles that yielded a vast amount of possibilities as new powers came into play as the final battle came ever closer. I think that this is one of my favorites of Erikson's books so far, and the only reason not a 5 star is because of how agonizingly long it took for the characters to take on their character, and for how long it took for the plot to finally begin to take shape. Regardless of all that, I would certainly recommend and cannot wait for the next installment to be published.

4 stars.

Unlike some other reviewers I found this to be one of Erikson's best books. Although the "action" for most of the story is slow, I found it a pleasure getting to know certain characters more thoroughly, Karsa anyone?...Rake!!
Steven Erikson seems to have finally placed all the story lines and characters in a more coherent way than in last books. The use of krupe as storyteller was a good companion to the story. Anyways its a great read, and essential for any fantasy lover.

I will say this first off, the book starts slow. But if you have read any of his works, that goes without saying. Outside of Gardens of the Moon, they all pretty much build up and up to a grand earth shattering climax.

I thought this was a better work than Reaper's Gale, Midnight Tides and Deadhouse Gates (which is probably my most disliked of the books) and a bit short of the others.

Many of the old characters are back and better than ever in this epic. Rake, Gruntle, the Rope, Karsa amongst others. Erikson weaves the tales of all the characters with his usual aplomb.

True, at times, the book could flag some in its pacing (its 832 pages for crying out loud), but the last 275 pages of the book more than make up for it. That portion of it alone, makes it a worthwhile read.

In the end it has everything you have come to expect in one of his books. It has tragedy aplenty, it has passion, triumph, tribulations, it pretty much runs the gamut.

I would give it a solid 4.5 stars and recommend it for any who has already read the previous books. For those who haven't, go back to Gardens of the Moon. You'll be hopelessly lost otherwise.