Midnight Tides

Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, Book 5

By: Steven Erikson

Narrated by: Michael Page

After decades of internecine warfare, the tribes of the Tiste Edur have at last united under the Warlock King of the Hiroth. There is peace - but it has been exacted at a terrible price: a pact made with a hidden power whose motives are at best suspect, at worst, deadly.

To the south, the expansionist kingdom of Lether, eager to fulfill its long-prophesized renaissance as an Empire reborn, has enslved all its less-civilized neighbors with rapacious hunger. All, that is, save one - the Tiste Edur. And it must be only a matter of time before they too fall - either beneath the suffocating weight of gold, or by slaughter at the edge of a sword. Or so destiny has decreed.

Yet as the two sides gather for a pivotal treaty neither truly wants, ancient forces are awakening. For the impending struggle between these two peoples is but a pale reflection of a far more profound, primal battle - a confrontation with the still-raw wound of an old betrayal and the craving for revenge at its seething heart.

"This novel and all others in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series follow my own pronunciations of 'Malazan' words and names. My thanks to Michael and Jane and everyone at Brilliance Audio." -Steven Erikson, Victoria, B.C. Canada, January, 2014

©2004 Steven Erikson (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

hard to start, easy to finish

the writing style doesn't explain anything. There are no expository dumps. you are forced to carry on and piece rhings together later. the book can be frustrating but is well written and enjoyable.

Tehol and Bug's dialog is delicious!

Tehol and Bug's dialog is delicious!

What a convergence near the end, truly epic and profoundly enjoyable even after already reading the full series, listening to it is a joy!

Fantastic!

It is difficult to find characters this well developed anywhere. Each time you begin a new arc in this series you find more amazing individuals.

not just a normal Erikson tale.

as usual, Erikson is hard to follow until you know the story and characters. but this time i found good humor in it as well. Erikson is one of my favorites. try this one and enjoy it. michael page does his usual great job another of my fans

Malazan is hard to read but with the investment

Malazan is hard to read but with the investment. This one is particularly slow to start but once it’s going I could put it down.

So many characters throughout

This series becomes more involved with the vast array of characters. It’s a bit confusing since they sometimes change names and pop in from previous installments. The imagination and character building is amazing though. I loved Kettle and Bug and his Master Tehole Beddict. Rhulad was horrifying yet pitiful. I just wish I didn’t spend so much time trying to figure out how the characters tie into the previous novels. Good story though.

A bit to much rambling

I like the story, characters, but a bit to much rambling discourse. At times I just wanted the story to continue, to get past pontificating discourse.

It freaking sticks you in the feels

The magical battles are unbelievably cool, I can't even try to describe them. The chatagyere emotions and situations are so thorough, this book is one of the fantasy franchise books I've ever read.

New characters, incredible story

It may be off putting to start a new story with new characters in a new setting in the middle of an ongoing series, but this is my favorite so far. The storylines of each character are exquisitely crafted and the depth the novel adds to the overall arch is perfect. Well narrated, very well written.

Erikson does it again...

Another amazing epic fantasy saga all contained in one book, with a climax as epic as that in Memories of Ice and House of Chains.

That he can weave yet another story of this magnitude, set on an entirely different continent with entirely different characters, is astounding. Erikson is the real deal when it comes to writing epic fantasy. And I believe that this may be his most approachable book yet in the series.

In fact, this wouldn't be a bad place to start the series from. It's an excellent standalone story, and although it helps to have 4 more books under your belt, I think most fantasy fans would be able to take this one by itself. It is also not quite as dark as the other books before it, which could help newcomers as well. There is more humor in this book, too, much of it dry, but for the first time I found myself laughing out loud while listening. The banter between characters, especially Tehol and Bugg, is great and deliciously builds upon itself with each new iteration.

In Midnight Tides, Erikson shows he can follow a tighter storyline and (relatively) fewer players, which enables the characters in this book to have more depth as we spend more time with them. And what amazing characters they are. Many of them stand out so uniquely and richly in my mind and I know I will not soon forget them. Trull Sengar, Rhulad, Udinaas, Kettle, Tehol and Bugg, Shurq Ellale, Iron Bars... There are SO MANY great characters and I enjoyed spending time with all of them. And we get introduced to so many fascinating characters as well.

There is almost no drag in this story, especially after the first quarter or so. This is a poignant story of two families and the brothers on both sides have rich personalities and you will find yourself caring for each of them. Yet this story contains so much more... A vast tale of war, but somehow Erikson is able to portray it both on the grand scale and the personal level. And the depth of plotting and foreshadowing is simply incredible... The climax of the story brings together so many threads, while dropping hints of things that are to come and give us glimpses of a MUCH broader landscape. The Malazan series is truly the most broadly epic fantasy series out there. I cannot wait for the next volume to be released on Audible.

A note on the narration: I agree with everyone else, that the change from Ralph Lister was definitely a step in the wrong direction. This despite the fact that Erikson went out of his way to write a note here essentially saying "I approve this choice". The thing is, in this case THE LISTENERS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT. If you don't want to listen to us, then you may not find us buying your books on audio anymore. You need to make good marketing decisions and make your customers happy, rather than sticking dogmatically to your own preferences. After all, we can always read these books in printed form.

There's nothing wrong with Michael Page's pronunciation or diction, for me; it's the fact that he can't differentiate the voices of the characters enough. Because of the dark setting and the plethora of large, hulking, inhuman characters, he tends to use his "growling" voice almost 50% of the time. This not only gets old and makes it hard to distinguish characters,, but cheapens the effect of using the growl in the first place.

Still, despite all this, I don't agree with people giving the book poor ratings because of the narrator. Keep the ratings separate between the two - that's what it's for. You can give the narration 1 star, but give the book the 5 overall stars it deserves.