Midnight Tides (Book 5 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen)

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Manufacturer: Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
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Midnight Tides is the fifth book in Steven Erikson's immense fantasy sequence The Malazan Book of the Fallen, which began in 1999 with the much-praised Gardens of the Moon. In successive volumes the action moves around the world of the Malazan Empire, linked by a back-story as ancient and complex as Tolkien's. Here a prologue in "The Time of the Elder Gods" shows clashes and betrayals of gods, dragon shape shifters, demons, ice mages and more. In modern times, some very old characters survive under other names, and history has been seriously misremembered...

Now there's an impending clash between the recently-united barbaric tribes of the Tiste Edur and the adjoining Kingdom of Lether, whose capitalistic decadence would make it quite sympathetic if not for policies of ruthless expansionism and slavery.

We come to know people on both sides: the Tiste Edur are driven by fierce honour and have strange, fascinating customs (Erikson is an anthropologist). But their Warlock King has, so to speak, switched gods in midstream and allied with a distinctly dark power while seeking a potent "gift" from another unreliable deity. Ironically, despite the provocation of Letheran seal-poachers on his coast, the Warlock King wants a safe, unassailable peace. His supernatural allies have other plans, and the tribes find themselves following a fearsome but also pitiable new Emperor into war.

Oddly enough, an old, ambiguous Letheran prophecy about an emperor is about to fall due. Meanwhile this kingdom has internal enemies, including a master financier plotting ruin while living in abject poverty with his resourceful manservant: this double act provides a vein of Jeeves-and-Wooster comic relief. There are complex manoeuvres in court circles. The undead walk--but that's normal in Lether. Restless stirring is felt in the ancient Hold where dark magic has long been confined. Then comes the clash with the Tiste Edur, and sorcerers' weapons of mass destruction are unleashed on both sides.

It's a big, complex, satisfying blockbuster, crammed with horrors, humour, spectacular effects and devious twists. Loose ends will presumably be picked up in later volumes. --David Langford

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Customer Reviews

Trull Senegar's story

Review Date: July 1, 2010

Reviewer: Dowling Kenneth, Stockholm

It wasn't what I was expecting, but maybe I should have been. It is not a conti9nuation of the Malazan Empire story, but rather a deviatiojn into the Trull Senegar story that is hinted at in the Book 4 conclusion. OK, that disappointed me a bit, but I have learned not to expect the traditional story line type of writing from Steven Eriksson. As adult fantasy, it succeeds very well because it challenges the reader to think. I like it, even though it wasn't what I was expecting. Maybe because it wasn't. ;-)

amazing read

Review Date: April 17, 2010

Reviewer: zulu09, UK

I have just finished Midnight Tides and asked myself whether it is better than gardens of the Moon, memories of Ice and House of Chains. The answer i have settled upon for the moment is they are all good just in different ways.
The strongest thing going for Midnight Tides is humour. I think it is the funniest book in the series.

One of the best in the series

Review Date: May 7, 2009

Reviewer: Ibraar Hussain, London, England

Excellent story, with brilliant characters - refreshing old school intrigue, comedy, action, blood letting and sorcery - fantastic - refreshingly, the Malazans are blessedly absent from this.

Can my memory cope? Yes it can, thankfully!!

Review Date: February 14, 2009

Reviewer: D. J. A. Stevenson, home at my desk

I was introduced to this series by a colleague at work, and I'm very grateful for it. Don't read these books if you like simple, single person narrative with only a few storylines and less than dozen characters! You really need your wits about you for this series, there are so many characters, storylines and settings that it's difficult to keep track at times, good for the brain though!
This book is a great continuation of the series, with a whole new set of participants, separate from almost all that has gone before. This in a way made it easier, no need to remember who all of the old names were until the next book. Two of the best characters of the whole series are introduced in this book, Tehol and Bugg. With a series including so many main strands and groups, you always have some you'd like to know more about, and for me, that is now Tehol and Bugg, even above Fiddler and Toc my previous favourites. Their dialogue is sparse and illustrative while being always witty and frequently hilarious. The book does set the scene for subsequent books but is also a fine episode in its own right, well worth reading again.

Has it all

Review Date: January 26, 2009

Reviewer: Keith Markillie, Milton Keynes, Bucks United Kingdom

The Midnight Tides being in the 5 in a long line of the 10 books for this series was one of the best so far. I found that the book had it all love, horror, fantasy, and humour brought by two main characters Tehol and Bugg. The ending was fast and furious and unexpected to say the least. I'd highly recommend this book to continue the series.

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