|
| Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book of the Fallen) | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven Erikson
Publisher: Bantam Press
Category: Book
List Price: £18.99
Buy New: £10.39
You Save: £8.60 (45%)
New (29) Collectible (2) from £7.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 3781
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 896
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.3
ISBN: 0593046374
EAN: 9780593046371
ASIN: 0593046374
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Unbeatable August 10, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Firstly I will admit that this is not as good as earlier books in the series, Deadhouse Gates being by far the best in my own opinion. But the series has not faltered at all as some previous reviewers point out, its on equally as brilliant a level as always but some will always have their personal preferences about what is best (and also most people only seem to find or atleast admit that things are brilliant until they are older, why?)
I could go on and point out all the different things in this book which I do find brilliant but I am not going to do that, I simply wish to share the one thing that I find in Eriksons writing style which makes him by the far the most superior writer in this genre and indeed I would go as far as to say in any genere (I am not just making this statement I read anything from Akunin to Erikson, W. Smith to Tolkien or Tolstoy to Feist)
The way Erikson portrays his characters are unbelievable even "fringe" characters of which there are quite a few in this book you cant help but make an attachment too. Characters who spend anything from a page or a chapter in one of his books Erikson always portrays them so well as to leave you wanting to know more about them and hoping they do well and in most cases wanting them to live.
Thus Erikson always manages to stun me with the cruelty and harsh reality of life which is portrayed within his books. There is no great hero transcending all, with perfect virtues always knowing what is good and wishing to do it. Everyone is flawed, everyone is in someway not what you quite expect or want from them, in a fantasy book he has managed to hold a mirror up to life which i think is a fantastic acheivment.
This mirror is what makes his books most effective, very rarely can an author write so well that I am forced to put down a book in shock as I have to consider what has just been said. Erikson manages this with aplomb, who can forget the moment Coltaines army fell within view of Aren? With a full army watching as a coward holds them back.? Well in this book I find the same thing happening as *SPOILER HERE* Anomander Rake dies fighting traveller. Anomander is a hero in this book, flawed as all others but with a certain dark destiny and noble soul that you cant help but feel an attachment too, you can feel a sense of purpose about him. So when he died I was truly shocked and even saddened. This is what amkes Erikson a great author not just the sweeping story, the great characters but the fact that he is an author who can still effect you with his words.
His most recent books are not as good as the earlier ones, but they are still BRILLIANT and far better than anything else on offer out there. The day this series finishes will be a sad day indeed.
Toll the Hounds August 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Throughout the series, questions have been raised that have never been answered. This book acts as a explaination to the previous novels and also introduces a range of new characters. It was a little slow to start but by the middle, it was a true Malazan epic.
 Oh dear oh dear!!! August 8, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
This will be painful for some so let me start by saying that I am a big fan of the series despite one or two weak books in the series.I place the order and waited so anxiously for this book to arrive after I ordered it but I was very disapointed. There are some good bits in this book but it is nothing like Erikson at his best.In fact I feel this is the most annoying book in the series. It had the right mix of characters to have been the best book so far but instead of advancing the story Erikson chose to write about nothing for 800 pages. Even characters like Karsa, cotillion and Rake lost their edge and did nothing but talk. I didnt feel involved with them, even as the usual expected toll was literally presented to Hood at the end.I had high hopes for Moppo but he like rest of the book didnt get any where. Erikson has droped the ball but I hope he gets back to form for the last two books. But before he starts writing the next book, some body please get him some anti depressants or get him to see a shrink because his writing has become too gloomy and depressing.
400 pages too long August 8, 2008
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
Having read the previous seven books, and formed the opinion this was one of the best fantasy series ever written, it's rather upsetting to look back on the experience of reading 'Toll the Hounds' with such ill feeling. Many of the previous books are based around characters journeying, not only to reach a destination, but to find themselves (and a great deal of life) along the way. 'Toll the Hounds' has many of the same characters, simply traveling aimlessly, for hundreds of pages! By page 450 I was almost ready to give up hope that anything was 'actually going to happen Reg!'. Remember GOTM? And just how mind-bendingly awesome that book was? 500% content overload per paragraph! Remember 'Memories Of Ice'? The best of the series, so far. TTH (tbh) pales in comparison. New, powerful characters are introduced (and by this point in the series, you've learned to get very excited about new characters), that ultimately fizzle out with barely a mention. What what??
OK. So to what purpose? What is this book actually about? To my mind, it's about moving characters on the game board, ready for the finale. Some characters need to go/exit/shuffle off the playing field well before the end, otherwise you'll be saying 'hey, how come xyz didn't turn up with his blah blah and sort all this out, huh?' This is basically what's going on in this book, a character card shuffle. Pity it couldn't have been done in 400 distilled pages rather than 923(yawn) pages. And no QuickBen! I mean, life eh?
Still, I intend to read it again to see if I missed anything important, the first time around, so it can't be all bad.
Finally, please, no more Shakespearian narration. Gives the whole thing the feeling of being a play, rather than raw-edged reality.
Dark and Compelling July 23, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Toll the Hounds, is not just dark and compelling, it also easily ranks in the top 3 of all the the tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen so far, and not only because of its spectacular, if somewhat confounding finale.
There are some gripes about this being too slow paced, and yes if one were in it for the big battle scenes and non-stop action, well, I can see how this would not be to one's liking.
So then what makes it one of the best tales so far for me? First of all our reunion with some major and some lesser characters from Gardens of the Moon and Memories of Ice and the return to a Darujhistan as we have not seen it before. Erikson finally takes his time for some serious characterisation, developing plot lines that add to the texture of the cities of Daruhjistan and Black Coral, or in fact the entire setting, making its feel more real and richer than I have ever felt before. As reviewer Whitehead already mentioned, this is also a tale with core themes of love, redemption and sacrifice in the face of betrayals, depressions and just plain visciousness, not to say evil.
There are also great insights into the Tiste Andii, and especially Anomander Rake's background. But also we get closer looks at Kallor, Traveller and Caladan Brood, making them more real than ever before.
As with most of the other installments in this series it was really hard to put down but for the first time I was forced to do so because of the impact some moments had on me, forcing me to come to grips with and realize what just had happened.
All in all this is a more than worthy installment and I can barely wait for Dust of Dreams.
4 1/2 stars.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
