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A review by thirdsaint
Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson
5.0
Toll the Hounds is truly a sequel of sorts to the Memories of Ice story arc. We're back on Genabackis! Darujhistan! Kruppe! How I missed thee, all! I have a couple of books left to finish, but I can safely say Toll the Hounds will be in my top 3 at the end. Only The Bonehunters is better, and just barely at that. This book truly set the stage for major events sure to impact the finale two books of the series and there is a plethora of memorable moments forever etched in my mind. Also, Toll the Hounds is the only book that is narrated mostly by the voice of one character in it, reflecting on the events like they are in a tavern surrounded by an audience, so that makes it unique.
Starting off this book felt like coming home. There's a number of characters that we haven't seen for 5 books, which for me literally meant over a year. I loved catching up with Murillo and the gang, the leftover Malazans at Krul's Bar, and other characters. An added wrinkle of getting in the minds of some Tiste Andii was much welcome as their people and culture have been a great source of intrigue for me, as well as Anomander Rake. This book really answers a lot of questions and mysteries while, of course, raising all new ones. If one of your greater sources of frustration is not knowing what is going on or how this world works, you should find Toll the Hounds to be quite satisfying.
I will say, the pacing and tone of this book is a bit disjointed, but not in any way that hurt my enjoyment of it. There are moments, mostly with the Tiste Andii sections, that the book slows down and there are scenes so vivid and repulsive as if from a horror movie. The tone is dark and bleak but these parts piqued my curiousity the most. Other sections, like those mostly based in Darujhistan, are easier to read and a little more comical here and there. Overall, like the majority of Malazan Book of the Fallen, the tone is dark and horrible things happen to good people. A few gut-punching scenes pop up in the middle and took me by surprise and characters met abrupt ends that I wasn't ready for. All of this builds to the spectacular crescendo that is the finale.
Before that, though, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Chapter 19. It is a prose masterpiece. The chapter may as well be called "Grief". I don't normally put quotes in my reviews but this one is too poignant, too powerful to not mention it. Anyone who has encountered grief personally should feel this resonate, and Chapter 19 is full of these words of wisdom:
A dear friend is dead, and there is nothing just in death. When the moment arrives, it is always too soon. The curse of incompletion, the loss that can never be filled. Before too long, rising like jagged rocks from the flood, there was anger.
Or this one:
Survivors do not mourn together. They each mourn alone, even when in the same place. Grief is the most solitary of all feelings. Grief isolates, and every ritual, every gesture, every embrace, is a hopeless effort to break through that isolation. None of it works. The forms crumble and dissolve. To face death is to stand alone.
Oof. Just masterful, Mr. Erikson. These all revolve around a singular event about 3/4's of the way through that gutted me. To read a chapter of the characters all dealing with grief was cathartic for me and brought much self-reflection. Moments like these are what make Malazan stand out in the genre and what will help it stand the test of time when so many other series will fade away. There's a depth of humanity in this series that is unmatched in many of the series I have read.
So about the final quarter of the book, I was flipping pages faster than I ever have before. Event after event shook everything I thought I knew about the world and the gods in it. I'm pretty sure I uttered words of amazement out loud often and had to occasionally set the book down to remember to breathe. Unfortunately, it's hard to talk about anything without spoiling the story. Let's just say, there's plenty of action pieces that had me dropping my jaw and probably the best one-on-one swordfight in the series. Also, let's just say that a certain two characters who ride "smaller" animals finally meet in one of the funniest clashes I've ever read and it was everything I wanted since Deadhouse Gates.
Every arc paid off in the end and I was left satisfied multiple times over as Erikson closed the multiple threads in the series. How he brought certain aspects and people into the story that I wasn't sure I'd ever see again was a pleasant surprise and I was giddy with excitement and numerous character reveals. The hardest thing for me was closing this book and picking my jaw back off the floor. The implications, oh my! The implications going forward are colossal and this book sealed Malazan Book of the Fallen as my all-time favorite series.
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Gardens of the Moon - 9.0/10
Deadhouse Gates - 9.5/10
Memories of Ice - 10/10
House of Chains - 10/10
Midnight Tides - 8.5/10
The Bonehunters - 10/10
Reaper's Gale - 9.5/10
Toll the Hounds - 10/10
Dust of Dreams - 9.5/10
The Crippled God - 10/10
Starting off this book felt like coming home. There's a number of characters that we haven't seen for 5 books, which for me literally meant over a year. I loved catching up with Murillo and the gang, the leftover Malazans at Krul's Bar, and other characters. An added wrinkle of getting in the minds of some Tiste Andii was much welcome as their people and culture have been a great source of intrigue for me, as well as Anomander Rake. This book really answers a lot of questions and mysteries while, of course, raising all new ones. If one of your greater sources of frustration is not knowing what is going on or how this world works, you should find Toll the Hounds to be quite satisfying.
I will say, the pacing and tone of this book is a bit disjointed, but not in any way that hurt my enjoyment of it. There are moments, mostly with the Tiste Andii sections, that the book slows down and there are scenes so vivid and repulsive as if from a horror movie. The tone is dark and bleak but these parts piqued my curiousity the most. Other sections, like those mostly based in Darujhistan, are easier to read and a little more comical here and there. Overall, like the majority of Malazan Book of the Fallen, the tone is dark and horrible things happen to good people. A few gut-punching scenes pop up in the middle and took me by surprise and characters met abrupt ends that I wasn't ready for. All of this builds to the spectacular crescendo that is the finale.
Before that, though, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Chapter 19. It is a prose masterpiece. The chapter may as well be called "Grief". I don't normally put quotes in my reviews but this one is too poignant, too powerful to not mention it. Anyone who has encountered grief personally should feel this resonate, and Chapter 19 is full of these words of wisdom:
A dear friend is dead, and there is nothing just in death. When the moment arrives, it is always too soon. The curse of incompletion, the loss that can never be filled. Before too long, rising like jagged rocks from the flood, there was anger.
Or this one:
Survivors do not mourn together. They each mourn alone, even when in the same place. Grief is the most solitary of all feelings. Grief isolates, and every ritual, every gesture, every embrace, is a hopeless effort to break through that isolation. None of it works. The forms crumble and dissolve. To face death is to stand alone.
Oof. Just masterful, Mr. Erikson. These all revolve around a singular event about 3/4's of the way through that gutted me. To read a chapter of the characters all dealing with grief was cathartic for me and brought much self-reflection. Moments like these are what make Malazan stand out in the genre and what will help it stand the test of time when so many other series will fade away. There's a depth of humanity in this series that is unmatched in many of the series I have read.
So about the final quarter of the book, I was flipping pages faster than I ever have before. Event after event shook everything I thought I knew about the world and the gods in it. I'm pretty sure I uttered words of amazement out loud often and had to occasionally set the book down to remember to breathe. Unfortunately, it's hard to talk about anything without spoiling the story. Let's just say, there's plenty of action pieces that had me dropping my jaw and probably the best one-on-one swordfight in the series. Also, let's just say that a certain two characters who ride "smaller" animals finally meet in one of the funniest clashes I've ever read and it was everything I wanted since Deadhouse Gates.
Every arc paid off in the end and I was left satisfied multiple times over as Erikson closed the multiple threads in the series. How he brought certain aspects and people into the story that I wasn't sure I'd ever see again was a pleasant surprise and I was giddy with excitement and numerous character reveals. The hardest thing for me was closing this book and picking my jaw back off the floor. The implications, oh my! The implications going forward are colossal and this book sealed Malazan Book of the Fallen as my all-time favorite series.
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Gardens of the Moon - 9.0/10
Deadhouse Gates - 9.5/10
Memories of Ice - 10/10
House of Chains - 10/10
Midnight Tides - 8.5/10
The Bonehunters - 10/10
Reaper's Gale - 9.5/10
Toll the Hounds - 10/10
Dust of Dreams - 9.5/10
The Crippled God - 10/10