Well, I think it's safe to say Malazan is not for me. I actually thought I was somewhat enjoying this through the halfway point. Specifically due to the introduction of the K'Chain Che'Malle and the intrigue Silverfox presented. I also enjoyed Tool and Toc's interactions. However, that's it. And once I got into the latter half of this book, I realized I was really only pushing through this because it was a buddy read. If it weren't for buddy reading this with my friends, I would've DNF'd long ago. It was not a pleasant reading experience.

I found this to be somehow even more confusing and perplexing than the first two Malazan books. It feels like Erikson provided less context for the expanded worldbuilding and plotlines that take place here. I was lost 95% of the time. And I hate that feeling. What's the point of reading a book if it isn't comprehensible enough? Even when I try to relax and prevent myself from pushing to understand everything—per recommendation by Malazan fans—its still completely bewildering. Trying to use a wiki doesn't help enough either. And not to mention the ridiculous number of POV's in this book. I can't keep track of all the characters when Erikson jumps to at least 20 POV's throughout and doesn't revisit some for hundreds of pages. I used to try to take notes while reading these books but I gave up here because there was simply too much to try to track.

Additionally, especially regarding characters, I simply did not feel invested in anyone or anything. In my experience, I feel there's a severe lack of compelling character development in this series. I find the POV hopping to be a factor in this, not only from chapter to chapter or page to page, but from book to book. How am I expected to feel invested in characters and plotlines when jumping to different continents with each book? It's just exhausting to read something structured this way.

The only consistent factor I have found to be pleasant throughout Malazan is Erikson's prose. I think he's great with words and evokes a grim and mystical atmosphere with his writing that matches the tone and complexity of Malazan. Unfortunately, I'm not drawn in by anything else. I found Kruppe an entertaining character, and Anomander Rake is awesome. Both returning for some POV's in this book was nice. And I was excited to finally see the K'Chain Che'Malle, the sword-armed velociraptors I've heard so much about. The first scene they have in this book was awesome. However, I could not care less about anything else.

That was more of a messy rant than anything, but those are my thoughts on Memories of Ice and Malazan three books in. I enjoyed Gardens of the Moon, found Deadhouse Gates to be overwhelmingly grim and disappointing, and Memories of Ice dropped the ball even more. I do not expect to continue this series. On one hand I'm disappointed by that because I'd love to see what everyone else loves about this series, but I'm also happy to move on to books I'm actually looking forward to reading.