Thought provoking, challenging, funny, intelligent, and on top of it all, a great story with truly compelling characters. As a lifelong reader of SciFi and Fantasy, I've set the bar pretty high for new authors, however, Steven Erikson has topped the list.

This is, by far, the best series I've ever read - better than Tolkien, Herbert, Stephen Donaldson, etc.

If you are a fan of George R.R. Martin, or Robert Jordan, you will love this series. If you're on the fence, go for it, it will be a decision you never regret!

Enough for now, have to go start the next book...

"Reaper's Gale" returns with many of the characters from "Midnight Tides" in "The Malazan Book of the Fallen". A couple more characters are introduced however a thinning of the herd helps keep the vast cast from further spiraling out of control. I enjoy the glimpses into a fringe characters, where a main character interacts directly or indirectly with them and how it briefly affects the lives. However the declining editing unnecessarily joins words, features the rarely misused word, and grossly overuses "burgeon".

The primary character additions are Redmask, an Awl'dan warrior having issues with the Tiste Edur conquered Letherii and Clip, an annoying Tiste Andii. Silchas Ruin, brother of Anomander Rake and once trapped by an Azath House in the earlier novel, appears forced in his behavior as if trying to find a reason to have him in the storyline. Then Beak with a vague yet disturbing background has a clever outlook on magic.

The maps are mediocre and the hopeless appendix provides names with little or no information, for example "Bugg, Tehol's manservant" or "Shurq Elalle, an itinerant pirate". Perhaps stating "Bugg, Elder God Mael in mortal form and manservant to Tehol" and "Shurq Elalle, undead due to a curse by an unknown party and currently an itinerant pirate" would be more acceptable. Given the abundant quantity of characters, an improved comprehensive appendix is necessary including racial characteristics, relating magical powers, and describing creatures.

Thank you.

Reaper's Gale (2007) is the seventh fantasy novel in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, following The Bonehunters. This novel is also a direct sequel to Midnight Tides, the fifth novel in the series.

In the previous volume, Travore Paran -- Adjunct of the Empress -- returned to Malaz Island with the Fourteenth Army and the Perish. A crowd was waiting by the jetties for the Bonehunters to debark. They had been enflamed against the Wickans and the Khundryl by lies spread by subverted Claws.

The Adjunct reported to Empress Lassan in Mock's Hold and then turned back toward the harbor. Claws attacked them all the way down the hill into the city, but Shadowthrone sent Apsalar to assist the Adjunct, T'Amber, and Kalam. Hundreds of the Imperial assassins died. After sending the Wickans to their own lands, the Fourteenth Army and their allies left Malaz harbor to never return.

In this novel, Silchas Ruin is a Tiste Andii Ascendant who can become a dragon. He had been stabbed in the back by his brother Scabandari long ago. Now Silchas leads a party of survivors to find the Finnest that holds the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye.

Seren Pedac is a Letherii Acquitor who carries a Tiste Edur sword. Trull Sengar had given it to her as a proposal of marriage, but she refuses to believe in the ritual. Seren had led Silchas and the others out of Letheras the City.

Fear Sengar is the eldest brother in the Sengar line. He is fleeing his brother Rhulad, who has been driven mad by the sword. Fear does believe that Seren is the betrothed of his brother Trull, even though they also believe Trull to be dead.

Udinaas is likewise fleeing the Emperor. Yet he is fleeing others as well, including Featherwitch and the Ascendant Menandore. He argues often with Fear, one of his former masters. Naturally, Fear is rather derogatory toward Udinaas.

Kettle is a youngster who has lived on the grounds of the Azath tower for many years. She came to the group with Silchas, but has since become a friend of Seren. Kettle no longer kills unsavory types to feed the Azath spirit.

Wither is a shadow wraith. The ghost of a Tiste Andii. He was the first to welcome Silchas back from the grave.

In this story, the Letherii are busily appropriating the powers of the Emperor. Triban Gnol encourages Rhulad to let him handle the everyday tasks that are too sordid for Imperial handling. At the same time, the Patriots are finding subversives everywhere and tossing them into prison, where they are tortured until finally confessing their wrongs.

The Liberty Consign of very rich men is becoming even richer. The middle class and the poor are becoming poorer. More and more of the population have become officially Indebted or dead.

Tehol and Bugg are busily setting up the collapse of the economy. Bugg Construction is building more and getting more loans. Coins are vanishing from circulation. Everybody else is becoming more nervous.

Meanwhile, the Awl'dan tribes have acquired a legendary leader and are fighting back against the Letheran intrusion. Redmask forces all the remaining tribes to fight under his command against the Letherii. The Awl successes make them more confident.

Then the Malazan Fourteenth Army reaches Lether. The Adjunct has told her troops that they have come to pay the Tiste Edur back for the depredations committed on Malazan territory. The troops are a bit skeptical about that explanation, but follow her orders anyway.

The Marines land on the western shore of Lether. The Adjuncts believes the Letherii to be ready to rebel against the Tiste Edur, but that happens not to be the case. The Marines soon learn the truth and vary their techniques. They are advancing rapidly toward Letheras the City, killing or driving the Tiste Edur and Letherii armies before them.

This tale is really the conclusion of Midnight Tides. Still, the Malazan would not have been in Lether without the happenings in The Bonehunters. Most of the dangling threads are nicely wrapped up in this story.

Nonetheless, the Malazans are still on the continent. More must be coming. But probably not in the next volume.

The story has more than the normal combat. The Fourteenth Army is flinging cussers and crossbow bolts at the natives. The Letherii Army is invading the Awl'dan plains. The Eastern Alliance is invading Lether. The Tiste Edur are becoming disenchanted over the whole thing. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Erikson fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of armed conflict, exotic magic, and revolution of the masses.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Another fantastic installment in Erikson's epic series. My personal favorite of the series is Memories of Ice, but Reaper's Gale comes very close to taking that spot. So many plot lines through the previous books start to come together here. Erikson's mastery of the military angle of his fantasy is highlighted in Reaper's Gale. The descriptions of the Malazan Marines invasion of and progress through Lether is some of the best military fantasy writing I have seen.

Despite its length (1260 pages for mmpb edition), this book flies by. You will not be disappointed.

As Erikson continues this series his stories become far more complex than the previous volumes. While not an easy, light fantasy the rewards of paying attention to everything from the poetry at the beginning of each chapter to the nuances of the characters (the many,many characters) makes the effort worthwhile. When first considering reading this series, I read a reveiw of the first book that described this body of work as a tapestry and find that it is an accurate description.

It might be an easier series of plotlines to follow if each chapter was consolidated from the many shorter scenes, but as presented it is a marvelous read. The depth of the characters is phenomemal and the story continues. I have just received my copy of Toll of the Hounds and look forward to as many more of this series as Mr. Erikson cares to write.