by Else
(This is the fifth installment in an ongoing series. You can find the first four parts here.)
It is time to tackle the beast that is Midnight Tides, which once again throws us into the deep end. It starts in a previously unknown part of the world with new characters, new settings, new magic systems even, and new action. Finally it is time to meet the Tiste Edur find out what is going on over there.
The Tiste Edur live on a continent in the Malazan world that we haven’t seen yet. They share borders with the Letherii, a kingdom looking to expand their borders. The Letherii seem to have set their eyes on the Tiste Edur next, but they might have bitten off more than they can chew.
This book features one of my favourite, and universally beloved, duos: Tehol and Bugg. Tehol is a destitute Letherii who lives on his roof, and he might be a genius. Bugg is his manservant.
Steven Erikson really uses this book to lash out at capitalism, colonialism and expansionism, with the Letherii kingdom (soon to be Empire) as the ‘main’ villain. The Letherii society is riddled with the Indebted, people who have acquired debts and have to work (their whole lives and their childrens’ whole lives) to clear those debts.
While this book is a huge break from the story so far, it is absolutely necessary to read this one before diving into The Bonehunters – for which I will have a longer analysis, because at the point of writing I’ve finished both Midnight Tides and The Bonehunters already and am halfway through Reaper’s Gale (talk about procrastinating writing these blogs, oops).
