I am still going strong on my Malazan reread, taking my time reading these beasts, and enjoying them. Finally I have come to my favourite book of the series, Reaper’s Gale. This is the book I keep going back to, you know, if I want tot feel something. Even if that feeling is despair.
This book being my absolute favourite is almost completely based on the ending, which manages to traumatise me again and again and again, every single reread. I love the ending so much, I even have a bookmark in my physical copy of this book at one of the scenes that kills me time and time again. Just so I can go back and break my heart whenever I want to.
I’ve been doing my reread on audiobook this whole time. This is not advisable if this is your first time reading Malazan: you need your entire brain capacity to follow the story, and physical books are just better for that in my opinion. But perfect for a reread. Let me tell you, I started the end sequence of this book while on my way to work at the time, and when I arrived at work, my colleagues were worried about me. I was (once again) traumatised. The way Erikson just manages to dump heartache upon heartache on you is a pleasure to read. And then he also gets you to laugh three pages later, while the tears are still rolling down your face.
For Reaper’s Gale, we return to Letherii and the Tiste Edur. The Tiste Edur now rule the Letherii empire, but are they really the ones in charge? We also hang out with our friends the Bonehunters again this book. I really love the Bonehunters. If anyone has a good design of their sigil, please send it to me. I’ve seen loads of Bridgeburner sigils, but I am still looking for the perfect Bonehunters one. Unfortunately my own art skills are limited to stick figure drawings, so I cannot make one myself.
There is not much more to say without spoilers, but my heart is broken and I need a break before starting Toll the Hounds. For Toll the Hounds, there is a shift in the feel of the book. This can be either a hit or a miss for people, but Erikson wrote it dedicated to his dad who died while writing it, so it is all about the grief. Brace yourself, we are going back to Darujhistan for that one.
