Memories of Ice

Well, it’s five days past my original minigoal but one day ahead of the revised one. Without staying up way too late on any given day, I’ve finished Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson.

When people ask me to describe this series, my brain freezes up and I just say “It’s cool. Read it.” It’s hard to find the words in a conversation that will encompass the story that I’ve read so far.

But I’ll try:

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a series that chronicles the expansion of the powerful Malazan Empire. Spanning across continents, the Malazans use brutal military efficiency, powerful magic and the mysterious Claw (assassins) to conquer people and bring peace to the lands.

At the beginning of the series, in Gardens of the Moon, you’re dropped in the middle of the action, and if you’re not willing to be confused for a couple hundred pages, you’re probably not going to enjoy them enough to go on. It’s worth it to struggle through, though, because the story picks up very quickly and there are a whole bunch of very interesting characters on both sides of the fence (and some right in the middle).

Deadhouse Gates is the second book and the best one I’ve read so far. It involves an uprising on one of the continents that the empire has already claimed and a desperate race for the Empire’s newest Fist, Coltaine, and an imperial historian, Duiker. They lead a horde of refugees across the continent, chased by rebels. But this is just one part of the story.

Memories of Ice is a continuation of Gardens of the Moon, with more plot development, new enemies and an actual bad guy! Some of the new characters are absolutely amazing and the development of some of the original characters is even better. Quick Ben and Ganoes Paran, in particular, are the characters I look forward to reading about in the future.

Hopefully, House of Chains will be as good as the rest of the series has been so far, but that’s to be read some time in the future.

Minigoal #3

For now, it’s on to Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. If it’s as good as I’ve heard, I should be able to whip right through it. However, since it’s over 800 pages as well, I’ll try to keep it realistic and say 10 days, which is 80 pages per day (which I believe is realistic). So, I will hope to have Kushiel’s Dart finished on February 4.

Also, there is just a sliver (maybe five pages) left in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which I hope will get finished on Friday, if not before.

Finally, I’m about three-quarters of the way done Eragon. If I can finish these two by the end of January (which I feel is very possible), I’m looking at having finished eight books in January, projecting out at 96 books this year.

I don’t believe I’ll be able to keep that up. Things happen and I know how it goes. Still, 8 books in a month is nothing to sneeze at.

Until next time.