Memories of Ice

"Memories ofIce" is the name of the third book of Steve Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series and its also the book that I've just finished. Like the second and first books of the series, it is beyond awesome, beyond words, really. You just need to drop everything and start reading this series. It is literally the best that epic fantasy has to offer.

Through the ups and downs of the election just past, when I had to deal with the very real fear that America was going to choose to continue the disasters of the last eight years, I was able to survive by playing with my kids of course (kids are the best means for restoring sanity that I know, they are so "in the now" that they can't help but pull an adult out of his abstractions and distractions) but also by sitting down and enjoying a section or two of "Memories of Ice".

I've said it before, Steven Erikson is a Genius, and Memories of Ice does not disappoint. All of the main characters from the first book return and are expanded and built upon. By the end of the book, when Erikson decides to kill off a character that has been there from the beginning and was easy to love, it felt like a punch to the gut! But satisfying, the scene in which this character dies can stand toe to toe with the best that movies have to offer and the epic story that unfolds in the 913 pages of this story would foil any attempt to turn them into movies. It just shouldn't be done... best to reward only those who put the investment into reading them.

So, what next? I've got a ton of books on my stack from many of my favorite authors... but Steven Erikson has me firmly in his grasp. Today, over lunch, I'll be starting book four! :-)

Ken