"Midnight Tides" (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 5) by Steven Erikson

 

Author : Steven Erikson

Description : Midnight Tides is the fifth book of Steven Erikson's 10-volume series The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Unlike other multi-volume big-book fantasy writers, Erikson's production has been consistent: about a volume per year and he has completed 7, of which five are available through his US publisher, Tor.

This book is somewhat different in tone and feel from the first four. This is partly because it introduces the third main story thread of the series after the Genabackis and Seven Cities plotlines from previous books. There are other major differences.

First, the action occurs before the events of volumes 1-4. Second, the characters, other than one from book four, House of Chains, are entirely new. Third, the story focuses on a distinct conflict between two peoples -- the Tiste Edur of the northlands and the human empire Letheras that seeks to expand and conquer. Fourth, the two sides are shown through two major families, the four Sengar brothers (Fear the elder, Trull the dutiful, Binadas the mysterious, Rhulad the covetous) of the Edur, and the three human Beddict brothers (Hull, who has been broken by his past; Tehol, who is an eccentric genius; and Brys the King's champion). Erikson displays family relations, political alignments within the two societies, bonds between brothers and the separate societies through these two lenses. This is one of the most emotionally charged books of the series.

Unlike Gardens of the Moon, which basically started after a cataclysmic event and revealed details of the situation later, Midnight Tides has a set beginning -- the Warlock King who has united the Edur tribes seeks a powerful talisman to maintain control, while the Letheras empire threatens to conquer the whole continent. Within this background are the numerous story threads in each Erikson book: political intrigue, gods and monsters interacting with "normal" people and references to the overall arc of the story which Erikson started to divulge in book 3. And of course, there's plenty of action: from small parties fighting in the arctic wilderness to major military battles.

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