Memories of Ice (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 3) Mass Market Paperback – August 1, 2006

Where to start on a review for this book/series? I mean with something on the epic scale and imagination as this story, characters, and world building. The Mythology of the world alone is on such a epic scale. So much to comprehend.All I have been hearing since I started reading Fantasy again in 2011 is “you have to read Malazan!” So I finally listened and started. I think I have a new obsession. I can now see what everyone has been going on and on about for all this time. I am hooked and I now need more! So yes I will be continuing this series, and I can’t wait! I know more greatness awaits and I am highly anticipating the journey to come.Overall a great read. I was entertained, I loved the epic sprawling world created here, and I want to go right into the next book and get more from this series. This might not be for everyone but after starting this series, I know it is for me.I liked the first two books, but this book is quite on another level. I loved it. A magnificent read. The only thing I can think to describe it is a mind blowing. Everything is just so rich and complex, and such a joy to wrap your mind around. Such fantastic and intriguing characters. That reminds me of a question I always seem to get asked when I post these reviews. Who are your favorite characters from this book? So a new section in my Malazan reviews. FAVORITE CHARACTERS FROM THIS BOOK: I love me some Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, crazy necromancers? Yes please. Others are Ganoes Paran, Anomander Rake, and of course Kruppe!As you know if you have read my reviews before I am not about long reviews with synopsis and spoilers. I just give my opinion on my experience with this book and you can take it from there. Now on to the next book.5/5 Stars! - Mighty Thor JRS

Memories of Ice is far and away the best of this series so far. I was very happy to see so many familiar names listed under Dramatis Personae. I really enjoyed the Bridgeburners in the first book, so I was happy to see them featuring prominently in this particular book. Another favorite of mine had been Tattersail, and I was eager to see how her reincarnation, Silverfox, would come across.This book picks up more or less where Gardens of the Moon left off, since the events of book two took place elsewhere, and I believe, at around the same time. I was easily drawn into the plot, with the alliance between Caladan Brood, the Tiste Andii, and the Bridgeburners, against the new threat of the Pannion Seer.New characters were quickly easy to like. Gruntle and his companions were entertaining at first, and later, incredibly compelling. I initially had trouble warming up to Karnadas, the Destriant of the Grey Swords, but I liked Itkovian right away. He was shown very quickly to be a man of discipline, honor, and a rare compassion. The way he treated soldiers under him really stood out to me and made him probably my favorite in the story, which is saying a great deal when competing with people like Whiskeyjack and Tool.I appreciate the depth and introspection that is explored through all of these characters. It's a rare thing to find in an epic fantasy series. Through the most brutal battle scenes, even, one can find unexpected meaning. I'm not usually big on reading combats, but this author does it better than any I know.I feel that saying much would ruin the story. There were numerous turns of events that I was not expecting. There are schemes going on, which is to be expected of Whiskeyjack and Dujek One-arm, naturally. The way everything comes together is the best part of this series, to me. There were also some heartbreaking events. One that I was expecting, so I'd steeled myself against it, but was still brought to tears when it finally came. Another that I really didn't see coming, and it hit me hard.Although these books are not for everyone, I feel the way everything is set up and the way the elements interact with one another, they are heartwrenching perfection.

Memories of Ice is a 900+ epic fantasy novel by Canadian author Steven Erikson. Three-dimensional characters and gritty realism enrich this story. The plot combines Lord of the Rings battle scenes and the desolation of Mordor, Game of Thrones without the endless graphic sex, and an imaginary world similar to Perdido Street Station. This is the third book in the 10-book series The Malazan Book of the Fallen, but the only one I enjoyed enough to purchase for a reread.The story centers on characters opposing a religious zealot bent on world domination and a Crippled God manipulating the destruction from afar. The plot is complex, often unnecessarily so, and the cast of characters expansive (there are four pages of named characters in the book’s front matter). Yet the author’s writing is strong enough to draw the reader through the story.The main characters are deftly portrayed and compelling: a veteran soldier Whiskeyjack who longs for peaceful retirement; Ganoes Panon, a nobleman trying to avoid the gods and earn the respect of his squad; Gruntle, a caravan guard who becomes much more from the pressure of war; a knight named Itkovian whose compassion stole my heart, and Lady Envy, a vain sorceress with a droll sense of humor.Struggling to survive when attacked by the religious zealot and his cannibal followers, and the survival of the entire world if they can’t stop the Crippled God’s poisoning of the earth, create compelling stakes. The tension from these high stakes kept me turning pages.My emotional reaction to the story was the most resonant aspect of the novel. I literally cried at the funeral scene after the novel’s climax. Intense battle scenes are balanced with hilarious dialogue. Exchanges between the caravan captain Gruntle and a guard, Stonny:“If he’s smart he’ll quit that contract.”“Well, none of us are as smart as you, Stonny.”“Don’t I know it.”Stonny is one of many strong and interesting female characters. Although most of the leads are male, the women steal the story when they’re on the page. Here’s more dialogue between (female) Corporal Picker and her scout Blend:“No doubt there’s a tale there.”“Indeed, but it’s not relevant.”“Meaning you don’t know it.”“Precisely.”The prose itself was another pleasure, equal parts poetry and true-to-life realism:The rain was abating, the dawn’s steel smear pushing through heavy clouds to the east, the wind falling off into fitful gusts.Midges swarmed the tall-grass prairie, the grainy black clouds tumbling over the faded, wavering green. Oxen bellowed and moaned in their yokes, their eyes covered with clusters of the frenzied insects.I don’t really understand the magical warrens, which functioned as portals, or entire multiverse-worlds, or as sources of magic, or all of the above. Some characters died and stayed dead, others came back to life through these portals, and there were undead characters as well. At times this hand-waving was too convenient, though it worked most of the time in this book.Memories of Ice is a satisfying reading experience with strong characterization and emotional resonance.