My review of "Toll the Hounds", by Steven Erikson.
Anyone to have made it through the previous 7 books in this series should know Erickson very well by now. He takes his time telling these stories and makes no apologies about it. We spend many hundreds of pages getting to know characters and their circumstances before the big events start to unfold, and in doing so - those events weigh heavy when they finally do arrive. Each character we are introduced to is flushed out through many dimensions, giving us a glimpse of all of their humanities and inhumanities. Gods, men, and demons are all rendered with this fine-detail brush and the reader often comes away from these written encounters deeply touched and profoundly moved.
Without fail, Erikson's writing improves with each new volume. He is able to convey comedy, combat, drama, and wit with equal quality - important skills that keep the ready engaged through the nearly 1000 pages of "Toll the Hounds".
While every book ultimately portrays epic events in the fantastical world Erikson has created, "Toll the Hounds" - miraculously - manages to raise the bar yet again and before the last page is turned, many large and gasp-worthy changes will have been wrought.
With only two more books to read in the series ("The Dust of Dreams" is already available and the final volume, "The Crippled God", is shortly forthcoming), I can only hold my breath and plunge forward with trust that while in Erikson's capable hands, I will not be disappointed.
Anyone to have made it through the previous 7 books in this series should know Erickson very well by now. He takes his time telling these stories and makes no apologies about it. We spend many hundreds of pages getting to know characters and their circumstances before the big events start to unfold, and in doing so - those events weigh heavy when they finally do arrive. Each character we are introduced to is flushed out through many dimensions, giving us a glimpse of all of their humanities and inhumanities. Gods, men, and demons are all rendered with this fine-detail brush and the reader often comes away from these written encounters deeply touched and profoundly moved.
Without fail, Erikson's writing improves with each new volume. He is able to convey comedy, combat, drama, and wit with equal quality - important skills that keep the ready engaged through the nearly 1000 pages of "Toll the Hounds".
While every book ultimately portrays epic events in the fantastical world Erikson has created, "Toll the Hounds" - miraculously - manages to raise the bar yet again and before the last page is turned, many large and gasp-worthy changes will have been wrought.
With only two more books to read in the series ("The Dust of Dreams" is already available and the final volume, "The Crippled God", is shortly forthcoming), I can only hold my breath and plunge forward with trust that while in Erikson's capable hands, I will not be disappointed.
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Amazon link.
He said that his characters are incredibly well developed and multi-dimensional as well.