[HalfTere]

I've burned throught he first 7 MBotF books, and now I'm feeling kind of tired of them. I was after the first 3 too, but House of Chains was fresh enough and represented an improvement in SE's writing such that I got back into it. Is Toll the Hounds the same, or is it a little more marginal, and something that I can stand to put off?

[Battalion]

I honestly didn't think it was that great. There are a few really really good scenes and of course it's vital to the story as a whole, but I admit that I found the book slow and at times boring.
It's worth reading just for the dynamite ending.

[Optimus Prime]

I thought, overall, that the book was terrific.

Some didn't like the different tone of writing and the "slower" start however.

I think it's top 3 book of the series.

[Agraba]

Keep in mind HalfTere, your opinion is going to be different from a lot of people who respond to you here. Most people consider books 2 or 3 their favorite, while #4 falls low in people's rankings. Maybe you have different taste from them.

TtH doesn't improve from RG in pace or the magnitude of events, but it does take a big step up in prose and writing style IMO. It also focuses deeper into characters than the other books, I think.

[Skywalker]

HalfTere- I had absolutely loved HoC (thought it was up there with DG, slightly behind MT and MOI) so I think we see eye to eye more than those that think HoC was weak.

If you thought Bonehunters and RG were weak, TtH is more of the same. It reads much better the second time around than the first, because it is not a book you can just plow through eager to get to what builds up to be (and is) a powerhouse ending.

That said, if you are feeling tired, and read this at a nice slow pace, you will like it. In many ways, the structure is similar to RG... there is a central locale (Letheras/ Darujhistan) and a slightly secondary locale (Awl'dan/ Coral). There is a sub-plot that seems... standalone. There are omens and powerful entities hanging around, and it all goes to hell in the end.

I say take it up, but go slow, fully aware that the first ~650 pages are simply set up for the last 150, which are pow-wow.

[tiam]

Worth reading but id say worth its wait in gold on a reread. Found it was brilliant (not MOI or DG or MT) on a reread simply because you take more in. i suppose it depends on how far into the world of malaz you are *cough i know i sound like a pretenshous (?) twat cough* but if your invested into the series enough id say read it once, hate it like many ppl did like Battalion, then read it again. Alot more philosophising this time round but still good action aswell

[ShadowOwl]

Totally agree - upon rereading it, I found a lot of very cool things I had missed or not understood on the first read. I think knowing the ending really helps on rereading, as you look for more info to back up/explain the reasons for what happened. I liked it a lot better after read #2.

[Grief]

Umm, how is toll the hounds...Hard question.

Would tasty with barbecue sauce be helpful?

[Aptorian]

Do you remember that scene from Pulp Fiction where Vincent Vega (Travolta) is buing the drugs from the dealer?

Toll the Hounds is a fucking madman

[Hokonoso]

if you disliked RG you will like TtH imo as my guess is if you made it this far it is because you like certain characters stories and most of the characters left out in RG are main stars in TtH so yeah... imo it was a great book.

[Old Hunch Arbat]

I thought TtH was superb, and the best book in the series thus far. Not only is the "story" good I think that SE's writing is getting better.

I am astonished, at times, by SE's grasp of writing technique (and I'll quote some examples when I re-read the book) as well as by his grasp of the human condition. This is the first book where I've paid very careful attention to the philosophical musings of his characters and the reading experience was the better for it. I think that SE is actually getting to the point where his writing could be considered "great." For example, while recently on vacation I read TtH and Anatole France's "And the Gods Will Have Blood." The writing is comparable. And don't you think that, seredipity would have it, that I just happened to grab those 2 books to read during my vacation?

OHA

[Gem Windcaster]

I loved it. Every kruppe-drenched, well-written inch of it. I can only hope the next one is as good.

[Hokonoso]

yes my favorite part is kruppe vs pust as that is an event of epic proportions!!!

[Old Hunch Arbat]

Hokonoso;370516 said:

yes my favorite part is kruppe vs pust as that is an event of epic proportions!!!

I started to describe this event to my wife and daughter, both of whom have read up to RG. It was enough to describe the ... *charge* of the war mules to reduce them to tears. Further descriptions of the event had them pissing themselves with laughter, with not a lot of help from my not very literary description of it. How Pust became Magus of HHS (and events proceding thereafter) also had them in hysterics..."You delegated?!"

Terrific read and I've just started again.

OHA

[cerveza_fiesta]

Great so far, I'm about midway through book 2 and reading it very slow. I haven't had time to fart this summer, let alone read a chapter, but what I've read so far I really like

Agree very much with the comments about the writing style. I saw hints of it in RG, but it really seems like SE pulled an entirely new style out of his ass for this one. The pacing, character descriptions, dialogue, jumpy-aroundiness, all much improved.

[zwitterion]

Skywalker;369702 said:

If you thought Bonehunters and RG were weak, TtH is more of the same. It reads much better the second time around than the first, because it is not a book you can just plow through eager to get to what builds up to be (and is) a powerhouse ending.

Actually I was almost ready to stop reading after BH and RG, but TtH blew me away. Thinking of RG specifically as it's most fresh in my memory, it seemed like the series was running critically short on steam, chopping between perspectives like a kid with OCD on mountain dew, throwing characters together in a desperate attempt to create some sort of pace and significance for the reader.

TtH is the first time since DG that I remembered why I love SE's books; because he's a bloody good writer, the whole panoply of fantasy invention aside. TtH I feel transcended its doorstop-epic-fantasy form more than any book I've read in the genre, and became a novel which used its figures, settings and stories to create a profound journey through human experience. The narrative in this book finds a rhythm which was completely absent in the last few, drawing you along rather than tiring out and boring you, and the content is illuminating from a plot point of view (less irritating obscurantist dialog than we're used to, far more background for and detail of its major characters).

Most importantly however, I felt less like I was reading an indulgent piece of role player's fancy than a book which used its fantastical constructions to explore universal themes of the human condition, and, as far as I was concerned anyway, do that powerfully well.

[Deragoth]

Optimus Prime;369630 said:

I thought, overall, that the book was terrific.

Some didn't like the different tone of writing and the "slower" start however.

I think it's top 3 book of the series.

The slower start lasted 750 pages. I am not a fan of this book.

[MecnunK]

[SPOILER WARNING]..................

I just finished it but will probably re-read it at some point to get a better perspective. It took me 2 months plus to finish the book which is testament to the slow pace of the book. There is only so much philosophising, psychology of the human mind and commentary on social structures that I can stomach in a fantasy book. This book is full of it and although it is very well done, it detracts from the story overall in my opinion. Some may argue that it provides depth to characters but mostly it is the sidekicks or even never to be seen again characters that get the treatment. There is definitive change in style of writing from previous books, some of it refreshing but perhaps some well overdone specifically the address to the readers which in no way forwards the story but rather seeks to explain, lecture...and at points I felt patronize. From this perspective I felt that the book transcends fantasy and the story itself which is not too bad a thing. One way to look at it would be to consider filling up the pages to get to one explosive end....

Having said all that I think SE deserves his artistic license in this one having given us at least 6 brilliant books so far in the series. Certainly appreciated Karsa being humbled a bit however you have to feel for mappo, poor bastard has been running around for 2 books now without an end to his journey. Expected a bit more from the tyrant but he meekly let himself be captured by the azath. Raest gets funnier and had me laughing as does antsy. luckily kruppe wasnt given that much airspace as i thought any more flowery floundering from him would have totally ruined it. I also thought there would be some seguleh thread but alas no..

In conclusion a slow and a verbose style for most of the book with an explosive ending and a few mysteries get solved along the way. 6/10.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

I agree with much of Mecnunk's post.

I found the parts in Darujhistan to be a trying read, with the later stages in Coral a close second. Kruppe was clearly narrating the portions in Darujhistan and he takes nearly as long to communicate through the narrative as he does in normal conversation.

I didn't see any of the sort of hanging questions and mysteries common to the series either, at least not ones important enough to stand out on a first read. The bigger disappoint may have been how a question or two from other books were answered in an off the cuff manner that seemed like he was just throwing the readers a bone.

In all it was a decent read, but far short of HoC or the Bonehunters.

[Epiph]

Stylistically, it is, by far, Erikson's best, and my favorite book of the series to date. Really cements my expectation for a bangin' conclusion.

I thought the pacing was perfect, although I understand why some people are complaining about it. It was very...uh...literary, which slowed the pace down, but gained momentum relentlessly. To be fair, my other favorite genre of fiction is literary...so a marriage of my two reasons for reading fiction is definitely going to win me over.