**SPOILERS**
After 50-80 pages that it took to settle into the different POVS, I found myself thoroughly enjoying stonewielder and each of its myriad plotlines. Throughout the first "book" ('The Sea') and the Second ('The Land'), I was hooked. This novel, I thought, while not quite so outstanding as Erikson's efforts could stand proudly alongside them on my book-shelf. But about half-way through the third part of Stonewielder I started to worry. There was not much book left, and to my mind still a lot of ground to cover. I expected revealations and background on the storm-riders and the lady, and some impressive epic sequences to finish it all off and leave me stunned and awed. I didn't get any of this. I learnt pretty much NOTHING about the storm-riders (except they're after the chests, and they're Liosan??) and bugger all about the Lady. Graymane ran off, swung a sword into some rock, and a wall fell down. *Ding!* All done. Why was he given the sword, what exactly was the sword? The lady did nothing more than whinge and throw a temper-tantrum and then apparently blink out of existence. A confrontation was sorely needed with her. The Ivanr and Assessor plotlines seemed to come to very little, though it was nice that they both came out doing well. And after all that the Malazans packed up and went home.
What a disappointing ending to what had been a really enjoyable book. This was the only time I did not feel blown away by the ending to a Malazan novel. I was so underwhelmed I actually put the book down and started fantasising about a better ending. Maybe the lady could have sent someone to stop graymane, or perhaps have acted directly against him herself? I loved the part with Skinner stealing a chest, and would liked to have seen other CG agents turn up for at least one of the other two chests. I assume they were just as important to the CG as the one Skinner took, and it would have knitted in Stonewielder even tighter with TCG, and raised the awesome factor a few notches. Maybe while Kyle and co. were fighting the Stormguard, a disavowed could have gated in and started hacking at everyone. Ah well, I can dream.
This post has been edited by Bombur: 09 February 2011 - 09:22 AM