Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson (Bantam Press)

As a huge lover of the books written by Steven Erikson, I was eager to get my hands on the copy of Reaper’s Gale, the seventh volume in the epic series ‘A Tale of Malazan Book of the Fallen’. Especially the first three books had such a grip on me, that I could not lay them down, I read the second installment ‘Deadhouse Gates’ in two days for example. Unfortunately, the books have dwindled in quality since then, the same can be said of his latest book. At the end of the Bonehunters, there were many questions left unanswered, so picking up the book I felt that pang of anticipation, hoping those plotlines would be picked up and continued in great fashion.After book six, we have this large set of forces, massing together in the capital of the Lether, Letheras. Knowing that Erikson is at his best in those large-scale battles, this book could only be thrilling. Yet, Erikson pulled off the very opposite.If you wanted to quickly summarize the situation at the start of the seventh book, it would be like this (potential Bonehunters spoilers!):

Icarium, companied by Taralack Veed and Karsa Orlong, companied by the witch Samar Dev arrive in the capital Letheras. Rhulad Sengar, Emperor the Lether continent (with the exception of a few remote areas) is still pretty much in charge, albeit isolated from his own people, the Tiste Edur. Tehol and Bugg are in good shape, continuing there grand scheme. Fear Sengar has fled out of Letheras, in the company of Seren Pedac, Udinaas, Kettle and the now free ascendant Silchas Ruin. Meanwhile Trull, Onrack and Quick Ben are recuperating in the realm of Shadow. The outcasts of the Malazan Empire, the Fourteenth Army, also named ‘the Bonehunters’ come to pay a visit to Letheras and its Emperor of Thousand Deaths.

Without spoiling the events in Reaper’s Gale, it can be said that this book is not Steven Erikson’s best book by far. Overall, his writing style has improved; the writing feels very natural and flows in a smooth way. Yet the book seems to suffer from a ‘filler-ish’ kind of structure, about 200 to 300 pages could have been cut out resulting in the same sort of ending. For instance, Steven Erikson sets up a new plotline, but in the aftermath when the plotline is ‘resolved’ it all seems very pointless and actually ends in an anti-climax. It is in many ways characteristic of the book; it has great potential but in the end, Erikson makes a most peculiar choice twisting the plotline, leaving the reader rather disappointed with the result.

In addition to the various ‘plot holes’, the balance of power shifts continually and this causes a lot of confusion. Ascendants are not as powerful as their ‘legacy’ suggests, and mere mortals are able to bring them down with the help of some magic or explosives.

Also, the death of a mortal seems be by no means final (unless Hood comes to claim its soul himself), as Erikson always has some resurrection up his sleeve. In that sense, I think Erikson uses the ‘deus-ex-machina’ a bit too much and this affects the realism of the story overall.

The Tehol and Bugg storyline takes a darker turn and it does seem to suffer from that, the typical humor of the two is not as present as one would have liked.

Yet, if you are willing to believe some few unexpected twists and are not bothered by a loosely plotted novel, Erikson still has the goods to offer. His way of describing tactics in battles is still unprecedented amongst other (fantasy) authors and the Malazan’s invasion of Letheras is one brimming with adventure. Many characters seem to grow more in their role, like Fiddler, Bottle, Tarr, Koryk, Smiles and (the weird if hilarious) Hellian. The way in which the Fourteenth conducts their business is very reminiscent of the Bridgeburners, and likewise has that same sort of vibe as the first three books had.

So in all, I was not impressed as much as I hoped with this novel, nonetheless it is a good effort and manages to build up anticipation (once again) for the next one, Toll of Hounds, set in the areas known as Darujhistan and Black Coral. Therefore, I would rate it:

7 out of 10