SFF Readalongs led by Kitty G discussion

This is for discussion for ALL of Memories of Ice.

What did you think of the book?
What would you rate it?
Will you keep on going with the books?
How does it compare to the previous books?
Who were your favourite characters?

Just tell me everything you thought about this book, good or bad down below and feel free to link your review :)

Thank you for taking part!

Okay okay so I have finished up the book earlier this evening and I am rating it a 4.5*s because whilst it was a great improvement over the previous 2 I felt like the Mhybe's storyline was a bit too annoying at times for me and that slightly bought those sections down.

However I have to say that the resolution of the book was very dramatic and I have no doubt I will be forgetting things in this post because SO much happened.

So firstly, Toc is not dead!!! Yay! And is now in the body of Anaster (the child of the Dead seed). He was put there by Togg who is a wolf God who now rules the land where the Mhybe lives which was created by Silverfox... A lot was clearly going on all at once!
I am super happy that Toc is not out of the story because when he 'died' in Gardens I was really upset and then when he came back in 'Memories' I was happy and then he was tortured and the Wolf took over and I was super sad again, but now he's back, in a new body, and although he doesn't remember everything, he's free from the horrors he experienced (at least for now!).

I loved seeing Tool going in and fighting to save Toc because I loved the way that the two of them were together and I felt that they made such a great duo. I really enjoyed it when Tool was battling to save Toc and was so worried if Mok would hurt him (which luckily he didn't) and I also really enjoyed Tool being reunited with his sister T'lann.

Lady Envy and her storyline was always a little odd because she kind of means well and she knows what she wants but at the same time she's a hard one to fully understand and I definitely think she plays to her own rules. She was totally unfazed by the raging battle all around her and seeing that was just insane because she dealt with everything so calmly and serenely (I think she's a little insane).

Seeing the Bridgeburners get their share of the money and being able to retire off on their own story and lives was a really touching moment and I loved the fact that they stuck together the whole way through and fought on to the bitter end. Although I am sad that Whiskeyjack seems to be dead for good I think the others in the crew are still all interesting and I wonder if they will truly retire and do their own thing or stay involved with the main story.

I really was sad by Itkovian's death too because he took on the burden of so many and he suffered through it and I did think he would be able to pull through despite everything. It seems, however, that that was not to be and therefore we have the Itkovian's Gift Barrow which was made by the T'lann Imass after he'd taken their burdens.
I loved seeing the conversation between the T'lann and Itkovian as he never could say exactly why he was taking their burdens from them, but his sacrifice allowed them all to take a new path and hopefully make a better way forward in the future. I really didn't take too much notice of Itkovian at the beginning but by the end I really enjoyed his character and seeing how he went was sad for sure.

Paran's story as a whole was really interesting and seeing him learn more about how to control the deck of Dragons more and use it was good. I do hope that we will still continue to see more of him (he does seem pretty integral to the plot after all) and that there will be a lo more for him to learn, decide and take part in.

Gruntle's story seems like it's begun, but it has so much more that it can become and I really loved seeing him evolve over the course of the book and how he became a leader whether by intention or not. I definitely believe he'll be back in the game soon.

Seeing the Gods and their interferences within this book was great too and so much happened because of them that I have no doubt will only be expanded upon as things go on. Of course we still have the Crippled God to deal with as he's not defeated just yet, and there's surely a lot more to come there.

Seeing the Wolf Gods and the Rhivi and the Mhybe in the world that Silverfox made was great because I felt the whole way through that I knew Silverfox was not as bad or nasty as the Mhybe was making her out to be and I was sure she was trying her best for the Mhybe. I definitely wonder what the Wolf Gods will do and if they will stay out of the game or get involved further down the line. I know the Mhybe is supposed to just sleep the rest of the time and stay in that world, but whether this will remain true or not is yet to be seen.

On the whole as I say I am certain there's a lot I've forgotten to talk about but those are the things which made the biggest impression on me over all and I definitely enjoyed the book.

My full review and overview is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Before I go to my overall thoughts, how good is that Epilogue? Raest is absolutely hilarious (especially with the hindsight of how all powerful a Tyrant he was) and I will love to see more scenes between him and Paran. And after the really emotional Chapter 25, Duiker (we know he'll be resurrected) is going to make us all weep again.. "To break your hearts once more. This is the story of the Chain of Dogs.."

To wrap up MOI...
I cannot forget about Shield Anvil, Itkovian. That is probably the storyline that affected me the most. Yes, Whiskeyjack's ending was truly tragic and one can't help feeling that his fall happened too soon. The one scene regarding Whiskeyjack's death which saddened me the most was when Mallet realises it was the leg.

The compassion and sacrifice of Itkovian, however, absolutely shattered me. Even the T'lan Imass could not comprehend how and why one single mortal can do this. The scene of his barrow was very apt and so beautifully done.

Regarding Silverfox, my personal opinion is that her storyline with Mhybe suffered from lack of communication. Why did she not say something instead of just allowing her mother to descend into a complete wreck?

Really loving the new-found partnership of Quick Ben and Paran. Plus I am dying with curiosity to know what Paran's blessing of the Bridgeburners on Moon's Spawn will result in. Ascension anyone?

I really feel sad leaving this cast of characters in Book 4, and understand we won't be seeing them until Book 6: The Bonehunters.

TS wrote: "Before I go to my overall thoughts, how good is that Epilogue? Raest is absolutely hilarious (especially with the hindsight of how all powerful a Tyrant he was) and I will love to see more scenes ..."

I adored the Itkovian storyline, so wonderful and heart-wrenching!

I agree it's going to be sad not to see these characters for a little while as they're a GREAT host of personalities. Hopefully some other exciting characters will be thrown into the mix too though!

Having just finished the book, the last chapter was so dense it left my head spinning. This was a fantastic read and is my favorite of the series thus far. I love the Bridgeburners and hope this is not the end for them. Picker opening a bar inside the elder gods temple that scares off the townsfolk from attending was hilarious. Hopefully her bar will find success down the road.

One issue not touched upon was that of adding or rejecting the Crippled God to the deck. It was a focus for a little section of the book and seems to be a major moment in the Malazan story, yet it was not resolved in this book. I look for the repercussions of Paran's decision once it is made.

As I mentioned I loved the bookend cannot wait for April 1st to start the next tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen!

Alex wrote: "Having just finished the book, the last chapter was so dense it left my head spinning. This was a fantastic read and is my favorite of the series thus far. I love the Bridgeburners and hope this is..."

Woop woop! Yay Alex so glad you loved it too! It was indeed a very cool book and I totally forgot to mention Paran's decision but agree it will be epic whatever choice he makes... hopefully we'll find out soon!

I was assuming a choice would have been made in MOI considering the next book is titled House of Chains and was surprised when the decision did not happen.

Alex wrote: "I was assuming a choice would have been made in MOI considering the next book is titled House of Chains and was surprised when the decision did not happen."

Judging from the synopsis of Book 4 and 5, it seems we're not going back to the cast of MOI until Book 6.

Somehow I think the Chains referred to in Book 4 might be related to the Chain of Dogs as we head back to the desert.

Memories of Ice is a wild book to say the least. It's chaotic, heartbreaking, and doing what Malazan does best, showing the best and worst of humanity to it's very most extremes, even if many of the players aren't human.

The world is constantly expanding, and even if we're heading back to Genabackis, there is always more to learn. This is the first book to overtly involve The Crippled God, whereas I believe it had a single mention in Deadhouse Gates and Gardens of the Moon. The Crippled God will continue to be a growing presence as the series pushes forward.

This is also the first time I believe that we directly experience the K'Chain Che'Malle, some damn fierce creatures to say the least, and while on the surface they may seem pretty straightforward, they are anything but.

It's a book that is full of powerful, heartbreaking, and thrilling moments, not that this is a rarity for this series. Like Quick Ben meeting Bauchelain and Korbal Broach.

'Thank you. I'll not deny I am impressed by your mastery of six warrens, Quick.Ben. In
retrospect, you should have held back on at least half of what you command.' The man made to rise.
'But, Bauchelain,' the wizard replied, 'I did.'

Or the death of Hedge when he faces down a charging K'Chain Che'Malle by himself. He has that line that says he's been waiting for this, like he's always been wondering what being killed by the munitions he used so often would be like. And that moment, that to me is so Hemingway-ian:

The sapper threw the cusser straight down.

Such a simple sentence carries such an emotional. Beyond this we have the rest of the massacred Bridgeburners, each death a punch to the gut, a grip at the throat. I absolutely hated seeing them get slaughtered. But look what it took: a horde of K'Chain Che'Malle, nothing no human army can truly stand up much to.

And to cap it all off is the death of Whiskeyjack. There's more to be said about that, but not at this moment. But its a moment that is perfectly reacted to by Anomander Rake when the chase begins for Kallor.

'When you do, leave him alive. He has earned Dragnipur.'

Never has such doom been uttered from a mouth as that statement. That is the voice of a man who lost a dear friend. Which leads me to some of the happier moments of the novel, or at least bittersweet. Like Rake and Whiskeyjack's friendship. I dug the hell out of that. It was a relationship between two people who couldn't really afford to let others get close to them, to relate to them. They were outsiders to peoples that adored them. And finding that closeness and comraderie in eachother was something special.

Then there's Toc and Tool, and I honestly don't know what to say about that pair. Toc I think goes through the craziest journey through these books. But that friendship cultivated between those two is something else. And there are so many levels to it. There's a line in a later novel about these two that just thinking about it makes me want to cry.

Erikson just crafts beautiful bromances. His romances are come and go, Whiskeyjack and Korlat is the one I think worked the best, but his bromances are legendary. Toc and Tool, Fiddler and Hedge, Quick Ben and Kalam, and there are more to come, especially in Midnight Tides, in there lies the bromance to end all bromances.

Itkovian, what is there to say about this guy? Other than 'I am not yet done.' Trust me, you aren't either.

And that moment when Paran was in Moon's Spawn remembering all the dead Bridgeburners. And he blesses them. Up until then, the death of the Bridgeburners had me in shock. It wasn't until this moment when the floodgates really opened for me. I'll never forget it.

There's really too much to recall in a single post like this. I'll just say its an incredible book with more than plenty of great moments.

As TS said, it will be a bit before many of the threads from this book are picked back up. The true sequel to Gardens of the Moon (that will make you think about that book in a very different light) and Memories of Ice won't come until a bit later.

Anyway, stellar book, glad you guys dug it.

It's a very neat thing when later books in a series make earlier ones even better, which I think is a rarity in fiction. I won't state my example specifically, but I'm slowly making my way through Dust of Dreams right now, the 9th book in the series. And in that book, there is a pretty heavy recall of something (that at the time I felt was while cool, relatively minor)that happened in Memories of Ice. And it just makes this book way more rad.

Ah I was just waiting for your post to appear here. It's always well-written and encapsulates what I feel about the book very well. One can see very clearly how much you love the Malazan series.

As much as I love the Chain of Dogs and Mappo-Icarium storylines in DG, as a whole I love MoI much more. The relationships were stellar to say the least - Whiskeyjack and Rake, Whiskeyjack and Korlat, Toc and Tool, Paran and his Bridgeburners, Gruntle and Stormy, Itkovian and his faith.

The sapper threw the cusser straight down.. I couldn't believe what I've read then, and cried!

I so did not like Whiskey Jack dieing, and will he be back since Paran blessed him at the end and there was lights hovering over the bodies.

TS wrote: "Ah I was just waiting for your post to appear here. It's always well-written and encapsulates what I feel about the book very well. One can see very clearly how much you love the Malazan series.
..."

Haha thanks. I wish I could comment more, but I'm so busy with work anymore its hard to find time. I've been reading the 9th book for like the past four months or something. At this rate you guys are going to finish the series before I am!

I wish I could remember this book better. There are tons of amazing moments I know I've forgotten. However, I will say this, there's a scene towards the end of the book, gonna copy/paste from the Tor re-read:

His thought is interrupted by the discovery of some dead creature on the river bank. Paran at first takes the corpse as a Tiste Andii, but upon examination Quick Ben says he doesn’t thinks so as his skin is too pale. He says the death looks like something caused by a spell of Serc that uses huge pressure to burst the body from the inside out. The Moranth captain identifies the corpse as a Tiste Edur. The captain and Quick Ben agree on several points: the Edur he didn’t die in this spot, didn’t drown and wasn’t killed by sorcery. The Moranth says the Blue Moranth are seafolk and sometimes bring up fish from deep trenches that arrive dead already from the change in pressure. He says the Edur died from the opposite—killed by suddenly appearing in a place of great pressure.

Remember this moment, you will fucking love it.

Evan wrote: "The Moranth captain identifies the corpse as a Tiste Edur... He says the Edur died from the opposite—killed by suddenly appearing in a place of great pressure."

I did notice that Book #5 Midnight Tides is about the Tiste Edur. I am very intrigued to read about the history of the various races of the offsprings of the Mother of Darkness.

TS wrote: "I did notice that Book #5 Midnight Tides is about the Tiste Edur. I am very intrigued to read about the history of the various races of the offsprings of the Mother of Darkness."

Where there is Darkness and Shadow there must also be...

Evan wrote: "Remember this moment, you will fucking love it

You are completely right Evan, it was mind-blowingly awesome!!