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Reaper's Gale
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Reaper's Gale
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Reaper's Gale
Audiobook43 hours

Reaper's Gale

Written by Steven Erikson

Narrated by Michael Page

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

"The kind of epic narrative that will have you scrambling for more." -Stephen R. Donaldson

All is not well in the Letherii Empire. Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, surrounded by sycophants and agents of his Machiavellian chancellor, while the Letherii secret police conduct a campaign of terror against their own people. The Errant, once a far-seeing god, is suddenly blind to the future. Conspiracies seethe throughout the palace as the empire edges closer to all-out war with the neighboring kingdoms.

The great Edur fleet draws ever closer. Among its warriors are Karsa Orlong and Icarium Lifestealer-each destined to cross blades with the emperor himself. A band of fugitives seeks a way out of the empire. One of them, Fear Sengar, must find the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye. Yet traveling with them is Scabandari's most ancient foe: Silchas Ruin. His motives are anything but certain, for the wounds he carries on his back, made by the blades of Scabandari, are still fresh.

Fate decrees that there is to be a reckoning-a reckoning on an unimaginable scale. This is a brutal, harrowing novel of war, intrigue, and dark, uncontrollable magic; this is epic fantasy at its most imaginative, storytelling at its most thrilling.

"Extraordinarily enjoyable… Erikson is a master of lost and forgotten epochs, a weaver of ancient epics." -Salon

"This novel and all others in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series follow my own pronunciations of 'Malazan' words and names. My thanks to Michael and Jane and everyone at Brilliance Audio." -Steven Erikson, Victoria, B.C. Canada, January, 2014

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 5, 2014
ISBN9781469226170
Unavailable
Reaper's Gale
Author

Steven Erikson

STEVEN ERIKSON is an archaeologist and anthropologist and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His Malazan Book of the Fallen series has met widespread international acclaim and established him as a major voice in the world of fantasy fiction. The first book in the series, Gardens of the Moon, was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award. The second novel, Deadhouse Gates, was voted one of the ten best fantasy novels of the year by SF Site. He lives in Canada.

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Reviews for Reaper's Gale

Rating: 4.240740770723104 out of 5 stars
4/5

567 ratings17 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    “Retribution seen in natural catastrophes is manufactured by all too eager
    and all too pious people, each one convinced the world will end but spare them and them
    alone. But we all know, the world is inherited by the obnoxious, not the righteous”


    Oh, come on. Stop making me give four stars already. There is not much I can say about this book that I have not said about the previous six. The Story is wonderful, the characters are interesting and well characterized, even if sometimes there are a few characters too much for my taste. Especially the struggles of the emperor of the Edur were very well written, and I loved the part the malazan marines played.

    Why no five stars? Again, I cannot really pin this down. It might be the writing style, it might be that the book sometimes gets so complicated that I no longer understand what is going on. I am still holding out hope that I will be able to give five stars at some point during the series, but this book is just not the one.

    Malazan Series, it's me, not you. I love you, but I cannot commit to a serious five star relationship right now. I am sorry.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    These books are always a little tough for me to review. Each one covers so much ground and has such a huge cast of characters that it's sometimes hard for me to keep incidents that happened in previous books out of the current one. However, I will say that despite having its moments, this is probably my least favorite book in the series so far.

    There are parts that I genuinely enjoyed. Tehol and Bugg are always great to see together, and Beak was a beautifully written and tragic character. I also liked the buildup of Redmask and the Awl, but I was a little disappointed by the end result. And while the contest with Rhulad Sengar and his challengers was interesting, I didn't like that it was built up at the very beginning of this book (and even the end of the last one), but it didn't actually happen until the end.

    Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I'll admit I was a little let down, especially coming right after the Bonehunters (one of the best fantasy books I've ever read).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A fantastic continuation of the Malazan storyline, focusing on Lethari and the Tiste Andi. This book was perfect as I was wondering how the Lethari empire aspect was going to be wrapped up. What I love about this series is that everything matters. Every action has a consequence and sometimes things just don't work out like you would like. The second half of the book was amazing and many very unexpected outcomes. A lot of things change in this book and I'm looking forward to how it will all come together.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I love the book but there is a gap at chapter 9 @59:42 that’s a couple of minutes long.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    **** SPOILERS AHOY! ****Although not a bad entry in the Malazan series, I felt there was something off about Reaper's Gale. After the focused successes of Midnight Tides and The Bonehunters it's as if Erikson's old flaw of trying to do too much has resurfaced. I felt like significant chunks of the book could have been removed and little would have been lost; though I withhold final judgement on that accusation because I'm still not sure where exactly the Malazan series is going and what its ultimate focus is.Somewhat like Deadhouse Gates everything else that happens feels rushed. The Bonehunters' invasion, the sacking of Letheras, all felt somehow devoid of heft. It never carried the same emotional weight that previous Edur invasion carried. Whilst that conquest was filled with menace and foreboding, the Malazan invasion carried little in the way of emotional investment. Sure, I cared about the marines, but - and this is a constant problem I keep waiting for Erikson to address - with Tavore continuing to be a blank slate, it all felt rather hollow. Sure, Rhulad and Lether need to be taken down, but what's the real motivation for the Bonehunters being there? It wasn't even "We have to stop him because if we don't X and Y will happen;" it was "There's guy, apparently, who won't die, so we should probably kill him, because actually there's something - we're not going to say what - on the eastern side of this continent that's what we're really here for and he's kind of in the way, so might as well get rid of him while we're here." Everything just felt a little weak after the extremely well-crafted five and sixth books.The various endings were a little unsatisfying too. Trull's death was a dickish move if ever I came across one, it just felt entirely unnecessary. Tehol as emperor and Byrs coming back to life? Why? It just feels wrong that Tehol would step in to the limelight like that, he never came across as the sort of person who'd want the trouble of being ruler. Rhulad's final demise? I felt that could have been handled better, in fact Rhulad seems to be an after thought in the second half of the novel, which is disappointing. And I wish Erikson had at least tried to broach the idea of Rhulad's past challengers and why no-one, after rumours of his immortality were widespread in Letheras, after killing him didn't chop him up or take off his head and what exactly the process was for him returning to life. Those who killed him more than once - why exactly after the first time did they seemingly just sit back and wait for him to pop up back to life again and again? Icarium? He does his usual moping around and then vanishes. I'm sure he'll be very important come the series' ultimate climax but I always find his sections tedious and somewhat pointless. Guh. I could go on and on. There were a lot of niggles in this book, but it was still quite all right. It wasn't as tedious as books 2 and 4, which had me questioning whether the series was worth continuing or not (the Malazan series being a hugely frustrating and uneven series in its quality), and I'll still keep reading on (I really have to find out where the series ends up now that I've reached the eighth book).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    All is not well in the Letherii Empire. Rhulad, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, sinks deeper into insanity with every champion that kills him. The economy is on the verge of collapse. There is a money shortage and citizens are starving. And while the Tiste Edur hold a privileged place in society, the Patriotists, Letheri secret police, rule with a gore covered fist as they conduct a reign of terror on their own people. There are revolts along the Empire's border. To top it all off, there are rumors that the Chancellor plots to overthrow the Emperor. With all this going on it's no surprise that members of the Emperor's court are not paying much attention when another momentous event takes place: A Malazan army has just arrived and landed on their shores. Reaper's Gale is book 7 of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. Events set in motion in books 5 and 6 are picked up and tied together as the series starts the slow build to its conclusion. Timeline wise the story picks up right where The Bonehunters leaves off. This is the first book with more already known characters than new ones, though there are still plenty of those to keep track of. I was excited to have several of my favorites back and and especially to see what kind of trouble Tehol and Bugg would be up to. I was not disappointed.Erikson is keeping his cards close to the vest at this point. This story pretty much kept on my toes the entire time. His ability to slowly reveal events through the characters point of view is one thing I appreciate and look forward to as I read each book. His ability to give us a insight into character motivations and thoughts is stellar.Several plot lines were neatly closed in this book. It's great when you have all that build up finally pay off. If this is any indicator as to what we will see in the next books, I'm excited.Reaper's Gale is darker, more dour than the last entry. I'm glad Erikson has continued adding humorous elements to his book so we have small breaks in between. All the dourness also provides a great contrast to when some truly beautiful events happen you appreciate them even more.I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This series is not one for the faint of heart or for anyone that has trouble with violence. While not an easy read, it is most rewarding.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This really is a book of two halves, one of which is the most boring thing Steven Erikson has written so far. The Awl plotline is really pretty bland and not particularly engaging, and although it has one or two important points as regards the overall arc of the series, I'm pretty sure they could have been slotted into the story different because to be perfectly honest, I didn't give a shit about Redmask. On the other hand, the latter half of the book is REALLY GOOD. I mean REALLY REALLY GOOD. I'd put this one about on a par with House of Chains; it has higher highs and lower lows than that book.

    Also the end part of the book has all the death and NOTHING is okay. I actually had to put the book down when Beak died because I was crying so much. And then Trull dies and NOTHING IS FAIR. At least now Tehol is king of everything? Which is pretty much as it should be.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Now, as I had read the almost 900 pages of this book, I have to say Steven Erikson is a genius. And practically impossible to enjoy. Is't simply too much. He invented and populated a startingly original world in unprecedented detail, but the way he jumps in space and time between the zillion storylines and heroes is simply untraceable for me. And it's really badly overwritten. It's a pity...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Entertaining, though not at the level of the last two. I found it harder to find viewpoint characters I liked at first, there's a heavier bent towards political intrigue that didn't particularly interest me, a subplot involving a heavy amount of vicious rape that didn't feel necessary - nor did the entire Awl storyline, except for one particular character's role in it. On the other hand, I did enjoy all of the buildup to the Emperor's challenge. It's not at all clear to me where the series is going next (with three volumes to go), but then I had a similar feeling at the end of the previous novel and this one proved that there was still plenty more in store.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Even though this was my least favorite book in the series it was still an entertaining jaunt through the world of Malaz. It just failed to live up to my preconceptions on what should have taken place and when. Thus it is hard for me to fault the novel too much in a final grade.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Reaper's Gale brings in the setting and characters in both Midnight Tides and Bonehunters, and the combination redeems both books. It's long, not terribly speedy, and there are lots of obscure-for-obscurity's-sake plot threads, but it has a definite plot and comes to a satisfactory conclusion. Still not as good as my two favorites, but solid nonetheless.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In which we learn, amongst other things, that the best way of dealing with dragons is, unsurprisingly, a well-placed Moranth munition. They work on everything, honest. :D

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Finally made it through the re-read of this 900 page monster. And oh, what a resplendent monster it is. I had previously read up to this, the 7th book in the 10 book epic fantasy series that is the Malazan Book of the Fallen. The re-read has only reinforced my suspicion that this series is the best epic fantasy series going. Its outstanding stuff and it only gets better with the re-reading since it is packed to the brim with just so many things going on. This volume in particular improves with a re-read as there are so many characters here that it is best to read this with the what has come before fresh in ones mind.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After a couple base building books, this one collects all together. There's more action, more resolution, more endings. In fact, it feels like pieces are starting to be in place for the final act. However I can't help asking what actually happened here... A lot, certainly, but... why? What was the result and how much does it mean? Can't wait for the next volume!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just when you might worry that Erikson's superb Malazan Book of the Fallen series would start to wander or lose focus, he gives us yet another book that delivers the goods in a totally satisfying, almost awe-inspiring way. In book six there was a sense that Erikson had started to move the series towards resolution. In Reaper's Gale he takes many giant steps towards a conclusion, with storylines from books three, four, five and six coming together and in many cases being resolved. Throughout Erikson continues to serve up an extraordinarily imaginative universe filled with beautifully conceived people, places, and things, in a style that includes lots of grit, plentiful doses of dark humor, and grand tragedy. Indeed the style might be described as (Reaper's Gale's dedicatee) Glen Cook--an author I've generally enjoyed reading, but who's not remotely in Erikson's league--channelling Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Homer. We get several interesting new characters to add to the survivors of previous books, some good, some bad, most drawn in shades of gray. We get the satisfaction of seeing lots of bad guys, ranging from Elder Gods to petty bureaucrats, get their just desserts. And a few of the good guys don't make it either. I could quibble about minor plot points (the revivification of a certain Letharii swordsman seemed completely unnecessary, for example), but why bother? This is a great book in what is shaping up to be the Greatest Fantasy Series Ever (if Erikson can deliver three more books as good as the first seven, that is). Those who objected to Erikson's sacriligious audacity of suggesting (in conceiving the Letherii Empire) that unfettered capitalism could lead to much ugliness should probably skip this one (and maybe go read The Jungle instead).

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This one was a big disappointment for me. A LOT of build-up towards...nothing, really. Large chunks of the book just seemed too meandering, random, and pointless, and the POV-fragmentation is ramped up beyond a tolerable level. Those harsh words aside, it was still an enjoyable book, but it feels like it could have been so much more. Still eagerly awaiting the next book, but this was easily the low point of the series so far.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In many ways this continues the fun and hilarity of the earlier books, but it's starting to make sense, and it's starting to have a feeling of winding down.There are, perhaps inevitably, a shed load of deaths, but also a large number of resurrections which are more of a surprise.There's a huge clash between the Bonehunters and the Letheri empire and the Tiste Edur. There are some twists and turns, and some glorious fight scenes in that clash.There is a lot of politicking, on many levels, and that works well.Several gods die, two characters, one very new, one who has been around since Gardens of the Moon die and are personally greeted by Hood.I read somewhere there are meant to be 10 books in this sequence. I'm wondering, I've loved the journey, and I love this part, but I'm starting to see the beginning of the end. OMG I can't believe I said that... I'm starting to understand, perhaps, how he thinks too!