Product Description

The return of the mercenary company the Crimson Guard could not have come at a worse time for the Malazan Empire. Drained by constant warfare, weakened by betrayal and rivalries, many see the grip of Empress Laseen weakening. Conquered kingdoms and principalities test their old independence. Into this gathering civil war on Quon Tali - the Empire's homeland - comes the Guard. And with their return comes the memory of their hundred year old vow: undying opposition to the existence of the Empire. Yet rivalries and betrayals stalk the Guard as well - elements of its elite, the Avowed, scheme to open paths to even greater power. Ancient potent entities, Ascendants, also lend a hand exploiting all sides to further their own arcane ends.Meanwhile, a swordsman, Traveller, and his companion Ereko, move from one strange encounter to another in a mysterious dance meant ultimately to bring the swordsman to a final confrontation from which none have ever returned. As the Crimson Guard gathers itself from around the globe, Empress Laseen faces more immediate threats. To feed her wars she has bled dry provincial garrisons across Quon Tali and now regional nationalists see their chance. Behind their insurrections stand the veteran commanders of Laseen's predecessor, Emperor Kellanved. These generals and powerful mages, the "Old Hands," have lost patience with what they see as Laseen's mismanagement and have selected their own replacement. Yet there are hints that Laseen may be using the uprisings to draw out and finally eliminate these last irksome survivors of her predecessor's rule.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2993 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Synopsis
The return of the mercenary company the Crimson Guard could not have come at a worse time for the Malazan Empire. Drained by constant warfare, weakened by betrayal and rivalries, many see the grip of Empress Laseen weakening. Conquered kingdoms and principalities test their old independence. Into this gathering civil war on Quon Tali - the Empire's homeland - comes the Guard. And with their return comes the memory of their hundred year old vow: undying opposition to the existence of the Empire. Yet rivalries and betrayals stalk the Guard as well - elements of its elite, the Avowed, scheme to open paths to even greater power. Ancient potent entities, Ascendants, also lend a hand exploiting all sides to further their own arcane ends.Meanwhile, a swordsman, Traveller, and his companion Ereko, move from one strange encounter to another in a mysterious dance meant ultimately to bring the swordsman to a final confrontation from which none have ever returned. As the Crimson Guard gathers itself from around the globe, Empress Laseen faces more immediate threats. To feed her wars she has bled dry provincial garrisons across Quon Tali and now regional nationalists see their chance.

Behind their insurrections stand the veteran commanders of Laseen's predecessor, Emperor Kellanved. These generals and powerful mages, the "Old Hands," have lost patience with what they see as Laseen's mismanagement and have selected their own replacement. Yet there are hints that Laseen may be using the uprisings to draw out and finally eliminate these last irksome survivors of her predecessor's rule.

About the Author
Ian Cameron Esslemont was born in 1962 in Winnipeg, Canada and currently lives in Alaska with his wife and three sons. He is a trained archaeologist, has travelled extensively in S.E. Asia and lived in Thailand and Japan. He is currently completing a Ph.D in English Literature. The acclaimed Night of Knives was his debut.

Customer Reviews

A Big Jump From K O N
Fantastic read, Really enjoyed this book all the way through. Have to agree with the other reviews, with regards to reading the series to date before reading this. The whole series is fantastic.

A great addition to the Book of the Fallen
A while back, during a lull in Erikson's Book of the Fallen release cycle, Esslemont's Night of Knives: A Novel of the Malazan Empire came out, and I, keen to get some further Malazan word nourishment, snapped up the hardback off Amazon. Unfortunately it was somewhat disappointing and I was left worrying that perhaps Esslemont would not add to this rich world that he and Erikson co-created as much as I (and I'm sure you) were hoping.

I saw this tome with a reduced price while browsing a local bookshop and, as nothing else had taken my fancy (as well as its rather more promising size and the lure of the Crimson Guard in the title) thought 'why not?' and decided to give him another go. Why do I mention this? Because I am now very glad I did! If like me you were sitting on the fence about this I can heartily recommend that you do the same, I'm certain you won't regret it.

The only people I'm assuming are reading this review are those who've already read Erikson's stuff (if you haven't then you really should before getting started on this one (you've got a treat in store!)) so to you: RotCG picks up where Erikson left off (figuratively speaking) and tells the story (unsurprisingly) of the Crimson Guard, who've only made cameo appearances in Erikson's stuff so far, and their return to Unta to take their long-awaited revenge on the Malazan empire. I won't spoil any of the plot points here, but if you were wanting to hear more about Skinner, Iron Bars, Cowl et al then you won't be disappointed. There's also the usual cast of marines, sappers, mages and all the rest you'll know and love including (but still not enough!) some appearances by various Seguleh as well... Although this doesn't come under the 'Book of the Fallen', regardless, it is set in that world and contains important happenings that Erikson will of course have to factor in his future stuff too - as such it's not to be missed by any fans of the series! The writing is certainly more direct and accessible than some of Erikson's more recent stuff has been at times, and in my eyes that was no bad thing.

In summary: a great read, fine addition to the series and mustn't be missed by any Malazan aficionados. I'm already looking forward to his next one!

Significant!
Basics first. This is part of a long running series, if you've not read any Malazan novels, go start with Gardens of the Moon & get ready for a treat. This book is set just before Toll the Hounds.

This is quite a mixed book. It takes a while to get going - like most of the series and there are some dead ends (or clumsy settings up of the next book) some confusing sections and some hard to explain events (eg how did X pop up there & where'd he go), with the odd section not matching previous books (eg the Osserc bit) which is annoying. On the other hand there are some terrific battles, and some *really* important events for the series as a whole. Without giving too much away: we finally meet Skinner, Cowl, Urko, Choss, Toc the Elder and more. There are fights between Traveller and Skinner, Traveller and Khalor, Laseen and Cowl, Iron Bars and a Seglueh, Tayschern and a new High Mage, and some huge set piece army v's army with lots of magery - which made for some very gripping sections.

Compared to Erikson's novels there is less philosophy, with a more action oriented approach. The book also feels a little more stereotyped (girl discovers she is a princess sets off to recover destiny with faithful servant, heroes super hard to kill especially by the cannon fodder) It does however feel like a big step up from Night of Knives, and by the end of the book the world has changed significantly so its worth reading this before Erikson's next.

So despite problems, there are some real payoffs from reading the book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes the series. & the series to anyone who likes epic fantasy.