Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson (Malazan #3) Book Review || Spoiler-Free & Spoilers!

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

Damn a 50 minute chunker 👀thx for the vid Alex

[@TallGuyReads]

Hahaha yeah certainly a long one! Hope you enjoy it!

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

It's wonderful to hear your thoughts on this incredible book, Alex! Great insights, and you brought back some powerful "memories" for me. Cheers!

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so much, Philip! I’m so happy you enjoyed the video! This really was an incredible reading experience! Thanks for watching!

[@evanmiller4502]

yeah for me this book was where the theme of compassion REALLY clicked and started to shine through

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

To echo on what you said on it so far being the most "complete" malazan book, I have found with each book that Erikson's writing just feels more realised, matured and it just feels better to read progressively. I guess that could also be attributed to me later on being more familiar to his style of writing, still his vision of what these books are just grows from here on out.

[@TallGuyReads]

That's what I've experienced so far with just the first 3 and I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses in the future books!

[@SouravUldyssian]

Firstly please add the word 'Malazan' always in your video titles for better YT algorithm and reach. Loved the video and the format Alex. Can't wait for the discussion video. Just 2 points: MOI SPOILER 1. Toc has not been around for hundreds of thousands of years. He is just a regular mortal soldier. Did you get him confused with someone else at that point? 2. Paran was getting sick because he came into power from being the Master of the Deck and he was rejecting that role and power. So his sickness was coming from resisting such a huge role and power. Also he has hound blood within him now, which contributed to it. Once he learnt to accept the power and his role, then he got better. Itkovian is my favorite character in the book and has the best segments in Malazan overall. I was blown away by his character. In the live discuss the identity reveal of the Pannion Seee and how it ties into the prologue as well as how his final fate ties into the theme of compassion.

[@TallGuyReads]

Yeah I definitely got Toc's backstory confused with another character's backstory while filming this haha...we will definitely be chatting more about him and Paran in the liveshow and of course, Itkovian, who I agree is such a phenomenal character!

[@patsmythos]

This video was just what I needed for tomorrow's discussion! While I only finished the book in April, I want to be sharp and remember some of these finer details. Still can't get over how great this book is!

[@TallGuyReads]

Commenting here after the stream but I'm so happy you found this helpful man! Such an incredible book and I'm so happy to have you as one of the hosts of the readalong now!

[@gayanegasparyan4137]

Phenomenal review Alex, this format works amazingly for Malazan. I completely agree with every point you made btw, book was phenomenal

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so so much, Gayane! I really appreciate it!

[@Johanna_reads]

Incredible review! I had a strong feeling you would enjoy this series, and it's wonderful to hear all your thoughts and reflections. I love what you had to say about the prologue, Itkovian, Silverfox, Whiskeyjack, Quick Ben, Paran, Capustan, Duiker, compassion, and hope in all the darkness. There's so much packed into each book in the series, and there is no pressure to talk about everything. That said, you did an amazing job describing so many meaningful moments and sharing one of the greatest quotes in the series!

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so so much Johanna! This series continues to amaze me and I'm very excited to see what's to come in future installments! Your passion for the series was absolutely one of the big reasons why I finally took the Malazan leap and I'm having a blast with it so far! Thanks so much for watching!

[@MattonBooks]

Maybe not my favourite Malazan book, but certainly in my top 3. YES Quick Ben! YES Ganoes! One thing: there’s THREE people in Silverfox… 😉 Speaking of Silverfox, did you recognise anyone in the prologue?

[@TallGuyReads]

It's such a great book!! and yeah i realized that after filming haha but yes...i mean Pran Chole was there who was also at Silverfox's birth..is that who you're talking about?

[@MattonBooks]

@@TallGuyReads Nope. Who was there when Tattersail died?

[@BooksRebound]

Also, I don't know if you missed this detail or just didn't mention it but the reason Kallor wants Silverfox dead so much is because of Nightchill within her. If you go back and reread Kallor's cursing, the three being who subjected him to this fate are K'rul, Draconus and Nightchill. I think people miss it because you have to infer that The Sister of Cold Nights who is mentioned in that scene is really Nightchill. It's wild to me that you don't even get to meet the real "big bad" villain of the whole series until book 3 in the series. That's a pretty risky writing choice imo but it really works well.

[@TallGuyReads]

Yeah I picked up on that when I reread the prologue and it blew my mind hahaha will definitely be talking about that more in the live show!

[@ilijasburner]

For my own experience because I was in university with constant assignments I had to catch up on MOI had me stop and have to start over again around 4-5 times from the 500 page mark? And that obviously was BRUTAL as I kept having long breaks inbetween and wanted to have a single read through. While it was not my fav Malazan book I still loved it so much especially specific scenes within it. I remember reading the last 400 pages in one sitting starting at 1am and by the end of the book I was tearing up, but I am still not sure if it was from the book or the fact that my eyes were SO crusty and were sore beyond belief 😅

[@TallGuyReads]

Dang that does sound brutal! Yesss the back half of this book is incredible...happy to hear you enjoyed it!

[@EricMcLuen]

MoI is where Erickson starts hitting lots of themes hard and where you start to see how different MBotF is from a lot of other series.. I believe AP did a video regarding Gruntle. And yes, it was a fairly common call to action device but has fallen out of favor. Itkovian is probably the most often quoted character in the series.

[@TallGuyReads]

Yeah I agree! I think the themes in MOI were way more noticeable than in the previous two books!

[@bookswithbanks8943]

Great review! Love this format. And as much as I love Memories of Ice, I'd say at least 5 of the next books are even better. Enjoy! Also I'd love to heat more of your thoughts on Trake usurping Fener, the beast throne stuff, any and all of that. Oh, and the bickering priests of Capustan.

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so much! Yes that is so exciting! We will definitely be chatting more about all of that in the liveshow!

[@esmayrosalyne]

Only watched the spoiler-free section, but loved everything you said there! I am excited to return to this video whenever I finally start my own Malazan journey, it sounds like a wild ride! Great video Alex!

[@TallGuyReads]

Yesss thank you so much Esmay! I can't wait to see what you think of this series when you get to it! I honestly think there is a TON packed into these books that would really work for you!

[@slidenaway]

Oh now that I finished - don’t worry, not too ramble-y! Great format, you nailed it honesty. There’s a lot to talk about and you did a great job covering it all. And these books are so complex and have so much going on, it absolutely helps to do stuff like this (and the upcoming live chat) to help us process everything. Very common thing lol. Anyway glad you enjoyed it so so much, looking forward to the live chat!!

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so much for the feedback! Looking forward to doing similar vids for the future books!

[@brettmurray2473]

Your read along reignighted me on my read. On Toll the hounds and going to finish up tonight and then pause for a bit to unpack as you are finding out.... These books are dense ahaha. In my opinion it only gets better too, looking forward to your thoughts along the way.

[@TallGuyReads]

Yesss that's awesome to hear! These books absolutely are dense haha take as long as you need with the final two and enjoy the ride!

[@BooksRebound]

This series legit made me a better person. Erikson really achieved what he said with "Malazan Book of the Fallen is a 3.5mil word plea for compassion". I think reading it (so many times) changed me. Memories is definitely high up there on my list. It's #2 right after Reaper's Gale. Also you gotta talk about Pannion Domin in the lives show cause you forgot to talk about what the situation on the ground is really like. There's the cannibalism, the Tenescowri trailing behind this army because their entire country has no food sources anywhere except at the very edges of its expansion where they feed off the bodies of their enemies. I see their Empire as this expanding bubble of death. Everything within the bubble is dead and only the edges are able to sustain any life via eating their enemies. Also you gotta talk about The Children Of The Dead Seed.

[@TallGuyReads]

So awesome to hear how important this series is to you! Yes we definitely will be hitting on all of those points in the live show! Looking forward to it!

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

Loved this! Yah the section with the siege of Capustan is definitely one of my favorite books in the whole series 💪

[@TallGuyReads]

Yes it's so well done! Thanks so much for checking out the vid, Ben!

[@chadia25]

Great review! Great book. 👍

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so much, Chadia!

[@thefantasythinker]

It only gets better from here in my opinion! So glad you loved it as much as I did! You'll appreciate the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach stuff more if you ever read the novellas.

[@TallGuyReads]

Yesss I'm so excited! Yeah I picked up a few of the novellas actually so hopefully will be getting to those when I'm done the main 10 and get some more background on their characters!

[@bookmarkswithjason9445]

Best fantasy book I’ve ever read that really took a lot out of me. I’ve yet to gather enough energy to move on to House of Chains.

[@TallGuyReads]

Hahaha yeah I totally understand that! I'll probably be reading House of Chains towards the end of June!

[@safinan8008]

Thank you for a great review!! Hoping to read this book soon.. so excited 😆 happy reading to you!! 🎥

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so much! I hope you love this book when you get to it!

[@joan98610]

My favourite of the series along with The Bonehunters and Toll the hounds

[@TallGuyReads]

Yessssss that's so awesome to hear! Can't wait for both of those!

[@slidenaway]

Great to see how much you loved MoI!! It really is a level up isn’t it? Just bigger and more everything, and higher emotional highs and lower emotional lows… welcome to the club!! (of seriously obsessed Malazan fans 😄) Quick note about Toc, I’m not sure where you got the idea that his torture lasted 200,000 years? My understanding is it was just the second half of this book basically. Not a big deal just clarifying, I think 😁

[@TallGuyReads]

It does!! Very excited to see where the story goes from here! Yes, I had Toc's background confused with another character's and realized it after filming hahaha

[@angelaholmes8888]

Memories of ice was good read

[@TallGuyReads]

Glad you enjoyed it as well!

[@brianrogers4344]

I just need to finish Section 4. Will be back for the rest soon.

[@TallGuyReads]

Awesome! Hope you are enjoying it!

[@brianrogers4344]

@@TallGuyReads Just finished. Wow. I thought Deadhouse Gates was epic but this one was even bigger. On to the next one!

[@halofan117halofan6]

Great vid 👍

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you!

[@cabrademora1]

:D