Review of Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson

Gardens of the Moon, first book in the Malazan series, was centered around Darujhistan. A city featuring an Arabian vibe, its streets glowed with blue ether fire, politicians built cabals behind wooden doors, and assassins had secret wars on dusty rooftops. But the series never returned to the setting. Until now. Toll the Hounds (2008), eighth book in the series, goes back to the exotic city to see how things have fared since a Jaghut tyrant nearly razed it to the ground.

In Darujhistan, several retired Bridgeburners have found a new home. But when assassination attempts start targeting them, they can't relax, and begin fighting back. Separated from Icarium, Mappo has heard rumors his old friend has tried to kill the unkillable Tiste Edur ruler in Letheras, and sets out on the long journey with the help of the Trygalle Trade Guild. Since defeating the Seerdommin in Memories of Ice, Anomander Rake has destroyed his massive, airborne island and taken up residence in the city of Black Coral. But the cult of the Seerdommin remains, and a new secret hand has been found trying to manipulate it. And in perhaps the most interesting setting of all, Anomander Rake's sword Dragnipur, the great wagon being hauled by the souls the sword has slain begins to slow. Losing power, the god Draconus tries to prevent the realm from losing all its power.

In data from reddit polls, Toll the Hounds is statistically the most divisive Malazan novel. It's either high on the list of a given reader's best, or low. And it's easy to understand why. The most brooding, melancholic, ruminative novel of the series, it doesn't “explode” until the final 100-200 pages. Those “few” pages are epic, but the journey to them is heavy.

Most of the characters in Toll the Hounds are dealing with loss of some kind. Whether it be power, loved ones, mortality, or some other thing a person can be close to, Toll the Hounds is dense like nighttime fog. Anomander Rake has thousands of years of souls built up in his sword, and they're starting to weigh heavy. Once active soldiers, the retired Bridgeburners come to terms with non-soldier life. A man plotting a lifetime's revenge comes to terms with realizing his “dream”. And such. There several other plot lines that highlight some aspect of transition via loss. And the novel feels cathartic for it.

Toll the Hounds also feels less sharp, less on point stylistically than prior Malazan novels. Erikson seems a little off his game. Sentences and scenes that would ordinarily be rendered in obtuse fashion come across as ordinary, plain—dare I say more like run-of-the-mill epic fantasy prose. Erikson has routinely found ways to avoid this type of ordinariness, but in the early going the story sometimes feels a bit lackluster. This is important considering an edge to the writing would have perhaps helped readers engage with the melancholy and brooding.

In the end, Toll the Hounds is the most overtly ruminative of the Malazan books. I get it. An argument can easily be made all the novels are ruminative. So perhaps it's better to say Toll the Hounds does it out in the open the most. For readers engaged in the series for the manner in which Erikson humanizes the characters in his fantasy world, the novel will be a feast. He presents many storylines through different lenses of loss. Other readers may find this tedious. In terms of the broader series, Erikson effectively closes the Darujhistan setting, leaving the final book(s) to close matters in Letherii. If you are not in the Malazan series for its pensive nature, likely this one will not be a hit. It's easy to note, however, the book ends with perhaps the single-biggest fireworks explosion the series has featured to date. Your choice.