Customer Reviews
The bell tolls for Erikson - By: S. Edwards, 28 Aug 2008 
I'm an enormous Erikson fan, & read all seven of his previous novels with relish. I was eagerly awaiting the release of 'Toll the Hounds.'
Sadly, this novel is a significant fall for Erikson from the ranks of the fantasy mighty.
The novel is largely setin Dariujistan, where the entire cast of characters ultimately converge, including Cutter, Iskaral Pust & the beligerant Karsa Orlong. The city is also the setting for such notables as Anomander Rake & the broken remnants of the Bridgeburners.
Darujistan itself is cloakedin a darkness, & Anomander Rake broods within;in short, his usual enigmatic self.
Effectively, the plot builds upon the basis that a Tyrant is prophesised to conquer Darujistan. As the characters & plot slowly converge upon this single thread, Erikson uses the opportunity to explore the characters motivations & personalitiesin depth. This is where the novel fundamentally differs from those previous,in that this is what dominates the novel - motivations & character development & frankly random dialogue & theorisation on the part of the characters, that ultimately leads nowhere. Unusually for Erikson novels, there is very little that actually happensin this bookin terms of plot. The characters thoughts & even dialogue therefore seem like so much padding.
There is also a truly huge cast of characters covering perhaps eight broad groups of people. Erikson has a frustrating tendancy to write just a couple of pages on each group & then flit to the next group. This technique pevades the whole book & gives the whole plot a sense of randomness & lack of co-ordination that I've not seenin his novels before. Erikson also fails to join up many of the diverse plotlines, & it is unclear, even at the end of the novel what value or contribution they really made.
The novel is truly epicin size (though for Erikson quite normal) at 900+ pages. The real action only begins after some 600 pages though, & only there does it start to make any sense. So, it takes considerable patience to get that far. The final 300 pages, without spoiling it, are not as dramatic or even original as we are used to from Erikson.
In summary, 'Toll the Hounds' falls well short of the standard that we have come to expect from the genius that is Erikson. It's probably a novel for his most devout fans, others can happily (and sadly) pass it by.
Toll the Hounds Rings the Bell - By: T. Bartell, 24 Aug 2008 
Erikson does a masterful job with this newest installment of the tale of the Fallen. Particularly intriguing is the careful development of characters from past novels, & how they have matured since the first installment. This is good stuff. A number of seemingly invicible characters from earlier novels are now a step slower, fatallyin some cases. I rated the last book at 4/5 stars which was probably overly harsh, & was hoping that this one would hit the high standard set by Memories of Ice (my personal favorite). Tolls the Hound is a fantastic read, advancing many of the intricate plots setin motionin Gardens of the Moon. Bravo Steven Erikson, you have done it again!
Unbeatable - By: Mr. D. I. Newton, 10 Aug 2008 Firstly I will admit that this is not as good as earlier booksin the series, Deadhouse Gates being by far the bestin my own opinion. But the series has not faltered at all as some previous reviewers point out, its on equally as brilliant a level as always but some will always have their personal preferences about what is best (and also most people only seem to find or atleast admit that things are brilliant until they are older, why?)
I could go on & point out all the different thingsin this book which I do find brilliant but I am not going to do that, I simply wish to share the one thing that I findin Eriksons writing style which makes him by the far the most superior writerin this genre & indeed I would go as far as to sayin any genere (I am not just making this statement I read anything from Akunin to Erikson, W. Smith to Tolkien or Tolstoy to Feist)
The way Erikson portrays his characters are unbelievable even "fringe" characters of which there are quite a fewin this book you cant help but make an attachment too. Characters who spend anything from a page or a chapterin one of his books Erikson always portrays them so well as to leave you wanting to know more about them & hoping they do well &in most cases wanting them to live.
Thus Erikson always manages to stun me with the cruelty & harsh reality of life which is portrayed within his books. There is no great hero transcending all, with perfect virtues always knowing what is good & wishing to do it. Everyone is flawed, everyone isin someway not what you quite expect or want from them,in a fantasy book he has managed to hold a mirror up to life which i think is a fantastic acheivment.
This mirror is what makes his books most effective, very rarely can an author write so well that I am forced to put down a bookin shock as I have to consider what has just been said. Erikson manages this with aplomb, who can forget the moment Coltaines army fell within view of Aren? With a full army watching as a coward holds them back.? Wellin this book I find the same thing happening as *SPOILER HERE* Anomander Rake dies fighting traveller. Anomander is a heroin this book, flawed as all others but with a certain dark destiny & noble soul that you cant help but feel an attachment too, you can feel a sense of purpose about him. So when he died I was truly shocked & even saddened. This is what amkes Erikson a great author not just the sweeping story, the great characters but the fact that he is an author who can still effect you with his words.
His most recent books are not as good as the earlier ones, but they are still BRILLIANT & far better than anything else on offer out there. The day this series finishes will be a sad day indeed.
Toll the Hounds - By: Vez, 09 Aug 2008 Throughout the series, questions have been raised that have never been answered. This book acts as a explaination to the previous novels & also introduces a range of new characters. It was a little slow to start but by the middle, it was a true Malazan epic.
Oh dear oh dear!!! - By: R. Shah, 08 Aug 2008 
This will be painful for some so let me start by saying that I am a big fan of the series despite one or two weak booksin the series.I place the order & waited so anxiously for this book to arrive after I ordered it but I was very disapointed. There are some good bitsin this book but it is nothing like Erikson at his best.In fact I feel this is the most annoying bookin the series. It had the right mix of characters to have been the best book so far but instead of advancing the story Erikson chose to write about nothing for 800 pages. Even characters like Karsa, cotillion & Rake lost their edge & did nothing but talk. I didnt feel involved with them, even as the usual expected toll was literally presented to Hood at the end.I had high hopes for Moppo but he like rest of the book didnt get any where. Erikson has droped the ball but I hope he gets back to form for the last two books. But before he starts writing the next book, some body please get him some anti depressants or get him to see a shrink because his writing has become too gloomy & depressing.
