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Return of the Crimson Guard

Novels of the Malazan Empire, Book 2

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Return of the Crimson Guard

Written by: Ian C. Esslemont
Narrated by: John Banks
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The return of the mercenary company, the Crimson Guard, could not have come at a worse time for a Malazan Empire exhausted by warfare and weakened by betrayals and rivalries. Indeed, there are those who wonder whether the Empress Laseen might not be losing her grip on power as she faces increasing unrest as conquered kingdoms and principalities sense freedom once more.

Into the seething cauldron of Quon Tali - the Empire's heartland - marches the Guard. With their return comes the memory of the Empire - and yet all is not well with the Guard itself. Elements within its elite, the Avowed, have set their sights on far greater power. There are ancient entities who also seek to further their own arcane ends. And what of the swordsman called Traveller who, with his companion Ereko, has gone in search of a confrontation from which none have ever returned?

As the Guard prepares to wage war, so Laseen's own generals and mages, the "Old Hands," grow impatient at what they see as her mismanagement of the Empire. But could Laseen have outwitted them all? Could she be using the uprisings to draw out and finally eliminate these last irksome survivors from the days of her illustrious predecessor, Kellanved?

©2008 Ian Cameron Esslemont (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks, all rights reserved. Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fiction Military Fantasy
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Profile Image for Norman

Make every body count

The first thing I noticed was the number of familiar names. This is always important in a franchise, especially when it takes place in a universe entirely unrelated to our own. The world of the Malazan empire is incredibly detailed and entirely believable. As I'd read Steven Erikson's Tales from the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and some of Ian Esslemont's books set here, I was familiar with people, places, gods, artifacts, and so on.

But the violence! In franchises, you have to up your game a bit to keep the audience interested, but really? And fade-to-black, followed by characters recovering from their injuries is just bait and switch.

It kept me reading, though. I'm a bit confused about the timeline, but I'm re-reading the Book of the Fallen, so that might help

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