Memories of Ice

Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 3

By: Steven Erikson

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 43 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The ravaged continent of Genabackis has given birth to a terrifying new empire: the Pannion Domin. Like a tide of corrupted blood, it seethes across the land, devouring all. In its path stands an uneasy alliance: Onearm’s army and Whiskeyjack’s Bridgeburners alongside their enemies of old - the forces of the Warlord Caladan Brood, Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii mages, and the Rhivi people of the plains. But ancient undead clans are also gathering; the T’lan Imass have risen. For it would seem something altogether darker and more malign threatens this world. Rumors abound that the Crippled God is now unchained and intent on a terrible revenge. Marking the return of many characters from Gardens of the Moon and introducing a host of remarkable new players, Memories of Ice is both a momentous new chapter in Steven Erikson’s magnificent epic fantasy and a triumph of storytelling.

©2006 Steven Erikson (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Pure Bliss.

Any additional comments?

I'm sure some fool will post a "it was too confusing / I couldn't get into it / there were too many characters/ what does Moonspawn look like anyway?" reviews sooner or later. Which, of course, will beg the question: Why would you buy a 42 hour long book if you've the attention span of a gnat?

one of the best books I have ever read.

I just finished this book for the second time and it was even better than I remember.

best narration! great book!!

I love the narrator and this series of books! awesome to read and even better to listed too.

Ralph Lister is awesome!

it's just so good. this is probably one of the best in the series and Ralph Lister brings the characters to life. someone should give him all the books to do and I would buy again.

Ok, now I understand...three books in

Steven Erikson really comes in to his own in this book. Where the first one was information overload of a very alien world and felt like stepping into the warren of chaos, the third book in the series weaves a more cohesive and understandable plot with a more conventional narrative structure. One of my criticisms of the previous two books is the excessive amount of climaxes; they leave the reader with little grounding in how epic or meaningful they really are. Memories of Ice builds to a single finale that is phenomenal. While there is tragedy in this book, it is not as heart wrenching (or torturous) as the second and Erikson does a great job providing comic relief throughout. I found myself laughing aloud on multiple occasions.
The character development is top notch with several hundred thousand years of it on some of the characters. There is thoughtful dialogue in this book, as in the second. The characters give meaningful reflections on their experiences (highly quotable stuff here). I want to buy the hard copies of the second and third (I have the first) just to use them as a reference to all the great quotes on their pages. I didn't mind how long it was. There's too much good stuff in it. As my title says, it took a few long books to really understand what happened in the first. This is more a criticism of the first than this one. I'm going to keep on with this series.

Ralph Lister does a fantastic job with the reading. He has a large range of character voices that is needed with such a large cast of characters. It certainly helped with the comprehension of what was happening. One criticism I have of his telling is that he doesn't pause between different parts of the story. I had to rewind often because the transition to talking about events half a world a way was too smooth.

Possibly the greatest book in Malazan?

This is what true epic fantasy looks like, the build up, the fights, the characters, the way it all comes together. I don't think anyone can top this one, there are many great book out there but this one has this unique slow burn style in the way it starts up and how the pieces fit together, its not a happy ending but its not sad ending either. Out of all the Malazan books so far this one is truly the best.

Love this series

It is a very complicated plot but the Book of the Fallen has been very enjoyable

Great book, excellent narration

The third book of the malazan series might be my favorite yet. The narrator is the same as the earlier books and I'd say he's exceptional. I only gave 4 stars for the story because it's a little PG 13, but other than that I really enjoyed it.

A vital mythos

Ralph Lister is a magcian. He never gets in the way of this or any of three novels he narrates of the Malazan Fallen. No narrator of the later novels has evoked the breath snd nuances of character and plot as he has evoked in manner that does this canon justice.

this book is badass!

wow! this book will embrace your pain, for its a Heartbreaking, violent, beautiful story. I love this book and my life has been enriched from listening to it.