Great set of books

really like this series set in the begining of The Malazan Empires rise and they only seem to get better. hopefully there well be another

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really enjoyed it

Ian has really grown as a writer. His work here is excellent perfectly plotted detailed and a joy to listen to from start to finish. As a fan of the Malazan universe I cannot recommend this latest novel enough. I am already hungrily awaiting the next installment. thank you Ian

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story

very good consistant with change of voices with different characters. Author is settling well in his co-world looking forward to the next one

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A good malazan story

Probably more for the enthusiast of the established universe but a great malazan story.

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My favorite of the 'Path to Ascendancy' series.

Honestly I really liked this book, it might even be my favorite of the 'Path to Ascendancy' series.

Forge of the High Mage takes place a few decades after the end of book 3 where the Malazan Imperials took Li Heng, they have mostly pacified the Continent of Quon Tali and are looking to expand into Falar where a particularly fat frog with green teeth is residing. Playing his usual power games. The book flowed far smoother than any other book I have read by Esslemont, the dialogue was far more natural and is Showing Esslemont's growing ability and confidence as a writer. Lot's of old and new faces come into the mix, with multiple plot points converging in typical and exciting Malazan fashion.

I do have a few major gripes with the plot as a whole, mostly the fact a lot of key elements I was most looking forward to in the prequels have been skipped in the time jump ie the formation of the Malazan legions, the first clash against the crimson guard, Topper meeting Surly etc but mostly it is that major characters don't...actually seem to do much and are criminally underutilized. Looking at you Dancer. However this is slightly offset by certain characters getting for more limelight than I was expecting.

Despite these complaints, the book itself is perhaps my favorite of any Esslemont has ever written and has made up for a lot of the issues I had with Kellanved's Reach, despite it carrying a few of it's flaws over.

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1 person found this helpful

A Malazan fix, I needed.

Boom, Malazan is back with a bang, and man Ian C Esslemont didn't disappoint. The author takes us back to where it all began and how the Malazans forge their empire with their ruthlessness.

Forge Of The High Mage is the fourth in book in the Path to Ascendancy series, which has just gotten better and better. For any Malazan fan, this just adds layers and layers to the main characters from the main series. Beautifully soul satisfying.

Malzan is my all-time favourite series, the worldbuilding, characters, the magic system, and the pure scope of it all that Steven Erikson and Ian C Esslemont has created is just phenomenal.

The writing is just poetic. It will make you laugh, cry, leave you in awe, and there are so many characters for you to fall in love with and hate with a vengeance.

Into this foray with the Malazan military and navy, Emperor Kellanved has his sights set on the islands of Falar to expand the Malazan Empire.

Old legends return, my absolute favourite the K' Chain Che Malle, Dinosaurs with swords for arms, causing absolute mayhem with their slicing and dicing.

Our main character, who takes centre stage in this Malazan tale, is a young High Mage Tayschrenn, leads the Malazan infantry alongside High Fist Dujek to reach Falar, he is untested and doesn't realise how powerful a mage he is until he comes up against very powerful elder magics.

Now, I want to start my whole Malazan adventure again. That was such a roller coaster ride and a Malazan fix I thoroughly needed. If you haven't read any of the main series by the authors yet, I very highly recommend that you do, you won't regret it..😁🔥🗡🖤⚡️🙏

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Another great malazan book

Another great entry in the series building on the characters from the forming of the empire previous to the mainstream malazan series. Love the characters and learning more about their history. Full of action and interesting worlds. Highly recommended.

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Meh

Amazing characters built up through mbotf being let down by poor, stilted writing. The dialogue is paid full at times to listen to, with almost all characters coming across as wooden or indistinguishable from each other. Half the book is one character nodding their thanks to another.

Story focuses on another convergence, as you might expect from a malazan story, but there was never really any sense of threat. I almost stopped reading a few times, but forced myself through. Disappointing overall.

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A poor plodding entry

Enjoyable as far as a Malazan tale goes. But the writing this time around seemed wooden and obvious. Many characters seemingly completely different in demeanor from previous mbotf entries.

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