SAM's Reviews > Return of the Crimson Guard

“The eruption had wounded the world… “

The second addition to the Ian C. Esslemont collection of Malazan novels and it’s a massive improvement on Night of Knives. Where as its predecessor was a bit of a nothing book with a limited amount of plot Return of the Crimson Guard is epic, dense and complex; everything i want from a Malazan book.

Taking place after The Bonehunters (book 6 of the Steven Erikson series) the focus is Quon Tali, where a rebellion is slowly taking shape against Empress Laseen. The Crimson Guard are also looking to fulfill their ancient Vow of crushing the Malazan Empire. As is the way with Malazan books there are several subplots, all heading toward an inevitable convergence.

The writing styles of the two authors are very different. Erikson writes challenging prose with philosophical undercurrents whilst Esslemonts writing is a step down on the difficulty level. It’s still challenging but he’s no Erikson.

It’s a slow burner as the plot takes around 350 pages to advance but i didn’t mind. Getting back into the Malazan world a few months after finishing The Crippled God was such a pleasure that i was more than willing to be in for the long haul. The unique characters, the vastly different continents and worlds and the in-depth history reaffirmed this as my favourite fantasy world.

The Crimson Guard appear for the first time proper after brief mentions in previous books and they’re as expected; brutal and war weathered. Although this is their book they're not overly used and have an equal share of the chapters. Laseen also appears for longer than ever before but i still wanted more from her. She’s the much feared Malazan Empress and needs more airtime to cement her status as ruler. New character Kyle is likable and there’s plenty of involvement from characters alluded to in the Book of the Fallen.

I would suggest reading books 1-6 of the Erikson series before tackling this book. Without prior knowledge of characters and how the world works you’ll get no pleasure from reading Return of the Crimson. For seasoned veterans of this brilliant series then this is a must read and it sets it up nicely for Stonewielder, which I’ve already ordered!