My first time through this one.

There's this feeling that you sometimes get in tabletop role-playing where a story thread or bit of lore is dangled in front of you in a way that makes you eager to keep playing... eager to learn more. It's rarely ever completely explained or fully fleshed out. But (if your dungeon master/gm is worth their salt) you trust that should you keep playing the game, you'll be able to pick up all the little threads and form a complete picture. It's a wonderful feeling. This feeling is, I'm coming to understand, the bones of what makes the Malazan novels addictive fantasy.

Like all addictions though, that feeling can be as frustrating as it is sublime. Orb Sceptre Throne is a pretty good example of both sides of that coin. There are SO many threads from the previous novels that get picked up here. The Seguleh, the Moranth, our loveable Dharujistani cast, a couple of scary necromancers, some of my favorite ascendants... the list is endless. Like HALF of the mysteries that I love in Malaz get a little clearer in this book. This is the first of Esslemont's novels to keep me reading later into the night than I planned (a pretty common occurrence towards the end of the Erikson books). I was having too much fun following the little threads of mystery to get the sleep I need.

HOWEVER, there's a fair amount of new threads introduced as well. Which I am, on paper, totally down for. But for me, these new threads are handled a little clumsily. This is a critique that I have with Erikson too. There's a kind of deliberate author intervention in the storytelling to preserve that dangling plot hookiness of new mystery. I don't think it's really fair to compare these two authors (though they pretty expertly share characters and locations so it's hard not to), but Esslemont's sleight of hand is a little clumsier than Erikson's. Like the writing is choppier. And choppy subtlety is a weird feeling.

For me, this book had a five star fantasy plot (even though the investment to really enjoy it is SO huge... just thousands and thousands of pages). But maybe a three star on the delivery of that plot? I loved it. But I'm not sure that I could say it belongs on a shelf with my favorites because I was frustrated almost as much as I was invested. Now, the net experience was completely worth it for me. I'm still excited about more Malaz. If this was my weekly tabletop game I would be ecstatic. But it's a book and I'm not playing along (more's the pity). So four stars this time. If you're totally obsessed with this universe (like I am), you'll likely have a great time with this one. So much cool stuff despite the fair amount of deliberate and obvious authorial plot obscuring mumbo-jumbo.