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Review: Return of the Crimson Guard (Novels of the Malazan Empire #2) by Ian C. Esslemont

March 28, 2024 by Francisca Liliana Leave a Comment

Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

The returning mercenary Crimson Guard are sworn to oppose the Empire. Some elite Avowed scheme to open paths to power. Ascendants, ancient powerful entities, seek to exploit all sides for gain. “Traveller”, a swordsman, and his companion Ereko, confront successive enemies until the last from which none have returned. “Old Hands”, generals and mages from the previous Emperor, direct civil war. But Empress Laseen may draw out survivors for final elimination.

Review:

“Battle is for an army to win or lose; war is for civilization to win or lose.”

Another day, another Malazan novel checked off the tbr. Return of the Crimson Guard is much like many other epic fantasy books that need an entire encyclopedia to keep track of events, characters, settings, and plots. While its predecessor Night of Knives was condensed to only a few characters centralized on a single night within a city, Return of the Crimson Guard reminds the reader that there is still some traveling to do. See what I did there?

First of all, let me say that I hate comparing Esslemont and Erikson. They may write of the same world with overlapping characters, but they are completely two different authors. I don’t find it fair to weigh one against the other and I try my hardest not to. However, it’s very difficult considering that their books do overlap in timelines and cameos and references. It’s impossible to not compare at times, even when I do not want to. That being said, I will try to refer to Erikson as little as possible while reading Esslemont. The differences between them and their strengths and weakness in comparison to one another are a post for another day.

Another small note, I will be discussing a few characters from Malazan Book of the Fallen who appear in Return of the Crimson Guard. If you have read up to The Bonehunters, then you will be caught up character-wise. If you have not read The Bonehunters there is a small risk of spoilers for you. I do not discuss major events or detail plot twists. I’m merely speaking my feelings on their arcs as I feel is important to include. As I stated, if you have read up to The Bonehunters there is no risk of spoilers, but if you haven’t then there is a small risk as you will know whether these particular characters survive up to that point in the series. Now on with the review!

Return of the Crimson Guard has some truly heart-stopping moments and epic large-scale consequences that I did not see coming. There were some unexpected reveals and a lot of rage-inducing scenes that made me want to jump through the pages and throw a cusser towards some characters who personified toe-stubbing. I’m not sure what it is about Malazan that makes all the dads terrible at dading, but wow there is a terrible dad in this book that had me rage screaming to friends who could not understand why I was so upset. Malazan fans! Why is this small but not so small to me character sub-trait not talked about more? I feel like it should be talked about more! Especially considering who this character is! Anyways… almost lost my cool. I almost lost my cool several times through the course of this novel.

Let’s talk about Traveller for a moment. Oh, Traveller, how you break my heart. One of the benefits to reading Novels of the Malazan Empire after the main series is hindsight. I know what happens and how many of these character arcs conclude and knowing Traveller’s makes my journey with him that much more emotional. I understand the layers of foreshadowing and the cryptic conversations he has with people who know nothing of who he is or what he is working towards. It makes the book a special kind of read and more than once had me reaching for the tissues.

Something that Esslemont does exceptionally well are his battle scenes. They are well constructed and mind-numbingly brutal on a scale that is very much on par with the Malazan world. They are not only bloody with devastating consequences—they are emotional. Malazan’s brutality is its own grimdark genre in that that the story is not normally violent for the sake of violence. There is purpose to the grit, and it is shown through the characters arcs and actions. I love Malazan for its unique blend of character and plot driven storylines and Esslemont has done well with continuing that theme in his own novels.

One particular character that comes to mind is Laseen. You know her name and wonder what’s going on in her crafty empress mind and I’m still wondering. This installment into Malazan gave us readers a little insight into our morally ambiguous ruler and it was awesome! I’ve been wanting to know more about this character for ages and seeing her in her element trying to navigate the politics of ruling while also planning battles was so interesting to read. She’s always had an air of mystery surrounding her and Esslemont was, in my opinion, able to turn her into more than just a figure head. She became a multi-faceted person who makes just as many mistakes as the rest of us. I was glued to the page in every scene she was in! Reading a Malazan book means having to juggle lots of different storylines and Laseen was just one of many. My only complaint concerning her was that there was simply not enough of her. There were quite a few plots I felt could’ve been sacrificed so that we could’ve had more insight into a journey Esslemont was clearly taking us on to better understand her character.

Which brings me to my next point. A few complaints I’ve read about Night of Knives is that it was not Malazan enough. Where was the confusion? Where was the traveling and the dozens of povs to follow? Now, with Return of the Crimson Guard the complaint is that it is too Malazan. There is far too much moving around and too many pov’s to follow. It seems one cannot please everyone. I do agree to some extent with these criticisms concerning this book. Return of the Crimson Guard was not messy by any means, but I did feel like Esslemont was trying to tell too many stories at once. Every plot felt important, but I felt like it took too long to get to the point of why they were important.

I was missing that distinct Esslemont voice that was so fun to read in Night of Knives. What I mean to say is that it was hard to tell who was speaking and who wasn’t, which was not a problem in the previous book. It made it hard to keep track of where I was in this novel and who I was following. Normally when I am required to reread a section of a Malazan chapter it’s to burrow the information into my brain to make sure I understand it correctly. I had to reread multiple sections of Return of the Crimson Guard because I didn’t know where I was or which pov I was in. Malazan has a plethora of characters with unique voices and even when the character is not named, I can usually tell who is speaking just by the cadence of their words. Esslemont hasn’t quite mastered this yet. Was the book more epic in scale? Yes, but at the expense of voices without the proper characterization to make them distinguishable from the other. This was not true for every single character in the novel, but it was enough to hinder somewhat my enjoyment of the story.

By the time this review is released I will be about 25% into the sequel, Stonewielder, and let me just say, it gets better! Don’t let Return of the Crimson Guard stop you from continuing the series because Esslemont has found his balance in Stonewielder! So far, the book has been phenomenal in both plot and characterization. I’m so excited to continue and eventually share my thoughts on how Esslemont has grown as a writer.

In summary, Return of the Crimson Guard has its place in the Malazan story. There are some plot twists here that BLEW MY MIND. I cannot believe these twists exist in a series separate from the main one that not many people have read. Now that I know what I know, I cannot imagine not knowing it. If you are a Malazan fan who is in love with the lore and are in need of expansion on the world, yeet yourself into the warren and pick up these books. You are truly missing out on some wild events and explanation’s you will not see coming. I am only thinking of your Malazan health, but as I’ve said many times: I am the boss of no one. Read what you will.

This was a great read even if I had a harder time with it. I certainly still recommend reading Esslemont to any avid Malazan fan and can’t wait to know everything there is to know about this world!

Filed Under: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews Tagged With: Fantasy, Fantasy Books, fantasy review, High Fantasy

About Francisca Liliana

I am a writer, reader, and lover of all things fantasy. I have a healthy obsessive adoration for every form of epic nerdiness. More often than not, I’m soul-deep in yet another grimdark read. Having grown up on classic authors such as Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, and Victor Hugo, I’ve has always been drawn to the darker side of storytelling. Fascinated with the art of worldbuilding and emotional character arcs, I hold authors such as Steven Erikson, Brian Staveley and Robin Hobb closest to my heart. I speak exclusively in Lord of the Rings quotes and find it to be a light in dark places. I only hold to one truth and that is to never stop believing in dragons.

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