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Stats
Started: 2026/04/03
Finished: 2026/05/16
Last Updated: 2026/05/16
Current Status: Finished Memories of Ice
Started Memories of Ice: 2026/04/03
Finished Memories of Ice: 2026/05/16 - 36.1h
Thoughts
[Free write thoughts here]
36.1 h.... ah..............
Well, i think for the book reports though, im gonna give myself a couple days. ill read a book in the meantime, but it will only be like 10 pages or something per day, just so im reading. but i feel like the reflection should be just as important as the reading. I mean, if i didnt get ANYTHING from the book, what was the point of reading it!!
idk what im reading next though. maybe just murderbot into barsoom into book of swords and then back to malazan?
did the book report in like 1 day basically like the day i finished it that was kinda unexpected. went into a trance lowkey. themes and such.
you gonna need to go to the book report one for the book report
Reading Log
2026/04/03
Memories of Ice
Starting malazan 3 now. New MTG Strixhaven book comes out on the 4/7, so when that happens I will be pausing malazan to binge that real quick (hopefully). Im just getting a little head start.
This EPUB has 1400 pages though. And it seems like for every 3 pages there is an extra secret one. Oh boy. That comes out to about 1850 pages..... If I read about 50 per day (thats like an hour BTW b/c im slow), thats 37 days. The actual proposed start time for malazan 3 is probably 4/21. Lets beat this book by 5/25. 35 days. I can do it.
2026/04/22
memories of ice chapter 7 (near the end)
Im gonna switch this over to its own post, so I can start the book report template
But i do want to say that this book is feeling a lot more boring than the others. So many names. So many names. So much talking about what we are going to do and not doing. So many names. So many new magical creatures whose only differences are how strong they are (and their physical appearance, for all thats worth in a book).
And the chapter structure is so demoralizing. 100 pages in a chapter, but yet for some reason its not all on the same POVs! Im sure that Toc is somehow chronologically related to the siege plot, but probably only on a second read! Why is toc's completely disjointed pov in the same chapter!? I know it technically doesnt matter, since its the same words, but chapters make a nice break. I just feel like im reading and reading and reading and reading and ....
2026/04/27
Book 3, middle of chapter 14.
It has picked up a bit. Book 2 was just talking, but still, a little more interesting. Toc's descent (?) infiltration (?) was cool
But im here to talk about themes.... and such
What have i noticed, IDK honestly. Definitely loyalty to a fault. Its what keeps the malazan empire running. A robust knowledge of history (and how to extrapolate that into modern battles against once repeated tactics) and a loyalty to your commanding officer. Even if they tell you to die.
Theres themes of intensity. I first noticed it wih people calling Tattersail Paran's lover. They only spent one night together, with a person aged 200 years, but the "intensity" (like of the setting... come on) was such to spark such emotion to stick for a lifetime. Its also seen in the battles and army. Whiskeyjacks crew travelling the desert chasing Quick Ben and aging a lifetime, becoming the Bridgeburners. Just recently, Stonny getting... raped and that awakening something (idk yet) in Gruntle.
Theres probably others im forgetting rn
Theres the madness, single-mindedness which need brings. They said it when toc the younger was "about" to become a cannibal (discounting his super-eye)
Also, symbols. Theres definitely dogs. He (author) loves da dogs. Theres crows. Ravens. Carrion feeders. We got the kchain cmalle who in my head are undead comically large crows with sword feet. And even the pannion domin being carrion feeders to "survive" (there are no other ways of getting food for carrion feeders! Ok there probably are but these people have been reduced to husks)
I kinda thought doors were a symbol. I mean they are used for some important stuff. Book 2 was kinda about doors, even being able to open em and once you pass through some are portals and like there are literal portals like what is shown at the beginning of book 1. But like idk. It probably is a symbol just doesnt come up much
But now to the most important question: what does it mean? The symbols, Kruppe, what do they mean?! Themes, and such. Themes..??!!!
Yeah idk. Idk what dogs be meaning. There are a lot of them. Idk what he be saying about loyalty. Is it good? Definitely has its positives. Is it bad? Can be (book 2 following the incompetent fist who was being puppeted by a traitor, book 3 recently the king doing a sortie).
Idk why he means with intensity. Its a thing i guess? Be on the lookout for those times in life because when it matters it really does? Slowly and then all at once type beat? How does doors fit into this? Dogs?
Idk man
We b readin tho
2026/04/28
14
Ive kept on forgetting the most obvious theme of all: perspective! The literal structure of the book is built around it! Constantly changing perspectives. Ironically, i think this book is the most limited in it. You really only see things room the "good guys" povs. The other two books had you seeing the other perspectives, at least a little. But i think it kinda clicked for me with my last note mentioning the sortie. I believed it was the kings desperate retreat because that was that liar perspective i had. It really was just them all getting attacked. Its like an unreliable narrator, but the narrator itself is reliable (omniscient 3rd person thingy) just the actual experiences of the people themselves are clouded by bias and perspectives. Mhybe is truly seeing those dreams. That is true! That doesn't necessarily make the dreams themselves true though... just that they did happen.
Also, a lot of animals huh. Predators, prey, and... birds. A lot of flying too. And becoming free. But only for a short time before being shackled again.
For the story - memories of ice... who were the ones in the ice again? Who straight frozen themselves? The jaghut? Idk. I guess that was Linda book 2 though with them walking up to the wall of ice probably in a vision or dream. This is just because whiskeyjack came across the demon bones and the dog prints who are from the north ice. And the book title you know
But as a little update because I'm here. Gruntled just lifted half of capustan to victory. And i guess we have another complex network of tunnels that won't get caged in like every single other piece of war-related media. One such example being malazan book 1
And the karnadas slowly killing himself. I Gouda say i do like the whole poisoning magic. But also as the chained god said it s less poisoning and more changing the enrollment for his followers. Cool. And like part of a fantasy where magic is suddenly taken away is cool. In mean i guess that was technically all of elantris. And outlay a bunch of other ones.
2026/04/29
15 mid
I know I've been spamming recently but i gotta say that kruppe continues to be the goat
I have no other words than he straight up mogged brood
Like bro literally stood and emoted
Also i like the him being the smartest guy and being allies with a god, but not a god himself. I think that's cool. And him more setting up opportunities through controlling "coincidence". He's a fun little (...) guy
2026/04/30
16
I feel like another thing the book plays with is the dichotomy between power of numbers and power of... power? Power of density? Like tenescrowri just "winning" through sheer numbers like zombies. While highly skilled units like gruntle can also hold high numbers back. It also happened in book 2, where the peasants in the chain of dogs fought back against the trap that the nobles led them into (because nobles dumb... money doesnt necessarily make experience, or something. At least not experience for EVERYTHING).
And the ending of the chapter, with Itkovian facing Anaster felt... weird? Idk. Definitely... unexpected. I guess I understand how Itkovian is the shield anvil of despair. and how a human needs to contain it because a god cant understand it. and how anasters life is despair. I just, i dont really understand how we got here. Like all of a sudden everyone just knows that Itkovian has despair sucking powers. And all of a sudden Anaster is Weak: Anti-Despair
But interesting i guess
2026/05/12
Chapter 24
On the last chapter now! 25. 180 pages..... literally the length of like murderbot 1.
no update for a bit. no themes. just theming it up. got the horses i think they a symbol i guess. they usually seem to represent their rider. the mott horses being unruly while cobb and m..... i dont remember his name are freeing the Mhybe. Itkovian literally riding his horse to death to get to the battlefield. The blindly loyal horses riding in to die for the greater cause of their masters who know better. thats how malazan has gotten to its power. thats how malazan has won. in the end of the day, they usually dont die, or else there wouldnt be that many malazans left, especially ones that willing to follow orders. They can still think, just with the knowledge that their commander's orders are more absolute. i guess.
and this book feels a lot more explicitly about balance than the others. balance between order of malaz versus freedom of brood. balance between dark fleeing/migrating and chaos being... chaos. balance between the pannion domin expanding and also having enough food to sustain (they wouldnt have had that). probably other balance idk
but the main thing is.. wow. whiskeyjack just died. i guess Korlat did too. korlat getting one-shot randomly by kallor with a delayed death too is kinda disappointing to me. like this is a 14,000 year old immortal dragon. really. whiskeyjack makes sense. hes just a dude. an injured/recovering one at that. but like korlat? really? maybe it was the chaos. sure. lets say that i guess.
whiskeyjack was an insane death though to just randomly happen to me. like i expected korlat to die lowkey. she kinda had those flags. dujek does too tbh. but did not expect whiskeyjack. i feel like major deaths in this series are also handled weird. like it is bad enough that there one million povs. but also, it feels like there is no emotional buildup to the death. not to say that the death doesnt feel deserved so to speak. but just no emotional buildup to the death. its kinda just like it just happens. which would make sense if he were getting killed by a random munition, but not by a betrayal while trying to step up to a 1v1. like pull it out a little more man! This book is like 1800 pages - dedicate like 10 more to this battle and death! The emotional aftermath is handled nicely, but the death just... happens. same thing with the talon from book 2. like alright he dead. and mammot from book 1. like alright. he dead. like they feel like weird what-if dream sequences that a character would wake up from 3 sentences after the "death". but no.
especially in a world where paran getting attacked and transforming into a wolf exists! Like whiskeyjack doesnt need to magically grow the power to defend himself, but at least let him have a final stand! Some thoughts in his head! THe battle could go the exact same way - deflect sword, go for the hit, break leg, die. but like at least put some emotional oomph into it! especially for sometihng so rare and one-off as a character betrayal! Like a munitions explosion happens every chapter, they can die quickly like that, but being consumed by an ancient warlord, fighting off a torrent of shapeshifting soletaken and divers, being betrayed (by the one guy you would expect to betray you), these are not everyday occurances! So dont make it seem so! Maybe its themes and such, but like man, I want some emotional emphasis for these characters. i dont just want to feel like the author doesnt care about the deaths! because if he dont care, why should I!???
2026/05/13
Chapter 25, first third
Need to keep it short, gotta sleep
1. Is Slowly then All at Once a theme? I guess anything can be a theme really. But this book is the slowly then all at once book (where something like book 2 is a slow burn of Coltaine's chain of dogs slowly getting a death by a thousand cuts.... until the whole loyal to a fault thing. Just one more cut. The internal bleeding)
2. Just saw Anomander Rake make the actually coolest entrance ever. Actual boss battle cutscene. Like bro. The Aura. The Kurald Galain flowing out and just exuding its aura. Wow.
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