7 months. 3.5 million words. 10 books. 2 tear filled eyes.

I don't think I have proper words to explain how much this series now means to me. I feel fundamentally changed as a person. Read this series.

Since Dust of Dreams and the Crippled God count as one book here are some quotes.

"But you do not understand. All life is sorcery. In its very essence, the soul is magical, and each process of chemistry, of obeisance and cooperation, of surrender and of struggle-at every scale conceivable-is a consort of sorcery. Destroy magic and you destroy life. There was a long pause, and then a flood of bitter amusement flowed through Kalyth. 'When we kill, we kill magic. Consider the magnitude of that crime, if you dare."

"the freedom that lies at the heart of all life; that choice is the singular moral act and all one chooses can only be considered in a moral context if that choice is free."

"Grasp hold of your thoughts and catch up."

"It is not enough to wish for a better world for the children. It is not enough to shield them with ease and comfort. Lostara Yil, if we do not sacrifice our own ease, our own comfort, to make the future's world a better one, then we curse our own children. We leave them a misery they do not deserve; we leave them a host of lessons unearned."

Edit to include my full thoughts:

Alright book 10 payed off everything that a full 1000 page previous book set up. And more than that, I paid of the commitment of all of the previous 9 books. Erikson certainly promises a lot when it comes to the conclusions of his books. He has shown time and time again that no matter how large these climaxes get that he can handle them and make them epic. I would be lying though if I said I wasnt worried that a climax to an entire series would be too big for him. Well I was thankfully wrong. There are storylines that started in the first book that didn't get wrapped up until the climax of this book. Erikson was able to see through his ambitious story and authorial intent across 3.5 million words. It's truly inspiring what he was able to do.

Malazan is a story about people. Whether powerful or not. It's about the decisions they make and the other people those decisions impact. And above all else Malazan is about what it means to have compassion for other people. I touched on that in previous book reviews but book 9/10 take it to its ultimate end. How far does your compassion reach? To only people that look like you? What about animals? What about the planet? What about people that aren't born yet? Does your compassion cover those that have wronged you? Does it reach over gods that don't answer your prayers anymore? If you cannot put yourself in anyone or anything else's shoes you have no understanding of what compassion truly means. This series has fundamentally changed how I view the world and how I view compassion. Many things I was already in line with with Erikson's authorial voice. But there were many unexamined parts of myself that Erikson forced me to look at and contemplate. This isn't escapist literature. This is reflective, philosophical, and deeply challenging literature wrapped up in swords, dragons, elves, military engagements, wizards and witches, trolls, and undead neanderthals that can cut mountains in half. Erikson wants you to examine your principles, wants you to face them down and find in yourself the heart to just simply care.

"'Children are dying.' Lull nodded. 'That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.'"

As an aficionado of the classic British whodunnit and a big fan of the sparse, distinct prose of Japanese translated fiction, Strange Houses was the perfect little appetizer to get me hooked on Uketsu. I loved how unique and uncanny this story was. The interactivity of the floor plans and direct to reader style “what do you notice as strange?” gave me the feeling I’ve always wanted of being a detective alongside the ones in the story.

While the premise is far-fetched, and I can see from other reviews that it didn’t work for everyone, I think the immediate, wild speculation to depravity and darkness adds to the horror element of the book. Rather than staying purely detective mystery, Uketsu brings in elements of scary stories, the inherent unknowableness of other people and what goes on in the house next door. This intentionally uncanny setup makes it seem like anything is possible.