Ahira's Hangar

OK, started reading the first chapter last night.

I am already happy to report that the writing is a lot more smooth than in Night of Knives. The prose in that book...felt clunky. This one is, thus far, much better written. And that is a very good sign that Esslemont cares about his writing, and has worked hard on it.

I am actually looking forward to this book - what we hear about the Crimson Guard in NOK and see of them in bits and pieces here and there in Erikson's books makes them sound like utter badasses. After the super slow paced Reaper's Gale, I am ready for some asskicking action.

As always on workdays, the read has been going slowly this week - I am a little under 200 pages in.

And you Erikson fans will have to kick me. I am enjoying it more so far than any of Erikson's books since House of Chains.

All of the later Erikson books still have great individual scenes - its just that starting with MT, he has a lot of...navel gazing scenes as well.

So far ROTCG has much better pacing (and not as much navel gazing) as the later Erikson books (though I cannot comment on TTH, as that is the one I have not read yet, so as far as I know that one has the better pacing of his earlier books).

Right now I am at the point where

OK, answered my own question with further reading. In fact, stayed up way too late reading, and exhausted myself to the point where I cannot read the last couple of chapters - or go in to work - today. Damned exhaustion and damned medical condition.

However:

I finally finished up the book, and really enjoyed it. It's right up there with DH, MOI, and HOC as my favorites of the series, though all of the books have some great scenes and subplots.

Very much looking forward to Stonewielder now. Wondering from the title if it will be about Greymane (isn't he the one they call Stonewielder?) and more about the Crimson Guard?

Yup, just a great, great book.

I have had the same thoughts about Laseen's competence. It's kind of amazing that she ever managed to gain the throne in the first place, but I guess it's easy enough to kill the right person if you're an extraordinary killer. But how she managed to keep the throne, and not have the empire break into pieces years ago, is beyond me. But maybe it's all a brilliant plan aimed in another direction. At least I hope. Otherwise, she's an idiot beyond all idiots.

Having studied ancient Rome a bit, you can have some pretty incredibly bad rulers. And I'm not even talking personal habits so much as sheer incompetance. If you are lucky, a better one comes along after a really bad one or two, and starts raising things up again.

The best string of Roman Emperors were the "adopted" ones, following the brief Flavian dynasty - they each adopted the most promising leader a generation or two younger and that guy would be a heir designate. This system held together longer than you would think, and produced a string of really good emperors - until the biological son of the last seized power at the death of his father (Commodus - the son's - name lives on as a synonym for a potty. )

Some of this stuff comes from Night of Knives, so I am covering it up:

I've got a bad feeling about Mallick, too, Duchess.

And I like your comparison of Surly to Stalin. Hadn't really thought about that before. (That's my biggest problem with this series -- I don't think about it, I just keep reading. )