''Dust of Dreams'' is the ninth volume of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

author

Steven Erikson Steve Rune Lundin (born October 7, 1959), known by his pseudonym Steven Erikson, is a Canadian novelist who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. He is best known for his ten-volume spanning epic fantasy series ...

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

series, the ''

Malazan Book of the Fallen ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the Canadian author Steven Erikson. The series, published by Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random Ho ...

''. It is the first book in the series to end on a cliffhanger, dealing with the fallout from ''

Reaper's Gale ''Reaper's Gale'' is the seventh volume of Canadian author Steven Erikson's epic fantasy series, the ''Malazan Book of the Fallen ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the Canadian author Steven Eriks ...

'' and forms the first half of the series finale, with ''The Crippled God'' forming the second half, and being the tenth and final novel in the series.

Development

In a 2014 Q&A with

Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

, Erikson says he considers ''Dust of Dreams'' to be the first half of a single, concluding book.

Plot

''Dust of Dreams'' returns to the continent of Lether, last seen in

. Adjunct Tavore leads the Malazan army into the Letherii Wastelands to fight against an unknown threat.

Critical Reception

''Dust of Dreams'' received mixed reviews, largely because it was written as the first half of a single volume. Bill Capossere says it is "in the top tier of a top-tier series", elaborating "it ends, unfortunately, with a cliffhanger, but ''Dust of Dreams'' leaves you wanting more." ''SFFWorld'' says "n first read it does appear to be one of the weakest of the Malazan books" but clarifies the book feels incomplete without its sequel. ''SF Site'' describes the series so far "is as complex and deep as any in fantasy or science fiction". Acknowledging the lack of conclusion, praise is given for the setup given for the final volume.

References

Malazan Book of the Fallen Tor Books books High fantasy novels 2009 Canadian novels Novels by Steven Erikson Bantam Books books {{2000s-fantasy-novel-stub