The Bonehunters Book Six of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

Steven Erikson — 2007

The Sixth Book of the epic Malazan Book of the Fallen from bestselling author Steven Erikson. In The Bonehunters, in the ever decimating Malazan Empire, a war is brewing between mortal and immortals, gods and mages, that will decide once and for all who shall exist and who shall perish. The Seven Cities Rebellion has been crushed. Sha'ik is dead. One last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y'Ghatan and under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortress makes the battle-weary Malaz 14th Army uneasy. For it was here that the Empire's greatest champion Dassem Ultor was slain and a tide of Malazan blood spilled. A place of foreboding, its smell is of death. But elsewhere, agents of a far greater conflict have made their opening moves. The Crippled God has been granted a place in the pantheon, a schism threatens and sides must be chosen. Whatever each god decides, the ground-rules have changed, irrevocably, terrifyingly and the first blood spilled will be in the mortal world. A world in which a host of characters, familiar and new, including Heboric Ghost Hands, the possessed Apsalar, Cutter, once a thief now a killer, the warrior Karsa Orlong and the two ancient wanderers Icarium and Mappo--each searching for such a fate as they might fashion with their own hands, guided by their own will. If only the gods would leave them alone. But now that knives have been unsheathed, the gods are disinclined to be kind. There shall be war, war in the heavens. And, the prize? Nothing less than existence itself... Here is the stunning new chapter in Steven Erikson magnificent Malazan Book of the Fallen--hailed as an epic of the imagination and acknowledged as a fantasy classic in the making. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Reviews

C S@cstephen

May 29, 2024

Excellent But Slow This is far more exposition than prior novels but a good story nonetheless. I would prefer more dialogue but the plot (no spoilers) follows the last novel well. Enjoyable read if you have the time. If not, read a summary or the last section and continue on....you're almost done

Lilah Dennison@snailship

Oct 9, 2023

On my first MBotF readthrough, brain feels like soup after this one. Very gratifying to see the plots of Seven Cities, Genebackis, and Lether start to converge. BH has fought its way into my top three!

Sade A@bitterblue

Jan 19, 2023

RTC

Abdul H@abdul

Aug 14, 2022

Erikson is certified

Charles Siboto@charles_s

Aug 5, 2022

I took my time with this book but it's a brilliant read, especially towards the end where it reached a zenith that made me want to cry. Steven Erikson, I still want to take your brain, bang it, lick it and then eat it.

Sheila@duchess

Feb 7, 2022

I finished this on my flight home from Malta, and it is hands down without a doubt the BEST book in the Malazan series so far. SO MANY EMOTIONS. SO MANY PLOTLINES COMING TOGETHER. ALL THOSE INSIGNIFICANT DETAILS FROM BOOKS AGO ARE SUDDENLY SIGNIFICANT. KALAAAAMMMMMM FIIIIIIIIDDDDDD SOOBBBBBBBBBB

Jenna Kathleen@jennarator

Nov 26, 2021

I'm a little sad that I only have 4 books of the main series left - I never want to leave Malaz. After Midnight Tides, I was so happy to see some familiar faces again. I still loved the 5th book, but this was an extra level of epic to return to the characters I love after some awesome worldbuilding in book 5. Cotillion is one of the best characters who doesn't even show up that much, but you know he's always working behind the scenes and when he does appear, you can't put the book down. I love Ganoes Paran's character development. At first, when he (view spoiler)[becomes Master of the Deck, (hide spoiler)] he's a bit like a whining child. It's a realistic reaction to a life-altering event that you can't even control. He didn't want or know how to take on all that responsibility, but he has really grown into his role in this book. We have all the favourite Bridgeburners - Kalam and Quick Ben, Fiddler and Bottle as well as some fun new characters in the ranks. Other favourites like Apsalar and Karsa Orlong who are intriguing to follow and create a lot of humour (at least on Karsa's part). The biggest surprise for me was that I really liked Tavore in The Bonehunters. I think that is what really makes Erikson brilliant. He can change your opinion on any character and creates sympathy in you for characters you never thought you could have any interest in. The pacing throughout The Bonehunters was better than previous books, but as always, the ending was beyond expectations. The coolest thing about the ending of this novel is that you have a lot of the characters in previous novels finally coming together and the last 3 or 4 chapters, I did not want to put the book down at all.

Ben Nathan@benreadssff

Sep 15, 2021

About 75% of the way through I thought it might be a four star book, but then that last 250+ pages was amazing and batshit crazy. I feel like the world has been put on its head. Too intense, so I need time off but looking forward to my return.