Midnight Tides
First edition cover
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| Author | Steven Erikson |
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| Cover artist | Steve Stone |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Malazan Book of the Fallen |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | 2004 by Bantam (UK & Canada) & Tor Books (USA) |
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Publication date
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1 March 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 959 pp |
| ISBN | (UK paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 57199905 |
| 823.92 | |
| LC Class | PR9199.4.E745 |
| Preceded by | House of Chains |
| Followed by | The Bonehunters |
Midnight Tides is the fifth volume of Canadian author Steven Erikson's epic fantasy series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Although it is part of the larger series, it has only limited references to the previous books. However, it is not a stand-alone volume as the events of the books Reaper's Gale and Dust of Dreams follow on from it.
The novel was first published in the United Kingdom as a hardcover on 1 March 2004, with a mass-market paperback following on 1 March 2005. The first American edition came out on 17 April 2007.
Midnight Tides takes place on a continent, called Lether, located on the far side of the world to the Malazan Empire and unknown to it. The book is set in a time before the first book in the series, Gardens of the Moon.
The novel begins with the aftermath of a massive battle between an alliance of Tiste Edur, led by Scabandari Bloodeye, and Tiste Andii, led by Silchas Ruin, against some K'Chain Che'Malle. The scheming Scabandari massacres his former allies to take the land for his own people.
Later, a swordsmith named Withal is washed up on a beach, where he enters the service of the Crippled God to forge a sword.
Many years after this, the Tiste Edur tribes, recently unified under the Warlock King, are to meet with a delegation from the Kingdom of Lether to discuss a treaty. The Letherii are an expansionist society with a reputation for treachery. This reputation is shown to be well-earned when letherii merchant ships begin an illegal seal harvest on Edur territory. Trull Sengar witnesses this and carries word to the Warlock King, who with the aid of his apprentices, destroys the ships. The Edur have acquired many slaves over the years, including Letherii. One evening, while the Edur are at a council meeting, a seer slave called Feather Witch holds a casting, where a Sengar family slave named Udinaas is injured by a Wyval.
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Wikipedia