Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont

Return of the Crimson Guard is the second installment of Ian C. Esslemont's Novels of the Malazan Empire. Although the title of the book pertains to the Empire's old nemesis, it also marks the start of the changes for the Empire.

The book is divided into 3 major parts:
Book 1: Diaspora's End; Book 2: The Eternal Return and; Book 3: Fates and Chances. The major players can also be divided into three major groups: those loyal to the empire, the Old Guard along with the groups who rose up in rebellion (the Talian League) and the Crimson Guard.

It tells us about the history of the Crimson Guard and their determination to find the Duke - K'azz D'Avore. It will also show the present conditions and sentiments of the Avowed. In Book 3 when K'azz finally announced that he has returned, the Guard split into two factions. The other group is led by Skinner.

The book also provides a background of the Stormriders, the flowering of the first human civilization and Kallor's rise to power. One character also shed some light about the Seguleh society.

Those who have read The Bonehunters might be curious to know what happened to the Wickans. This book will provide some answers.

The battle scenes were epic. There were also instances where the opposing forces had to merge and fight together. When the Malazans defeated the Talian forces, they both opposed the Crimson Guard.

Readers will also get to see Greymane in action for the first time against Skinner. Dassem also showed up.

What I liked most about this book is Laseen's active participation in the events. In other books, she's said to have been a deadly assassin. She showed her skills this time by going against Cowl. An unexpected death however will change Malazan Empire.

The only confusing part was the mention of a Primogenatrix in chapter 3. In was not explained in the latter part of the book.

The story is told from different point-of-views, the most imporant of which are Kyle's, Possum's, Rillish's, Shimmer's and Nait's (or Jumpy).

The multiple battle scenes were handled very well even if the scale is almost ambitious. I liked the match-ups as well. I was happy to see Laseen participating, as well as Tayschrenn.

Overall, it's a great book. I think I'll even add it to my favorites. The flow of the narrative is smooth and the action scenes are well-written. It's comparable to the scope of battles that took place in Memories of Ice but in a much shorter book. I don't recommend this to anyone who has not read a Malazan book yet. Esslemont has a habit of leaving only teasers that readers who haven't experienced reading his and Steven Erikson's works will have a hard time understanding.

I'm giving Return of the Crimson Guard a 10 out of 10 rating.