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. Reaper's Gale is a direct sequel to both the fifth and sixth volumes, Midnight Tides and The Bonehunters.

The novel was first published in hardcover and trade paperback in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2007, and in Canada on 5 June 2007. It was published in the United States on March 4, 2008.

Plot summary

Synopsis

The Challengers: Champions from various cultures return with the Edur fleet to challenge Rhulad. Among them include Icarium with Taralack Veed, Karsa Orlong with Samar Dev, a Seguleh girl found unconscious near MoI, and a monk from Cabal. Icarium begins acting strangely, and Taralack Veed starts doubting that Icarium can beat Rhulad. Samar Dev believes Karsa will die, but Karsa is confident. Eventually all the challengers die except Karsa and Icarium. Karsa fights Rhulad and severs Rhulad's sword arm, then uses all his ghosts and the ones in Samar's knife to manipulate the sword's power and travel to the Crippled God's island. There he flips the Crippled God's tent, stabs Rhulad (who dies, this time for good), slaps Withal and enters a portal aimed vaguely at his home after refusing to take the sword for himself (which was apparently the Crippled God's plan ever since Karsa left Laederon). Withal and the Nachts destroy the sword.

The Shake: Varat Taun warns Twilight of what Icarium can do, so she flees up the coast. We learn she is a princess of the Shake. At Maiden Island she confronts Brullyg who declared himself king and makes herself Queen. Deadsmell makes some comments about the Shake being descended from the original Tiste Andii guardians of the Shore (but also having Edur blood).

The Awl war: Redmask unites all the Awl and initially defeats the Letheri army coming for him, but before long the Letheri start doing better. They have a big final battle and Redmask's two K'chain Che-malle pals suddenly attack and kill him mid-battle. The Letheri win. The Barghast show up. Toc sacrifices himself to save a dozen or so Awl children, witnessed by Tool. The Barghast slaughter the Letheri forces.

In the Refugium: The Refugium is dying. Menandore teams up with Sheltatha and Sukul to try and take Scabandari's finnest, but Quick Ben defeats them and Hedge cussers Sheltatha and Menandore. Sukul gets away but is then killed by the three T'lan Imass who were real Bentract and had wanted to usurp Ulshun Pral (but later decided they liked him and the place). Onrack and Trull defend the portal entrance. Silchas, Clip, Wither, Kettle, Udinaas, Seren and Fear come through. Silchas, Clip and Wither team up to kill the rest. Fear dies, Wither explodes, Clip retreats, the rest are really wounded except Silchas who takes the Finnest but commits no more injury for fear of Kilava, except for stabbing Kettle and making a new Azath (because she's an Azath seed). Scabandari's soul is stuck inside it. People slowly recover and Quick Ben, Hedge, Trull and Seren teleport to Letheras.

In Letheras: The marines make it there, Beak dies to save them from a giant wave of magic. The Edur go back home. The main Malazan army fights the main Letheri army so the marines go running around the city. The Seguleh shows up not dead and walks out. Fiddler's group make it to the colliseum, where Trull has found his dead brother and is promptly stabbed by Sirryn Kanar.

Brys returns from the undead. Feather Witch tries to make him the mortal sword of her new Errant cult, but the Errant drowns her. Brys gives Pinosel and Urkel the name of the sea-god so they can restrain it. The Huntress kills Hannan Mosag. Brys kills Karos Invictad. The Rat Catchers' Guild pays people to shout Tehol's name. Tehol is pronounced Emperor by the will of the people and marries Janath.

Icarium tries to replicate K'rul's forging of the warrens by slitting his wrists and walking into one of his magic buildings. It is broken and explodes outwards in a big white wave which kills people directly and indirectly (ie by debris). The ones killed directly appear to have their thoughts/brains/etc sucked out of them. Among the brain-sucked are Taralack Veed and Lether Anict. Triban Gnol and Senior Assessor also die, and Varat Taun surrenders.