Steven Erikson - The Bonehunters

On my first read, by this point in the series, I had begun to lose track of a few of the many threads running through it, although the careening momentum of the main strands was more than sufficient to keep pulling me through; I recall being unsure about how some of the bits-and-pieces scenes which are interspersed throughout it had come about, particularly the desperate defence of the shadow and first thrones (strikingly, those images and scenes were nonetheless memorable enough to stick with me). This time, I was better able to track them through, adding to the impact of the whole. Again, there's a spectacular battle about mid-way through (in Y'Ghatan), and then another bravura finale, this time in Malaz City, as Tavore comes closer and closer to tipping her hand as to where she will finally stand, and other powers converge around Rhulad's seat of power.