The best the soldiers can hope for is that the Empire stabilises (and as a postcolonial member of an erstwhile colony, you will appreciate that this is a horrifying thing for me to say), concentrating on governance rather than expansion, so that it finds some peace – and so other races can find their own peaces too. Perhaps the gods and ascendants will find a realm truly separate from that of the other beings, so they will no longer use them in their manoeuvrings for power.
I like to think the mesmerising anarchy will go on for ever. All we can say for certain is that since Good cannot triumph over Evil, there is one less Happy End in the world. But that's not to say it won't be a good end.
Editor's note: Another Blogcritic, Richard Marcus, has also offered thoughts on The Malazan Book of the Fallen.
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