Endless training, gruelling marches, and the frenzy of battle against more enemies than can be counted - such is the life of a marine in the Malazan Empire.

Year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day, moment by moment. Skills are honed to deadly precision, the secret language of the soldier in a world drowning in perpetual discontent, the eternal conflict against the fates. And we should forget the seemingly inevitable interference of mischievous gods and more often than not, the resurrected remains of ancient and once believed long-dead entities.

As a new holy war starts sparked in the fire-blackened cauldron of Seven Cities, the Fifth and Sixth squads are about to embark a mission they don't want for a cause they don't care about. Not that anybody asked their opinion. They can only hope that their objective isn't as hopeless as it seems, and that they aren't simply being used as pawns - a strategic sacrifice, if you will, in the machinations of their betters.

So what's life like as a marine in the Malazan Army?

Well, let's see, shall we . . .