Memories of Ice focuses on the renegade Malazan 2nd Army and their new allies on Genabackis, and their battle with the Pannion Domin, a new power emerging from the south of the continent.

Toc the Younger, having disappeared during Gardens of the Moon, emerges from the warren of chaos through a rent near Morn with the elder god Togg present within and occasionally possessing him to meet Onos T'oolan; Draconus's daughter, Lady Envy; her pets, one of whom has the elder god and Togg's long-lost lover Fanderay present within; and her Seguleh swordsmen thralls.

Whiskeyjack is lost in the battle when Kallor—who as emperor tens of thousands of years earlier killed the population of a continent rather than letting them rebel (the bodies now form the imperial warren) -- betrays the attack when promised the position of king in the new House of Chains by the Crippled God, who is sponsoring the Pannion from behind the scenes.

The remaining Bridgeburners (including Paran who with Dujek's help is listed among the casualties) retire to Darujhistan to open a bar, where the epilogue shows them listening to the Imperial Historian Duiker tell the story of the Chain of Dogs.

In their review, the SF Site said that Memories of Ice was "easily one of the best books of the year", saying Erikson had "infused new life into one of the oldest traditions of fiction, and has done so in a manner that genuinely captures and reinterprets the spirit of the original Greek and Norse sagas.