Toll the Hounds is a chore

when it is pretty obvious the ending was remade during editing.

The last part of the book is not conected at all to the rest of it.

It is clear someone in a phone call told erikson that something HAD to happen in this book.

This is factually untrue, and I can say that with absolute certainty.
Even if I didn't have 'insider knowledge' on this particular claim, the thematic connections, the character arcs, the narrative logic and progression of plot points, would all be evidence counter to this.
Further, in multiple interviews with Erikson, he has specifically talked about writing toward those scenes at the end, and the moving of the characters from where they were in the world (either geographically or in terms of psychology) to where they end up at the end.
But should those points not sway you, literary analytical techniques (freely available to everyone to learn) reveal the cohesiveness of what is happening in the book.

Not everyone has to enjoy the book, nor is it a book that will appeal to everyone, we all know that the various books appeal to different readers in different ways, and many of the books annoy different readers in different ways, but I would have to disagree with your assertion.
To be clear:
The ending was not added post-first draft.
The end of the book is connected to the rest of the book.
No one rang, emailed, sent a letter, sat him down for a talk, or communicated in anyway, that 'something had to happen'.

It mightn't have worked for you. You might not see how they they are connected, but that doesn't mean that they aren't connected.
Instead of looking for causal links between plot threads in an A leads to B leads to C sense, you might consider looking at how events and characters are mirrors or parallels of various other threads.
Thematic connections are also particularly evident in Toll the Hounds, and as with most of the MBotF, theme plays an important part in how the narrative coheres.
The structuring of the novel with the choice of Kruppe as narrator also adds an additional dimension when you consider his particular character perspective and how that would influence his choice of narrative focus.

/r/Malazan Thread Parent