Malazan II

[Toblakai]

No

[The_Wanderer]

I finished Midnight Tides a few weeks ago. Haven't yet had time to start the Bonehunters. I hear that the series starts to go downhill from here on out.

So far, I really enjoyed Books 2,4, and 5 much more than 1 and 3.

The Bonehunters has a good ending and so does most of Toll the Hounds. But I would have to say the first five books are better than the last five .... although the last five are still solid.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

@Undergroundman I've got 150 pages left in The Crippled God, its getting REALLY good. Anyhow, I think its a personal taste. To me, all the books generally speaking, start out slow and finish with a bang. Yes the first half of the series has more action overall, but not by much. Believe its just Erikson's style if writing.

[Toblakai]

Bonehunters was my second favorite. I would actually rank them as follows:

Deadhouse Gates

Bonehunters

Midnight Tides

The Crippled God

Memories of Ice

Toll the Hounds

House of Chains

Dust of Dreams

Gardens of the Moon

Reaper's Gale

So that order actually alternates between the first half of the series and second half all the way down. That shows maybe a very slight preference toward the first half, but not by much at all.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

Just finished The Crippled God. Really good ending and although it wasn't I was hoping for in some ways, I like the way it all went down. One major storyline that really pissed me off though.....

I loved Karsa's character and all of the talking up of him slaying a god. I was expecting a great battle to finish up his arc. All we get is him smashing a damn idol in a temple???? Needless to say, a HUGE letdown!

[Wilbur]

Just finished The Crippled God. Really good ending and although it wasn't I was hoping for in some ways, I like the way it all went down. One major storyline that really pissed me off though.....

I loved Karsa's character and all of the talking up of him slaying a god. I was expecting a great battle to finish up his arc. All we get is him smashing a damn idol in a temple???? Needless to say, a HUGE letdown!

I agree that is was disappointing.

The Fener-versus-Karsa confrontation was something I was looking forward to for many books. So I thought that the resolution was under-written when I first read it. After some thought, though, the idea that Fener has gone into hiding once he had been pulled down by Heboric Lighthand made some sense that relieved some of my unmet expectations. That plus the effect of his slaying mitigated the letdown.

[Toblakai]

Just finished The Crippled God. Really good ending and although it wasn't I was hoping for in some ways, I like the way it all went down. One major storyline that really pissed me off though.....

I loved Karsa's character and all of the talking up of him slaying a god. I was expecting a great battle to finish up his arc. All we get is him smashing a damn idol in a temple???? Needless to say, a HUGE letdown!

Karsa is purposefully left open ended as he still has his plan to destroy civilization and return the world to a simpler lifestyle. This will be handled in the forthcoming Toblakai Trilogy.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

Karsa is purposefully left open ended as he still has his plan to destroy civilization and return the world to a simpler lifestyle. This will be handled in the forthcoming Toblakai Trilogy.

Well I can't wait. I understand all your points and thought on that. It makes more sense what @Rhom said a few pages back now after finishing the series. Overall great though.

[Toblakai]

Finished Blood and Bone. Not as great as I thought at the halfway point. Here is part of my Goodreads review which explains why I downgraded it. No spoilers.

"At about the halfway point, I thought this may be ICE’s strongest work to date, but then the relentless pace kept moving at the same level of intensity all the way through, and ultimately I became numb. Another chase through the jungle. Another random encounter with monstrous, humanoid creatures. And then a couple of important events happen very quickly at the end and it is over. So what I am trying to say is that the book runs at an 8 on the intensity scale from the first page to the last with very little variation. Erikson by contrast uses the full range of intensity from 1 to 10 (or even 11!), and the lower intensity moments allow for some emotional resonance and philosophical musings. Ultimately that leads to a better book.

In the end this is definitely entertaining, but ultimately numbing and not very satisfying."

[End of Disc One]

So what I am trying to say is that the book runs at an 8 on the intensity scale from the first page to the last with very little variation.

I've been trying to say this for a while but I couldn't find the words. Well said.

[Toblakai]

Finished Assail. Here is my Goodreads review. I removed a couple of very mild spoilers so it would be spoiler free:

Finally, Esslemont delivers a novel where I like all the storylines, the pacing is even, and the ending is actually resounding. This novel not only delivers on the expected Silverfox and Crimson Guard storylines, but also provides a nice end cap to all of the Malazan novels in terms of the T’lan Imass, Jaghut, Forkrul Assail and Tiste Andii (we just needed some K’Chain Che’malle).

Specifically, there were some great character arcs here:

• Kyle (Whiteblade) finally becomes a very engrossing character who has a lot more ties to the land of Assail than expected

• Orman and the Icebloods are fascinating as they strive to hold onto their old ways

• Fisher gets the spotlight shown on him, and we learn why he is such a long-living badass (even if he just wants to be a bard)

• The Crimson Guard are brought to life nicely, even if they ultimately aren’t essential to the large events

• The focus on merchantman Jute and ex-Malazan/pirate Cartharon Crust leads to some great naval battles and other nautical stuff (and ICE knows how to handle nautical stuff)

The ending, while relatively quiet after a long string of battles is near perfect. My only gripe is that there still was not the same level of emotional resonance as Erikson can deliver in his Malazan novels. But this is definitely ICE’s strongest work.

4.5 stars.

Breakdown of the meta-series:

Deadhouse Gates (Erikson) – 5 stars

The Bonehunters (Erikson) – 5 stars

Midnight Tides (Erikson) – 5 stars

The Crippled God (Erikson) – 5 stars

Memories of Ice (Erikson) – 4.5 stars

Toll the Hounds (Erikson) – 4.5 stars

Assail (ICE) - 4.5 stars

House of Chains (Erikson) – 4 stars

Orb, Scepter, Throne (ICE) – 4 stars

Dust of Dreams (Erikson) – 4 stars

Stonewielder (ICE) – 4 stars

Gardens of the Moon (Erikson) – 3.5 stars

Night of Knives (ICE) – 3.5 stars

Reaper's Gale (Erikson) – 3.5 stars

Blood and Bone (ICE) - 3.5 stars

Return of the Crimson Guard (ICE) – 3 stars

[Dakkon Blackblade]

Hi guys, i'm really new to the Malazan series and currently reading Gardens of the Moon.

I'm on the part where

Paran died and get sort-of resurrected.

Now, my question is, will this be a recurring thing in this series? Like what have happened to

Hairlock, got revived and put on a puppet doll.

I asked because Im not really fond of slain characters getting resurrected.

And yeah, I hate that

Catelyn Stark, The Mountain, and soon, Jon Snow getting back from the dead

.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

Hi guys, i'm really new to the Malazan series and currently reading Gardens of the Moon

I'm on the part where

Paran died and get sort-of resurrected.

Now, my question is, will this be a recurring thing in this series? Like what have happened to

Hairlock, got revived and put on a puppet doll.

I asked because Im not really fond of slain characters getting resurrected.

And yeah, I hate that

Catelyn Stark, The Mountain, and soon, Jon Snow getting back from the dead

.

It happens, and I hear people complain about it. But first MBotF is NOTHING AT ALL like ASOIAF. So the rules are different. And its not everyone that dies and comes back is undead. It happens, but you'll just have to read on. Totally different world with so many rules that don't have black and white lines. Enjoy! I loved it, and the ending will really surprise you.

I'll tag this cause its a little spoiler about Paran, if you don't mind read it, you'll find out soon enough.

Paran was not resurrected, he has ascended. So its not like cat or the mountain. Your just starting and I'm finished and the rules on ascension are still hazy to me. It would have bothered me too if people kept dying and becoming undead(whoever's). Its not like that.

[Snowborn]

There's a difference in what constitutes "death" in the Malazan world and what we usually think of as death. Spoiler tags because I don't think we learn about it until later in the series:

In Wu, death means literally moving on to another plane of existence, Hood's realm, removed from the living (except in very particular circumstances, if forces bigger than a person make them "come back" for whatever reason).

Tiste's deaths are more traditional.

And yeah, Paran's is a special case. You'll get more about it later.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

There's a difference in what constitutes "death" in the Malazan world and what we usually think of as death. Spoiler tags because I don't think we learn about it until later in the series:

In Wu, death means literally moving on to another plane of existence, Hood's realm, removed from the living (except in very particular circumstances, if forces bigger than a person make them "come back" for whatever reason).

Tiste's deaths are more traditional.

And yeah, Paran's is a special case. You'll get more about it later.

You explain it way better than me.

[Wilbur]

Finished Assail. Here is my Goodreads review. I removed a couple of very mild spoilers so it would be spoiler free:

Finally, Esslemont delivers a novel where I like all the storylines, the pacing is even, and the ending is actually resounding. This novel not only delivers on the expected Silverfox and Crimson Guard storylines, but also provides a nice end cap to all of the Malazan novels in terms of the T’lan Imass, Jaghut, Forkrul Assail and Tiste Andii (we just needed some K’Chain Che’malle).

Specifically, there were some great character arcs here:

• Kyle (Whiteblade) finally becomes a very engrossing character who has a lot more ties to the land of Assail than expected

• Orman and the Icebloods are fascinating as they strive to hold onto their old ways

• Fisher gets the spotlight shown on him, and we learn why he is such a long-living badass (even if he just wants to be a bard)

• The Crimson Guard are brought to life nicely, even if they ultimately aren’t essential to the large events

• The focus on merchantman Jute and ex-Malazan/pirate Cartharon Crust leads to some great naval battles and other nautical stuff (and ICE knows how to handle nautical stuff)

The ending, while relatively quiet after a long string of battles is near perfect. My only gripe is that there still was not the same level of emotional resonance as Erikson can deliver in his Malazan novels. But this is definitely ICE’s strongest work.

4.5 stars.

That is a nice summary, and my own feelings closely mirror these. I think Assail is the best ICE book since NoK or RotCG.

[polishgenius]

I just want to come out and say to Dakkon that no matter how useful the other guys' explanations are, if you have that particular concern, you're gonna find Malazan extremely irritating. I mean, I love the series and it more than makes up for it in lots and lots of other ways, so don't give up on principle, but that is by far the biggest flaw.

[Dakkon Blackblade]

Ahh, I see. I think I understand what you guys are trying to explain and that kinda renewed my interest :)

Thanks for the advice guys!

Btw, sorry for threadjacking :D

Also, I really, really tempted to read those inside the spoiler tags :drool:

[Toblakai]

Ahh, I see. I think I understand what you guys are trying to explain and that kinda renewed my interest :)

Thanks for the advice guys!

Btw, sorry for threadjacking :D

Also, I really, really tempted to read those inside the spoiler tags :drool:

Snowborn's spoiler is more conceptual and general than specific. It won't give away any specific storyline, so Unless you are really adverse to very minor spoilers, I say click it as a tease.

[Lord Patrek]

Hey Malazan fans!

I have three copies of Erikson's Willful Child up for grabs on the Hotlist! I only have about 75 pages left to go in this Star Trek spoof and so far it's been hilarious!

Cheers,

Patrick