The Malazan Book of the Fallen

[Jussi]

Martin talks about Erikson:

I have met Steven Erikson as well, at the Calgary World Fantasy Con. We spent time in the bar, along with a dozen other writers, and I enjoyed his conversation. Alas, I have not yet sampled his fiction.

[Former Lord of Winterfell]

Finished Gardens of the Moon at the weekend - decent enough story with some genuinely interesting characters.

However, the use of magic seems to overwhelm everything, and there are new perils introduced at the end that I think were only resolved by deus ex machina, which I didn't enjoy.

What I really don;t understand is why people keep saying it's complicated - the most difficult part in GotM is after 200 pages you suddenly jump from more or less one POV with a couple of supports, to following a load of different POV's elsewhere. It's simply that it jars the pace already developed.

And I don't think there's a level of detail in GotM that's really much different to standard fantasy fare - I find GRRM gives us far more to work for, because everytime he mentions a detail, it is potentially very important - with Erikson the details seemed more like filler, to convince the reader that the story really did have background worldbuilding notes.

I haven't read them for awhile, but I seem to remember that after learning about all these characters in the first book, the second book barely touches on them, so you have a whole other batch of characters and details to learn. The third book then picks up the plotline from the third, the fourth picks up the plotline from the second, and the fifth book in the series introduce a third major plotline and group of characters.

Some folks don't mind, some do. I personally got tired of dangling plotlines, and so stopped after reading the penultimate book. Which is kind of amazing really -- I read all the rest, and just can't bring myself to pick up the last onel.

[Bozworth]

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Deadhouse Gates and am now thoroughly enjoying it. I didn't think GotM was bad, but it was certainly weak in comparison. I found hard copies of several of the installments for $8 a pop at Half Price Books a couple of weeks ago, so I'm most of the way loaded up for the remainder of the series now. It's going to be hard, but I plan to make myself read something else before starting MoI. Something short, I suspect. Maybe some Vonnegut. Or maybe Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell (not that long).

I don't think it's an automatic that an ASOIF fan would enjoy these, but I certainly do.

[Grack21]

If you found non book club HCs of the US book 2 or 3, then

1. I HATE YOU IT TOOK ME YEARS

2. Those puppies are worth MONIES.

[SkynJay]

Ok. As someone who failed to get through GotM twice, I gotta aske. TVTroupes says that many people start with the second book of this series. Can it be easily done? If so maybe I will try that approach and see if this much loved series would do anything for me.

[Tehol]

i started malazan series with book 3 then book 1 and so on.

you can start with book 2, hopefully you will get into it. :)

[Lyanna Stark]

Ok. As someone who failed to get through GotM twice, I gotta aske. TVTroupes says that many people start with the second book of this series. Can it be easily done? If so maybe I will try that approach and see if this much loved series would do anything for me.

Yes it can. Just like you can read LOTR while skipping the first 100 or so pages without a problem. You can always go back and read it later, or simply read an abridged version somewhere. The fact is that while I like GotM, it has NOTHING on Deadhouse Gates or Memories of Ice.

Deadhouse Gates has a slow, almost painful and winding build-up, but let it roll over you without thinking and then saviour the ending and let it take you for the ride it was meant to do. I always feel that for me to be able to read the Malazan books successfully, I have to have enough time to really allow the slow buildup to happen. You can't, well *I* can't, read them in small installments. It has to be in big chunks so you really catch the wave and ride it to the end.

In fact, I didn't "get" it the first time I read MoI, either. It was not until the second read through I really saw the whole picture and the spiralling tragedy I for some reason missed the first time. Erikson's "hooks" sometimes get buried in stuff and meandering, unfortunately. And some people just don't find them compelling. However, you can be fairly safe that if the Chain of Dogs fails to move you, you won't appreciate Memories of Ice either.

The novels will have some details that are over the top, larger than life etc. so if you tend to get stuck on those, then it probably won't matter much. Same if you are not good at skimming large sections with philosophical meanderings. I also think that House of Chains and some of the latter novels have been more uneven in quality than Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice. However as soon as I get some proper time on my hands (which will be around 2017 what with kids and all) I plan on finishing the series. The "highs" are good enough that it's worth the more plodding bits to me at least.

[hadaad]

I read the first six books and stalled out. Then I did a series re-read. I found Gardens of the Moon to be as good as most of the books in the series (Deadhouse Gates and Bonehunters stand out in comparison). I think it was just really jarring having no idea what was going on up to that point. I'm about a quarter of the way through Reaper's Gale right now and have no intention of slowing down. It has stayed awesome this far and I don't see that slowing down at any point.

[AUyushu]

Ok. As someone who failed to get through GotM twice, I gotta aske. TVTroupes says that many people start with the second book of this series. Can it be easily done? If so maybe I will try that approach and see if this much loved series would do anything for me.

Yeah, you can easily start with book 2 before book 1. The only thing it will really spoil is that you will know the characters that appear in book 2 as well as 1 actually lived through the first book, as well as a couple minor things having to do with one of the characters in book one. I would definitely suggest reading book one before book three though. Deadhouse gates gives a much better feel for the rest of the series than Gardens of the Moon anyway, I'd actually recommend reading book 2 first. I had a friend who read Garden of the Moon and didn't get into it, but then I let him borrow Deadhouse Gates and MOI and he got hooked on the series. Gardens of the Moon is a much better book if you read it after reading the first 5-6 books than it is to begin with IMO (though I enjoyed it a good bit the first time).

[Calibandar]

I see the US release date of Forge of Darkness is close to the UK release date, September 18th:

http://www.amazon.com/Forge-Darkness-Steven-Erikson/dp/0765323567/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329852537&sr=1-3

[daisyberisha]

Steven Erikson is a master fantasy writer (GRRM, not so much). I just finished Memories of Ice (the third book in the series) and I definitely recommend the Malazan. He will make you completely change your views on fantasy and life itself.

[Grack21]

And here we go.

Count down to explosion in 3...2...1....

[Superior Glokta]

I'm 100 pages into Deadhouse Gates and i'm finding it a significant improvement over GoTM. Not that GoTM was shitty, but like a lot of people have said, it's a bit jarring to be thrown into this world of sorcery, gods, and empires with very little lead-in. My advice would be to consult the appendix frequently as you read, and go in knowing that this is "everything + the kitchen sink" type fantasy. Gods, wizards, larger than life military figures, flying bug transports, interdimensional magical realms, floating fortresses, and of course the requisite "thousands and thousands" of years of history running through it all.

[Sci-2]

Daisy, why do you feel that way? What makes Erikson > GRRM?

I mean, both men are sexy in their own way, you have the lean Kanye type and the lovable Fat Joe type...that seems like an even match up.

[AUyushu]

Daisy, why do you feel that way? What makes Erikson > GRRM?

I mean, both men are sexy in their own way, you have the lean Kanye type and the lovable Fat Joe type...that seems like an even match up.

Well, I would say he definitely beats ASoIAF when it comes to having consistent quality and actually finishing the series well. Even the best books in the Malazan series don't come close to the first 3 in ASOIAF however. I've never gotten the point of comparing them however, as they are completely different styles of books.

[Errant Bard]

Steven Erikson is a master fantasy writer (GRRM, not so much). I just finished Memories of Ice (the third book in the series) and I definitely recommend the Malazan. He will make you completely change your views on fantasy and life itself.

Finish Midnight Tides, Reaper's Gale and Toll The Hounds, and we'll talk.

Though, can you please explain in what way he was supposed to change my views?

The only things he changed in me was my will to finish his series

[jurble]

I just finished Memories of Ice (the third book in the series) and I definitely recommend the Malazan.

If he had managed even one more book on the level of Memories of Ice, Erikson would in my top spot for fav. fantasy author. Memories of Ice is one of my favorite fantasy books.

But, (while Midnight Tides is good), everything later is just pages, and pages of fluff. He could compress the latter books so much.

[Errant Bard]

But, (while Midnight Tides is good), everything later is just pages, and pages of fluff. He could compress the latter books so much.

From admittedly anecdotal evidence, a lot of those who think Memories of Ice is genius disliked Midnight Tides.

I would be interested in a survey of the ages in relation to the level of love for each Malazan book.

[jurble]

From admittedly anecdotal evidence, a lot of those who think Memories of Ice is genius disliked Midnight Tides.

Well initially, I skipped Midnight Tides, having finished MoI, I wanted me some Quick Ben and some Onos Toolan or whatever his name is. My brother, however, didn't skip it, and he later convinced me to read it. (I actually read Reaper's Gale before I read Midnight Tides, so disinterested was I in Letheras.)

As for your age survey, I read MoI when I was in HS? So like 17 or 18? And it's still my favorite Malazan book, though I haven't reread it.

[Gormenghast]

And for the exception my opinion is a bit different from the norm. I think House of Chains is substantially better than MoI, and while MT is very good I'd still put it behind DG, MoI and obviously HoC too.

Dunno about the rest, but certainly HoC is not "fluff". It's the one I think the most significant, so if that's your idea of fluff I'm pleased :)