Malazan Book of the Fallen NonF.A.Q.

[Peregrinus]

I've digged a little way back through the board to find this thread. My apologies for resurrecting it but I didn't think I should begin yet another Malazan thread.

I'm new to Malazan.

I am currently a little way into Memories of Ice. As expected I've got thousands of questions. Also as expected I've forgotten most of the questions I wanted to ask apart from the few most pressing ones.

The prologue to MoI threw me a little. What was that Warren that the T'lan Imass bonecaster encountered? By throwing the Jaghut children in the gate whom did she release? Did I miss this or should I just read on?

For that matter I still haven't had to my mind a decent explanation of why the T'lan Imass want to erradicate them.

What was Burn doing before she fell asleep. Presumablythe world was okay whilst she was awake?

Who are the old gang? Is there a full list somewhere?
How did they become so powerful? kallenved was a barkeeper? Surly who became Laseen was a tavern wench? What happened to Dassem Ultor? He didn't ascend did he just died?

I'm not really expecting answers and will be happy with "Read And Find Out" if I know it will help. What I'm looking for is reassurance that eventually I'll get some answers.

Thanks people for letting me vent a little.

[Errant Bard]

[quote name='Peregrinus' post='1584070' date='Nov 10 2008, 22.32']Did I miss this or should I just read on?[/quote]Read on. You'll get answers for at least one of your questions by the end of the volume. For the rest, when reading Malazan you don't want to obsess about details.

[VarysTheSpider]

Seriously, what the fuck are warrens?

I'm sure there's been multiple definitions given over the books. One that stuck is that it's like veins through someone's body (Burn's??). So, a means of transportation - which makes sense as IIRC the first use of a warren in GotM is so that a couple of guys can get somewhere really quick. Except they are also tangible places where people can live. So does that mean the Malazan world is just a giant warren as well? Opening these warrens also gives power to hurt people, and loads of these warrens can be opened simultaneously. What's that all about?

[williamjm]

[quote name='VarysTheSpider' post='1584295' date='Nov 11 2008, 00.43']One that stuck is that it's like veins through someone's body (Burn's??).[/quote]

IIRC it's K'rul who is associated with the warrens (although I'm not sure if that includes all the warrens, or are the Elder Warrens different).

[The Wolf Maid]

Ah, Malazan. My head implodes trying to make sense of your timelines sometimes, or the details. Truthfully, I only read it for the Bridgeburners, Paran and Gruntle and co. If I only wanted to read about them, which books should I look into?

[Bastard of Godsgrace]

[quote name='Peregrinus' post='1584070' date='Nov 10 2008, 22.32']I've digged a little way back through the board to find this thread. My apologies for resurrecting it but I didn't think I should begin yet another Malazan thread.

I'm new to Malazan.

I am currently a little way into Memories of Ice. As expected I've got thousands of questions. Also as expected I've forgotten most of the questions I wanted to ask apart from the few most pressing ones.

The prologue to MoI threw me a little. What was that Warren that the T'lan Imass bonecaster encountered? By throwing the Jaghut children in the gate whom did she release? Did I miss this or should I just read on?

For that matter I still haven't had to my mind a decent explanation of why the T'lan Imass want to erradicate them.

What was Burn doing before she fell asleep. Presumablythe world was okay whilst she was awake?

Who are the old gang? Is there a full list somewhere?
How did they become so powerful? kallenved was a barkeeper? Surly who became Laseen was a tavern wench? What happened to Dassem Ultor? He didn't ascend did he just died?

I'm not really expecting answers and will be happy with "Read And Find Out" if I know it will help. What I'm looking for is reassurance that eventually I'll get some answers.

Thanks people for letting me vent a little.[/quote]


Actually, most of these questions are answered sooner or later (well, except for Burn)

[Benjen Stark]

Warrens + Magic + Eleint all originate in some manner from K'rul. Memories of Ice explains why somebody that important is relatively unknown. Burn's blood is magma, as Burn is apparently the world upon which the Malazan Empire sits.

[quote name='The Wolf Maid' post='1584733' date='Nov 11 2008, 08.27']Ah, Malazan. My head implodes trying to make sense of your timelines sometimes, or the details. Truthfully, I only read it for the Bridgeburners, Paran and Gruntle and co. If I only wanted to read about them, which books should I look into?[/quote]
If you count Fiddler, Kalam, & Quick Ben as Bridgeburners when they are separated from the rest, then you want to read all of them except Midnight Tides. If you don't count them, you could skip Deadhouse Gates and Reaper's Gale as well. Overall, Memories of Ice is the only one that seems to feature all three characters sets very prominently in the same book. (Although if you widen Paran to include Felisin Paran and Tavore Paran, you are back to pretty much all of the books except Midnight Tides.)

[Decius]

I was under the impression that Traveller is a Dal Honese human, but according to RotCG he's some kind of Toblakei-lookalike? Do I just misremember this part or did ICE change Traveller for his book?

[Bastard of Godsgrace]

[quote name='Decius' post='1585303' date='Nov 11 2008, 21.38']I was under the impression that Traveller is a Dal Honese human, but according to RotCG he's some kind of Toblakei-lookalike? Do I just misremember this part or did ICE change Traveller for his book?[/quote]

Traveller is human. Ereko, his companion, is something like Toblakai.

[VarysTheSpider]

[quote name='williamjm' post='1584321' date='Nov 11 2008, 01.05']IIRC it's K'rul who is associated with the warrens (although I'm not sure if that includes all the warrens, or are the Elder Warrens different).[/quote]


[quote name='Benjen Stark' post='1585167' date='Nov 11 2008, 19.04']Warrens + Magic + Eleint all originate in some manner from K'rul. Memories of Ice explains why somebody that important is relatively unknown. Burn's blood is magma, as Burn is apparently the world upon which the Malazan Empire sits.[/quote]

So the world of the Malazan isn't a warren then? It's like the "real world" (or maybe the "first world" is more accurate) and K'rul made the warrens (i.e other worlds) for whatever reason after that?

[The Wolf Maid]

[quote name='Benjen Stark' post='1585167' date='Nov 12 2008, 03.04']If you count Fiddler, Kalam, & Quick Ben as Bridgeburners when they are separated from the rest, then you want to read all of them except Midnight Tides. If you don't count them, you could skip Deadhouse Gates and Reaper's Gale as well. Overall, Memories of Ice is the only one that seems to feature all three characters sets very prominently in the same book. (Although if you widen Paran to include Felisin Paran and Tavore Paran, you are back to pretty much all of the books except Midnight Tides.)[/quote]
By the looks of things, I'll be skipping only Midnight Tides. :stunned: I wonder if I'll be missing any important plot points if I did.

[delete this account pls]

Midnight Tides is mainly about the Edur. Reaper's Gale is pretty much a direct sequel to it. You can probably get by with just a summary though.

[Ashaman]

ok i have not read all 6 pages of this only the first and the 6'th page, but i want to ask one question, what do you folks think about all the powerfull characters and even more powerfull caracters, its cool as fare as i have read about mid MoI, but i have consernes about this turning inn to some kind of super man storries. so what do you think are stuff like the asendants kept in some kind of shackels, not to domminate the whole storries and not leting out other characters that we all love play a meaningfull role?

[Ran]

It's a problem. It's part of the reason I do not read the series any longer. You get desensitized and there comes a point where it feels like anything can and will happen. Mileage varies, though.

MoI was the high point in the series for me, and after that I started drifting away with the follow-ups. I haven't read anything after [i]Midnight Tides[/i]. I may eventually try them, but for the most part I think Erikson's just taking the story in directions that don't appeal to me. You might feel differently. :)

[Benjen Stark]

[quote name='VarysTheSpider' post='1585351' date='Nov 11 2008, 15.17']So the world of the Malazan isn't a warren then? It's like the "real world" (or maybe the "first world" is more accurate) and K'rul made the warrens (i.e other worlds) for whatever reason after that?[/quote]
That is the impression that is given, however, there is no unbiased perspective on the issue. The K'rul explanation does not square well with what impressions we are given from the Andii, which seems to imply that Dark was the first Warren and Mother Dark the first God, predating K'rul. So once you get to times that predate the Jaghut & Forkrul Assail, it's not really clear what happened when and K'rul has not opted to clear up the matter in any of the books thus far that I can recall. Even the explanation of K'rul comes from Envy, IIRC, implying that she learned it from Draconus. I have not yet finished Toll the Hounds, so more may be revealed there, as Mother Dark, Spite (Envy's sister), and Burn all get referenced in the first half in ways that could foreshadow more information, but I'm not sure.

Most characters really seem to be stretching to care about stuff as far back as the arrival of the Crippled God.

[quote name='The Wolf Maid' post='1585742' date='Nov 11 2008, 20.36']By the looks of things, I'll be skipping only Midnight Tides. :stunned: I wonder if I'll be missing any important plot points if I did.[/quote]
In House of Chains, Trull Sengar starts to tell Onrack the Broken a story. Midnight Tides is the story plus a lot of events happening around it. It introduces Tehol Beddict, whom I consider to be Erickson's most successful comedic character. If you really really don't care about the Tiste Edur and Letheri Empire, it might be worth flipping through a library copy and reading everything with Tehol and Bugg, as the pair have a noteworthy role in setting up the events of Reaper's Gale, which returns to the same continent as Midnight Tides. The only character in common with the books preceding MT is Trull Sengar (introduced in House of Chains), plus cameos by individuals such as Gothmog (Icarium's father) and Anomander Rake in distant history.

[quote name='Ran' post='1586089' date='Nov 12 2008, 04.59']It's a problem. It's part of the reason I do not read the series any longer. You get desensitized and there comes a point where it feels like anything can and will happen. Mileage varies, though.

MoI was the high point in the series for me, and after that I started drifting away with the follow-ups. I haven't read anything after [i]Midnight Tides[/i]. I may eventually try them, but for the most part I think Erikson's just taking the story in directions that don't appeal to me. You might feel differently. :)[/quote]
It goes really up and down at times. Sometimes everybody seems superhuman and invulnerable, but other times shockingly powerful characters are taken down by the most simple of dangers. I do agree that Memories of Ice was the strongest individual book. The other ones have very powerful storylines often paired with over the top, stupid, or boring ones.

[Joanna vander Poele]

Yeah, that's the thing with Erikson. I have little to no emotional attachment with a lot of characters. Admittedly I did get a bit nervous about Kalam at the end of TBH, but that's probably because I didn't want to lose one of the few characters I actually cared about.

[End of Disc One]

People are actually suggesting skipping books in the series? Faith in this board -10.

If you skip any book you'll be lost later. And if you've only read the first book, how do you even know you won't care about characters in Midnight Tides? Augh.

[Benjen Stark]

[quote name='End of Disc One' post='1587100' date='Nov 12 2008, 17.46']People are actually suggesting skipping books in the series? Faith in this board -10.

If you skip any book you'll be lost later. And if you've only read the first book, how do you even know you won't care about characters in Midnight Tides? Augh.[/quote]
IIRC, Gruntle isn't even introduced until Book 3, so I assume she has read that far. I do not recommend skipping books, I simply accept that some people may choose to do so.

[Gigei]

There are warrens and there are [i]Elder[/i] warrens. From what I understand the Elder warrens are where people live - the Tiste races. They are also racial warrens that only specific races can access.

For example, Tiste Andii use the Kurald Galain that they came from but humans and other races cannot generally use it.

The Warren of Shadow, Kurald Emurlahn (sp?) is Elder but there is a regular non-Elder version of called um...Rashan (I think, the one that shadowdancers use) which is some sort of weaker, newer version which was probably what K'rul is responsible for making/maintaining.