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Malazan Book of the Fallen Series

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    #62
    Achillles
    Registered Users Posts: 66 ✭✭Achillles


    Am I the only one who found the first book amongst my favourite of the series? Probably my favourite series ever and found the first book ridiculously original. I remember my girlfriend at the time asking me what it was about, all I could say was your guess is as good as mine!


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    #63
    fitz
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 7,958 ✭✭✭fitz


    Achillles wrote: »
    Am I the only one who found the first book amongst my favourite of the series? Probably my favourite series ever and found the first book ridiculously original. I remember my girlfriend at the time asking me what it was about, all I could say was your guess is as good as mine!

    The first book has a big impact because it's so refreshingly different.
    It's your first foray into his style of writing and storytelling, and how totally uncompromising he is in terms of what information he conveys to the reader.
    The complete lack of patronising exposition is something no-one else I've read does to the same extent.
    You're just left to keep up and figure it out as you go.

    After the first book though, you know that's what you're getting, so you aren't struck by it in the same way.


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    #64
    keane2097
    Registered Users Posts: 17,770 ✭✭✭✭keane2097


    First book is utterly brilliant but can understand how people might not appreciate it as it's confusing initially, hence the "Carry on till the Chain of Dogs" advice is pretty sound.


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    #65
    titan18
    Registered Users Posts: 11,934 ✭✭✭✭titan18


    It took me a while to get into the first book tbh. The first 100-200 pages were a real chore for me.

    Once you get to the Chain of Dogs, a lot starts coming together. Love the 3rd book, and then when you get to meet Karsa properly in the 4th, it starts getting even better imo


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    #66
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,990 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    The Malazan e-book prices are generally too high, but the first two books - "Gardens of the Moon" and "Deadhouse Gates" are currently going for a bargain at $3.68 on Amazon.


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    #67
    AnCapaillMor
    Registered Users Posts: 4,920 ✭✭✭AnCapaillMor


    ixoy wrote: »
    The Malazan e-book prices are generally too high, but the first two books - "Gardens of the Moon" and "Deadhouse Gates" are currently going for a bargain at $3.68 on Amazon.

    You can get them on kindle as bundles, did that with 3&4, 5&6 worked out cheap enough.


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    #68
    Son0vagun
    Registered Users Posts: 1,297 ✭✭✭Son0vagun


    Started reading the first book! Give up after 70pages. Just too hard for me to read. Kinda gutted cos I was looking forward to reading it. Hopefully I'll return to it at some stage!


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    #69
    AnCapaillMor
    Registered Users Posts: 4,920 ✭✭✭AnCapaillMor


    Son0vagun wrote: »
    Started reading the first book! Give up after 70pages. Just too hard for me to read. Kinda gutted cos I was looking forward to reading it. Hopefully I'll return to it at some stage!

    Seriously took me 3 attempts to get past page 200, keep at it. It's heavy duty stuff but well worth hanging on.


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    #70
    Son0vagun
    Registered Users Posts: 1,297 ✭✭✭Son0vagun


    AnCapaillMor wrote: »
    Seriously took me 3 attempts to get past page 200, keep at it. It's heavy duty stuff but well worth hanging on.

    I'm not a great reader at the best of times. But after reading all the Song of Ice and Fire books I wanted to get into another series! But I think this series is beyond me!


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    #71
    fitz
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 7,958 ✭✭✭fitz


    Son0vagun wrote: »
    I'm not a great reader at the best of times. But after reading all the Song of Ice and Fire books I wanted to get into another series! But I think this series is beyond me!

    As I said previously, it's not for everyone, but it is worth sticking with, for his characters alone. There are a few books in the series that have slow-ish first halves. If you're having trouble with it try revisiting when you have the chance to read at least the first third of Gardens of the Moon in a relatively short space of time. They're not really books to dip in and out of, particularly at the start, as a lot of them tend to build up converging character arcs and plot strands. The net can be so wide at the start that you don't know how everything is going to get drawn together, and I guess with so much going on, occasional readers could get a bit lost, having forgotten what's happening. I love that it's uncompromising in this regard though.

    Personally, I ate up Gardens of the Moon, found Deadhouse a little slow to start, but I didn't find anything heavy going until the first halves of Toll the Hounds and Dust of Dreams. It's a different beast to ASOIAF, but better written, imo, and if you think Martin is ruthless with is characters....ha!


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    #72
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,990 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    Tor have put up the prelude and first chapter of "Forge of Darkness" on their site here for those interested. Personally never like these teasers but some might.


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    #73
    Raging_Ninja
    Registered Users Posts: 1,717 ✭✭✭Raging_Ninja


    ixoy wrote: »
    Tor have put up the prelude and first chapter of "Forge of Darkness" on their site here for those interested. Personally never like these teasers but some might.

    I can beat that - bought the book 20 minutes ago.

    I thought it wasn't due out until September...

    edit: US release date is September, that makes sense.


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    #74
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,990 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    Raging_Ninja wrote: »
    I can beat that - bought the book 20 minutes ago.
    Yep, although the Kindle price is outrageously high. Where did you buy your copy? It's due on the 31st. US Kindle price (default for Irish customers) works out at €15.58 whereas the UK Kindle price is €11.98. It's ridiculous that we've to pay a 30% premium as the VAT difference is negligible.


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    #75
    Tristram
    Registered Users Posts: 3,589 ✭✭✭Tristram


    Read Gardens of the Moon last week. The writing style doesn't make it easy on the reader but I managed to stick it out to the end. When I finished I wasn't entirely sure it was worth the effort but I decided to give the second book a chance and am currently flying through Deadhouse Gates and enjoying it much more.


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    #76
    Raging_Ninja
    Registered Users Posts: 1,717 ✭✭✭Raging_Ninja


    ixoy wrote: »
    Yep, although the Kindle price is outrageously high. Where did you buy your copy? It's due on the 31st. US Kindle price (default for Irish customers) works out at €15.58 whereas the UK Kindle price is €11.98. It's ridiculous that we've to pay a 30% premium as the VAT difference is negligible.

    I got it in Dubray Books in Galway for €15.99, the big paperback version.


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    #77
    jathclare
    Registered Users Posts: 40 ✭jathclare


    Just started Gotm, find it very hard going as many posters before have said. Will persevere as I always finish a book once started but unless it ends better doubt I'll progress further into the series. It doesnt help that the paperback I got in HF is really small and the text goes right into the spine, I have to peel eage page back and hold it there while reading. Its not an ideal book either to read on a bus full of excited Italian students!


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    #78
    astonaidan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,456 ✭✭✭astonaidan


    Got GOTM a few weeks ago, just cant get into it have read about 50 pages in the amount of time ive usually double read most books, but ill keep going till i finish it as I had the same problem as Wheel Of Time


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    #79
    Trojan
    Registered Users Posts: 16,402 ✭✭✭✭Trojan


    It's certainly an interesting world he's creating, and it's good to see people push the boundaries of the genres...

    ... but should reading fiction really be that much hard work?

    🎙️ The Recognized Authority Podcast



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    #80
    MayoForSam
    Registered Users Posts: 2,266 ✭✭✭MayoForSam


    Trojan wrote: »
    ... but should reading fiction really be that much hard work?

    Probably not, I finished reading the The Crippled God about a month ago (an enjoyable slog), since then I've read a few sci-fi books (Forever War and Childhood's End), and I flew through them. Reading Erikson is like pumping weights at the gym before a conker fight.


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    #81
    Tar.Aldarion
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,082 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tar.Aldarion


    I'm not sure what is hard going about them? It could do without the poetry and replace it with something actually interesting, like in the price of nothing series, and some characters waffle on a bit in their head at the start of each time they are seen but generally I felt it was pretty easy going for something that is over 3,300,000 words. I was tired of simple short books, but I do agree it needs editing.


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    #82
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,990 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    Trojan wrote: »
    It's certainly an interesting world he's creating, and it's good to see people push the boundaries of the genres...

    ... but should reading fiction really be that much hard work?
    It's an effort vs reward scenario. I mean if all fantasy novels were like that.. then no. But this is unique and I got a lot of it for what I put in. Yes it is tiring - much the same way as not all classic literature is Ulysses either. Now and then though the investment pays off and this is such a case.

    By comparison I'm reading Raymond E. Feist right now which is a hell of a lot more straight forward. Sometimes you want a snack too.


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    #83
    Trojan
    Registered Users Posts: 16,402 ✭✭✭✭Trojan


    I like to think of it as "bubblegum fantasy" :)

    Perhaps it's my day job, dealing with multiple complex projects and lots of minutia, I don't particularly want my leisure reading to be multiple complex projects and lots of minutia :)

    🎙️ The Recognized Authority Podcast



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    #84
    AnCapaillMor
    Registered Users Posts: 4,920 ✭✭✭AnCapaillMor


    ixoy wrote: »
    It's an effort vs reward scenario. I mean if all fantasy novels were like that.. then no. But this is unique and I got a lot of it for what I put in. Yes it is tiring - much the same way as not all classic literature is Ulysses either. Now and then though the investment pays off and this is such a case.

    By comparison I'm reading Raymond E. Feist right now which is a hell of a lot more straight forward. Sometimes you want a snack too.

    Definately a reward, Tehol and bugg are worth the slog by themselves. The first book itself just throws plots, history, characters at you, but once you get your head around it, its utterly fantastic. Took me 2 years and 3 attempts to get past page 300. Look along this thread and you'll find my despairing posts. I've actually given the books to 2 guys in work and they were the same, one stuck with it and eventually badgered the other guy into going back to it.

    And heh at feist I was like you i started feist after finishing the the malazan stuff, it was wonderfully simplistic but something was lacking after reading the malazan books.


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    #85
    jathclare
    Registered Users Posts: 40 ✭jathclare


    Feist took me a while to get into too, mainly because the first book is quite "stock" fantasy not that I didnt enjoy it overall, but it didn't grip me at first. Gotm on the other hand is more original but 100 pages in I'm still not sure who the protaganists are, if there is a plot or whether I care whats on the next page....Hats off to those who've finished the series.

    In contrast, I picked up The Terror by Dan Simmons in a friends house last weekend and got through about 50 pages in no time, remined me of how you can get lost in a novel.


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    #86
    Tristram
    Registered Users Posts: 3,589 ✭✭✭Tristram


    Tristram wrote: »
    Read Gardens of the Moon last week. The writing style doesn't make it easy on the reader but I managed to stick it out to the end. When I finished I wasn't entirely sure it was worth the effort but I decided to give the second book a chance and am currently flying through Deadhouse Gates and enjoying it much more.

    And so begins the tenth and final book!


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    #87
    Tar.Aldarion
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,082 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tar.Aldarion


    Do you think if you went back and read the first one now you would enjoy it more, or is it that the first one wasn't as good as the rest/harder to read?


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    #88
    ancapailldorcha
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 37,446 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    I was thinking of picking these up. I know they're heavy reading but would it be best to read one author's work before moving on to the other?

    We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man - the County of Tyrone.

    H. H. Asquith



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    #89
    keane2097
    Registered Users Posts: 17,770 ✭✭✭✭keane2097


    Tar.Aldarion wrote: »
    Do you think if you went back and read the first one now you would enjoy it more, or is it that the first one wasn't as good as the rest/harder to read?

    GotM comes into its own upon repeated reading IMO.


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    #90
    keane2097
    Registered Users Posts: 17,770 ✭✭✭✭keane2097


    ancapailldorcha wrote: »
    I was thinking of picking these up. I know they're heavy reading but would it be best to read one author's work before moving on to the other?

    I think this is the consensus reading order:

    Gardens of the Moon
    Deadhouse Gates
    Memories of Ice
    House of Chains
    Midnight Tides
    Night of Knives
    The Bonehunters
    Return of the Crimson Guard
    Reaper's Gale
    Toll the Hounds
    Stonewielder
    Orb Sceptre Throne
    Dust of Dreams
    The Crippled God


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    #91
    ancapailldorcha
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 37,446 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    keane2097 wrote: »
    I think this is the consensus reading order:

    Gardens of the Moon
    Deadhouse Gates
    Memories of Ice
    House of Chains
    Midnight Tides
    Night of Knives
    The Bonehunters
    Return of the Crimson Guard
    Reaper's Gale
    Toll the Hounds
    Stonewielder
    Orb Sceptre Throne
    Dust of Dreams
    The Crippled God

    Thanks! That's really helpful!

    We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man - the County of Tyrone.

    H. H. Asquith



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