The Malazan Book of the Fallen Thread

[Hallow]

Bookstores are sooo last decade, order them online

[brujah]

I know. I'm just impatient.

[TheePazuzu]

I would say that Steven Erikson is a more proficient writer than Robert Jordan but he doesn’t suffer fools lightly and he unfairly expects his readers to juggle many characters and general aspects of this imaginary world far too quickly. You really have to be a Sci-fi Fantasy enthusiast to pursue beyond the first book; but it worth it in the end such is the depiction of the various landscapes he develops.

[hotpocket2006]

So I just finished Reaper's Gale, and I bawled my eyes out when Beak

gave his life for "his friends". His story was just so heartbreaking.

Probably one of the most epic parts of the series so far, for me.

[brujah]

Sure it was Beak?

[Kadere]

So I just finished The Bonehunters, and I bawled my eyes out when Beak

gave his life for "his friends". His story was just so heartbreaking.

Probably one of the most epic parts of the series so far, for me.

 

That was Reaper's Gale.

[brujah]

Come on, now! I'm only about half way thru Reapers gale, and Beak is still around, that's why I thought she meant someone else. Only reason I even read the spoiler part was because id finishes Bonehunters. Poor Beak.

Either she confused the book or the character, cuz a few sad things do happen to main characters in Bonehunters.

 

I just want to add. Karsa is pure baddassness. His character is developing in the perfect direction. "I'd split you in two."

But is he not growing more powerful each day? I mean he gets his ass kicked all over the place when he first leaves his village or whatever. And now I honestly don't think anything can stop him. There's nothing more Baddass than Karsa.

Malazan is like Super Friends. Anomander is Superman. Karsa is the Hulk on Steroids. Quick Ben is Gambit.

[Hallow]

Come on, now! I'm only about half way thru Reapers gale, and Beak is still around, that's why I thought she meant someone else. Only reason I even read the spoiler part was because id finishes Bonehunters. Poor Beak.

Either she confused the book or the character, cuz a few sad things do happen to main characters in Bonehunters.

 

My suggestion to you from here on out. Don't come back to this thread before you've finished Reaper's Gale. She might have confused the character, might have confused the book.

[hotpocket2006]

Completely confused the book's mai bad.

[brujah]

It's ok, Im past Beaks part. Almost done with the book. Yeah, that was a good scene.

Side note: QB was always a baddass imo, but what he did there near the end of the book against YouKnowWho x 3, was over the top.

Spoiler alert.

And Hedge. How baddass is grenading a fn dragon. Lol. You gotz magikz firez? Say hello to my lil friend, Mr Cusser.

Kaboom. KaThx. KaBye.

KaDriveThruPlz.

Three fn ancient ascendant dragons vs two Bridgeburners.

[Hallow]

It's ok, Im past Beaks part. Almost done with the book. Yeah, that was a good scene.

Side note: QB was always a baddass imo, but what he did there near the end of the book against YouKnowWho x 3, was over the top.

Spoiler alert.

And Hedge. How baddass is grenading a fn dragon. Lol. You gotz magikz firez? Say hello to my lil friend, Mr Cusser.

Kaboom. KaThx. KaBye.

KaDriveThruPlz.

Three fn ancient ascendant dragons vs two Bridgeburners.

 

To be fair. Bridgeburners are also ascendants.

[brujah]

SPOILER ALERT.

 

 

Yeah. And they had help finishing them off by those Imass Soletaken.

But still. QB is a newly ascended ascendant, and he literally dropped 3 OTHER, even older ascendants, who also happen to be Soletaken Dragons, right out of the fn sky like a bag of bricks.

And those pebbles he used. Are they just part of his normal magics or did someone help him by giving him those stones.

[Hallow]

SPOILER ALERT.

 

 

Yeah. And they had help finishing them off by those Imass Soletaken.

But still. QB is a newly ascended ascendant, and he literally dropped 3 OTHER, even older ascendants, who also happen to be Soletaken Dragons, right out of the fn sky like a bag of bricks.

And those pebbles he used. Are they just part of his normal magics or did someone help him by giving him those stones.

 

Do you really know QB is merely newly ascended?

 

In either case. A big theme in Malazan is the new upstarts being under estimated by the ancient uber powerful beings, and they seldom live to regret doing so.

[brujah]

I guess he could have ascended in Rakaru, but I just figured he did when the rest of the BBS did. But even if he ascended 100 years ago, that's still new in comparison to hundreds of thousands of years. He's still a pimp, tho. And I now something is up with him. Cuz Hedge asked something like "How long you think those souls are gonna want to stay hidden" inside him.

But I agree as far as the "theme" you're talking about goes. And I was wondering, if the Errant is the elder version of Oponn, then who is the "younger" version of Mael?

[Hallow]

I guess he could have ascended in Rakaru, but I just figured he did when the rest of the BBS did. But even if he ascended 100 years ago, that's still new in comparison to hundreds of thousands of years. He's still a pimp, tho. And I now something is up with him. Cuz Hedge asked something like "How long you think those souls are gonna want to stay hidden" inside him.

But I agree as far as the "theme" you're talking about goes. And I was wondering, if the Errant is the elder version of Oponn, then who is the "younger" version of Mael?

 

The Errant is the older version of Paran. You'll meet the old version of Oponn soon enough ;) As for Mael, afaik no one has moved to replace him yet. Mael is more a force of nature than a true god, as he doesn't actually have full control over "himself".

 

As for QB, do you know that none of the 9 (?) people he consist of weren't actually ascendants? And what do you really know of him pre Raraku?

 

Never assume you know anything about QB, he's a mysterious bastard

[brujah]

Yeah. I finished Reapers gale a bit ago. Gonna actually try to find Night of Knives somewhere, if I can't, guess ill grab Toll The Hounds.

[Hallow]

Yeah. I finished Reapers gale a bit ago. Gonna actually try to find Night of Knives somewhere, if I can't, guess ill grab Toll The Hounds.

 

Why u no use amazon.

[Luzburg]

Hallo peoples. I just wandered here because I'm doing my umm seventh reread of WoT.

 

I'm also an obsessive malazan fan. So naturally I thought I'd throw my experiences into the ring.

 

 

Before Erikson. I thought tWoT was the height of fantasy. I adored it. Then I read Reapers Gale (7th book lol) and was absolutely blown away. It remains my favourite book in the series.

I still love WoT, but the malazan world has stolen its place as my favourite.

 

 

On another note: While I enjoyed the first few books of ASoIaF, it is way down my list of great series. It has no reread value. You learn nothing new the second time around. Its a dressed up murder mystery at times. When the twists and shocks are gone, it feels hollow. I also get that hollow feeling around books 9-11 in WoT. I have never felt it in a malazan book.

[Werthead]

On another note: While I enjoyed the first few books of ASoIaF, it is way down my list of great series. It has no reread value. You learn nothing new the second time around. Its a dressed up murder mystery at times. When the twists and shocks are gone, it feels hollow. I also get that hollow feeling around books 9-11 in WoT. I have never felt it in a malazan book.

 

That seems rather unlikely. If you picked up on the visions in the House of the Undying foretelling the Red Wedding and the possible survival of Aegon VI, the clues as to Jon Snow's parentage, the true nature of the relationship between Loras and Renly AND Jon Connington's motivations regarding Rhaegar all in a single, first read-through, I'd be extremely impressed. That's not counting a lot of other stuff going on as well (like the 'Brandon Stark was actually an asshole' stuff, or Aerys' real plans for King's Landing and why Jaime had to kill him).

 

There's not as much as this stuff as in MALAZAN, of course, but then when it does come up it's usually plot-relevant. Erikson is simply obtuse about everything, important or not, making piecing together what's going on more a chore than it should be.

[brujah]

Yeah, but in Malazan, Karsa Oslong tells Samar Dev, "I'll split you in two." And he's not talking about with his sword.

Not the metal one, anyway.

And that makes Malazan > ASoFaI.

[Werthead]

The Kharkanas Trilogy Book 1: Forge of Darkness

 

It is more than a quarter of a million years before the time of the Malazan Empire. In this ancient age, the Tiste race is divided between noble families and bickering militias, trying to find their place in the world following the devastating wars against the Forulkan and the Jheleck. When the Tiste ruler, Mother Dark, takes the obscure Draconus as lover and consort, the noble houses are incensed and the seeds are sowed for civil war and religious conflict.

 

Forge of Darkness is the first novel in The Kharkanas Trilogy, a prequel series to Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. This trilogy will chart the splintering of the Tiste race into the three sub-races seen in the main series book (the Andii, the Liosan and the Edur) and explain much of the ancient backstory to the series. Some characters from the main series - such as Anomander Rake, Silchas Ruin, Hood and Gothos - appear here as much younger, far less experienced figures. However, those hoping for I, Anomander Rake will likely feel disappointed. Rake is a central character in the events unfolding and appears a few times, but much of the action takes place around new, much less important characters. Also, while the story is set more than 300,000 years before Gardens of the Moon, this isn't the alpha-point of the entire Malazan universe. Tiste society is many thousands of years old when the story opens and Rake, Mother Dark, Ruin and Draconus are already important characters with significant histories in place.

 

Instead, the trilogy is much more concerned with clarification of events in the main series books and explaining why certain things are the way they are. Surprisingly, the series addresses questions that I think most fans thought would simply be left as, "That's how it is," such as the nature of the gods in the Malazan world (and the apparent realisation by Erikson that 'gods' was not the right word to use for them), why the different Tiste races have different appearances and why the Jaghut evolved the way they did. Some long-burning questions are indeed addressed, such as the reasons for and the nature of Hood's war on death, but for the most part Erikson is not really concerned with really addressing obvious mysteries (those left wondering what the hell the Azath Houses are will likely not be satisfied by this book, in which even the race they are named after is baffled by them).

 

Instead, the narrative unfolds on its own terms. As usual, Erikson has a large cast of POV characters including nobles, soldiers, priests and mages, many of them with slightly cumbersome names. However, Erikson strives to differentiate his characters more from one another then in previous novels. Forge of Darkness enjoys a shorter page-length than most of his prior books (clocking in at a third less the size of most of the Malazan novels) and is far more focused. The plot is a slow-burner, divided into several relatively straightforward narratives. This is Erikson at his most approachable, easing the reader into the situation and story rather than dropping them in the middle of chaos and expecting them to get on with it (such as in the first novel in the main series, Gardens of the Moon).

 

Of course, Erikson isn't going to give the reader an easy ride. Minor peasants continue to agonisingly philosophise over the nature of existence with surprisingly developed vocabularies at the drop of a hat. There are too many moments when characters look knowingly at one another and speak around subjects so as not to spoil major revelations for the reader, regardless of how plausible this is. There is an awful lot of hand-wringing rather than getting on with business. But there's also a few shocking reversals, some tragic moments of genuine emotional power and some revelations that will have long-standing Malazan fans stroking their chins and going, "Ah-ha!"

 

Forge of Darkness (****) is Erikson's attempt to channel the in-depth thematic approach of Toll the Hounds but weld it to a more dynamic (by his terms) plot-driven narrative whilst also satisfying the fans' thirst for more information and revelations about his world and characters. It's a juggling act he pulls off with impressive skill, with some polished prose and haunting moments. But those who continue to find his reliance on philosophical asides and long-winded conversations tiresome will likely not be convinced by this book. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

[Agitel]

I felt that the first book was a mixed bag from beginning to end. My feelings are that Erikson bit off more than he could chew, his ability was not enough to pull that novel off in a satisfactory manner. The second book, Deadhouse Gates, was a good book, but didn't really blow me away. Erikson improved a lot in some areas to make it acceptable and far more engaging, but he still had significant weak spots. Memories of Ice, which I've only read about 1/10 of so far, shows still more improvement by Erikson, and while the writing of a few of the gods' POVs is sometimes overly cryptic (which is perhaps appropriate), his mortal characters are a lot more engaging from the get-go. I actually feel impressed by more than just the scope of the plot

 

One thing I've noticed is how my positive experiences with the second two books tends to color my memories and feelings on the first book. Even though the initial experience of reading the first book was pretty low, in my memories I have a stronger relationship with the characters, so thinking back on the book I can fill in the "holes" in my experience.

[TonyMacaroniGlenholmes]

I lost faith after the crippled god. I can't be arsed to read this new book as I have a suspicion it will be vague and unfulfilling like most of Erikson's recent stuff.

 

Why must everything be so confusing?

[Hallow]

I lost faith after the crippled god. I can't be arsed to read this new book as I have a suspicion it will be vague and unfulfilling like most of Erikson's recent stuff.

 

Why must everything be so confusing?

 

It's not confusing, it's detailed.

[peacesells]

Getting to the end of the 2nd book. Never in a hurry to pick it back up, but once I do I'm captured. Kind of a strange feeling that is.