|
The aunt is not one of the sex ninjas, she's a grumpy member of the lower gentry, unless my memory is way off base. Not that it matters so far...
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2023 21:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 13:33 |
|
|
Don't forget, in addition to sex ninja goddess sex school he attends, he also spends what I remember to be three entire chapters devoted to an endless internal dialogue / existential crisis over a girl laying on the same rock as him.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2023 22:57
|
|
|
Why is this in the Malazan thread? We have enough books that are long, we don’t need any others
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2023 10:05
|
|
|
excuse me i'm here overbearing lectures on the nature of society and existence not teen power fantasy gary stus but yeah they both have overpowered ninjas
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2023 23:32
|
|
|
I do find it funny that Kalam is the most obvious 'assassin' character we get in the series but he's more or less the complete opposite of the ninja archetype: a big dude, not particularly fast, brawny rather than sneaky, devoid of any sneaky hide-y tricks and able to take a lot of pain. And his finest moment sees him go up against literally hundreds of more conventional ninjas and just annihilate them. And yeah, that sequence is one of my favourite bits in the series. gently caress Pearl
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2023 00:56
|
|
|
I wouldn't agree with "not fast" or "devoid of sneaky tricks" as they say he has both
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2023 08:31
|
|
|
Just finished Reaper's Gale, it's an interesting mix of my favorite Erikson stuff(holy poo poo that marine invasion ruled), the most boring stuff(the Scabanderi macguffin and an endless list of gods and ascendant with names and histories that I cannot keep track of pursuing it) and some of the worst stuff(just a lot of sexual assault). Some great highs though.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2023 03:07
|
|
|
Is that the one where the Malazans are like "gently caress off, dragon, this is none of your business" and casually explode the gently caress out of him a few times? Those are always my favorite parts.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2023 15:20
|
|
|
dwarf74 posted:Is that the one where the Malazans are like "gently caress off, dragon, this is none of your business" and casually explode the gently caress out of him a few times? Yeah Silchas Ruin gets run off by Fiddler and company.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2023 17:31
|
|
|
kingturnip posted:I do find it funny that Kalam is the most obvious 'assassin' character we get in the series but he's more or less the complete opposite of the ninja archetype: a big dude, not particularly fast, brawny rather than sneaky, devoid of any sneaky hide-y tricks and able to take a lot of pain. That was one of my favorite sequences as well. And he did it while he was wounded, too.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2023 01:45
|
|
|
I finished the audiobook version of The God is Not Willing earlier today and when I went to check only to discover that the next book in the Witness trilogy still isn't out yet my day was ruined. drat.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2023 21:33
|
|
|
New Esslemont book any good? I mean on a scale of ICE books.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2023 07:40
|
|
|
An ICE book that promises to feature Tayschrenn as a major character. Doesn't bode well, tbh
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2023 10:59
|
|
|
Starting the series up again after only getting through the first few. Reading them on kindle this time. Has anyone here purchased the complete series (in one ebook) on kindle that could speak to buying the series that way versus each separate book?
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 00:22
|
|
|
I have the whole series version on Kindle. I can say it's smaller than the physical books, which I also own. It works great, no issues other than not being able to bounce back and forth between the glossary whenever I forget who someone is. Bookmark your favorite parts so you can go back and read them is one suggestion.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 00:33
|
|
|
BigHead posted:I have the whole series version on Kindle. I can say it's smaller than the physical books, which I also own. It works great, no issues other than not being able to bounce back and forth between the glossary whenever I forget who someone is. Cool thanks! Is it one big glossary for the entire collection?
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 00:42
|
|
|
SilkyP posted:Cool thanks! Nope each book's glossary is right after that book, so they're all interspersed throughout. And each glossary is different, designed for that individual book. It's not a big deal if you just hit the wiki, though you might get spoiled.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 01:05
|
|
|
I won't poo poo up the thread after this, but to me the challenge with books like these is that (going by Amazon) there are eleven of them at about 700 pages each. That's like five Wars and Peace. This is such a big ask of the reader's time; just the other day I read M David Harrison's book The Pastel City, which is a sci-fi fantasy about a war between two countries using salvaged technology from prior civilizations. In the story the lead comes out of retirement, reunites him with his old companions, joins the war at a critical battle which the good guys lose, watches as the villains' technology turns on them, then learns the secret of that technology and journeys to put an end to the threat once and for all. It's 176 pages long.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 03:49
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I won't poo poo up the thread after this, but to me the challenge with books like these is that (going by Amazon) there are eleven of them at about 700 pages each. That's like five Wars and Peace. Don't you worry friend, sometimes we want something that's a million pages long. The Pastel City is dope AF tho.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 03:53
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I won't poo poo up the thread after this, but to me the challenge with books like these is that (going by Amazon) there are eleven of them at about 700 pages each. That's like five Wars and Peace. long books make for long series yase
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 03:54
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I won't poo poo up the thread after this, but to me the challenge with books like these is that (going by Amazon) there are eleven of them at about 700 pages each. That's like five Wars and Peace. So now give 176 pages to literally dozens of characters each and all of a sudden your bookshelf is struggling.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 03:58
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I won't poo poo up the thread after this, but to me the challenge with books like these is that (going by Amazon) there are eleven of them at about 700 pages each. That's like five Wars and Peace. While Malazan is bloody long, it's that rare kind of Epic Fantasy (need the capitals) where each book feels like a full story. If I sit down and read a random book from A Wheel of Ice and Truth I'm very much getting one thirteenth of the whole story, half the time there's no arc or journey, no begining/middle/end. It's just a chunk of a larger story thats been cut out and put between two covers. And while you could summarise the events of those books, I think I'd have a hard time saying what, say, A Clash of Kings is about Malazan feels like an actual series of novels. At least Book of the Fallen (the "main" series) does. The prequels, less so. (It's also not 11, it's uhh....10 plus 6 plus 2(of three) plus 4 plus 1(of three). 22 so far) Strom Cuzewon fucked around with this message at 09:55 on May 7, 2023 |
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 09:52
|
|
|
SilkyP posted:Starting the series up again after only getting through the first few. Reading them on kindle this time. Has anyone here purchased the complete series (in one ebook) on kindle that could speak to buying the series that way versus each separate book? i bought it like that, i will say the 176 hours to go at the bottom of the page is a bit of a bummer (10 hours left!)
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2023 23:30
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I won't poo poo up the thread after this, but to me the challenge with books like these is that (going by Amazon) there are eleven of them at about 700 pages each. That's like five Wars and Peace. I tear through books that I like and am happy to find a 10 book brick-sized series. But I also understand that it's a bit daunting for what's basically the novelization of a tabletop game. There's a ton of really good youtube videos and streams for if you want some help keeping track of poo poo, and tor.com did a huge re-read.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2023 18:39
|
|
|
Okay, I've made my way through Forge of the High Mage this week and I enjoyed it. It's definitely one of Esselmont's best books. That said, he still can't really write 'climactic' and have it feel like anything more than 'interesting' and he does his usual thing of flinging a bunch of POVs at the wall to see what sticks, but... more of them do than usual. And there aren't any parts of the book that I actively dislike; even the threads that are the most tangential have enough good bits in to be broadly enjoyable. Also, having given him a lot of poo poo for this in the past, I genuinely like how he writes Tayschrenn in this book. Less so Kellanved - which remains weird, given he was Esselmont's character - who stays in 'wacky uncle Kellanved' mode for pretty much the entire book but is at least used sparingly (and, to be fair, there's one scene with him that I really liked). Basically: good book, worth reading.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2023 22:58
|
|
|
kingturnip posted:Okay, I've made my way through Forge of the High Mage this week and I enjoyed it. It's definitely one of Esselmont's best books. Kellanved is one of the weakest parts of Path to Ascendency, yeah. He's so constantly goofy and insincere that he barely qualifies as a character, you can never discern any motivation underneath all the wackiness. And Esselmont's choice of who to follow,and what scenes to show us, is frankly bizarre at times. OST has multiple scenes of one character (who may or may not even get a name) approaching another character (who may or may not even get a name) to tell them they have something important to discuss. End scene, and the reader is left completely in the dark. In Deadhouse Landing Mock dies/gets murdered offscreen without a whiff of buildup. Or in Dancer's Lament when Dancer is contemplating assassinating some guy he kind of likes, and instead resolves to confront him instead. Then the next scene is the targets guards finding evidence of a struggle. Then the next scene is a nameless guy getting on a boat and leaving town (and from context I can figure out he's the target, but god knows if I could recognise him by his description ,because it's been half a book since we got his description). That conversation was the bit I wanted to read. Drama! Tension! Character development! But no, Esslemont decides to be clever and oblique and ends up skipping the good bits of his own story. I do like Esselmont's Kallor though. He doesn't have the same sense of tragedy as Eriksons, but I like how he oscillates between terrifying nightmare and utter clown.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2023 19:37
|
|
|
Finally finished Toll The Hounds, holy crap is that a long book. I was surprisingly emotional about the death of Anomander Rake.. The author's note to Dust of Dreams is...interesting, I wonder what kind of cliffhanger I'm in for here. Edit: Dramatis Personae: ... Chancellor Bugg Ceda Bugg Treasurer Bugg 
Thordain fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Aug 13, 2023 |
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2023 22:00
|
|
|
Thordain posted:Finally finished Toll The Hounds, holy crap is that a long book. I was surprisingly emotional about the death of Anomander Rake.. the cliffhanger at the end of DoD was brutal when we had to wait for the final book to come out. Reading it now and being able to go straight into book 10 afterwards takes away a lot of the sting. you have a lot of great stuff to look forward to!
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2023 23:59
|
|
|
Yeah.. I have a post in this thread I think about how disappointed I was with DoD because it's the only one that really doesn't have it's own standalone plot which resolves, while also contributing to the greater narrative. You really need to be prepared to read the last two as one.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2023 16:04
|
|
|
It must have been brutal reading these on release. I'm glad I got to go through them all at once as I would have forgotten a lot of little details between books otherwise...
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2023 18:51
|
|
|
What you did was start over with each new one lol. He actually wasn't that bad, a bit faster than one per year. Which given the girth of these things is pretty good actually.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2023 18:56
|
|
|
Fuzzy Mammal posted:What you did was start over with each new one lol. He actually wasn't that bad, a bit faster than one per year. Which given the girth of these things is pretty good actually. Yeah, that was my method. Book 3 comes out? Better re-read 1 and 2. Book 7? Get ready for the 1-6 marathon reread. And it has been said before and will be said again, you pick up on so much more content on those re-reads. The first time I read the Malazan books, I felt like I was just along for the ride. Everything really clicked into place after two or three trips through all the books. To have that much time again.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2023 14:10
|
|
|
I imagine the crossover between the two threads is pretty high, but just in case anyone missed it:HopperUK posted:New Humble bundle has a big chunk of Malazan for around 20 bucks. (Via the SFF Mega-thread)
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2023 22:14
|
|
|
drat, that's an incredible deal. And to think I paid $80 for that all in one Kindle edition.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2023 00:55
|
|
|
Bachtere posted:Yeah, that was my method. Book 3 comes out? Better re-read 1 and 2. Book 7? Get ready for the 1-6 marathon reread. And it has been said before and will be said again, you pick up on so much more content on those re-reads. The first time I read the Malazan books, I felt like I was just along for the ride. Everything really clicked into place after two or three trips through all the books. The problem with with a Malazan re-read is that it will take you a year to do it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2023 10:18
|
|
|
I'm reading book 4 now. I want to check out this thread for discussion about books I've read but I'm afraid of spoilers. Would it be better to stay away until I finish the series?
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2023 06:12
|
|
|
Sadly yes, there are inadvertent spoilers everywhere depending on your threshold. Like the inference that a certain character dies or survives really makes some people mad. Skip the thread till book 10. You could try checking out https://www.tor.com/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/ and steering clear of the comments. Read Amanda's take on each chapter as she is a new reader, I can't remember how many spoilers Bill drops.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2023 07:33
|
|
|
Having powered through Book 1 years ago, and now reading Book 3. I'm surprised at how many crowd pleasers Book 2 and 3 have. Like actually likeable characters and comedy incidents.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2023 09:15
|
|
|
dishwasherlove posted:Sadly yes, there are inadvertent spoilers everywhere depending on your threshold. Like the inference that a certain character dies or survives really makes some people mad. Thanks! I'm going to stay away for now. I'll be back in a year hah
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2023 16:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 13:33 |
|
|
dishwasherlove posted:Sadly yes, there are inadvertent spoilers everywhere depending on your threshold. Like the inference that a certain character dies or survives really makes some people mad. Bill spoils quite a lot imo. This also varies in how spoiler sensitive you are of course, so if you're spoiler sensitive don't read his parts. I'm very spoiler sensitive myself and would have been super pissed at Bill had I read reread of the fallen before finishing the series by myself. Dirac Fourier posted:I'm reading book 4 now. I want to check out this thread for discussion about books I've read but I'm afraid of spoilers. Would it be better to stay away until I finish the series? If you haven't left yet, Ten Very Big Books has a discord with strict spoiler rules and a channel for first time readers if that's your jam.
|
|
#
?
Aug 23, 2023 10:18
|
|
