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It's ok to hate Felisin. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what you're supposed to do.
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Oct 13, 2011 04:02
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WeWereSchizo posted:Does somebody have a little brother they can force to read the series from start to finish sitting in front of a webcam, then post a timelapse video of their reactions? I have an older brother that I'm making read them but he only does 'genre fiction' to relax before bed so he's usually a few klonopin in by then and misses a lot. 
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Oct 13, 2011 04:28
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Yes I hated Felisin but also thought she was a pretty brilliant character in terms of making you hate her while still knowing why she acts like she does and being a pretty tortured character
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Oct 13, 2011 15:01
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Levitate posted:Yes I hated Felisin but also thought she was a pretty brilliant character in terms of making you hate her while still knowing why she acts like she does and being a pretty tortured character
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Oct 13, 2011 20:38
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Well, I'm sure she's entitled to breaking down, of course she is, but there were still different paths she could have taken, different ways of seeing things.
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Oct 13, 2011 21:02
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WeWereSchizo posted:The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. I have read everything by Erikson and Esslemont. But that would be a great suggestion if not. Thanks anyway.
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Oct 14, 2011 01:59
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the periodic fable posted:Well, I'm sure she's entitled to breaking down, of course she is, but there were still different paths she could have taken, different ways of seeing things. Yes that's true but I think Eriksson did a good job making you feel sympathy for her character while also hating the things she did
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Oct 14, 2011 02:52
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Yup, I agree.
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Oct 14, 2011 09:39
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:I have read everything by Erikson and Esslemont. But that would be a great suggestion if not. Thanks anyway. So I have decided to go ahead with the Dresden Files as my lighter-reading Malazan follower. Pretty happy with my choice so far, it's pretty great. Midway through Fool Moon right now.
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Oct 15, 2011 23:08
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I'd suggest alternating between Dresden and Malazan. I find Malazan (even rereads) need me needing something lighter when I'm done, while Dresden is a blast, but sort of cleans the palate and leaves me ready for more malazan. If you start with a dresden, you can read the 3 weaker books (first two Dresdens, first Malazan) and get them over with, then really have a blast.
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Oct 15, 2011 23:14
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Thanks for the advice. I've already read everything Malazan-related though. Most more than once. Many more than twice. I just needed something much less heavy. The Malazan books are the greasiest, best-tasting, sit-on-your-gut food you can imagine, and phew, do they weigh on you. I needed some nice, lighter fare for awhile.
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Oct 16, 2011 00:25
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:Thanks for the advice. I've already read everything Malazan-related though. Most more than once. Many more than twice. I just needed something much less heavy. The Malazan books are the greasiest, best-tasting, sit-on-your-gut food you can imagine, and phew, do they weigh on you. I needed some nice, lighter fare for awhile. Have you read Abercrombies stuff yet?
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Oct 16, 2011 02:07
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Kekekela posted:Have you read Abercrombies stuff yet? Nope. I assume you recommend it?
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Oct 16, 2011 06:30
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:Nope. I assume you recommend it? Yeah, good stuff along the lines of GRRM/Erickson but with orders of magnitude fewer characters to keep track of. Much like Malazan I accidentally started with the 5th book and then backtracked...just finished book 2 last night. I'd start with "The Blade Itself" and see how you like it.
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Oct 16, 2011 14:09
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I would say skip Best Served Cold when you get there though unless you've absolutely fallen in love with the series and adore everything he writes. I thought the first three were decent enough with the first one being the best but I didn't even finish Best Served Cold. I hear The Heroes is supposed to be amazing though.
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Oct 16, 2011 14:26
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So I started the first book recently and I'm about halfway through. I believe Tattersail was just reborn inside Kruppe's dream with the help of creatures from 300,000 years ago. Just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on things... My brain hurts.
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Oct 16, 2011 16:37
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Kneecaps posted:So I started the first book recently and I'm about halfway through. I believe Tattersail was just reborn inside Kruppe's dream with the help of creatures from 300,000 years ago. Just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on things... Pretty much. I'm only 2/3 done with Deadhouse Gates at the moment, but there are some more  scenes that are awesome as hell as well.
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Oct 16, 2011 16:56
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:So I have decided to go ahead with the Dresden Files as my lighter-reading Malazan follower. Pretty happy with my choice so far, it's pretty great. Midway through Fool Moon right now. Dresden files are fun light reads. Fool Moon is possibly the worst of the first few as nothing happens in that book to expand the overall story-arch and characters. Masonity posted:I'd suggest alternating between Dresden and Malazan. I find Malazan (even rereads) need me needing something lighter when I'm done, while Dresden is a blast, but sort of cleans the palate and leaves me ready for more malazan. I've been doing this exact thing with Malazan. Alternating between a Malazan book and then 2-3 short reads of Dresden or Sookie Stackhouse.
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Oct 16, 2011 21:44
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Lunchtray posted:Dresden files are fun light reads. Fool Moon is possibly the worst of the first few as nothing happens in that book to expand the overall story-arch and characters. I read in the Dresden thread (I think....I am trying to stay out of so I won't be spoiled) That the first two books are the worst. If so, then I have some great reading ahead of me, because I like them quite a bit. On-topic: What do you think QB's soletaken form is? And who do you think his parents are? Forgive me if this has been covered ad nauseam. This is a big thread. E: Edited to cover spoilers that I don't think are really spoilers. 33rd Degree Idiot fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Oct 17, 2011 |
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Oct 16, 2011 22:20
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If you like the Dresden Files, Codex Alera might be worth a look. It's very simple fantasy and seems marketed are the teen market but is very readable.
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Oct 17, 2011 00:19
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:On-topic: What do you think QB's ##### is? And who do you think his parents are? Forgive me if this has been covered ad nauseam. This is a big thread. Whole series spoilers... Ben Delat himself isn't a mystery. We've seen his childhood and met his sister. He was a normal, albeit magical and good with his string magic, boy. The mystery is who else is hitching a ride inside him. We know that the mages he went into the desert with gave him their souls, and that they included a toblakai who drove dassem back a step in combat and something who calls mother dark mom and draconus dad. As far as that goes, who knows? His soultaken form? My latest guess is di'ivers human like that Mage in return of the crimson guard. I think having more of himself put away in a safe place (like the spar of andii) is his ultimate shaved knuckle. Masonity fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Oct 17, 2011 |
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Oct 17, 2011 09:24
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:I read in the Dresden thread (I think....I am trying to stay out of so I won't be spoiled) That the first two books are the worst. If so, then I have some great reading ahead of me, because I like them quite a bit. That's a spoiler, goddammit.
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Oct 17, 2011 09:53
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uXs posted:That's a spoiler, goddammit. I don't remember, is it ever confirmed that he even has one? Or is it just rumour based on the fact that nobody knows the true extent of his power?
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Oct 17, 2011 10:16
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The latter. edit: Also to clarify iirc one of the souls inside him was actually a Soletaken but it's unclear whether that means that particular power is transferred to Ben. Opal fucked around with this message at 11:05 on Oct 17, 2011 |
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Oct 17, 2011 10:58
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pakman posted:Pretty much. I'm only 2/3 done with Deadhouse Gates at the moment, but there are some more It gets more complicated...much more complicated. MUCH more complicated. But there are tons of awesome moments and the next book, Memories of Ice, is awesome.
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Oct 17, 2011 13:44
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drat, I didn't even realize (speculation/spoiler quoted from Masonity's post --> )di'ivers human was possible.
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Oct 17, 2011 14:57
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uXs posted:That's a spoiler, goddammit. I don't think it is a spoiler, technically. We never see nor hear of him having a soletaken form. It's all speculation. I will spoiler tag it just to be safe though,
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Oct 17, 2011 16:59
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There are too many hints dropped throughout the series about Quick Ben for it to be purely speculation. Many characters mention the "spicy scent" that indicates shapeshifting when QB is present, and Shadowthrone specifically calls him a "shapeshifting bastard" at one point. One of the more interesting and plausible theories I've read about QB is that he is constantly shifting between the different souls he has inside him rather than shifting his form like a Soletaken or D'ivers, which would account for his erratic behaviour and strange swings in mood.
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Oct 17, 2011 22:01
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Juaguocio posted:There are too many hints dropped throughout the series about Quick Ben for it to be purely speculation. Many characters mention the "spicy scent" that indicates shapeshifting when QB is present, and Shadowthrone specifically calls him a "shapeshifting bastard" at one point. One of the more interesting and plausible theories I've read about QB is that he is constantly shifting between the different souls he has inside him rather than shifting his form like a Soletaken or D'ivers, which would account for his erratic behaviour and strange swings in mood. Hmmm, I like this theory. It wouldn't explain the spicy scent though. I think he probably has a few forms due to the multiple souls in him. One of which would be a dragon, due to the Mother Dark/Draconus angle.
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Oct 17, 2011 22:20
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So I'm about 1/3 of the way through the first book, and I still have no loving clue what's going on. I'm barely able to tell who the main characters are. Great ravens advising alchemists who are also apparently wizards or whatever? What? Why? I don't... Is this normal, or should I just stop reading because I'm too dumb for this series?
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Oct 18, 2011 05:12
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^^^^^^^^^^^^ The OP worded my thoughts on the subject pretty well. OP posted:You're really starting in the middle of an enormous story, not the start, and you're dropped in headfirst. They don't spend the first book setting the scene and introducing you to characters with long winded exposition to ease you into the world and whatever, the plot just loving starts and you're in it now. If the idea of not knowing someone's motivations or their complete backstory for a long while is off-putting to you, you may want to stop. If you like his writing style and the world he's building, I'd encourage you to at least stick around until the end of book 2.
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Oct 18, 2011 05:21
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A lot of the series is gathering what you can from limited information. Its especially heavy at the start but over the whole series a lot of times things will happen and you will have to try and figure out why or how or what it means. There are almost always clues so once you have the groundwork figured out you stop being totally confused and start to get whats up and suspect the direction things will go. If you are liking the story and world but are feeling hopelessly lost you might try looking at the Malazan Reread of the Fallen for some of the important bits. The posts go: chapter summary, Amanda's response, Bill's response, comments. While the posts as a whole contain spoilers Amanda has not read the books before so her parts are spoiler free (as far as I've gotten at least) and give some interesting things to chew on about the chapters. Bill's posts range from mild spoilers "pay attention to this, we will see more later" to themes about the whole series. The comments afterward can have pretty massive spoilers in them. If you do read the it I suggest you stick to the summaries and Amanda's parts since a lot of the series is information management.
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Oct 18, 2011 06:38
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I'm rereading Gardens of the Moon for the first time - so many details and references and groundwork for future story elements that I glazed over the first time, it's unreal. I've heard Gardens has lots of continuity errors that fell through the editing cracks but I've only found one so far - Crokus' hair changes from black to brown in the space of about 20 pages. Doesn't exactly wreck the story, but it did make me stop and flip back to make sure I wasn't crazy. Edit: Also, I've been watching a lot of Rome lately and every time Kruppe speaks I hear him in the voice of Ian McNeice. It is awesome. Leospeare fucked around with this message at 11:06 on Oct 18, 2011 |
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Oct 18, 2011 11:02
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wellwhoopdedooo posted:So I'm about 1/3 of the way through the first book, and I still have no loving clue what's going on. I'm barely able to tell who the main characters are. Great ravens advising alchemists who are also apparently wizards or whatever? What? Why? I don't... Is this normal, or should I just stop reading because I'm too dumb for this series? Nah man, you're fine. Don't get too hung up on remembering every little thing, poo poo will start to come together.
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Oct 18, 2011 15:01
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Kekekela posted:Nah man, you're fine. Don't get too hung up on remembering every little thing, poo poo will start to come together. Hell, some of the poo poo doesn't come together until near the end and some of it doesn't even at all. Kind of off topic, but is there any other series that's similar to Malazan in terms of "world building"? I didn't particularly think that the characterization in this series was great, but I thought the backstory and lore was fantastic.
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Oct 18, 2011 17:46
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Lyer posted:Hell, some of the poo poo doesn't come together until near the end and some of it doesn't even at all. Kind of off topic, but is there any other series that's similar to Malazan in terms of "world building"? I didn't particularly think that the characterization in this series was great, but I thought the backstory and lore was fantastic. Aside from GRRM's stuff, which I'm guessing you're probably already familiar with, I can't think of anyone. (actually Frank Herbert I guess)
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Oct 18, 2011 17:50
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Wheel of Time
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Oct 18, 2011 17:50
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Leospeare posted:I'm rereading Gardens of the Moon for the first time - so many details and references and groundwork for future story elements that I glazed over the first time, it's unreal. When people mention continuity problems with GotM its usually that things don't always fit with the rest of the series. Tool's anti-magic field for example is a major plot point in GotM but in the other books the closest we get is one line in MoI about how his warren's field is keeping wild animals at bay. Chaos also goes from being a warren (that Quick Ben travels through) to some kind of Æther around the warrens.
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Oct 18, 2011 17:54
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It's true that the Malazan series is tough going at first. But stick with it, it is very worth it. I have never read any series, or stand-alone novel for that matter (of any genre) that is as rewarding on re-reads as this one is. You are in for a treat. Just tough it out. Speaking of which, this brings up a good question: Outside of the Malazan series, which novels or series (of any genre) would you say are (even) better on a re-read?
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Oct 18, 2011 19:38
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33rd Degree Idiot posted:Speaking of which, this brings up a good question: Outside of the Malazan series, which novels or series (of any genre) would you say are (even) better on a re-read? Any book by Gene Wolfe. Especially Book of the New Sun.
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Oct 18, 2011 19:45
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