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Fuzzy Mammal posted:Actually, I think it's Tellas? The Tiste Liosan warren, since they Liosan go chasing them in HoC. You find out later that it's her too more directly but damned if I can remember where.
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Dec 21, 2011 06:31
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I'm halfway through GotM, and if this hadn't been written years before A Song of Ice and Fire was a thing, I would swear that Kruppe was a parody of GRRM. I'm really liking this book so far. It is a bit rough, which is to be expected I suppose, and part 2 dragged a bit, but only because it was 75% introducing characters that seemed straight out of Aladdin. I like how casually and unceremoniously Erikson introduces important concepts and characters, like the T'lan Imass. He plops Tool down like he's just some soldier (albeit a strange one) sent to guard Lorn, but you slowly get the impression that he and his kind are going to become very important, most likely sooner rather than later. I like that he's letting me try to figure out what's important. Also, it has maps. Maps own.
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Dec 21, 2011 07:58
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Conduit for Sale! posted:I'm halfway through GotM, and if this hadn't been written years before A Song of Ice and Fire was a thing, I would swear that Kruppe was a parody of GRRM. Part 2 gets much, much better. The same thing happened to me when I got to that part, but stick with it because the payoff is really worth it. Also Kruppe is amazing.  I just finished reading Deadhouse Gates... and boy, it's been a hell of a ride. It does take a bit to get into gear, but the last third of the book just keeps throwing things at you. I really look forward to finding out what part Duiker will play in things to come. Coltaine's last stand and the bit with Squint were great, and the Crows bit at the epilogue threw me for a loop. These books always leave me wanting more but at the same time are quite taxing to read, so I'll probably read a Dresden Files book in between this one and Memories of Ice, but I really want to keep going now.
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Dec 21, 2011 16:04
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I'm about a little over a third of the way through Memories of Ice right now (I've been reading it slowly because I've been distracted by a renewed interest in Minecraft). loving undead raptors with blades for arms...amazing. I really would like to know what Envy and Krul are up to, as Toc just ran away with the crowd in the Pannion Domin at the ceremony for the kid of the Dead Seed ( ). I also liked learning a little more about Quick Ben and him containing the souls of eleven other people, and it was all part of a scheme to join Whiskeyjack. Last night I finished the part where the tomb of the Barghast was opened underneath the council chamber in Capustan. Enjoying this book a lot.
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Dec 21, 2011 18:21
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So, I'm going to dive into this series in a few days after I finish Way of Kings. I've never read a big series like this before(except Animoprhs!) so it is a little daunting and I hear it can be confusing, but I'm also really looking forward to it.
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Dec 21, 2011 19:29
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pakman posted:I'm about a little over a third of the way through Memories of Ice right now (I've been reading it slowly because I've been distracted by a renewed interest in Minecraft). loving undead raptors with blades for arms...amazing. I really would like to know what Envy and Krul are up to, as Toc just ran away with the crowd in the Pannion Domin at the ceremony for the kid of the Dead Seed ( Holy poo poo you're exactly where I'm at! I love the Quick Ben stuff, and I'm loving the Bridgeburners more and more. They are total badasses, one and all.
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Dec 22, 2011 04:34
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I forget if it's posted already but here's the first 70ish pages of Orb, Sceptre, Throne, including maps, Dramatis Personae and a chapter or two. Not reading past the cast list but there's some interesting stuff just in there.
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Dec 23, 2011 23:56
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Very interesting indeed. I'm not going to read any of the chapters, but the map and Dramatis Personae sound promising. Looks like we'll finally get some more about the Seguleh, and southern Genabackis in general. I like the fact that the pagecount is around 600, since I feel that ICE does better when he keeps things fairly tight.
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Dec 24, 2011 01:39
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Fuzzy Mammal posted:More art from the special edition Deadhouse Gates. I know it's all spergy and nerdy but why would they draw Icarium's sword like that when it's described as a "single-edged blade" a hundred times per novel? WeWereSchizo posted:But I could be wrong. Wasn't that Tulas Shorn, former ruler of Shadow and undead dragonthat they lassoed the ship to to get out of that warren?
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Dec 24, 2011 05:38
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pile of brown posted:I know it's all spergy and nerdy but why would they draw Icarium's sword like that when it's described as a "single-edged blade" a hundred times per novel? I think Tulas Shorn only escaped Hood's realm at the same time as Cartographer, when the trade guild busted through.
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Dec 24, 2011 05:43
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pile of brown posted:I know it's all spergy and nerdy but why would they draw Icarium's sword like that when it's described as a "single-edged blade" a hundred times per novel? Icarium's sword bugged me too. I don't think it's spergy to complain, because the single-edged thing is literally its defining feature. I'm pretty sure it's described in as many words almost every time it appears in the books.
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Dec 24, 2011 05:47
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I dont know who recommended Joe Abercrombie, but I just finished The Blade Itself, and now rush-shipped the next two. Too bad they wont show up till Tuesday at the earliest.
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Dec 25, 2011 14:18
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I was originally pretty negative about this series after two failed attempts to get through Gardens of the Moon. I've revised by stance after finishing Gardens and most of Deadhouse Gates. The first book is really off-putting. Because I failed to get through it so many times, I decided to take a look at the things that made me put the book down. If I was going to re-edit the book, I would probably cut the opening with young Paran. It's slow and a bit goofy. The little boy who wants to be a hero is a pretty big cliche, and nothing that happens endears me to Paran or really solidifies the world setting. Its a relatively simple scene that is brought down by a few not so strong descriptions: The weather-vane sticks out in my memory in particular. Then, if I recall correctly, it jumps to the Hellhounds and Sorry's possession, while simultaneously introducing Laseen, Paran, the concept of gods intervening in mortal affairs, warrens...The viewpoint choice here accentuated the confusion. I would have rather seen things strictly from Paran's point of view, played it up for horror, and simplified the Sorry recruitment process by having her miraculously be the only survivor. It would have given her a believable motive (to the Malazans) for wanting to join the army, while also casting suspicion on her. The majority of the books problems lie right there in those first two sections. I've asked my friends who read fantasy where they stopped reading at, and it was right around the Tattersail stuff that immediately follows...and then Kruppe, which is a dreamlike sequence intended to be confusing. Its too much too fast. It would be so easy to fix if Erikson had a chance to go back and do re-writes. As much as I hate tinkering with something that worked for a lot of people like Steven King did with The Dark Tower book I rewrite or George Lucas and his travesties, I think it would be justified here because this huge series has a better chance of getting out to more people if that first book is tightened up. Deadhouse Gates doesn't suffer from the same problems, so I know Erikson has it in him. Also, Deadhouse Gates fixes the really bad chapter header problem I had with Gardens. The poems are not very applicable, hard to understand when they are applicable, and not very pleasing to read. Deadhouse interjects quotes from other literature that actually expand knowledge of the world rather that just spill out a few ugly, inscrutable stanzas
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Dec 25, 2011 14:49
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The opening scene would have to stay. It's not a prologue to the first book, but rather to the series. I can't say more without spoiling the end of the series. It also ties in with the story in gotm itself, especially with Lorn and Tattersail. And of course (whole series spoiler) the main character of the series being in the opening and closing scene is real cliche, but hiding who that main character is (Fiddler) for so long was genius.
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Dec 25, 2011 15:41
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The first part of the first chapter, where Sorry becomes Sorry, got me super excited for the rest of the book. I can't imagine the book without it. Prod and pull.
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Dec 25, 2011 16:23
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GotM needs more scenes added to smooth it, not removed. In fact whatever you cut would have way too many repercussions. Not showing the Prologue or the dialogue between Shadowthrone and Cotillion before they take Sorry means destroying the structure of the whole book. "Its too much too fast." Yep, but if you cut things it's even faster. It needs just a little more breathing space. The real problem is that as the foundation of a so big series GotM is a bit too wobbly, as the founding stone.
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Dec 26, 2011 00:18
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I got 2 copies of the necromancers trilogy for christmas. Anyone who has not read them want one? Just paypal me $3 or so for shipping and claim it in the thread. Captaincrunch00 at hotmail
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Dec 26, 2011 02:24
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There is definitely some weird stuff in GotM that could stand to be rewritten, though. I think the weirdest thing was when Tattersail starts off liking Paran but not trusting him, then hating him, then hating him so much she almost kills him, then likes him again without reservation. All in the span of one section of a chapter. Not even a whole chapter. And, of course, at the end of the section Paran thinks it's a great idea to proposition the woman who was about ready to kill him 5 minutes earlier for sex. By putting his hand on her shoulder. And she accepts. So weird.
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Dec 26, 2011 03:13
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Yeah that scene was just strange.
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Dec 26, 2011 04:14
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The dialogue itself is crystal clear, the relationship a bit forced, tho. In that scene Tattersail gets angry because she realizes that Paran works for the Adjunct, and the Adjunct at the moment is seen as a kind of enemy. So she loses her patience because she realizes that even Paran may be against her and plotting to her back. Then she backs off, because Paran is forthcoming and honest with her, that for her is something quite different from the usual. So she feels off balance. At the end of the scene the situation turns again because after realizing that Paran is sincere with her and on her side, she decides to leave him. And that's the moment she feels compassion for him, since she's aware that now that they got close and found some kind of true, rare friendship they will have to divide again, leaving Paran completely vulnerable and on his own (she thinks). Made worse by the fact the obviously Paran doesn't ask her to stay. Short version: Tattersail thinks Paran is a pawn to be used against her by the Adjunct and she feels threatened on all sides (so she gets defensive). Then, talking, she realizes that not only Paran is completely sincere with her (not a threat) but that he's far more vulnerable and clueless than she is. And she's going to leave him on his own. She thought she was the victim and realizes instead that she's making a victim of Paran without a second thought. She essentially goes to do Paran the thing she feared for herself. It completely changes her perspective and it is so obviously destabilizing as it would be for everyone. Abalieno fucked around with this message at 07:59 on Dec 26, 2011 |
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Dec 26, 2011 07:53
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Some time after she leaves for Darujhistan Tattersail notices that she basically just took off without bringing her Deck or any of her stuff or doing any planning. She realizes it's not something she would have ordinarily done, and blames it on being distracted by Paran. I think she also suspects that some kind of divine influence was behind the whole thing. Considering that K'rul eventually uses her to effect the resurrection of Nightchill, it's not outside the realm of possibility that he caused her erratic behavior. It's demonstrated to be within his power in MOI when he influences Toc to join Anaster's forces after telling Envy that he was going to have to send Toc into the embrace of the Seer.
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Dec 26, 2011 20:28
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Also everyone wants to sleep with Tattersail because the authour loves big booty women.
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Dec 26, 2011 20:33
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angerbeet posted:Also everyone wants to sleep with Tattersail because the authour loves big booty women. Steven Erikson: archaeologist, philosopher, poet, chubby chaser.
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Dec 27, 2011 00:19
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Just finished House of Chains. Karsa is an epic badass in a series full of epic badasses. The part where he ties the Hound of Darkness heads to his giant horse was too good. I also liked the Osirc/L'oric dynamic, and was pretty choked when Apsalar left Crokus. The tiste liosan were the funniest thing in the whole series so far, even better than Iskaral Pust! All around a great read, although not as good as Memories of Ice.
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Dec 27, 2011 07:23
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I just got through Midnight Tides after having a bit of a struggle adjusting to new characters again, what a read! I still haven't hit a book in the series I haven't liked, or even a POV character. I went from not being too crazy about the Tiste Edur to loving the poo poo out of the Sengar brothers, and Tehol and Bugg were great cast additions too. I really can't wait to see what all those guys have been up to while the first four books were going on. I'm halfway through Night of Knives right now, and while the drop in quality is pretty noticeable I'm nevertheless finidng it an enjoyable read, and certainly a nice change of pace from Erikson's writing. Someone was nice enough to get me Crack'd Pot Trail for Christmas too, and I still have the necromancer trilogy back at home, so there's going to be a lot more Malazan reading ahead for me!
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Dec 28, 2011 05:05
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Tattersail's POV chapters in Gardens of the Moon are strange. The way she describes magic in general feels very different to the way it's described by everybody else in the series.
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Dec 28, 2011 06:40
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02-6611-0142-1 posted:Tattersail's POV chapters in Gardens of the Moon are strange. The way she describes magic in general feels very different to the way it's described by everybody else in the series. Well, most of her stuff is pretty early on in the book, so it's very possibly Erikson just decided to change the way he described magic after her sections. I just finished GotM. Very strange ending, mostly because it began more plot threads than it ended. Plus it was weird that the book was building up to a fight with the Jaghut Tyrant, but he is defeated unceremoniously. Then it's like Erikson realized he needed someone for Rake to fight so he busted out the REAL final boss. I might start Deadhouse Gates next, or I just got The Way of Kings so I might read that. e: someone should tell Erikson about lowercase Roman numerals, so he can start his books' prologues at page 1 instead of page 21 Conduit for Sale! fucked around with this message at 12:10 on Dec 28, 2011 |
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Dec 28, 2011 11:28
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Conduit for Sale! posted:Plus it was weird that the book was building up to a fight with the Jaghut Tyrant, but he is defeated unceremoniously. It's a common theme in all his books.
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Dec 28, 2011 18:27
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Lyer posted:It's a common theme in all his books. Well Rhaest is technically still around, though, at least I think he is . He made an appearance in Memories of Ice as did Ralick and the assassin guild master (I can't remember her name offhand). It happened when entered the house and entered the cards of the deck of dragons on the floor of the Azath house. Hopefully he comes up later. But I'm still in the process of reading Memories of Ice.
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Dec 28, 2011 18:44
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A couple of friends of mine are advance readers and have copies of both Orb, Sceptre, Throne and The Forge of Darkness right now. I'm very jealous.
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Dec 29, 2011 04:53
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Malazan thread, help me decide whether to start on Deadhouse Gates, or The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.
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Dec 29, 2011 05:12
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Read the Prologue of both, it should be quite telling.
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Dec 29, 2011 05:19
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Boy, Deadhouse Gates sure does start off differently than GotM.
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Dec 29, 2011 07:34
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They're very different books. I loved both but a lot of people consider Deadhouse Gates to be a big step up in terms of overall quality.
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Dec 29, 2011 08:29
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02-6611-0142-1 posted:Tattersail's POV chapters in Gardens of the Moon are strange. The way she describes magic in general feels very different to the way it's described by everybody else in the series. That's not such a big deal. Different magic-using people have different outlooks on it - compare Tattersail to Quick Ben to Bottle to Beak - all Malazan army mages, but they all feel very different. And when you add in the mages that don't even need to use warrens or holds (like Nil and Nether), it's pretty clear there's no one right way.
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Dec 30, 2011 07:07
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It's like saying that shamanism isn't the same of Medieval magic  Different cultures, different magic. Take for example the Barghast gods. As Erikson said, Malazan pantheon is "protean". Understand that, and you understand a rather pivotal point.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:16
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Abalieno posted:It's like saying that shamanism isn't the same of Medieval magic I need about 6 words in this post defined for me.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:53
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Well, I'm pretty sure it's still a GotM-ism. As far as I can remember disregarding "special" mages like Beak who was basically an idiot savant most of the people who use the same "set" of magic had a pretty homogenous experience of how it worked post-GotM. Correct me if I'm wrong, preferably with specific examples that don't involve QB or Beak, but that's the feeling I had.
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Dec 30, 2011 21:08
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the least weasel posted:Well, I'm pretty sure it's still a GotM-ism. As far as I can remember disregarding "special" mages like Beak who was basically an idiot savant most of the people who use the same "set" of magic had a pretty homogenous experience of how it worked post-GotM. Correct me if I'm wrong, preferably with specific examples that don't involve QB or Beak, but that's the feeling I had. Tattersail herself is something of a savant. Remember she could be a high Mage, was almost master of the deck, is mentally hosed up by the events of the prologue and if not for her death would have been a major major player.
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Dec 31, 2011 00:39
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the least weasel posted:Well, I'm pretty sure it's still a GotM-ism. As far as I can remember disregarding "special" mages like Beak who was basically an idiot savant most of the people who use the same "set" of magic had a pretty homogenous experience of how it worked post-GotM. Correct me if I'm wrong, preferably with specific examples that don't involve QB or Beak, but that's the feeling I had.
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Dec 31, 2011 02:26
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