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For malazan novels the conventional wisdom is they're mediocre by comparison (though I quite like them, especially Orb Sceptre Throne). For general fantasy they're considered still way above average.
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Apr 9, 2013 19:18
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Return of the Crimson Guard is still his best novel, as far as I'm concerned.Hipster Occultist posted:1. Why did Cotillion shank the CG? 2. Was was Herboric doing? 1. Not stated. Presumably it was a matter of destroying his physical shell so he could leave the world and go back to his, which was only possible because of all the stuff going on at the same time. 2. Can you be more precise? What was he doing when what?
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Apr 9, 2013 19:33
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Lemon Curdistan posted:Return of the Crimson Guard is still his best novel, as far as I'm concerned. Shortly after the CG watched him talking with K'rul and Mael in that cavern underneath the barrow. Oh, on Gruntle: Why did Trake send Gruntle to fight Kilava? I'm sure it was sort of explained somewhere but damned if I know where. Hipster Occultist fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Apr 10, 2013 |
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Apr 10, 2013 02:03
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Hipster Occultist posted:Oh, on Gruntle: I'm not 100% sure, but I believe Trake actually wanted Gruntle to help Kilava stop the dragons. Gruntle was just so sick of being manipulated that he decided to screw up the plan and try to get Trake killed.
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Apr 11, 2013 00:21
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He was pretty disgruntled about the whole situation.
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Apr 11, 2013 00:30
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Juaguocio posted:I'm not 100% sure, but I believe Trake actually wanted Gruntle to help Kilava stop the dragons. Gruntle was just so sick of being manipulated that he decided to screw up the plan and try to get Trake killed. Yeah but Kilava had no intention of stopping said Dragons, she mentioned earlier that she wasn't even going to try. So why attack her at all? Erikson!  wallaka posted:He was pretty disgruntled about the whole situation. I bet you're real proud of that one buddy. 
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Apr 11, 2013 11:04
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Hipster Occultist posted:Yeah but Kilava had no intention of stopping said Dragons, she mentioned earlier that she wasn't even going to try. So why attack her at all? Erikson! Kilava was trying to stop Gruntle from killing Trake.
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Apr 11, 2013 16:20
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Oh Snapple! posted:Kilava was trying to stop Gruntle from killing Trake. Oh yeah, I do remember something about that. He only goes along with Trake's plan to kill the dragons because then and there he can draw on enough of Trake's power to actually pull him into himself and then get eaten by a Dragon correct?
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Apr 11, 2013 16:36
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I just listened to an interview with Erikson about Forge of Darkness and realized I'd been pronouncing "Malazan" differently/wrong this whole time. This has been the most jarring twist of the series for me so far.
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Apr 12, 2013 04:49
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It's not three syllables with equal cadence? 
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Apr 12, 2013 04:55
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Is this the interview you're talking about? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ayfTv0XuZg He says it right at the beginning, I dunno how to do proper phonetic spelling but it sounds like ma-lahzen. Not at all how I thought it was pronounced, but that's coming straight from the horse's mouth. I can't believe it. If I can't even get the title right, I'm sure I've been pronouncing pretty much everything wrong. That interview's actually really good though, probably the best I've heard. Way better than the one with that Swedish guy who hasn't even read the books.
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Apr 12, 2013 06:17
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I'm going to continue reading/pronouncing it wrong because I've been doing it for so long. I also agree that I probably pronounce everything wrong
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Apr 12, 2013 09:53
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It sounds so fuckin weird, Mah-lazan does not roll off the tongue at all.
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Apr 12, 2013 10:17
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Y'all weren't kidding. Trying to say it that way is just strange. I'm just going to chalk it up to a weird Canadian pronunciation 
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Apr 12, 2013 11:01
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Safety Factor posted:Y'all weren't kidding. Trying to say it that way is just strange. I'm just going to chalk it up to a weird Canadian pronunciation Hey man I'm a Cannuck and as far as I know it's always been Mala-zan. If you wanted it pronounced differently Erikson you should have spelled it that way.
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Apr 12, 2013 11:19
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So I was reading Dread Empire by Glen Cook and I encountered Mocker. Given the influence Cook have had on Erikson, I would imagine Mocker served as the inspiration for Kruppe.
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Apr 12, 2013 12:33
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How is the ending of Toll the Hounds? I'm 71% through according to my kindle and I'm still what, if anything, its building to. Maybe its just because all the others have had a fairly standard format with the last quarter involving a battle of some kind and the different character views mostly leading into it but there are so many here and other than Karsa reaching Darujhistan and possibly being the tyrant that some people there are expecting I'm not really sure what the books overall plot has been unlike the others. If that makes any sense. Assuming of course that the entire book hasn't just essesntially been a setup for the last 2
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Apr 12, 2013 19:24
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Scott Bakula posted:How is the ending of Toll the Hounds? I'm 71% through according to my kindle and I'm still what, if anything, its building to. Maybe its just because all the others have had a fairly standard format with the last quarter involving a battle of some kind and the different character views mostly leading into it but there are so many here and other than Karsa reaching Darujhistan and possibly being the tyrant that some people there are expecting I'm not really sure what the books overall plot has been unlike the others. If that makes any sense. Assuming of course that the entire book hasn't just essesntially been a setup for the last 2 Oh man, Toll the Hounds may not be one of the best books overall, but that ending  I won't spoil anything. The ending's totally worth it. Edit: In regards to your spoiler, I believe Toll the Hounds takes place parallel to Dust of Dreams/The Crippled God. I could very easily be wrong though since Erikson never puts concrete dates on anything. Safety Factor fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Apr 12, 2013 |
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Apr 12, 2013 19:46
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Well as I said there is not obvious ending for it so far. Its been the hardest book to get through though for various reasons. I just hope that Murillio stays dead, I just read his end, Karsa/Cutter/Rallick get their chance at Gorlas and for Kallor to get another chance to shine Oh and Snell somehow learns his lesson. I feel bad for the fact he's easily the most unlikable character so far
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Apr 12, 2013 20:07
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Sexiest captain of the Enterprise: he does, and he does.
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Apr 12, 2013 20:14
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Thats open ended enough for me to enjoy how it finishes. While I'm on Kallor, I always forget when things happen. Did his empire pre or post date the first empire? I'm sure it was before it but that doesn't really make any sense
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Apr 12, 2013 20:23
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I had somehow forgotten about (Toll the Hounds) Kallor's big scene. It is really well-handled and he is a very well-written character, but it isn't the biggest part of the finale and my mind completely glossed over it with everything else that goes on. I really need to get around to doing a reread of the series, it's been a while since The Crippled God came out.
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Apr 12, 2013 20:32
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apophenium posted:I just listened to an interview with Erikson about Forge of Darkness and realized I'd been pronouncing "Malazan" differently/wrong this whole time. This has been the most jarring twist of the series for me so far. Likewise, I always called her "Tah-vore" in my head. But here it's "Tah-vor-ay" and it's tough to get used to. Likewise, for d'ivers, "deevers" versus "divers." At least we're blessed with a lot of main characters named after common household objects and adjectives...
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Apr 12, 2013 22:46
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Safety Factor posted:Edit: In regards to your spoiler, I believe Toll the Hounds takes place parallel to Dust of Dreams/The Crippled God. I could very easily be wrong though since Erikson never puts concrete dates on anything. No it's before Dust of Dreams and The Cripped God, you aren't remembering that the event at the very end of Toll the Hounds allows a certain character to show up in the last two books. VVVV yea youre right, the character I'm thinking of doesn't show up right away in Dust of Dreams. PlushCow fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Apr 12, 2013 |
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Apr 12, 2013 23:23
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There's definitely a bit of overlap though. The end of Toll the Hounds roughly corresponds to the middle (maybe a little earlier) of Dust of Dreams.
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Apr 12, 2013 23:32
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dwarf74 posted:I'm listening to the old series of audiobooks, and there's been two readers so far. The first one had a certain pronunciation for stuff like "jaghut" that I got used to. The new one has a different one. "Jag-hut" vs. "Jag-hoot". For me its always been Jag-hut, D-iv-ers rather than Divers or any variant. Same as T-Lan-I-Mass. Its funny how where you're from totally changes how you pronounce words. Mala-Zan makes most sense to me but at the same time I feel its a bit like ga-rage or gar-age depending on if you're north or south England. Otataral is Ota-ta-ral in the same vein. What a terrible pun  A bit like 45 seconds into this for the T'Lan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzAD2GLfaNU Edit: I'm not sure why I've noticed, but Erikson has used gently caress a lot more often in Toll the Hounds. Jose fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Apr 13, 2013 |
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Apr 12, 2013 23:46
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I absolutely love how tragic all the demonic summons are in the series. In a lot of games and other traditional fantasy style settings the demons are rarely portrayed as creatures stolen from another realm, with their own motivations. I hope there's a bigger focus on demons later on. There's probably enough stuff there to be the main focus of its own book.
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Apr 15, 2013 17:20
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Just finished Toll the Hounds and drat, that was some ending. I could have done without Toc coming back yet again. How many times can one character die. Who isn't Rhulad at least. I guess the Bridgeburners will get back together too. I'm really curious about the last 2 books since obviously the last one is the final show down with the crippled god, but I can't really think of what the next book could be about other than going back to the Bonehunters/Apsalar at least. Assail surely has to come up since Silverfox has gone there with the remaining Imass but leaving somewhere that played up until the last 2 books feels weird. I take it Jackuruku is left to the books about the Crimson Guard? Is it explained later on why someone didn't go out and just kill the crippled god? I'm sure I remember reading in Reaper's Gale that the reason he didn't interfere too much with Silchas Ruin is because he wasn't strong enough to go up against Ruin if it came to that. If it is then I'm looking forward to reading it.
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Apr 15, 2013 22:46
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Scott Bakula posted:Just finished Toll the Hounds and drat, that was some ending. I could have done without Toc coming back yet again. How many times can one character die. Who isn't Rhulad at least. I guess the Bridgeburners will get back together too. I'm really curious about the last 2 books since obviously the last one is the final show down with the crippled god, but I can't really think of what the next book could be about other than going back to the Bonehunters/Apsalar at least. Assail surely has to come up since Silverfox has gone there with the remaining Imass but leaving somewhere that played up until the last 2 books feels weird. I take it Jackuruku is left to the books about the Crimson Guard? The last two novels are focused on the Letherii Continent and everyone over there, everything else you mention is in the Esslemont novels or will be, cant remember. Not every plotline is resolved, but you'll be happy with the last two novels; Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God are like Part 1 and Part 2 of the ending of the series. Dust of Dreams doesn't wrap up as cleanly as all the other novels and Erikson warned us beforehand that it's the only novel in the series that ends in a cliffhanger. It was so great, just thinking about it. The last novel will answer your question about The Crippled God, so go and enjoy!
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Apr 15, 2013 23:25
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apophenium posted:I absolutely love how tragic all the demonic summons are in the series. In a lot of games and other traditional fantasy style settings the demons are rarely portrayed as creatures stolen from another realm, with their own motivations. I hope there's a bigger focus on demons later on. There's probably enough stuff there to be the main focus of its own book.
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Apr 15, 2013 23:47
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I'm looking to get back into this series after abandoning it midway through the second book. Could someone link me to a decent plot summary of the first book so I can get up to speed? I'd search myself but I don't want to stumble on any spoilers.
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Apr 16, 2013 08:13
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snoremac posted:I'm looking to get back into this series after abandoning it midway through the second book. Could someone link me to a decent plot summary of the first book so I can get up to speed? I'd search myself but I don't want to stumble on any spoilers. It's not even important, just read Deadhouse Gates like it were the first book.
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Apr 16, 2013 08:26
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Scott Bakula posted:Edit: I'm not sure why I've noticed, but Erikson has used gently caress a lot more often in Toll the Hounds. Yeah? Well so have I. gently caress Clip. gently caress these emo rear end Andii. gently caress Snell. gently caress this book taking so long to get going. Also, I have always pronounced Mah-lazan, accent on the first syllable. Maybe it's the native Russian speaker in me.
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Apr 16, 2013 15:51
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Cardiac posted:So I was reading Dread Empire by Glen Cook and I encountered Mocker. I also think there's some Dickens too: quote:Mr. Chadband is a large yellow man with a fat smile and a general appearance of having a good deal of train oil in his system. Mr. Chadband moves softly and cumbrously, not unlike a bear who has been taught to walk upright. He is very much embarrassed about the arms, as if they were inconvenient to him and he wanted to grovel, is very much in a perspiration about the head, and never speaks without first putting up his great hand, as delivering a token to his hearers that he is going to edify them. Compared to Kruppe: quote:The slippered foot probed daintily downward, wavering until it touched ground. A rather plump calf, knee and thigh followed. The short, round man who emerged was wearing silks of every colour, the effect one of clashing discord. A shimmering, crimson handkerchief was clutched in one pudgy hand, rising to dab a glittering forehead. Both feet finally on the ground, the Daru loosed a loud sigh. 'Burn's fiery heart, but it's hot!' Abalieno fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Apr 16, 2013 |
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Apr 16, 2013 18:48
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snoremac posted:I'm looking to get back into this series after abandoning it midway through the second book. Could someone link me to a decent plot summary of the first book so I can get up to speed? I'd search myself but I don't want to stumble on any spoilers. The tor.com ReRead of the Fallen is really great for this sort of stuff. It might be a bit more in-depth than you're looking for, but if you just hit the summaries and then Amanda's comments you'll get everything you need. Bill's comments sometimes have a bit of spoiler for later books so avoid 'em if necessary. They just got to Toll the Hounds after starting in 2010. 
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Apr 17, 2013 01:15
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That's just the kind of thing I was after. I tried the Malazan Wiki but the plot summary was too broad. This is much better. Thanks.
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Apr 17, 2013 07:12
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You really shouldn't care how anyone pronounces Malazan terms, every time Erikson's been asked he's stated it's however you want to. Also his are all wrong, creator be damned. Oh, and Kallor's empire was concurrent with the First Empire, just formed slightly - 70 years or so slightly - afterwards. also lasting about a thousand times less long
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Apr 18, 2013 04:43
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Illuyankas posted:You really shouldn't care how anyone pronounces Malazan terms, every time Erikson's been asked he's stated it's however you want to. Also his are all wrong, creator be damned. That's actually a surprisingly cool thing for Erikson to say. Usually he comes off kind of smug about his writing. As for your spoiler... well, that's pre-Kharkanas trilogy. Who knows what the truth is, now.
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Apr 19, 2013 04:33
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Just wrapped up Midnight Tides. The reveals in the end of this one were some of the best yet. I think this is my favorite one since Deadhouse Gates. Really just blown away. E. Is it worth it to read Night of Knives before Bonehunters? I'm probably going to read Night of Knives anyways, so it might make sense to go ahead and do that now. This guy recommends reading it before Bonehunters, since it introduces some characters who appear in Bonehunters. Still, I'm kind of conflicted. Has anyone read them in this order and can comment on it? apophenium fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Apr 19, 2013 |
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Apr 19, 2013 06:40
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Yeah if you're gonna go through them all anyway I recommend Night of Knives before Bonehunters.
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Apr 19, 2013 07:00
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