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the least weasel posted:Is there really something pointing to the fact that these particular Bridgeburners were put or made sure to be outside of the tunnels when they collapsed? If so I can't remember it. Also I don't think the people who survived were necessarily the best of the best by virtue of having managed to not been in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I read it it just seemed like dumb luck that they happened to be the ones who were outside when it all went down. Fiddler's bad feelings' got them out of the cave alive. E: who complains about a lack of story-unrelated filler?
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Oct 12, 2013 10:13
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| # ? May 13, 2024 22:14 |
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Wow. Just finished Forge of Darkness, and all I can really say is Jesus Christ Envy and Spite.  Great book though.
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Oct 12, 2013 18:35
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Eh, I just think that if Erickson has to write some fluff, it'd be rather about character traits/quirks than some nihilistic wankery about society. I just wonder how he can do it right in his short stories, but he drops the ball in the novels.
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Oct 14, 2013 03:36
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Habibi posted:E: who complains about a lack of story-unrelated filler? I'm not sure I understand the question but I would have preferred more backstory, world-building and characterisation - even of unimportant background characters - to pages upon pages of meandering philisophising by Army Grunt #451. Maybe I'm the crazy one! Opal fucked around with this message at 13:50 on Oct 14, 2013 |
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Oct 14, 2013 13:47
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I recently started GotM and am really digging it and the Malazan universe in general. Appreciated the general advice about just powering through it and not getting overwhelmed due to not understanding everything that is going on. One thing that I am having trouble with is the names. It's not because there are so many characters or too many "fantasy" names. What gets me is that some characters seem to have proper names, like "Kruppe" , "Anomander Rake",and "Baruk". Whereas, other characters tend to have descriptive names based on nouns and verbs, like "Fiddler", "Surly", "Tattersail", etc. Can someone explain the descriptive names to me (or tell me it gets explained later on in the books)? Right now, I'm kind of like, "Are they cultural in nature?" , or "Are they aliases/nicknames (and if so, are aliases just commonly accepted in Malazan and nobody questions it)?"
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Oct 17, 2013 15:03
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There is a marine trainer dude named Braven Tooth that nicknames the marines as they come through training. It's a Malazan marine thing. It's usually based on character traits. Without spoling anything: The marine named Limp has bad knees for instance.
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Oct 17, 2013 15:25
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wodan22 posted:I recently started GotM and am really digging it and the Malazan universe in general. Appreciated the general advice about just powering through it and not getting overwhelmed due to not understanding everything that is going on. To expand, the aforementioned Master Seargeant started the trend, but in general *most * Malazan marines will have acquired new names (I hesitate to call them nicknames, since generally they stop using their old names) based on some trait or ability, and often ironic. Limp was mentioned. Far later on you encounter a marine named Smiles, so named because she doesn't. The names are one of the most difficult parts of the series for lots of people because many are similar. Just in Darujistan in GotM you have Kruppe and Krute and Crokus. The difficulty arises not because of general confusion, but because knowing whom the names belong to is integral to determining the story, history, and mythology of the series. Anyway, glad to see you're enjoying it. I think that, quite often, people overstate the how bad Gardens is, but I am okay with that because then people like you find it to be a pleasant surprise.
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Oct 17, 2013 16:35
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Assail comes out this month! And I was disappointed to find the latest Bauchlain and Korbal Broach short story can only be bought in a 30 dollar hard cover.
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Oct 17, 2013 20:23
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dishwasherlove posted:Assail comes out this month! Got a source? Amazon is saying August 2014 for it.
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Oct 17, 2013 21:20
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Darn, I was looking for an e-book of the B&KB book.
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Oct 18, 2013 04:10
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Didn't look for ebooks. My Assail preorder from bookdepository in the UK says 21 days. From what I remember the UK editions are published months before the US.
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Oct 18, 2013 05:11
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Habibi posted:To expand, the aforementioned Master Seargeant started the trend, but in general *most * Malazan marines will have acquired new names (I hesitate to call them nicknames, since generally they stop using their old names) based on some trait or ability, and often ironic. Limp was mentioned. Far later on you encounter a marine named Smiles, so named because she doesn't. And then Crokus becomes Cutter just to mess it up As for Braven Tooth, it is implied he has some precognition when naming marines, ie he gives them names that reflect their true nature. Examples: Deadsmell and Throatslitter.
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Oct 18, 2013 08:49
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Habibi posted:To expand, the aforementioned Master Seargeant started the trend, but in general *most * Malazan marines will have acquired new names (I hesitate to call them nicknames, since generally they stop using their old names) based on some trait or ability, and often ironic. Limp was mentioned. Far later on you encounter a marine named Smiles, so named because she doesn't. This also gets expanded on much much later in the series (Dust of Dreams) where some Letherii recruits are given new names, and I think Fiddler explains it about leaving your past behind or some such On Dust of Dreams, I've really struggled with it - I'm at 60% now, and it's just starting to click a bit now. the 15 different Barghast stories going on, plus the Ariknyani (sp), got really confusing. Also the whole thing with Hetan being hobbled was horrible and made me feel a bit ill. I really hope there's some kind of satisfactory resolution to that storyline (she's just died).
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Oct 18, 2013 09:08
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gregarious Ted posted:This also gets expanded on much much later in the series (Dust of Dreams) where some Letherii recruits are given new names, and I think Fiddler explains it about leaving your past behind or some such I'm not sure there really is, but it does really drive home how Eriksson likes to present you with something that seems good at first in one book and then flips it on you and gives you a different perspective in another book. Same with things that seem evil but turn out to be much more complicated than that
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Oct 18, 2013 16:19
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Levitate posted:I'm not sure there really is, There is - she is reborn at the end of TCG thanks to TOC
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Oct 18, 2013 19:12
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Habibi posted:There is - she is reborn at the end of TCG thanks to TOC fffffff, man it's been a long time since I read this series, I'm just re-reading it now
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Oct 18, 2013 19:48
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Levitate posted:fffffff, man it's been a long time since I read this series, I'm just re-reading it now The only reason I remember that is I just finished my third reread last month. 
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Oct 18, 2013 19:51
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dishwasherlove posted:Didn't look for ebooks. My Assail preorder from bookdepository in the UK says 21 days. From what I remember the UK editions are published months before the US. Err, nope. Assail won't come out until March (may be delayed to July), and Fall of Light is June (and may be delayed further). US releases may be later than that.
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Oct 19, 2013 10:22
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Abalieno posted:Err, nope. Assail won't come out until March (may be delayed to July), and Fall of Light is June (and may be delayed further). US releases may be later than that. Well drat.
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Oct 19, 2013 10:51
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the least weasel posted:I'm not sure I understand the question but I would have preferred more backstory, world-building and characterisation - even of unimportant background characters - to pages upon pages of meandering philisophising by Army Grunt #451. Maybe I'm the crazy one! In no way is backstory or worldbuilding a weakness of the series. Characterization, though, is weakest and that means that there's a huge cast of characters, and even the important ones are barely developed considering there's 10 books to do it. With the bevy of bizarre names to remember, it occasionally turns into a WoT-esque "redshirt" problem. Forge of Darkness did a good job with a more limited cast, however.
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Oct 20, 2013 17:38
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I'm currently reading The Crippled God. What books should I read next? Orb,Sceptre, Throne + Blood and Bone or Forge of Darkness?
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Oct 23, 2013 11:04
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That actually reminds me, if I'm re-reading from the beginning (just started MoI), do ICE's newer books slot into the 10 book Eriksson timeline, or do they come after? I figure I"ll read the other ICE books this time in order to get more of a picture of what was going on, and wondered if Orb Scepter Throne, etc, came after the Crippled God, etc
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Oct 23, 2013 12:01
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Levitate posted:That actually reminds me, if I'm re-reading from the beginning (just started MoI), do ICE's newer books slot into the 10 book Eriksson timeline, or do they come after? I figure I"ll read the other ICE books this time in order to get more of a picture of what was going on, and wondered if Orb Scepter Throne, etc, came after the Crippled God, etc This blog places Stonewielder and Orb, Scepter, Throne before Dust of Dreams, with Blood and Bone after The Crippled God, and Assail after that. I'm following this guys reading order on my first time through the series and I've been pretty pleased with how the ICE books tie in to the main timeline.
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Oct 23, 2013 13:52
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I've been powering through this series and I'm loving it. However I'm on book eight and I think Kruppe is going to be my narrator. Does he ever get less insufferable? Or do I just deal with his annoying nature and get through it to look forward to book 9?
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Oct 24, 2013 18:10
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If you don't like Kruppe you're just gonna have to deal with it for TtH. You'll be well rewarded for it by the end, but yeah you're stuck with him for the book.
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Oct 24, 2013 18:19
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Oh Snapple! posted:If you don't like Kruppe you're just gonna have to deal with it for TtH. You'll be well rewarded for it by the end, but yeah you're stuck with him for the book. drat. My least favorite trope is the 'Character speaks in the third person' thing. It's so very very Freshman Creative Writing Course wackiness that it just irks me. Oh well, I'll wait for the payoff and get through.
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Oct 25, 2013 04:17
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nucleicmaxid posted:drat. My least favorite trope is the 'Character speaks in the third person' thing. It's so very very Freshman Creative Writing Course wackiness that it just irks me. Oh well, I'll wait for the payoff and get through. Erikson and ICE both have degrees in Creative Writing. Make of that what you will.
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Oct 27, 2013 04:37
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Anyone know when the release date for the Forge of Darkness paperback is? I have them all in paperback right now, and for some reason I'm OCD about having all the books in the series look the same. Also don't want to pay the hardcover premium. I do have a Kindle, but if I bought the eBook I'd end up buying the book again when the paperback came out...
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Oct 27, 2013 20:47
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Man, just finished Deadhouse Gates... halfway through I was kinda eh about the whole thing and wondering what the gently caress was going to pad out the rest of the book. But the ending is like a badass rollercoaster. I don't think I've ever been as angry at a book as with Duiker and Coltaine at the end, but it seems to be implied that they're both getting some form of reincarnation so it ended up kinda mellow. gently caress those nobles. So happy when Duiker nailed the ringleader in the face. Also, Fiddler going right back into the fight  I think my favorite characters are the ordinary army dudes who are just crazy enough to keep on kickin rear end.
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Oct 28, 2013 07:16
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Wait until you meet more of the heavies. and Beak
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Oct 28, 2013 07:24
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Chomposaur posted:Man, just finished Deadhouse Gates... halfway through I was kinda eh about the whole thing and wondering what the gently caress was going to pad out the rest of the book. But the ending is like a badass rollercoaster. quote:Also, Fiddler going right back into the fight
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Oct 28, 2013 18:13
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CaptainJuan posted:Wait until you meet more of the heavies. Beak  For a one book seemingly one note character that arc's ending hit me as hard as any of the other big emotional moments in the books.
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Oct 28, 2013 22:13
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Digging into Orb, Sceptre, Throne now and it's a little like watching one of your more reckless friends play with your favorite toys. They aren't quite playing with them right and you're afraid they'll break them or something. ICE definitely improves from book to book, but I can't help but feel afraid when he's handling some of my favored characters from the Erikson books. Also, I remember reading a conversation in this thread about skipping the Kiska/Leoman scenes and am tempted to agree. On one hand I want to cause that relationship feels kind of forced, but on the other hand I really like the setting of those scenes. Honestly as decent as Stonewielder was I'm beginning to get a little impatient. Orb, Sceptre, Throne is supposed to be ICE's best, or so I've heard.
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Oct 28, 2013 23:53
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apophenium posted:Digging into Orb, Sceptre, Throne now and it's a little like watching one of your more reckless friends play with your favorite toys. They aren't quite playing with them right and you're afraid they'll break them or something. ICE definitely improves from book to book, but I can't help but feel afraid when he's handling some of my favored characters from the Erikson books. That was me saying to skip Kiska chapters. Read it once, I read it twice. Then when you reread, the third time skip it and see how much better it is. Also the analogy you used is spot on and I love it. I plan on using it to describe Esselmont from now on.
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Oct 29, 2013 02:17
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I started Gardens of the Moon after eyeing the Malazan threads on this forum for the last several years and am digging it. I'm trusting this forum's tendency to tell it like it is: what's the consensus on the quality of the books through the series? Does Erikson have any noticeable drops in quality like Jordan did or Martin's going through the last couple of books?
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Oct 31, 2013 04:01
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Erikson's only real consistent problem is that he likes to philosophize and his editor kinda lets him do that more and more as the series goes on. That said, no, he never goes through what Jordan and Martin did. He had a pretty clear understanding of the story he wanted to tell, and he told it. Every book has a pretty good amount of important stuff happening in it, though sometimes that important stuff is concentrated toward the end of a book than scattered about. He never really let things get away from him like Jordan did or get lazy/have no idea what to do like Martin did and has kept a pretty good work ethic through the series.
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Oct 31, 2013 04:09
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In all honest, Erikson has only gotten better with each book. Though, his style of back loading all the bad rear end content does leave me impatient until my kindle says I'm at least 50-60% through.
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Oct 31, 2013 06:32
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some of the later books get a little long on discussion and short on action but then it all suddenly comes together near the end and is awesome
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Oct 31, 2013 14:41
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NativeAlien posted:I started Gardens of the Moon after eyeing the Malazan threads on this forum for the last several years and am digging it. I'm trusting this forum's tendency to tell it like it is: what's the consensus on the quality of the books through the series? Does Erikson have any noticeable drops in quality like Jordan did or Martin's going through the last couple of books? The first seven or so books are pretty decent, but the big ending doesn't feel like something you've actually built to over the series. It feels more like Erikson repeatedly changed his mind about how things were going to play out since book five, and eventually just had to cobble together something that felt epic. The last couple of books are a slog and the ending doesn't have nearly the impact the finale of a ten book series should have. While the series does have a few really cool moments and a handful of fun characters, I'm apparently one of the few people on this board that thinks that the series, overall, is pretty mediocre.
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Oct 31, 2013 18:15
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| # ? May 13, 2024 22:14 |
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^^^ Yeah I don't agree with that at all, but I am in the malazan thread, so  Coming to a theatre near you summer '14: quote:Tens of thousands of years of ice is melting, and the land of Assail, long a byword for menace and inaccessibility, is at last yielding its secrets. Tales of gold discovered in the region’s north circulate in every waterfront dive and sailor’s tavern and now countless adventurers and fortune-seekers have set sail in search of riches. All these adventurers have to guide them are legends and garbled tales of the dangers that lie in wait - hostile coasts, fields of ice, impassable barriers and strange, terrifying creatures. But all accounts concur that the people of the north meet all trespassers with the sword. And beyond are rumoured to lurk Elder monsters out of history’s very beginnings.
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Nov 1, 2013 03:40
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