The Malazan Book of the Fallen: Too many wor'ds.

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Malazan Book of the Fallen: Too many wor'ds.

Concurred: Apr 23, 2003; My team got swept out of the playoffs, and all I got was this avatar and red text

Spoilered in case anybody is weird about that kind of thing but you can find it on Amazon. I think it might have been posted in this thread, but I don't recall

quote:

It is a bitter winter and civil war now ravages Kurald Galain, as Urusander�s Legion prepares to march upon the city of Kharkanas.The rebels� only opposition lies scattered, bereft of a leader since Anomander�s departure in search of his estranged brother, Andarist. The last brother remaining, Silchas Ruin, rules in Anomander�s stead. He seeks to gather the Houseblades of the Highborn Noble families and resurrect the Hust Legion in the southlands, but is fast running out of time.

The officers and leaders of Urusander�s Legion, led by Hunn Raal, want the Consort, Draconus, cast aside and Vatha Urusander wedded to Mother Dark, taking his place on a throne at the side of the Living Goddess. But this union will be far more than political, as a sorcerous power has claimed those opposing Mother Dark - given form by the exiled High Priestess Syntara, the Cult of Light rises in answer to Mother Dark and her Children.

Far to the west, an unlikely army has gathered, seeking an enemy without form, in a place none can find, and commanded by a Jaghut driven mad with grief. Hood�s call has been heard, and the long-abandoned city of Omtose Phellack is now home to a rabble of new arrivals. From the south have come Dog-Runners and Jheck warriors. From the Western Sea strange ships have grounded upon the harsh shore, with blue-skinned strangers arriving to offer Hood their swords. And from the North, down from mountain fastnesses and isolated valleys, Toblakai arrive, day and night, to pledge themselves to Hood�s impossible war. Soon, all will set forth � or not at all � under the banners of the living. Soon, weapons will be drawn, with Death itself the enemy.

Beneath the chaos of such events, and spanning the realm and those countless other realms hidden behind its veil, magic now bleeds into the world. Unconstrained, mysterious and savage, the power that is the lifeblood of the Azathanai, K�rul, runs loose and wild. Following its scent, seeking the places of wounding where the sorcery rushes forth, entities both new and ancient are gathering. And they are eager to feed.

Comprehending the terrible risk of his gift of blood, a weakened, dying K�rul sets out, in the company of a lone guardian, to bring order to this newborn sorcery � alas, his choice of potential allies is suspect. In the name of order, K�rul seeks its greatest avowed enemy�

# ? Jul 30, 2015 09:16

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# ? May 22, 2024 11:17

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Come the gently caress on. Very much looking on to Hood inevitably backstabbing his army.

# ? Jul 30, 2015 09:33

Oh Snapple!: Dec 27, 2005

Concurred posted:

Spoilered in case anybody is weird about that kind of thing but you can find it on Amazon. I think it might have been posted in this thread, but I don't recall

gently caress I need this book right now.

# ? Jul 30, 2015 23:10

rejutka: May 28, 2004; by zen death robot

Is it bad that all the Tiste poo poo can gently caress itself but I want that sweet, sweet Jaghut business badly?

# ? Jul 30, 2015 23:25

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; We have the capability to make San Jose's first Cup Champion.

The Sharks could be that Champion.

Oh my god I need to go change my pants.

I may need to go change my couch.

# ? Jul 31, 2015 01:22

Concurred: Apr 23, 2003; My team got swept out of the playoffs, and all I got was this avatar and red text

rejutka posted:

Is it bad that all the Tiste poo poo can gently caress itself but I want that sweet, sweet Jaghut business badly?

You mean Hood's war against death itself? Yes. Yes. :getin:

# ? Jul 31, 2015 01:37

Eediot Jedi: Dec 25, 2007; This is where I begin to speculate what being a
man of my word costs me

Holy poo poo yes.

In Toll the Hounds when Nimander & co with Kallor encountered Gothos, and Gothos told Kallor he should be loving grateful the Jaghut marched to war against death, I wanted to read that story and not TtH.

# ? Jul 31, 2015 03:08

Defiant Sally: May 6, 2004; Focus your Orochi.

Hand Row posted:

Yes. Exhaust all Erikson books first and then when you want more, reread them instead of reading Esselmont.

Mordiceius posted:

Should I just forego Esslemont's novels completely?

I've only read Night of Knives (which was pretty not great) and RotCG but I actually kinda liked Return just because of the insane poo poo that happens. I feel like the hate of ICE books is a little over exaggerated.

# ? Aug 2, 2015 11:11

Spermy Smurf: Jul 2, 2004

Go read Assail then come back and edit your post.

# ? Aug 2, 2015 12:06

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

The main reason everyone has such a huge hate-on for Assail is that we've been expecting some interesting stuff to happen - it's been hyped up as this mysterious and dangerous continent and ended up hosting the most boring book in the series.
For what it's worth, I actually like (parts of, Kyle and Kiska can go eat a barrel of dicks) RotCG and Stonewielder. I'd stay the hell out of the rest of the ICE books, though.

# ? Aug 2, 2015 13:34

mischief: Jun 3, 2003

Beak.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 00:45

Juaguocio: Jun 5, 2005; Oh, David...

Concurred posted:

Spoilered in case anybody is weird about that kind of thing but you can find it on Amazon. I think it might have been posted in this thread, but I don't recall

March 22, 2016. Beru fend, that's a ways off.

I think it's about time to re-read MoI.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 01:05

Koopa Kid: Aug 21, 2007

mischief posted:

Beak.

Just finished Reaper's Gale in my re-read of the series and man, I forgot what an awesome little arc that guy had. Some great side characters in this series.

Starting up TtH and I have an incredibly strong urge to just skip all the Tiste Andii chapters. Which is... most of the book, it seems. Everything Nimander and/or Clip appear in has been a total chore thus far, and the ones introduced in Black Coral aren't helping.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 04:40

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Spoiler: the Andii chapters are the best part of TtH.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 08:02

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

anilEhilated posted:

Spoiler: the Andii chapters are the best part of TtH.

It really is.
Problem is that you need to read Forge of Darkness and reread the series to get why.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 08:15

zokie: Feb 13, 2006; Out of many, Sweden

I had a hard time reading the bits about Nimander, the Shake, and the snake first time around but during my four re-reads I've loved those parts.

One thing I noticed during my last re-read is how Erikson added some LBGT in the last books: Gall is bi, Yedann is gay, those human captains/theifs with the Shake if I'm not reading to much into it. Before that we only get Picker and Blend but that isn't made that clear until TtH iirc.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 09:23

Koopa Kid: Aug 21, 2007

Cardiac posted:

It really is.
Problem is that you need to read Forge of Darkness and reread the series to get why.

Did not even know Forge of Darkness existed until I popped in this thread. I'll pick it up once I'm through.

# ? Aug 4, 2015 13:11

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

Koopa Kid posted:

Did not even know Forge of Darkness existed until I popped in this thread. I'll pick it up once I'm through.

FoD is great, but should only be read after finishing the main series.
Mainly because it will make you go "WTF".

# ? Aug 4, 2015 18:50

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Yeah, probably the biggest payoff of Forge is turning everything you thought you knew about that universe upside down. It's an amazing book - but it gets much, much better if you read it after Malazan (especially since the later books deal with a lot of stuff that comes up in it).

# ? Aug 4, 2015 18:58

Illinois Smith: Nov 15, 2003; Ninety-one? There are ninety other "Tiger Drivers"? Do any involve actual tigers, or driving?

Man, I finally decided to get started on this (listening to the audiobooks while working a boring shipping job). I'm 2/3 through the first book and this is like everything I've ever wanted from a fantasy series.

Will I miss anything story-wise if I just go through the 10 main books in the normal order?

# ? Aug 5, 2015 12:16

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

No, not really. If you really want to tackle ICE you can fill in the gaps easily enough after you know the story.

# ? Aug 5, 2015 13:40

ninotoreS: Aug 20, 2009; Thanks for the input, Jeff!

Related off-topic:

If any of y'all haven't read Erikson's Willful Child, please do.

# ? Aug 5, 2015 16:16

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; We have the capability to make San Jose's first Cup Champion.

The Sharks could be that Champion.

Illinois Smith posted:

Man, I finally decided to get started on this (listening to the audiobooks while working a boring shipping job). I'm 2/3 through the first book and this is like everything I've ever wanted from a fantasy series.

Will I miss anything story-wise if I just go through the 10 main books in the normal order?

I don't know what you've been told about this series, but, yes, you'll be fine reading the books in the order they were written and published.

Koopa Kid posted:

Did not even know Forge of Darkness existed until I popped in this thread. I'll pick it up once I'm through.

Definitely finish your reread first, but man are you in for a treat...

# ? Aug 6, 2015 21:47

The Ninth Layer: Jun 20, 2007

zokie posted:

I had a hard time reading the bits about Nimander, the Shake, and the snake first time around but during my four re-reads I've loved those parts.

One thing I noticed during my last re-read is how Erikson added some LBGT in the last books: Gall is bi, Yedann is gay, those human captains/theifs with the Shake if I'm not reading to much into it. Before that we only get Picker and Blend but that isn't made that clear until TtH iirc.

Pearl the Claw was pretty explicitly gay iiirc.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 00:23

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; We have the capability to make San Jose's first Cup Champion.

The Sharks could be that Champion.

The Ninth Layer posted:

Pearl the Claw was pretty explicitly gay iiirc.

Uh...the one who had a relationship (sort of) with Lostara??

# ? Aug 7, 2015 01:12

Eediot Jedi: Dec 25, 2007; This is where I begin to speculate what being a
man of my word costs me

The Ninth Layer posted:

Pearl the Claw was pretty explicitly gay iiirc.

Haha, no you don't recall correctly.

He and Lostrara gently caress, Pearl gets bent all out of shape when he thinks she's dead after Y'ghtan Round 2.

Sorry about misspelling names/places by the way.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 01:27

rejutka: May 28, 2004; by zen death robot

Pearl seemed to me to just want to stick his dick in something but would appreciate someone he'd appreciate.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 01:29

dishwasherlove: Nov 26, 2007; The ultimate fusion of man and machine.

If really liking green is gay then I'm gay. Pearl rules

# ? Aug 7, 2015 02:40

Eediot Jedi: Dec 25, 2007; This is where I begin to speculate what being a
man of my word costs me

dishwasherlove posted:

If really liking green is gay then I'm gay. Pearl rules

I think Topper was the dude with the love of green.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 02:56

rejutka: May 28, 2004; by zen death robot

PURPLE!

# ? Aug 7, 2015 03:07

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; We have the capability to make San Jose's first Cup Champion.

The Sharks could be that Champion.

Tommofork posted:

I think Topper was the dude with the love of green.

Yeah I was actually going to suggest that maybe Ninth Layer was thinking of Topper rather than Pearl.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 03:08

Illinois Smith: Nov 15, 2003; Ninety-one? There are ninety other "Tiger Drivers"? Do any involve actual tigers, or driving?

Habibi posted:

I don't know what you've been told about this series, but, yes, you'll be fine reading the books in the order they were written and published.

I only asked because, since I'm using the audiobooks, I've been checking the Wiki for stuff (mostly for geography and keeping the characters apart) and came across this crazy-rear end flowchart.

and also this from the OP

The series definitely looks intimidating to new people, which is why I've held off starting it for so long. Currently 1 1/2 books in and I loving love it though. It just sucks you right into its world.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 11:33

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

They're timelines more than reading orders. The published order is probably better for the experience, you get to figure out how things happened the way the author intended you to.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 13:54

acumen: Mar 17, 2005; Fun Shoe

You're also basically supposed to re-read the full main series as well to get a clearer grasp on what's going on. The first read-through you're sorta just along for the ride.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 18:17

victrix: Oct 30, 2007

Yeah ignore that poo poo. Read/listen to the books, enjoy them. The end.

If you like them enough, you can worry about chronology and side stories and rereading etc.

# ? Aug 7, 2015 22:11

uh zip zoom: May 28, 2003; Sensitive Thugs Need Hugs

Hey was the tiste edur in memories of ice what was found by the bridgeburners the same as the one killed by bugg at the end of midnight tides?

# ? Aug 10, 2015 14:18

Shockeh: Feb 24, 2009; Now be a dear and
fuck the fuck off.

Yep.

# ? Aug 10, 2015 14:32

uh zip zoom: May 28, 2003; Sensitive Thugs Need Hugs

How people manage to read this series and comprehend it without Internet access and full wiki support at their fingertips is completely beyond me.

# ? Aug 10, 2015 14:57

zokie: Feb 13, 2006; Out of many, Sweden

uh zip zoom posted:

Hey was the tiste edur in memories of ice what was found by the bridgeburners the same as the one killed by bugg at the end of midnight tides?

It was also yhe Edur who slaughtered a whole town on the coast. I missed that until my fourth read-through

# ? Aug 10, 2015 20:17

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# ? May 22, 2024 11:17

Baudin: Dec 31, 2009

uh zip zoom posted:

How people manage to read this series and comprehend it without Internet access and full wiki support at their fingertips is completely beyond me.

Reading the series in quick succession and good at making connections between books was what did it for me.

That or some kind of idiot savant, not sure.

# ? Aug 10, 2015 23:26

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