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Laseen set up with the glass cliff even in fantasy world
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Feb 25, 2022 18:31
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Is icarium crazy, crazy and evil, or just evil?
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Feb 25, 2022 18:37
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Crazy child who misses his daddy pretty much sums him up.
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Feb 25, 2022 18:58
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Icarium is the player character in a never ending roguelike
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Feb 25, 2022 19:16
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Fundamentally benevolent but with severe anger issues.
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Feb 25, 2022 19:20
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imagine dungeons posted:Really, you gotta kinda feel bad for Laseen. She's left with an empire finding its way post-expansion, the rulers peace out (ostensibly assassinated by her) just when it gets to the point that they'll have to manage the empire they've built and then its left to her to do the tedious work of managing multiple hostile nations now folded under one umbrella. She's set up to fail (evidently intentionally) by Dancer and Kellanved. She had to place trust in dubious allies to secure the throne in the first place and then what is she left with? People that see her as a pawn in their own megalomaniacal game of empire. Sux 2 be her. I gotta say, I'm definitely feeling a lot more sympathy for her in this read.
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Feb 26, 2022 04:18
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It is so strange rereading the series and realizing that Laseen is completely a non entity who believes herself a protagonist. She is nigh on absent and yet so much is said about her influence and work. When it turns out the absent non entity bit is true and that her "influence" was full quotes, it throws so much of your views on the books into chaos. I truly enjoy the lack of truth in the series, anyone and everything is viewed through someone else and important people turning out to be is nothing is charmingly effective..
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Feb 26, 2022 23:49
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TGG posted:It is so strange rereading the series and realizing that Laseen is completely a non entity who believes herself a protagonist. She is nigh on absent and yet so much is said about her influence and work. wait...what? Can you spoil this for me? I need to know.
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Feb 27, 2022 00:12
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Possibly just my reading of it but the few times she truly shows up in person, she is constantly just worn down and fighting with what she has actually achieved; which seems to be fairly little. Kellanved and Dancer played her HARD and she is just trying to ride it out best she can. In other viewpoints, the rank and file, the random politicians? She is made out to be this competent schemer who is probably running everything behind the scenes and in the end she is just a prop who dies offscreen. It just comes down to point of view and that's something I like most in the series. TGG fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Feb 28, 2022 |
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Feb 28, 2022 03:09
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TGG posted:Possibly just my reading of it but the few times she truly shows up in person, she is constantly just worn down and fighting with what she has actually achieved; which seems to be fairly little. Kellanved and Dancer played her HARD and she is just trying to ride it out best she can. In other viewpoints, the rank and file, the random politicians? She is made out to be this competent schemer who is probably running everything behind the scenes and in the end she is just a prop who dies offscreen. Oh, i thought you meant something crazier like that she never actually existed or something, which probably is somehting he thought of at some point but dismissed. still, yeah, I do like that aspect of the character. It's actually interesting how much the structure of Deadhouse gates broadly mirrors a lot of licensed fiction (I read a few Warhammer novels over christmas) in the sense that each chapter is a bit of plot, a bit of character, a bit of worldbuilding (he blends these together remarkably well) ending as often as not with an action scene, but he does it so much better that you never make the connection or comparison.
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Feb 28, 2022 06:17
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If you think about it, she isn’t real.
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Feb 28, 2022 07:10
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Finished the first Witness book and LOL that Erikson went the entire book without him.
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Mar 8, 2022 03:08
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Ha he softened the blow by alluding to that before it was published.
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Mar 8, 2022 09:20
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God I hope he does it for book two. Maybe even for most of book three.
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Mar 8, 2022 17:22
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The entire trilogy, as a revenge for people not liking his Kharkhanas books.
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Mar 8, 2022 18:48
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To be fair, the Kharkhanas books are nigh unreadable. I'm a big fan & collector and haven't been able to bull through forge of darkness in like 4 attempts.
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Mar 8, 2022 19:09
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The kharkanas books are good and I am mad people bullied him into not releasing book 3
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Mar 8, 2022 19:28
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Kharkanas has some great tragic character moments, like Scabandari(not yet bloodeye) and Silchas Ruin joking around and planning tricks on Tulas (not yet shorn) and its absolutely crushing, knowing where these guys end up. Same with the fun scenes of the Rake brothers being bros. It also has scenes where I literally have no idea what any characters motivations are. And scenes of powerful social and spiritual transformations that just aren't explored enough for them to have any emotional impact on me. Its hit and miss, but when it hits, it's some of Erikson's best. My favourite bit is the almost negative character development, where we learn that Anomander Rake Always was a melodramatic, self-sacrificing jerk
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Mar 8, 2022 20:02
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pile of brown posted:The kharkanas books are good and I am mad people bullied him into not releasing book 3 I think his publisher bullied him because people weren't buying
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Mar 8, 2022 20:11
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I only bought one book
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Mar 8, 2022 20:47
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I struggled through the first two prequel books, but the ending of the second one got me really excited for the third one if it ever happens.
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Mar 8, 2022 21:56
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The beautiful part of these books is I have no idea which two books you're referring to
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Mar 8, 2022 22:51
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Yeah the Khrakhanas books had a bit too much of the Rosenkrantz/Guildenstern dynamic in a lot of scenes, like the gate guards, and I just couldnt stick with it. Agreed though, that Strom Cuzewon posted:My favourite bit is the almost negative character development, where we learn that Anomander Rake Always was a melodramatic, self-sacrificing jerk Strong "Dream" from Gaiman's Sandman vibes. Jaxyon fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Mar 9, 2022 |
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Mar 8, 2022 23:47
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Can't believe anyone would struggle through 10 books of philosophising then fail to get over the hurdle of FoD. FoL I can see, only because I feel the payoff just isn't good.
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Mar 9, 2022 02:08
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I read books 1-5 a while back, and now I’m starting over from the beginning and it’s like I’m reading a whole new series. It’s crazy how much stuff I missed the first time around. Almost feels like your first read through is only to get a general overview of things.
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Mar 12, 2022 12:37
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Making my way through the series for the first time and Toll the Hounds was quite the hurdle to get over. It certainly wasn't terrible just a momentum killer, hoping Dust of Dreams kicks up the pace again.
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Mar 22, 2022 03:37
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I have some bad news for you. Read the preface for DoD.
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Mar 22, 2022 04:21
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dishwasherlove posted:I have some bad news for you. Read the preface for DoD. I saw that and I'm probably being to negative about Toll the Hounds but it really was just hard for me to get through. I started the series in January this year and Toll took me the better part of March to finish, but that was probably just me getting burned out more than the book itself. As long as their isn't multiple taverns to keep track of I'll be good I think.
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Mar 22, 2022 05:06
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I don't consider any of the books a slog on par with Wheel of Time books 8,9,10, but I'd say that DoD isn't much better paced that TTH
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Mar 22, 2022 05:33
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Dust does have two absolutely insane set pieces though, which really does help.
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Mar 22, 2022 07:17
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The difference between the two comes down to which story lines you are more invested in. I was fine with the weird slow insanity that was Toll the Hounds but I sure as hell wouldn't say it's a favorite book of mine. DoD gets back to the continent and story line you came from in Reaper's so if you dug that, it's more of the same including a few characters you've heard a ton about but just start to see proper. It also has some premium set pieces
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Mar 22, 2022 07:47
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Toll the Hounds fairs much better on a second read through. Also, it’s just a book about grief and that can take a hefty emotional toll. Those last chapters though…
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Mar 22, 2022 12:09
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Terminal autist posted:Making my way through the series for the first time and Toll the Hounds was quite the hurdle to get over. It certainly wasn't terrible just a momentum killer, hoping Dust of Dreams kicks up the pace again. I feel like every 3rd book in the series is like this. That's alright though i'll keep reading that garbage.
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Mar 22, 2022 16:38
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Finished "The God Is Not Willing" and have been just kind of clicking around my Kindle forlornly looking for something comparable. That's the Erikson I remember. Putting some of those books down and just thinking that surely nothing will top that conclusion. Maybe time for a reread?
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Mar 25, 2022 16:35
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I wasn't too hot on God Is Not Willing when I read it last summer, maybe just because it was shorter than Erikson's usual fare. But I'm appreciating it a lot more on my audiobook reread. It's cool to see Erikson's strengths as a writer come through in a much more focused and constrained setting, and I'm enjoying the way the story flips between the relatively comic exploits of the marines and the much heavier travails of Rant and his new friends. Some really excellent characters too. But I have to give some special praise to the audiobook narrator Emma Gregory. Of all the Malazan audiobooks this one is by far the best imo. Her range of voices is amazing and there's some great performances for so many of the characters, my favorites being Folibore, Anyx Fro, Benger, Rant, and especially the two Black Jheck. I hope they can keep her for the next Witness book whenever it comes out.
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Mar 30, 2022 00:24
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I finished Stonewielder and its...fine. Its aggressively fine, though a big improvement over RotCG by at least kind of centering the entire narrative around one particular thing (the Stormwall) and then having everything build up to a climax around that thing. It still sort of fumbles it by downplaying the Crimson Guard's rescue of Iron Bars, easily the most interesting plot thread in the book, and then having Greymane's big decision happen so abruptly that it really de-emphasizes what should be a huge moment. I also enjoyed the random appearance of Loric, who exits the SE books so suddenly that it seemed like a mistake, especially since so much of the last two books centers around the Tiste Liosan. Also, question for people who've read the full series: remember how SE randomly gave both Whiskeyjack and Quick Ben little sisters for one book? Does either one ever come up again? I assumed there would at least be a reference during Leoman's section in Stonewielder but if there was I missed it.
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Apr 11, 2022 02:44
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Wolfsheim posted:Also, question for people who've read the full series: remember how SE randomly gave both Whiskeyjack and Quick Ben little sisters for one book? Does either one ever come up again? I assumed there would at least be a reference during Leoman's section in Stonewielder but if there was I missed it. Whiskeyjack's sister - and the backstory that's airily given about her - is supposed to be the reason why Mallet never gets to heal Whiskeyjack's leg; Hood cast some sort of mojo that made WJ always brush Mallet off when he suggested it. You need to read into that quite heavily to get it, and I'm not sure it's great storytelling, but eh. Quick Ben's sister seems pulled out of thin air because she's a plot device. How do you get QB to ignore Kalam's call for help? Well, you get him yoinked away by Shadowthrone. And why would he agree to a deal like that with Shadowthrone? Well... family, innit? I don't think either is great writing, but at least with the second one, it makes sense to set the characters up for where they need to be later in the series.
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Apr 11, 2022 05:56
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kingturnip posted:Whiskeyjack's sister - and the backstory that's airily given about her - is supposed to be the reason why Mallet never gets to heal Whiskeyjack's leg; Hood cast some sort of mojo that made WJ always brush Mallet off when he suggested it. You need to read into that quite heavily to get it, and I'm not sure it's great storytelling, but eh. I do remember WJ's sister being claimed by Hood which is why the Queen of Dreams was annoyed when Leoman brought her along on his escape route, but they seemed like such a team that it was very odd to me that when he finally returns in ICE's book she doesn't seem to get referenced at all. Not even a kind of quick retcon like when Toc and Gruntle end one book leading huge companies of soldiers only to have them all die by the next time we see either of them 
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Apr 11, 2022 06:51
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dishwasherlove posted:Can't believe anyone would struggle through 10 books of philosophising then fail to get over the hurdle of FoD. FoL I can see, only because I feel the payoff just isn't good. It personally felt like I was constantly getting pinched or lightly slapped in the face by the author. Every other scene or chapter seemed to completely rewrite some aspect of the world in major ways and I could never see a point to it. There was also a sense (to me at least) that Erickson was trying to write in a very saga or epic kind of way that mostly felt tedious. It is probably worth mentioning I do not particularly like that style of writing and dislike most older literature due to that, so I might just be a philistine. This is not to say there weren't parts I enjoyed very much: Everything involving Gothos, the human girl taken in by the watchtower guy, Sister Malice existing and then being summarily murdered by her rear end in a top hat siblings. It just meant that for every moment I enojyed, there was a moment with another character whose origins, motivations, and sometimes entire races stories felt invalidated by changes Erickson made because he just doesn't give too much of a poo poo about canon. Mostly it felt like a novel that was very much "your mileage may vary" and Malazan is already pretty YMMV in the first place - filtering a very filtered set of readers.
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May 25, 2022 20:47
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day-gas posted:I might just be a philistine.
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May 25, 2022 21:06
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