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Ah, thanks for the responses, they made me feel a bit better about it. I really love a good long book series to invest myself in so I was hoping it would work out. I'll attempt to finish the book while trying to pay close attention. I understood you were supposed to fill things in as you go, but as I kind of pointed out before, my memory can be a bit crappy at times. For instance, while I understood ASoIaF, when I read the threads I'd see people mentioning stuff I could barely remember even happening. What I'm saying is I hope you don't have to remember almost every little detail to fill in the blanks later on. It probably doesn't help that I tend to read before bed time 90% of the time. I suppose at the end I can always ask questions here on things I'm not sure about.
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Mar 20, 2013 08:22
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Dramatika posted:Gardens of the Moon is loving terrible until it clicks. It was a great ride for me, but I tried reading it multiple times until I got to the point that it actually clicked. At that point, I was completely addicted. I'd say wait until 2/3rds through before giving up on it. Actually started the series with Deadhouse Gates and clicked directly. Going back to Gardens of the Moon was a disappointment compared to DG. It is quite obvious that GotM was written as a stand-alone. The good part is that the books are to a fair extent stand-alone, and I would say it is fairly easy to start the series anywhere in the first 5 books and then go back.
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Mar 20, 2013 10:03
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Finished Blood and Bone the other day. It's pretty much anti-climax: the book. Even the storylines that seem kind of interesting for a while Jatal, Saeng, Murken Warrow peter out into nothing. Everything else is pointless wheel spinning that resolves either off screen or completely ineffectually Osserc, two near-identical Crimson Guard women pining for their respective commanders, that not-Pon-Lor thaumaturg wandering into Himatan... then out the other side, Ina. The robot was cool, though.
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Mar 20, 2013 12:06
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Making my way through Toll the Hounds its funny that Clip and Nimander were all I remembered considering I didn't get very far into it and this time they've barely featured so far.
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Mar 23, 2013 21:09
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Scott Bakula posted:Making my way through Toll the Hounds its funny that Clip and Nimander were all I remembered considering I didn't get very far into it and this time they've barely featured so far. They just really stand out.
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Mar 23, 2013 22:04
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Habibi posted:They just really stand out. Best chapters of the book, no doubt about it.
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Mar 24, 2013 02:15
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zzttaozia posted:Best chapters of the book, no doubt about it. Is this sarcastic? I couldn't make it through the first quarter of TtH, so if it gets worse from there I might not get around to giving it another shot...
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Mar 24, 2013 02:37
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I think toll the hounds has one of the best last acts / convergences in the series
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Mar 24, 2013 02:39
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Dramatika posted:Is this sarcastic? I couldn't make it through the first quarter of TtH, so if it gets worse from there I might not get around to giving it another shot... It was slightly sarcastic, but only from my point of view: I didn't particularly like that whole storyline. Keep reading TtH! It's a great book, and the overall conclusion is sweet. zzttaozia fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Mar 24, 2013 |
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Mar 24, 2013 04:12
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Cardiac posted:
I would change that to just Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates, and Midnight Tides. Memories of Ice has some pretty serious spoilery poo poo happen near the end of it. Could probably get away with the Karsa half of House of Chains, though.
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Mar 24, 2013 11:56
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BlazinLow305 posted:Ah, thanks for the responses, they made me feel a bit better about it. I really love a good long book series to invest myself in so I was hoping it would work out. I'll attempt to finish the book while trying to pay close attention. I understood you were supposed to fill things in as you go, but as I kind of pointed out before, my memory can be a bit crappy at times. For instance, while I understood ASoIaF, when I read the threads I'd see people mentioning stuff I could barely remember even happening. What I'm saying is I hope you don't have to remember almost every little detail to fill in the blanks later on. It probably doesn't help that I tend to read before bed time 90% of the time. I suppose at the end I can always ask questions here on things I'm not sure about. I recently convinced my girlfriend to read GotM, and so I reread it as well. My girlfriend is the type of reader that MUST KNOW EVERYTHING, so she kept flipping back to check references and was continually confused about details which hadn't been revealed yet. My advice was just accept that Erickson doesn't tell you many details, things are supposed to be vague, and part of the fun is slowly figuring out how the world works.
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Mar 24, 2013 16:15
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zzttaozia posted:It was slightly sarcastic, but only from my point of view: I didn't particularly like that whole storyline. Oh good. I started reading this book a month ago and am only about a third through it. It just grinds to such a halt to me every time it switches to their perspective. I'm glad everyone seems to agree it picks up because I was so excited to revisit Darujhistan only to feel like it's all been such a letdown.
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Mar 24, 2013 20:41
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So seeing Kallor is in Toll the Hounds I'm going back to early spoilers but was the crippled god called down to try and end Kallor's reign as emperor, this destroying the continent so heavily that Krul decided to wound himself to turn it into the imperial warren so the actual continent could recover? If this is made clearer in future books since I'm nearing where I got before I stopped reading the series in Toll the Hounds.
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Mar 24, 2013 21:18
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Scott Bakula posted:So seeing Kallor is in Toll the Hounds I'm going back to early spoilers but was the crippled god called down to try and end Kallor's reign as emperor, this destroying the continent so heavily that Krul decided to wound himself to turn it into the imperial warren so the actual continent could recover? If this is made clearer in future books since I'm nearing where I got before I stopped reading the series in Toll the Hounds. Raygereio fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Mar 24, 2013 |
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Mar 24, 2013 21:26
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Scott Bakula posted:So seeing Kallor is in Toll the Hounds I'm going back to early spoilers but was the crippled god called down to try and end Kallor's reign as emperor, this destroying the continent so heavily that Krul decided to wound himself to turn it into the imperial warren so the actual continent could recover? If this is made clearer in future books since I'm nearing where I got before I stopped reading the series in Toll the Hounds. Yeah, that's exactly it. More spoilery details: it was a coup attempt by some of Kallor's high mages whose descendents later go on to become the Jacuruku thaumaturges. They tried to chain an alien god to get the power to depose Kallor, except they ended up ripping it from its home warren and crash-landing it into their own. End result: an entire continent (the majority of Jacuruku) got glassed, to the point where the gods literally shunted it into an adjacent dimension (the imperial warren) so the world wouldn't have to bear the scars.
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Mar 24, 2013 22:13
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Lemon Curdistan posted:Yeah, that's exactly it. More spoilery details: it was a coup attempt by some of Kallor's high mages whose descendents later go on to become the Jacuruku thaumaturges. They tried to chain an alien god to get the power to depose Kallor, except they ended up ripping it from its home warren and crash-landing it into their own. End result: an entire continent (the majority of Jacuruku) got glassed, to the point where the gods literally shunted it into an adjacent dimension (the imperial warren) so the world wouldn't have to bear the scars. Not quite. IIRC, while the descent of TCG did plenty of damage - and killed the high mages who brought it down - the reason the continent was so thoroughly drained that it had to be turns into a warren was Kallor's destruction of his entire own empire. A devastation so massive that it provided enough power for Kallor to curse three elder gods.
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Mar 25, 2013 07:02
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Habibi posted:Not quite. IIRC, while the descent of TCG did plenty of damage - and killed the high mages who brought it down - the reason the continent was so thoroughly drained that it had to be turns into a warren was Kallor's destruction of his entire own empire. A devastation so massive that it provided enough power for Kallor to curse three elder gods. I was always under the impression that they were one and the same - the fall of TCG is what trashed Jacuruku, and Kallor is such a megalomaniacal madman that he decided to turn around and claim that the fall was great and saved him the trouble of having to murder everyone himself. I'm not wholly sure, though, and I don't have my books to check.
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Mar 25, 2013 08:58
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Lemon Curdistan posted:I was always under the impression that they were one and the same - the fall of TCG is what trashed Jacuruku, and Kallor is such a megalomaniacal madman that he decided to turn around and claim that the fall was great and saved him the trouble of having to murder everyone himself. I just reread the prologue: "As you can see," he rasped after a moment of scornful regard, "I have ... prepared for your arrival. Oh yes, I knew you were coming." [...] 'Thus, what you would refuse me, I now refuse you." Though the truth was before K'rul's eyes, he could not believe it. 'What have--' 'Are you blind!' Kallor shrieked, clutching at the arms of his throne. 'It is gone! They are gone! Break the chains, will you? Go ahead - no, I surrender them! Here, all about you, is now free! Dust! Bones! All free!' 'You have in truth incinerated an entire continent?' the sister Elder whispered. 'Jacuruku --' 'Is no more, and never again shall be. What I have unleased will never heal. Do you understand me? NEver. And it is all your fault. Yours. Paved in bone and ash, this noble road you chose to walk Your road.' [...] And then they start to talk about shaping a warren inside of K'rul to hold Jacuruku. Finally: 'I shall break you. Each of you. I sweaer this upon the bones of seven million sacrifices. K'rul, you shall fade from the world, you shall be forgotten. Draconus, what you create shall be turned upon you. And as for you, woman, unhuman hands shall tear your body into pieces, upon a field of battle, yet you shall know no respite.'
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Mar 26, 2013 01:16
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Kallor really is the most  guy around.
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Mar 26, 2013 01:56
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Safety Factor posted:Kallor really is the most I loving loved him from that prologue. There is no God of GO gently caress YOURSELF but, if there were, it would be Kallor.
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Mar 26, 2013 02:26
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Safety Factor posted:Kallor really is the most My favorite part about Kallor is that, despite all the bad things, you still empathize with him throughout parts of the series. And just when you start to really like the dude, he does something again.Seriously awesome character.
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Mar 26, 2013 02:52
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Lemon Curdistan posted:I was always under the impression that they were one and the same - the fall of TCG is what trashed Jacuruku, and Kallor is such a megalomaniacal madman that he decided to turn around and claim that the fall was great and saved him the trouble of having to murder everyone himself. Polyfractal provided the relevant excerpt, but even without something so explicit, wouldn't it be odd if TCG fell and annihilated everything that wasn't Kallor? 
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Mar 26, 2013 06:57
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Habibi posted:Polyfractal provided the relevant excerpt, but even without something so explicit, wouldn't it be odd if TCG fell and annihilated everything that wasn't Kallor? No. Not really odd at all.
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Mar 26, 2013 18:08
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Thanks for the quote, polyfractal.dwarf74 posted:Actually? Yeah - the way I read that whole subplot is that Kallor was obviously already more than human, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to use TCG to depose him. Why would it be a stretch for Kallor to survive the fall of TCG, but not a stretch for him to burn Jacuruku down personally? 
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Mar 26, 2013 18:38
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Does anyone know of a good repository of fan art? It helps me to visualize what I'm reading when I have a solid picture of the faces and surroundings, even if it's just another person's interpretation of them.
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Mar 27, 2013 03:51
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Lemon Curdistan posted:Thanks for the quote, polyfractal. I don't see anything implying that he was 'more than human.' He has employed alchemies to greatly extend his lifespan, and he's more hale than the normal person probably as a result of that, but we don't see anything suggesting he has any greater a power to survive immense conflagrations or the descent of a broken god that mangled portions of several continents (rather than destroy Jacuruku entirely). Heck, Brood's hammer sends him flying to the ground just like everyone else, and sure as hell TCG wreaked more havoc than that. Whiskey Jack was one destroyed knee away from ending his reign permanently. And there's plenty of reason for those high mages to call down TCG even if Kallor isn't really more than human. He rules an empire with absolute power. There are probably few other ways to get to him. And when they called TCG down the intent, as I read it from the various allusions to it, was not to just destroy the whole continent/empire. dwarf74 posted:Actually? Uh. Okay.
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Mar 27, 2013 04:01
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Habibi posted:I don't see anything implying that he was 'more than human.' [spoiler]He has employed alchemies to greatly extend his lifespan, and he's more hale than the normal person probably as a result of that, but we don't see anything suggesting he has any greater a power to survive immense conflagrations or the descent of a broken god that mangled portions of several continents (rather than destroy Jacuruku entirely). Heck, Brood's hammer sends him flying to the ground just like everyone else, and sure as hell TCG wreaked more havoc than that. Whiskey Jack was one destroyed knee away from ending his reign permanently. That's what the Malazan histories would have you believe. Kallor is Kallor. He kills sassassin fucked around with this message at 12:52 on Mar 27, 2013 |
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Mar 27, 2013 12:50
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Of course he will survive no matter what, that was the curse, after all.
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Mar 27, 2013 18:33
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As much as I enjoy reading Kallor's chapters, I can't wait to finish the series and read what happens to him. I imagine events between Toll the Hounds and The Crippled God which I assume he'll be in will make whatever happens to him rather cathartic
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Mar 27, 2013 21:56
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coyo7e posted:Of course he will survive no matter what, that was the curse, after all. I thought the curse was just that he could live forever, not that he couldn't be killed?
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Mar 27, 2013 23:11
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Habibi posted:I thought the curse was just that he could live forever, not that he couldn't be killed? more specifically that he would never ascend. old boy's got his century candles to keep him spry
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Mar 28, 2013 03:59
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Dalmuti posted:more specifically that he would never ascend. old boy's got his century candles to keep him spry K'rul cursed Kallor with eternal life: "You shall know mortal life unending. Mortal, in the ravages of age, in the pain of wounds and the anguish of despair." You'll notice that K'rul didn't include eternal youth in there. Wether or not he can actually die is somewhat vague. But I'm guessing that if you chop of his head and dump it in some back corner of an obscure warren he won't be much of a threat. Draconus' curse was that Kallor would never ascend. Denying Kallor his greatest desire. Sister of Cold Night's curse - "...each time you rise, you shall then fail. All that you achieve shall turn to dust in your hands" - looks like it was mostly meant to keep him from building an empire ever again. You got te have respect for the man though. It takes a balls the size of watermelons when faced with three pissed off ancient deities who curse you to eternal torment, to then spit in their faces and curse them in return.
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Mar 28, 2013 11:12
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Dalmuti posted:more specifically that he would never ascend. old boy's got his century candles to keep him spry Yeah, I just meant the longevity itself vs the indestructibility that coyo7e's post suggested (to me anyway).
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Mar 29, 2013 06:27
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So I read the first 1/4th of book one. When does it get... interesting?
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Mar 29, 2013 07:53
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Habibi posted:Yeah, I just meant the longevity itself vs the indestructibility that coyo7e's post suggested (to me anyway). coyo7e fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Mar 29, 2013 |
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Mar 29, 2013 18:41
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elmer fud posted:So I read the first 1/4th of book one. When does it get... interesting? Book 1 is considered by many the toughest one to get through. I put it down and restarted three times before slogging through it to the end. It got better near the end, but it set the scene for what was to come next. Once I hit the second book, I wound up burning through the entire series as the quality in my opinion improved a great deal. You could actually skip the first book and start with the second or third really, but there is a lot of foreshadowing in the first book. Then again, there's a ton of foreshadowing throughout the entire series. This is one of those series that is improved by re-reading a second time since you get to chuckle at a lot of casually mentioned things that turn out to be very important. Steven Erikson seems to me to be a cross between George Martin and Brandon Sanderson. With better pacing.
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Mar 29, 2013 21:31
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Speaking of foreshadowing, I'm going through HoC for the first time since finishing the series. And here I thought the otararal dragon basically came out of nowhere at the very end, while forgetting all about it being introduced here. Holy crap, is what I'm saying.
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Mar 29, 2013 21:39
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I think I've worked out why Toll the Hounds seems a harder read and its because the cast is so drat big, especially in the Darujhistan chapters. Pretty much every character gets 1 passage per chapter so it feels really broken up. The stuff with Nimander is actually interesting so far because the last bit I read of theirs was them getting ready to leave the village.
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Mar 29, 2013 21:48
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Wow, it's weird to me that folks got hung up on book one. I burned through that one faster than I have any of the subsequent books.
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Mar 29, 2013 22:22
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I wouldn't skip Gardens of the Moon, but it definitely helps to read Deadhouse Gates first if you're having difficulty getting through it. Gardens of the Moon introduces a bunch of characters who are re-introduced in Deadhouse Gates and provides some backstory to DG, but it's nothing that's essential to understanding DG. Instead, reading DG first will get you interested in the setting and characters, and reading GotM second will flesh out some of the setting details.
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Mar 29, 2013 22:32
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