Tried Gardens of the moon, a few years ago, but couldn’t get into it. Is it worth digging in and trying again?
Tried Gardens of the moon, a few years ago, but couldn’t get into it. Is it worth digging in and trying again?
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I’m having the problem I’m on page 140….
Absolutely! The Malazan book of the fallen series is the best i have ever read.
Stick with it and you most definitely will not be sorry
It’s excruciating. Lots of people say that the series is incredible, once you get past the first 3-4 books. But personally, I can’t be bothered to struggle through 3 entire books in order for a series to get good.
Did I say that? No. What I said was “I can’t be bothered to struggle through 3 entire books in order for a series to get good.”
Things get good from second book onwards
Hell the last quarter of gardens is epic
@Mike you get thrown in the deep end in book one. Once you get your head around it then the books are amazing and then even better on a re read when you realise the depth of what you were reading.
For people who dont like the hit the ground running style of erikson, people have told me in the past that a little pre knowledge about basic races and how Warren’s work helped tremendously
I’ve heard all the tips, all the excuses, all the prevarications. But I hated every single word of GotM.
The worldbuilding is terrible. Every chapter has another super-duper-mega-ultra-god-like being who’s supposed to be REALLLLLLLLY scary. Even scarier than the one in the previous chapters. It’s like it was written by a teenager with WAY too much testosterone.
Maybe it gets better, but the whole world is such an untenable mess, I can’t be bothered. 🙂
Malazan is easily one of the best. Stick with it things get…. Epic
It is.
Gardens of the Moon is his first book, and there was a rather big span between GoTM and the rest of the series. He grows as a writer. It’s definitely worth it once you get into it.
Probably my favorite series ever
@Jack same for me. Only thing that comes close is Scott bakker’s 2nd apocalypse
@Owen never heard of it, maybe I’ll look into it after I’ve finished the blade itself.
Also do you find it hard to find other books as long as the Malazan books? Always open for recommendations as I read a few books a week
@Jack definitely look Into it. If you ever found after reading erikson the bar was set to high and even good books seemed lacklustre in comparison then bakker is for you. Long books, prose similar to Erikson. A level of intelligence comparable to Erikson. Before reading bakker’s 2nd apocalypse I found I had Erikson so far ahead of the game. Bakker stands up next to Erikson is every sense. He’s alot darker and psychological though. I couldn’t recommend it enough. Book one is the “darkness that comes before”.
@Owen thanks so much. I will definitely give it a go. I just finished Sandersons shadows of self and don’t really want to force myself to read the 6th mistborn book as the 4th and 5th have been lacking somewhat. I will go and try Bakker and update you on how I get on. Nothing worse than reading a book and having no one to talk to about it. I finished the malazan series and felt lost! Life moved on and no one could understand how much of a void I now had without those books haha I was so greedy aswell reading all the time and before I knew it it was over….
@Jack before you leave malazan have you read all the malazan empire novels?
@Owen I read Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. But that was it. Any recommendations on what to read next?
FYI I found B & KB book a little boring….
@Jack yea there’s 6 novels to read by Ian esslemont set in malazan world. Tells u about the night shadow throne and cottillion “died” all about the crimson guard and the avowed. A whole book based on the seguleh etc. Fills in all of what was going on whilst book of the fallen was happening.
First one is
night of knives
Return of the crimson guard stonewielder
Orb sceptre throne
Blood and bone
Assail.
Weather you decide to read more malazan or Bakker let me know how you get on. ?
@Owen will do! I hope you don’t mind if I add you? Thanks for the above will start on them and move onto Bakker afterwards.
@Jack no worries mate
@Jack I’m currently on Assail. While ICE is OK, I enjoyed the books more for the information than the prose. If you read those, there are also 2 prequels out of 3 written by Erikson so far dealing with the Tiste Andii and the warren of dark. The Kharkanas Trilogy: Forge of Darkness and Fall of Light. He’s taking a break from that to start on the Karsa trilogy so we don’t have a date for book 3.
There is also more ICE dealing with pre-empire Kelanved and co. That’s the Path to Ascendancy trilogy: Dancer’s Lament, Deadhouse Landing and the third is expected to drop mid Feb this year. Again, there’s a wealth of information in those books regarding the world and the races and such.
Sorry, so long winded but I get very excited whenever I come across Malazan fans and the void you described is accurate af. I was obsessed while reading them and it was all I talked about.
Oh also, I hear The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook have a similar vibe to them and I’m fairly certain Erikson cites Cook as one of his inspirations. I haven’t read them yet as I’m still in Malazan but will check them out as well as Bakker once I’m done.
I tried once and didn’t get into it years ago. I gave it another shot and loved it!
I read the first three but had to put it down. It’s just not my kind of fantasy, and I didn’t care for any of the characters. To each their own, but I don’t see myself picking it up again any time soon.
I started it yesterday!
@Sheila you have the biggest, and most epic world to explore and I’m jealous I can’t read it for the first time again.
Book 2 is about 1,000 times better. There was about a ten year gap between the publication of book 1 snd 2 and his writing improved dramatically.
Yep. I had the same problem. Currently almost finished with book 8. Cant stop!!
Most definitely yes. Please stick with it. The series is the greatest thing you’ll ever read (in my humble opinion). I got stuck too, left it a few months, came back to it and was utterly blown away.
I appreciated book one but then book two the level of brutality was too much for me to enjoy. I think it is very well written, I possibly might have liked it more in book form where I could have skimmed over the more graphic mutilations (I listened to the audiobook).