Malazan Book Of The Fallen

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koljec_sl

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Zindan_sl said:
Wasn't the strength of Rake pretty much due to the Sword (which was a god?)? I'm sure without the sword he was plenty strong, but it was the sword that put him over the top. What about that emperor cursed with immortality by the old gods because he tried to kill everyone (which brought the crippled god into their reality?), that guy didn't seem afraid of anyone. But yea, so many crazy powerful characters in that series.
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Just finished Gardens of the Moon, first time reading anything from this fantasy.

Got to admit, I was not immediately gripped by it. At first it just seemed like mindless dialogue advancing fantasy war gore porn. It felt a lot like Warhammer 40K copy (because of the morbid hopeless imagery and all the references to the Emperor, no doubt). Adverbs get abused. The wordredolentappears 4 times in Gardens! Anyway, I've read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi and books in general, and I'm critical.

I stuck with it, and at some point my opinion was turned. At first it was whiffs of depth and development with Paran and Tattersail. Then the story grew fun and intriguing with Kruppe and all surrounding Darujhistan. By the time the Adjunct witnesses the card game, I was engrossed and had my good guys to cheer. The character names are curiously memorable, and it seems like every character is, or has the potential to be, significant.

I hope the subsequent books are as good.

Anyway, Rake's sword doesn't just kill it condemns souls to some chained drudgery, not the usual afterlife, yes?

A question : who puts the poultice in Coll's leg wound?
 
Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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You think he uses redolent a lot just wait until he starts talking about potsherds!

I think they only get better after GotM but by the end of the series parts get considerably long in the tooth (is one way to put it) and the cast of characters grows and grows.

You learn a lot more about Dragnipur throughout the story but basically yes.

Not sure about the Coll question though, the event doesn't stand out to me.
 
K

koljec_sl

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Intrinsic_sl said:
You think he uses redolent a lot just wait until he starts talking about potsherds!

I think they only get better after GotM but by the end of the series parts get considerably long in the tooth (is one way to put it) and the cast of characters grows and grows.

You learn a lot more about Dragnipur throughout the story but basically yes.

Not sure about the Coll question though, the event doesn't stand out to me.
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Cool. Thanks.

I'm sort of too lazy to try to find it in my Kobo, but when Mallet (it might have been the first healer) is checking out Coll, he says something about the poultice causing the rot. I got the impression Coll's wound was intentionally made worse, but I can't remember anyone described as treating it. Maybe I'm just imagining it; I was up til 3AM last night finishing the book.

Also, there was another line from Baruk (or maybe it was Kruppe) that seemed to suggest he knew the streets were being mined. But, like you said, the events don't really stand out too much and don't seem too important in the end.
 
Valorath

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I recently re-read GoTM and I believe Crokus bandaged Coll's leg after the fight with Adjunct Lorn. As for someone knowing the streets were being mined, I don't remember that being the case. Instead, I think Baruk simply noted that the workers in the street had an odd accent, or used archaic words, something along those lines. But I don't believe he knew what they were up to. Like you said, not particularly important in the end.

Glad you stuck with the first book, it's a fantastic series.
 
Slaythe

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Get on Deadhouse Gates asap! It's my favorite of the series and probably my favorite book of all time.
 
Intrinsic

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There were a couple of changes going in to the 'main series' after GotM that aren't huge but if you jump in immediately may seem strange. And God forbid if I could find my link to the complete list, but I wouldn't want to spoil them for you. Just what immediately jumps to mind is that Erikson himself has come out and said not to pay attention to the specific dates at the start of the chapter. They largely don't make sense and you can't build a strict continuity from them. I think even later on they're dorpped completely b/c he realized how much of a pita it was to keep up.

The other minor things was like... the gender of one Bridgeburner changed? And umm.. the T'lan Imass magic dampening field? Or magic immunity? Something like that.
 
Valorath

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The gender of which Bridgeburner?

Edit: also I think the T'lan Imass magic deadening was due to Lorn and her Otataral sword.
 
K

koljec_sl

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Valorath_sl said:
The gender of which Bridgeburner?
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I think the gender of the Tiste Andii Orfantal changes between books 1 and 3. The female gender in book 1 is a mistake.

Just finished book three. Loved it very much. Erikson writes such intricate stories and still manages to wrap them all together for great endings.

Chains is good so far, but it's just slow going in Memories' wake.
 
Intrinsic

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Yeah it was Orfantal, sorry I lost track of the thread back then and then we got hit with the DDoS.
 
K

koljec_sl

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About halfway through book 4. Loric and Heboric just had their chat. Do I have this right?:

House of Chains is the Fallen God and those he has swayed to his side and maybe something still unknown at this point. The Master of the Deck, Paran, has the Bridgeburners ascended with him. But the Master of the deck's entourage isn't structured like the other houses -- it doesn't have titled positions like Ruler and King and Knight. Instead it's just Paran and a whole mess of Bridgeburners charged with maintaining order? Bridgeburners are potentially everyone that followed Whiskeyjack after Quick Ben across Raraku, including Quick Ben?

then

The two hounds of shadow freed from Dragnipur by Paran are the same two hounds freed from the statues, only they are not really hounds of shadow but hounds of dark. There seems to be some indication that 1) Shadowthrone and Cotillion screwed things up between Darkness, Shadow, and Light, 2) they might be trying to manipulate the other houses as the empire is wont to do, and 3) Shadowthrone and Cotillion are not necessarily working together.
 
Kythik

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Regarding the Bridgeburners' ascension.
Bridgeburners ascended due to the Tanno Spiritwalker's song. The explanation I believe is glossed over, but the idea is explained more in the prequel trilogy.
 
Intrinsic

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And you see them later, oh baby.

You're pretty caught up with everything going on, without going in to details that would include spoilers. You do learn more about the Hounds later, but like everything it is mostly between the lines.
 
OU Ariakas

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Before he was an author the dude was an archaeologist. He wanted to write fantasy that stretched back hundreds of thousands of years because that sort of society always fascinated him. Oh, and Deadhouse Gates was the best book. Coltaine ties Whiskey Jack for his best character. Tehol is a very very close third.
 
K

koljec_sl

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OUAriakas_sl said:
Before he was an author the dude was an archaeologist. He wanted to write fantasy that stretched back hundreds of thousands of years because that sort of society always fascinated him. Oh, and Deadhouse Gates was the best book. Coltaine ties Whiskey Jack for his best character. Tehol is a very very close third.
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Neat to know. Deadhouse Gates made me suspect he had some interest in archaeology with every mention of potsherds. Memories' detailed description of the T'lan Imass crafting Toc the Younger's projectile points and blades pretty much confirmed it. Felt like I was reading an old text book for a moment.
 
Rezz

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You're past a lot of the informative stages in the writing. It's about to kick into turbo-mode with plot progression (among the many plots!) and you're going to get partially left behind, because that's -exactly- what the narrative needs. 5/6 will give you tons of "Oh, Ok." moments regarding previous plot points.

Mildly envious about someone's first read. I couldn't say that about GoT, but Malazan for certain has that position. The world literally peals away before you as you read. It's borderline surreal.
 
Drakain

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I have the complete Book of the Fallen on my Kindle, and I've gotten about 1/3 into GofM before I start to glaze over with everything not making sense. From most things I've seen here, I just need to power through book one? Intrinsic, you haven't lead me wrong yet, so I trust your love affair with this series is well founded heh.
 
OU Ariakas

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GotM is the most dense and confusing book I have ever read. I have never gone back and re-read parts of a book for lack of understanding until that novel. Once I got near the end of that novel and started on Deadhouse Gates the picture started to get a tiny bit clearer. Stay for the mystery of all these powerful individuals and you will be rewarded as the series progresses.

Edit: I was very frustrated that each of the first four (five?) novels started with a new cast of seemingly unrelated characters in a new setting. It is absolutely intentional and you can see connections to what you have previously read if you pay attention. Again, it is well worth it.
 
Deathwing

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Drakain_sl said:
I have the complete Book of the Fallen on my Kindle, and I've gotten about 1/3 into GofM before I start to glaze over with everything not making sense. From most things I've seen here, I just need to power through book one? Intrinsic, you haven't lead me wrong yet, so I trust your love affair with this series is well founded heh.
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The confusion is a byproduct of better story telling. Keep on reading and each time you think you're missing a piece of information that would make understanding the story easier, think of a way that said information would be delivered in a natural manner. We're so used to exposition, especially in this genre, that it's jarring when it goes missing.

Why do Whiskeyjack and Dujek need to tell you Dassem Ultor's life story? Keep on reading, the blanks will eventually be filled in, and it should make for a better narrative.
 
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