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The Malazan Book of The Fallen by Steven Erikson


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Here's a link to a good review of Gardens of the Moon: http://wildersbookre...steven-erikson/

 

The reviewer basically sums up the exact same experience I had when reading the first book, and explains very convincingly why you should persevere with Erikson's work. :D

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It's a good review, thanks :). I read the whole book when I was a teenager and didn't understand a lot of things. I should point out though that my English was a lot less good than it is these days, so some of the words confused me as well (this was before we had online dictionaries and allright internet so I didn't look up most of these words). I might try to re-read the book sometime, try to at least read half of it to see how I get on. I've heard great things about the series, so I hope I can understand it because so many people say it's great.

Edited by Athena
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I can see how it would be confusing to read in a second language, especially since so many of the words are the made-up names of races/characters/places. I got a bit confused reading it the first time because he'd mention in passing things like Jaghut, T'lan Imass and Tiste Andii (and loads of others) but not explain what they are: you only learn about them as the book continues.

 

If you ever did try reading them again you could always ask questions on here - me and Steve would explain stuff. :D

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Here's a link to a good review of Gardens of the Moon: http://wildersbookre...steven-erikson/

 

The reviewer basically sums up the exact same experience I had when reading the first book, and explains very convincingly why you should persevere with Erikson's work. :D

 

That's a great review thanks! I am hoping to start Malazan sometime next year.

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That's a great review thanks! I am hoping to start Malazan sometime next year.

 

That's great! I look forward to reading your reviews. Quick note: you can start with either Gardens of the Moon or Midnight Tides. GotM is book 1, but MT begins a brand new story arc that doesn't tie in with other events until later (MT can also just be read as a standalone novel - and a brilliant one at that). :)

 

Says who??  :P  :giggle2:

 

Half the fun for me was figuring out stuff as it went along  :D

 

I found it fun too, but I think I would also have appreciated having someone to clarify certain things I was unsure about.

 

'Says who'? Don't pretend you wouldn't have to be physically restrained from entering any discussion about Malazan . . .  :giggle2:

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I found it fun too, but I think I would also have appreciated having someone to clarify certain things I was unsure about.

 

I guess it just hit all the right notes for me, so I got swept along with it, thinking I'd get the answers sooner or later.

 

 

'Says who'? Don't pretend you wouldn't have to be physically restrained from entering any discussion about Malazan . . .  :giggle2:

 

Depends if I bring Havok along or not, I suppose  :giggle2:

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That's great! I look forward to reading your reviews. Quick note: you can start with either Gardens of the Moon or Midnight Tides. GotM is book 1, but MT begins a brand new story arc that doesn't tie in with other events until later (MT can also just be read as a standalone novel - and a brilliant one at that). :)

 

Would you recommend one starting book over the other? If I started with MT would I then go back to read GotM and in order from there?

 

 

'Says who'? Don't pretend you wouldn't have to be physically restrained from entering any discussion about Malazan . . .  :giggle2:

 

He's got a point there Steve...

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Would you recommend one starting book over the other? If I started with MT would I then go back to read GotM and in order from there?

 

Chronologically, I think Midnight Tides actually takes place before Gardens of the Moon,  so yeah, you could read it first.  The only problem  is that you wouldn't then see most of those characters again until Reaper's Gale, which is the seventh book.  But then you could read Midnight Tides again - it's the fulcrum of the series, imo, because it sets in motion storylines which start to pull the whole thing together.  It's an awesome, awesome book.  Erikson at the top of his game.

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That's great! I look forward to reading your reviews. Quick note: you can start with either Gardens of the Moon or Midnight Tides. GotM is book 1, but MT begins a brand new story arc that doesn't tie in with other events until later (MT can also just be read as a standalone novel - and a brilliant one at that). :)

x

Thanks for letting me know :). I already own GotM, that's why I thought I'd start with that. (EDIT: It's also the first in the series according to GoodReads).

He's got a point there Steve...

x

He's a she ;). Not that it matters much or anything, I don't think Laura will mind too much. I can see the 'Signor' of her name would confuse you. When I was on game-related forums, people thought I was a male all the time.

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He's a she ;). Not that it matters much or anything, I don't think Laura will mind too much. I can see the 'Signor' of her name would confuse you. When I was on game-related forums, people thought I was a male all the time.

 

Darn, I did know that! Just a typo :P No stereotyping intended  :blush2:

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Would you recommend one starting book over the other? If I started with MT would I then go back to read GotM and in order from there?

 

I'd probably still start with GotM, since the series continues pretty smoothly after it up until MT. I just mention MT because a lot of people give up on Erikson altogether after failing to enjoy the beginning of GotM, whereas if they'd then given MT a go as well I don't think they'd have the same problem. Sorry if that's a bit garbled. :giggle2:

 

Chronologically, I think Midnight Tides actually takes place before Gardens of the Moon,  so yeah, you could read it first.  The only problem  is that you wouldn't then see most of those characters again until Reaper's Gale, which is the seventh book.  But then you could read Midnight Tides again - it's the fulcrum of the series, imo, because it sets in motion storylines which start to pull the whole thing together.  It's an awesome, awesome book.  Erikson at the top of his game.

 

Well said! Agree with everything, especially that having to re-read Midnight Tides can't do any harm. :D

 

x

Thanks for letting me know :). I already own GotM, that's why I thought I'd start with that. (EDIT: It's also the first in the series according to GoodReads)x x

 

He's a she ;). Not that it matters much or anything, I don't think Laura will mind too much. I can see the 'Signor' of her name would confuse you. When I was on game-related forums, people thought I was a male all the time.

 

GotM is the first in the series; the 'problem' is that a lot of people find the first 200 pages or so difficult to read since it doesn't explain everything right away. Midnight Tides is the fifth book in the series, but in it we meet brand new characters, and it's set a little before the events of GotM. The stories from both books merge together in later books in an awesome way. I think you'll be fine starting with GotM, though. :)

 

Tim, no worries! :D The 'signor' was a deliberate choice when I joined the forum. I found that on previous fantasy book forums my opinions were dismissed as less important because I wasn't a man. I realised pretty quickly that there was no need for it on here because everyone's ace. :) Sorry for the confusion; I'm not a naturally deceitful person, I swear. I don't think I can change the username, and I don't mind being referred to as 'he' anyway - anonymity is kind of fun, I suppose. :D (I hope that comes across in a non-creepy way.)

Edited by Signor Finzione
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Darn, I did know that! Just a typo :P No stereotyping intended  :blush2:

x

I know :). The people on this forum are a lot more mature and kind than some of the people on other forums I've been on.

 

@ Laura

I'll start with Gardens of the Moon then, unless I buy Midnight Tides before I read it (it's on the wishlist).

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I'd probably still start with GotM, since the series continues pretty smoothly after it up until MT. I just mention MT because a lot of people give up on Erikson altogether after failing to enjoy the beginning of GotM, whereas if they'd then given MT a go as well I don't think they'd have the same problem. Sorry if that's a bit garbled. :giggle2:

 

I know what you mean, I think I will try and tackle GotM, the only concern I have, isn't that I wouldn't be able to get through the first 200 pages, but that I wouldn't absorb and remember enough of those pages so it all clicks into place afterwards given that I wouldn't be able to put anything into context until then. If that makes sense?

 

 

Tim, no worries! :D The 'signor' was a deliberate choice when I joined the forum. I found that on previous fantasy book forums my opinions were dismissed as less important because I wasn't a man.

 

What makes you think that isn't the case here? :giggle2: .... :out:

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I know what you mean, I think I will try and tackle GotM, the only concern I have, isn't that I wouldn't be able to get through the first 200 pages, but that I wouldn't absorb and remember enough of those pages so it all clicks into place afterwards given that I wouldn't be able to put anything into context until then. If that makes sense?

 

When I read it and got to the point where it all clicked, I went back to the beginning and read it from the start again. I found myself saying "ahhhhhhh, THAT'S what that means" the whole time. :giggle2:

 

What makes you think that isn't the case here? :giggle2: .... :out:

 

Manchester isn't that far from Cambridge. I'll hunt you down. ;)  :giggle2:

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When I read it and got to the point where it all clicked, I went back to the beginning and read it from the start again. I found myself saying "ahhhhhhh, THAT'S what that means" the whole time. :giggle2:

 

:lol:  Second time through it was like reading a completely different book.  So much depth in there.

 

 

Manchester isn't that far from Cambridge. I'll hunt you down. ;)  :giggle2:

 

Make sure you take Dragnipur with you and do it right :yes:   :giggle2:

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:lol:  Second time through it was like reading a completely different book.  So much depth in there.

 

I've picked up on a massive bunch of stuff every time I've re-read the series. It's the most deep/complex series I think I've ever read.

 

Make sure you take Dragnipur with you and do it right :yes:   :giggle2:

 

I think I'm a bit short to wield Dragnipur. :giggle2: A good old Kethra knife might be more my cup of tea . . .

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmmm, this book sounds like something I would like to read, however a good mojo is needed by the looks of the comments. Is there an audio version? is it any good?

 

Apparently there is an audio version of Gardens of the Moon! (Book #1) I haven't listened to it myself - I don't really 'do' audiobooks, since my attention tends to drift whilst listening. :giggle2:

 

If not I may wait until I have a fantastic mojo.

 

CW

 

Definitely make sure you have great mojo . . . and a comfortable chair!

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You can listen to a sample from the audiobook here.  I think it's horrific, based on that excerpt, and would ruin the book for me, but then I have a problem with audiobooks anyway :shrug:

 

That is pretty horrendous . . . not least because I always thought Kruppe was pronounced "Krup" not "Krupper". :o

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That is pretty horrendous . . . not least because I always thought Kruppe was pronounced "Krup" not "Krupper". :o

 

Yeah, me too.  One of the aspects of audiobooks I dislike is that pronunciation of names etc might be different from how I imagined.   I'm sure we all pick the pronunciation that flows easiest for us as we're reading, and stick with it - I don't need someone else messing with that! :lol:  Plus I have in my head what the characters sound like, so someone doing silly voices doesn't help. 

 

Of course, these authors could make it a hell of a lot easier for us by providing a pronunciation guide, like they do with, say, The Odyssey.  Without that I would've gone on pronouncing Telemachus as Tele-Mak-us instead of Te-lem-a-kus  :doh:  :giggle2:

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Yeah, me too.  One of the aspects of audiobooks I dislike is that pronunciation of names etc might be different from how I imagined.   I'm sure we all pick the pronunciation that flows easiest for us as we're reading, and stick with it - I don't need someone else messing with that! :lol:  Plus I have in my head what the characters sound like, so someone doing silly voices doesn't help. 

 

Yeah, there's something childish about the voices.   :lol:

 

Of course, these authors could make it a hell of a lot easier for us by providing a pronunciation guide, like they do with, say, The Odyssey.  Without that I would've gone on pronouncing Telemachus as Tele-Mak-us instead of Te-lem-a-kus  :doh:  :giggle2:

 

That's probably how I'd have pronounced it too. But then again, I spent most of my Ancient History A-level thinking 'Pericles' was pronounced like 'clavicles'.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Release date for Ian C. Esslemont's sixth 'Malazan Empire' novel, Assail, is 3rd July 2014, a month after Erikson's second book in his 'Kharkanas' trilogy is published.  Going to be busy, what with Mark Lawrence's next book coming out around then as well :smile:

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