Amph Steven Erikson - The Malazan Book of the Fallen

Ah cool, we have a thread for this. A couple of users told me about it last year and only now am I getting the time to start reading it finally. Will share thoughts once I'm done or want to,

 

"when im done". we're gonna be waiting a long time unless you're an unemployed speed-reader

 

I finished Gardens of the Moon, I loved it!

 

Grats! I'm still on the way.

 

agreed.

tenescowri are dope

ive been really busy lately so i havent finished my reread of gardens yet, but im definitely enjoying it more on my second time around. partly because i understand the terms and general cadence better, and partly because i know some of what's coming for some of the characters and i can appreciate how well planned out (for the most part) everything must have been

 

Dancers Lament was pretty good, reading Deadhouse Landing now.

 

Book one of the Witness Trilogy is close to publishing...the first scene Erikson posted was very interesting.

 

I dropped at half of The House of Chains, but I wouldn't mind starting again.
The only problem is that there are too many things to remember. It's like studying lol.

 

I hear you...Erikson’s scope, cast, and number of storylines dwarf almost every other series out there.

 

So far, Coltaine's story line was the one that had the biggest impact on my memory. The ending in particular was beautiful.

 

That was my favorite storyline of the series...and there are so many great storylines.

 

I'm a good 2/3 of the way through Gardens of the Moon and I'm enjoying it but it's incredibly dense. I assume that only continues to be true in the subsequent books?

 

Yes but he significantly improves the quality in the writing starting from the second. Gardens of the Moon is arguably the worst.

 

Erikson always brings together his various threads, and always pays off in the end.

 

But what's the series actually about? Spoil me. People can only talk vaguely about how it covers so much time and so many characters and places, but never about what it's really about. With the criticism I've heard of its bland unlikeable characters and too much violence, too wordy when it could be cut down, I wonder if the "epic-ness" worldbuilding is just a a way to hide a shallow story since no one is talking about its plots, ideas, themes, or deeper meaning whenever I hear it discussed.

 

I would disagree with anyone saying that the characters are bland, or that the “story” is shallow. If people are being vague, it’s because this series IS so big that to sum it up would take forever.

If I had to take a stab at it, the overall theme of the series is about Redemption, Compassion, the idea of how civilization leads to both greatness and horror. Central to the main story arc, is The Malazan Empire. Most of the story is told through the eyes of the common soldier, and how the burden of the past falls on these men and women.

There are plenty of reviews and summaries that do a better job of explaining things, than posts on a forum. I would suggest searching those out...if you really want to know.

 

Well thank you. And I wasn't commenting on this thread, which I didn't know we had, I just hadn't heard anything deeper about it in any of the review or videos I've seen.

 

Yeah, it’s hard to nail down...because unlike AOIAF, Wheel of Time, Stormlight and other epic series...there isn’t a main protagonist, or set of them. Loyalties change, and themes change from book to book. The above post is broad, but righting an ancient wrong, and compassion are huge overall plot points. Anyway...there are ppl more articulate than me...who can probably do better than me at giving you a summary lol

 

D's put it well.

My take is that I can't ever quite grasp all of it is what makes it work for me. I also think Erikson and Esselmont's interest in archaeology influences the series so as to make it stand out.

Now, if Erikson can get back to Walk in Shadow, the concluding volume of a prequel trilogy, I'll be happy.

 

Finished Gardens of the Moon finally! Took me a couple months, but I did it. Gonna take a break and read some other things before moving onto Deadhouse Gates but I'm certainly intrigued.

 

Deadhouse Gates was really good, one of my favorites of the series. I would argue that it might be the most important in terms of setting the tone for the Malazans.

 

Looks like we'll be getting Path to Ascendancy: Book 4: Forge of the High Mage in April 2023.

Erikson is continuing to work on both Walk In Shadow and the sequel to The God Is Not Willing.