anyone read Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen?
Moderator: Orlion
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Ageless Stranger
- Ramen
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anyone read Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen?
i am LOVING these books. they have some of the best character development ive ever seen, and apparently srd is a pretty big fan himself. if you havent read them, id really highly suggest you do.
Every man dies; not every man really lives.
Doc Holliday from Tombstone is my hero.
Doc Holliday from Tombstone is my hero.
They are on my 'to buy' list, i think a lot of people here have read them.
But if you're all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
We're going nowhere slowly, but we're seeing all the sights.
And we're definitely going to hell, but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
Full of the heavens and time.
We're going nowhere slowly, but we're seeing all the sights.
And we're definitely going to hell, but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
Full of the heavens and time.
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Lord Mhoram
- Lord
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Darth Mole
- Servant of the Land
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I finished Gardens of the Moon a couple of months back and I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.
I quite enjoyed it, but it didn't grab me enough. The things I didn't like about it were: -
Every character is older than the last. You get 100 year old sexually active wizards, then 200 year old wizards, then 1000 year old crows, then creatures 40,000 years old then some older than the planet itself.
Every character is more powerful than the next, there's no subtlety.
A bit of metal negates all magic. Pfahh!
The whole plot revolves around the queen not trusting her own troops, when they are loyal. So if she did trust them, and she has no reason not to, the story fizzles away.
Right at the end a deus-ex-machina all powerful creature turns up out of the blue (or rather brown) and swallows the threat.
I'd have preferred it if, each character had more subtles skills so they could be apreciated for them.
I quite enjoyed it, but it didn't grab me enough. The things I didn't like about it were: -
Every character is older than the last. You get 100 year old sexually active wizards, then 200 year old wizards, then 1000 year old crows, then creatures 40,000 years old then some older than the planet itself.
Every character is more powerful than the next, there's no subtlety.
A bit of metal negates all magic. Pfahh!
The whole plot revolves around the queen not trusting her own troops, when they are loyal. So if she did trust them, and she has no reason not to, the story fizzles away.
Right at the end a deus-ex-machina all powerful creature turns up out of the blue (or rather brown) and swallows the threat.
I'd have preferred it if, each character had more subtles skills so they could be apreciated for them.
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variol son
- The Gap Into Spam
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Ah, your missing out if you don't read Deadhouse Gates. Yes there are incredibly old, powerful characters, but the journeys of Felisin, Heboric and Baudin, and of Duiker and the Seventh Army are heart-wrenching.
I'd also be interested as to which characters you found to be unrealistic?
I'd also be interested as to which characters you found to be unrealistic?
You do not hear, and so you cannot be redeemed.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
wow! i find it so hard to grasp that ANYone wouldn't like these books!! i'm agog!
i was intrigued from the first page and am now beginning to reread GotM after finishing all five of the ones i own. am anxiously awaiting the american publication of the sixth!! Darth i highly suggest you take VS's suggestion and go on to Deadhouse Gates. these books just get better and better.
i was intrigued from the first page and am now beginning to reread GotM after finishing all five of the ones i own. am anxiously awaiting the american publication of the sixth!! Darth i highly suggest you take VS's suggestion and go on to Deadhouse Gates. these books just get better and better.
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
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variol son
- The Gap Into Spam
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- Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2002 1:07 pm
- Location: New Zealand
One key example of a character that surprised me is Tattersail. Now I loved the girl, but I always kinda assumed that she was the leader of her cadre of Mages for lack of a better alternative.
But then, later on in Gardens of the Moon, and in Deadhouse Gates, other characters start saying things about her that have made me go back and re-read the parts featuring her. And what do I find? Not entirely sure yet, but Erikson is obviously trying to convey a depth of character beneath the exterior that I missed the first time around (I tend to read a little fast).
But then, later on in Gardens of the Moon, and in Deadhouse Gates, other characters start saying things about her that have made me go back and re-read the parts featuring her. And what do I find? Not entirely sure yet, but Erikson is obviously trying to convey a depth of character beneath the exterior that I missed the first time around (I tend to read a little fast).
You do not hear, and so you cannot be redeemed.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
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Darth Mole
- Servant of the Land
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 1:53 pm
Well, I may carry on with the Deadhouse gates in the future. But I really prefer SF to fantasy.
The only character that I really liked was Krupp. Because he was a bumbling oddball, with hidden talents which were revealed slowly as part of the plot.
Most of the other characters were bland.
As I said before, I didn't like the powerful characters. Demons that could level a city, a Jaghut Tyrant that could level a city but was eaten by a plant?? And a chap with a big sword that was unstoppable.
I would have liked some descriptions too, I still don't know what Moranth and Jaghut and just about everything else non-human looks like.
Anyway, at the moment I've got some old Asimov on the go. A bit of Phillip K Dick. And I'm thinking about reading the Narnia Chronicles for the first time before the film's released.
The only character that I really liked was Krupp. Because he was a bumbling oddball, with hidden talents which were revealed slowly as part of the plot.
Most of the other characters were bland.
As I said before, I didn't like the powerful characters. Demons that could level a city, a Jaghut Tyrant that could level a city but was eaten by a plant?? And a chap with a big sword that was unstoppable.
I would have liked some descriptions too, I still don't know what Moranth and Jaghut and just about everything else non-human looks like.
Anyway, at the moment I've got some old Asimov on the go. A bit of Phillip K Dick. And I'm thinking about reading the Narnia Chronicles for the first time before the film's released.
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variol son
- The Gap Into Spam
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- Location: New Zealand
The Azath (plant-thing that defeated the Jaghut) is mentioned more in Deadhouse Gates.Darth Mole wrote:Well, I may carry on with the Deadhouse gates in the future. But I really prefer SF to fantasy.
The only character that I really liked was Krupp. Because he was a bumbling oddball, with hidden talents which were revealed slowly as part of the plot.
Most of the other characters were bland.
As I said before, I didn't like the powerful characters. Demons that could level a city, a Jaghut Tyrant that could level a city but was eaten by a plant?? And a chap with a big sword that was unstoppable.
I would have liked some descriptions too, I still don't know what Moranth and Jaghut and just about everything else non-human looks like.
Anyway, at the moment I've got some old Asimov on the go. A bit of Phillip K Dick. And I'm thinking about reading the Narnia Chronicles for the first time before the film's released.
Also, you see a lot more characters that are just ordinary people who manage to do extraordinary things because they have to to survive.
I would encourage you to read on, when you get a chance.
You do not hear, and so you cannot be redeemed.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
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Roland of Gilead
- <i>Haruchai</i>
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I thought Deadhouse Gates was a quantum leap forward from Gardens of the Moon.
I just bought the American edition of Memories of Ice. Lord, that might be the thickest trade paperback I've ever seen!!
I still don't believe this guy is in the same league as King, Martin, Tolkien, Donaldson, etc., but perhaps Memories of Ice might change my mind.
I just bought the American edition of Memories of Ice. Lord, that might be the thickest trade paperback I've ever seen!!
I still don't believe this guy is in the same league as King, Martin, Tolkien, Donaldson, etc., but perhaps Memories of Ice might change my mind.
"I am, in short, a man on the edge of everything." - Dark Tower II, The Drawing of the Three