Kevin's Watch

Gardens of the Moon. Somebody talk some sense into me...

--A

Damn!

That didn't help Fist.

--A

Nobody but yourself to blame. But I am immensely jealous.

Don't be jealous, you can read them again any time y'know.

--A

Deadhouse Gates. No turning back now I guess...

--A

Avatar wrote:Deadhouse Gates. No turning back now I guess...

--A

I just started on that series yesterday.

After finishing Wheel of Time finally, I wanted something a little lighter

I don't think you'll find it lighter, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Lighter it's not. In fact, it out-does WoT's cast of thousands by...well...thousands.

Where did you start? Are you doing the Esselmont books in the sequence? Or just the Book of the Fallen?

Go to the our Erikson forum. But start your own threads so you don't get spoilers.

On that topic, I swear DHG gets better every time I read it.

--A

Deadhouse Gates is one of my favourites. Having said that, I've only read the 1st five books in the series (not many times you can say "I've only read the 1st five in the series" and still have five to go...)

Avatar wrote:Lighter it's not. In fact, it out-does WoT's cast of thousands by...well...thousands.

Where did you start? Are you doing the Esselmont books in the sequence? Or just the Book of the Fallen?

Go to the our Erikson forum. But start your own threads so you don't get spoilers.

On that topic, I swear DHG gets better every time I read it.

--A

That was a joke about them being lighter

I haven't read any of the Esselmont books.

I'd read Gardens of the Moon several years ago, but at the time, not all the books in the series were out I think, so I wanted to wait until they all came out and then read them at once. Then I got into a re-read of TCoTC before the 10th book came out, then I read WoT... now I can get back to Malazan again.

Are the Esselmont books part of the overall story? Or are they just set in the same world?

*edit* Oh, I just noticed there are several authors writing Malazan books... and there's a "suggested" reading order... what have I gotten myself into?

Just read the 10 books of Erikson's main series. Don't worry about the rest.

I'm on Memories of Ice now. (Which I originally didn't like that much but on subsequent reads became almost as good as DHG.)

So...it's not several authors, it's just one. (Esselmont.)

They are set in the same world, and they are part of the overall story.

As Murrin says though, it's possible to ignore them completely. But for me, they form an important part of the world, and some events in them impact the main story. (Especially Return of the Crimson Guard.)

Either way though, these books are a must for any fan of epic world building.

--A

I remember struggling with Memories of Ice for the first million pages or so, but then it improved dramatically and became one of the better books - I think it was the second million pages where it improved

All I have to say is "the siege of Capustan."

--A

Avatar wrote:Gardens of the Moon. Somebody talk some sense into me...

--A

I see you finished this reread. Knowing you as a voracious reader, you'll probably be reading it again in 6 months or a year. Consider reading it in reverse order by chapter the next time you pick it up. I don't know if that will reveal any new insights, but knowing myself and malazan readers generally, there's no harm in trying a different approach (i.e. see if you like cereal better if you open it from the bottom). If you've already read it backwards, you could read from the middle outwards or from the ends inwards.
(A->Z->B->Y->etc or M->L->N->K->O->etc)
It is a good book start to finish, so I suppose the traditional method works too.

I just finished reading book 3 in a series with just about the corniest title I've ever heard: "Legend of the Galactic Heroes." Published sometime in the 70s or 80s, it makes some good use of a space opera environment, but probably has more in common with War and Peace or Romance of Three Kingdoms. If I had to explain how Machiavelli may have been satirizing powerful rulers and not simply conveying how people should use power, and my audience had an infinite supply of time and patience, I might give them this series. I don't think Han Feizi was a satirist, but this series clearly attempted to try and engage with his work as well.

It was released as a really long anime (over 100 episodes) in the 90s, but its style has a lot more in common with the 80s stuff, and maybe earlier than that. In a way, both the book and the anime feel somewhat stilted and stuffy - but I felt the author was effective at being warm and cynical about humanity simultaneously. You have to be willing to enjoy a cliche.

The series more or less denies the idea from Tolstoy that "great men of history" are a total fiction, but tends to argue that human society shouldn't operate in expectation of their existence. Reinhard, the lead character in the "galactic empire" faction, is really the protagonist who has ambitions on a grand scale and will change the world. Yang, the lead in the Free Planets Alliance, is more like the author's commentator, gives you the intro to the political philosophy underpinning what's going on, and gives you the author's take. I think among fans, Yang tends to win hearts for being a bit of a lazy bloke. Although they oppose each other at times, the series probably spends more time on conflicts they have with their own factions (Yang tries to avoid political power and maintain democracy, while Reinhard is trying to seize control from the outset). They are more like champions who happen to represent their respective sides than like enemies who have a personal grudge.

It does have depth - but it's a very easy read. Possibly the translation made the language even more direct and clear. Both it and the anime are occasionally ludicrous in tone - I don't think there are any/many fart jokes, but if you imagine a book that tends to insert fart jokes at the wrong time, you might get the idea.

Finished The Real Story. Onward to Forbidden Knowledge!

-jay

Holsety...

Jay...hit the Gap forum.

Anyway, a couple hundred pages into House of Chains.

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Just started Midnight Tides. One of my least favourite...will maybe try skim the most boring bits.

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Starting The Bonehunters today. Managed to mostly skip the majority of the Edur storyline in MT, Rhulad annoys the hell out of me.

--A