Kevin's Watch

Since I saw book 10 of the Malazan Empire series is coming out in January, I decided to pick up books 1-9 for my Kindle and start in on them. I got about 1/3 of the way through Book 1 before AATE came out and I set it aside... but I'm just not impressed.

So many characters and so many locations... hard to keep track of it all. Does it get better later? or is the first book indicative of the rest?

It is universally agreed that the writing improves a lot after the first book. There was a gap of several years between the first and second, and it seems Erikson used that time to... whatever was needed.

Mind you, I like GotM. A LOT! It introduces extraordinary characters. It gives an impression of the scope involved that leaves us all dumbstruck. Yes, it IS confusing. There are so MANY characters!! But don't worry - it gets worse! Really. You're not even in Darujhistan yet. You'll meet several new and very important characters.

Still, all that being said, the second book is beyond all description. Some characters from GotM shine like you won't believe. A couple of my favorite characters of any books ever are introduced. And one of the main plot lines is... Well, I won't even try to tell you about it here.

AND, the THIRD book is my favorite of all!!! I've read the first four books twice. Each time, I've thought surely nothing could be as good as DG. But then I get to MoI, and I swear...!!! I've read 1 and 2 a third time now, and am just too overwhelmed with the size and complexity of MoI to start it again. (I'm a slow reader. I think Avatar reads each of these books in maybe two days. Takes me a couple weeks.)

Uh... Anyway, yeah, keep reading.

I love GotM as well - one of my favourites of the entire series so far (along with Deadhouse Gates and Reper's Gale, although I've only just started Toll the Hounds). Ganoes Paran and Whiskeyjack and Kalam Mekhar and Quick Ben and Fiddler and Tattersail and Dujek Onearm and Hairlock and Crokus and Sorry and Kruppe and Shadowthrone and The Rope and even Adjunct Lorn are awesome!

GOTM does not make a whole lot of sense initially. It all sorts of starts to suddenly hang together a couple of hundred pages in.

It also makes a heck of a lot more sense when you go back and reread it after reading the next book or so!

The author is presenting it as if from a historian/social scientist perspective (he has worked as a professional archaeologist, IIRC). So he writes as if you already have a basic understanding of the world and the characters - sort of like a historian in our world writing about the American Revolution and just throwing you into the action at the Crossing of the Delaware without a long introduction to George Washington and his officers and the background of the retreat from NYC. It would just be assumed you know who Washington is and why he is performing the Crossing and who the Hessians are across the river.

If you do not care for GOTM do not despair or give up. The second book is a lot different in content and tone fro mthe first and has one of the best storylines in all of epic fiction in the Chain of Dogs. (The third book is wonderful as well - if you are still not enjoying the series after the second and third books then that would be the time to worry IMHO).

I would love to see the Chain of Dogs filmed - that would be spectacular!

*thread hijacking over*

Akasri wrote:So many characters and so many locations... hard to keep track of it all. Does it get better later? or is the first book indicative of the rest?

The problem with the first book is that it doesn't make any sense to start with. It's only once you've read at least the next 2 or 3 that you realise what was actually going on. Then you have to go back and read it again.

But it's worth it.

--A

Answer: It does get better...but not much.

Ok, thanks everyone - I'll stick with it once I get through AATE (only 2-3 more chapters left )

Avatar wrote:The problem with the first book is that it doesn't make any sense to start with. It's only once you've read at least the next 2 or 3 that you realise what was actually going on. Then you have to go back and read it again.

Really? I always found it pretty clear what was going on in GotM, at least as far as what I needed to know. Sure, a lot of historical stuff isn't spelt out implicitly in the beginning, but I felt I had more than enough information to propel the actual story forward.

I don't have that problem, either. I just see a huge amount of stuff thrown at us in a short time. Characters. Warrens. History. Different types of beings. Man, it's nuts! But I agree that it's all there.

Hahaha, *shrug*

GotM was almost meaningless to me until I'd read DoG, MoI and HoC. Then I reread it and loved it.

--A

I don't know, maybe it's just my reading style*, but I loved GotM as well. Did it explain everything? No. Was it confusing? Hells, yeah! To me, though, that just means that it would be ripe for a re-read (a quality I like in books). It held my interest just fine otherwise....





*My reading style is to just crash through the book. If I enjoyed it, but felt that I caught everything, it'd be an enjoyable book. If I thought it was a waste of time, it's a bad book. If it's enjoyable but I feel I need to re-read it, those to me are good books. Great books are the ones that can still be re-read several times. GotM, and what I've read of DHG, are good books. We'll see if in the future they get promoted to great books

Well, now that I'm done with AATE and TLD won't be out for 3 years...

I'm heading back to GotM and trying it again

Orlion wrote:Great books are the ones that can still be re-read several times. GotM, and what I've read of DHG, are good books. We'll see if in the future they get promoted to great books

Trust me. I've read everything from 1-9 multiple times now, and there's still stuff I've missed before.

--A

Avatar wrote:

Orlion wrote:Great books are the ones that can still be re-read several times. GotM, and what I've read of DHG, are good books. We'll see if in the future they get promoted to great books

Trust me. I've read everything from 1-9 multiple times now, and there's still stuff I've missed before.

--A

All right!

I don't understand why Brinn doesn't like this series...ah well.

Orilon wrote:I don't know, maybe it's just my reading style*, but I loved GotM as well. Did it explain everything? No. Was it confusing? Hells, yeah! To me, though, that just means that it would be ripe for a re-read (a quality I like in books). It held my interest just fine otherwise....

I don't, generally, like to reread, but I may-just started Deadhouse Gates and it looks great-lucky book (and series), though, it caught on to the end of a huge reading spree including 11 Vlad Thaltos books, Quicksilver, American Gods, The Prince of Nothing trilogy, AATE and Three Cups of Tea...after almost 6 months of reading nothing. I'm so addicted to reading right now I'll have to finish all of Malazan...

I've got Quicksilver and the Prince of Nothing trilogy in my reading pile after I'm done with Malazan, Lyonnese, and Parade's End. After that? Who knows, maybe the new Titus Groan book will be out by then.

Yeah, my list just got much longer-finish Malazan, then Bakker's Judging Eye series and then, hopefully, fricking Dances with Dragons will be out!!! (but I am going to be sneaky in April with Direct TV and sign up for a package that includes 3 free months of HBO show I can watch the A Game of Thrones mini-series )

I'm waiting for Stonewielder to come in the mail from the UK. Can't wait!! Not sure when I'll get back to my reread of the whole series. I read 1-4 twice before going on to MT. Now I've read GotM and DG a third time, intending to go on. But MoI, my favorite of them all (even more than DG, which is hard to believe!), is overwhelming. I'm afraid to start it again.

Plus, I haven't read Prince of Nothing yet, and I'd really like to.

What is MT? And what is Stonewielder?