Steven Erikson (The 3.5 million word journey?)

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Old Gnostic Fool

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« Reply #165 on: October 25, 2017, 11:37:56 am »
My favorite series to this day, not just in fantasy but among all literature. I've read all of them outside  of the Broach and Bauchelain novellas.

I'm not sure either Forge or Dancer's Lament really work as entry points into the world, since they rely on a lot of elements from the Book of the Fallen series.

I enjoyed both Kharkanas books, though they do tend to grind too much for their own good. Prazek and Dathenar would sometimes really get on my nerves

When it comes to the philosophy, I think it's a mixed bag. There are a lot of great discussions that do take place, but Erikson tends to go for the verbose approach, where he will muse upon anything that crosses his mind, regardless of whether it fits into the narrative. I prefer Bakker's more economical approach with an emphasis on tackling specific points, even if it is of a smaller scope.

Either ways, an excellent universe, well worth the time needed to soak it all in.

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« Reply #166 on: November 01, 2017, 06:50:07 am »
Kharkanas has been put on hold.

Madness

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« Reply #167 on: November 04, 2017, 03:56:35 pm »
Erikson's foray into author outreach is going well. Excited to see what else comes from that new portion of his network.
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MSJ

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« Reply #168 on: November 16, 2017, 02:03:59 am »
(click to show/hide)


Mod Edit: Added spoiler tags upon request.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2017, 01:02:50 pm by Wilshire »
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Redeagl

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« Reply #169 on: November 16, 2017, 11:37:01 am »
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Mod Edit: Added spoiler tags upon request.
MSJ. The "S" stands for "spoiler" :P.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2017, 01:14:05 pm by Wilshire »
“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”

- Chronicler of the Chroniclers

MSJ

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« Reply #170 on: November 16, 2017, 01:11:28 pm »
Oh, that's not even a spoiler, geez Louise! You want some real ones?
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Redeagl

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« Reply #171 on: November 16, 2017, 06:12:27 pm »
Oh, that's not even a spoiler, geez Louise! You want some real ones?
I know it's not a spoiler, just messing with you ;)
“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”

- Chronicler of the Chroniclers

Wilshire

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« Reply #172 on: November 16, 2017, 06:14:45 pm »
lol :)
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« Reply #173 on: November 18, 2017, 04:52:28 pm »
Well... arguably, even though I know pretty much everything that happens in general, I technically didn't know that that character would survive Erikson's ten books.

Just sayin' ;). Not that I personally care.
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« Reply #174 on: February 23, 2018, 03:06:54 pm »
So...

If I were to be having a recorded conversation with Erikson, what would SA Malazan fans like to hear him speak on ;)?
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« Reply #175 on: February 27, 2018, 01:08:23 pm »
I can barely come up with questions to ask Bakker. I'm not sure I have anything specific I'd be interested in hearing Erikson speak on, but hearing him speak would be interesting.
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Francis Buck

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« Reply #176 on: February 27, 2018, 07:38:24 pm »
I enjoy reading about the worldbuilding and lore on wikis but for the life of me I cannot get into this series. Started reading the first book multiple times, each time got a little further but still just ended up losing interest. I even got the damn audiobook thinking I could listen to it while driving and stuff, but I can't stand the way the narrator does female (and certain male voices) where his main method of changing his voice...involves...speaking...very...SLOW...with a STRANGE...emphasis...on...RANDOM words...

Is it worth trying to start on the second book instead or something? This is basically the only major epic fantasy series I haven't read so I feel like I need to get through it principle.   

Wilshire

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« Reply #177 on: February 27, 2018, 08:36:47 pm »
I'd say no. The books are all written by the same author(s). They all follow the same narrative and structure and the writing is consistent throughout. There's nothing in books 2-10+ that isn't in book 1. Erikson probably grew throughout his writing career, but he's still writing Erikson, if that makes sense. You might notice a difference in much later books in writing quality, but I don't read that closely.

FWIW, audiobooks are a terrible idea in this case. There is too much information and too many people to keep track of. Listening to Malazan detracts from the overall experience. Keep in mind, I love audiobooks, but sometimes the narrators and the books themselves don't work in audio format.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2018, 08:38:22 pm by Wilshire »
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MSJ

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« Reply #178 on: February 28, 2018, 08:52:41 am »
FB, as Wilshire has said, all of MBoF (Erikson, Esselmont didn't write any of those, he wrote the companion books) follows the same pattern. The first, oh, 3/4 is mostly worldbuilding and the like with a little reveal or two sprinkled in. The last 1/4 of each book is action packed and makes the slog well worth it.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Wilshire

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« Reply #179 on: February 28, 2018, 12:01:23 pm »
I'd say closer to 2/3 and 1/3, but yeah absolutely.

I'd say read a full book. GOTM is the start, so start there, but you could do DG instead. Either way, if you're feeling like you're missing out, read one book front to back. Once you've done that, if you don't like it, there's no reason to read further.
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