Steven Erikson (The 3.5 million word journey?)

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Wilshire

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« Reply #120 on: August 23, 2016, 07:05:02 pm »
Slogging through CG. Its getting more interesting, and I definitely appreciate some of the  infobombs explaining a bit about wtf is going on in this crazy universe.
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Wilshire

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« Reply #121 on: September 01, 2016, 03:38:28 pm »
Oh man, anyone who go close to Crippled God but didn't finish, you're missing out (looking at you Camlost). I'm about half way through now and its turning out to be a great book. I get the feeling that it may be one of the better ones of the series, which is good, considering how long it took to get here.
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MSJ

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« Reply #122 on: September 15, 2016, 02:16:41 am »
Great Book, I'm glad you've stuck with it Wilshire. Its 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 #123 on: September 16, 2016, 01:48:01 am »
Crippled God was a great book. All climax the whole way. There isn't much of anything that can be said about it without spoilers... so I'll just say there are emotional moments everywhere. I probably had tears a half dozen times or more, both happy and sad.

Not everything clicked for me, and I think some things were tied up almost too neatly, but generally speaking, a good end to a good series. I'm 100% glad that I read it and finished it. The biggest shortfalls, for me, were HoC and DoD, but the other books heavily outweigh those books.

I can see why Erikson is a successful fantasy writer, and I'm glad he is. While Bakker remains, to me, at the top of the pile, Erikson's story is a great one that ends with a bang. His is an easy world to get lost in, and I'm his popularity makes room for a better fantasy genre as a whole.
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Jackehehe

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« Reply #124 on: December 27, 2016, 09:53:00 am »
I've read all Malazan books quite recently. Never understood why people think they are so good; I personally think its one of the worst fantasy series I've read, with book 2 and 3 only being the really good books (book 3 in particular). My overall objection to the series is that it feels... contrived. It feels like Erikson is trying to imitate the complexity of an author like, for instance, Bakker, but failing horribly at wrapping the storylines/characters up, while also failing to make the individual storylines/characters themselves interesting. There is just so many things going on in the books, so many storylines and characters and its far form obvious how they are all entertwined. There are also many storylines that simply abrubtly end and as a reader you have no idea why they were there taking up space in the books in the first place. Also, there are hardly any really likeable characters and even if you find one, chances are that in the next book you read you aren't gonna be reading about that character again (i.e. same problem as the last 2 GRRM books).

The only thing that really impressed me was some of the tragic moments throughout the series. Given the scope of the series, it hardly makes it worth sloughing through all of the books just for those few pieces. I strongly recommend all my friends to stop reading these books after book 3.

I guess a good way of describing the overall quality of this series would be the following: Due to the complexity of the series, it feels that as a reader you are pretty much required to re-read the series. Whereas this can sometimes be exiciting to gain a deeper understanding of the series (as is the case with Bakker's works. I felt immediately while reading the books that I wanted to read them again), it just felt laboursome to read the Malazan books because I knew there were so many things that I didnt understand but that I felt was needed to be understood to understand the point of the things transpiring in the story. Compare again with Bakker. Bakker's 'show, dont tell' way of writing is mainly concerned with the world-building and it enhanced the books greatly, giving them this sense of 'mystery' (answers are like opium etc). You dont NEED to know everything about the nonmen and the first apocalypse to understand the forward-going story, but you certainly do want to understand more. Whereas in the Malazan books it felt like the story got so stunted by there simply being to many things that you didnt understand, and many of those things at least I felt were needed to be understood in order to understand what was actually happening present-time in the story.

I'm just really disappointed by how good I've heard the Malazan books to be, and it actually turned out to be a labour to understand crucial points of the books. Sure, Bakker's works has some esoteric writing and stuff as well but I have never felt that some of the more abstract themes etc have been crucial to understand the story; they are merely means to get a deeper understanding of it.

Wilshire

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« Reply #125 on: December 27, 2016, 02:38:01 pm »
Jackehehe, as Malazan is primarily, imo, a military fantasy, id like to ask you if you have read and enjoyed other similar books.

I get your criticisms . There's a lot too it. To really enjoy them the reader needs to spend a lot of time with the characters,l and the setting,  getting to know all the players. In the end, for most people I think that its just too complex for most.

I really loved the series, but I joke that Malazan Wilshire and Bakker Wilshire are mutually exclusive. I cannot be both, there just isn't enough time. So, in this reality, Bakker wilshire has spent hundreds of hours pouring through and discussing Bakker, and because of that, I enjoy Bakker much more.

On the other hand, I get why people like Malazan more. There a lot more fantasy in it, and its more complex and interconnected than any other book or series I've read. There is a lot of great writing in them. It's worth the attempt to anyone who enjoys the genre (btw I say the same thing about Bakker).   
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Jackehehe

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« Reply #126 on: December 27, 2016, 09:42:30 pm »
Yeah maybe I came off as a bit rough in my criticism. I certainly can see the niche for military fantasy as well and that that would gather fans that are deeply committed to the series. The military banter was one of the things I did enjoy. I haven't read any military fantasy previously, no. I guess I was just disappointed because I had so very high expectations from hearing other people's opinions and especially considering how good the second and third book was.

MSJ

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« Reply #127 on: December 27, 2016, 10:24:54 pm »
Yeah maybe I came off as a bit rough in my criticism. I certainly can see the niche for military fantasy as well and that that would gather fans that are deeply committed to the series. The military banter was one of the things I did enjoy. I haven't read any military fantasy previously, no. I guess I was just disappointed because I had so very high expectations from hearing other people's opinions and especially considering how good the second and third book was.

Malazan is not Bakker.....let's get that straight. Nothing the same except it has magic. This is the pattern of an Erikson Malazan book - you read 3/4 of the book with hardly anything going on. Bits and pieces here and there, nothing major though. But, that Kat 1/4 of the book is when things pick up and get really good. I've never seen any reason to re-read Malazan. I want to know more about Makes an for sure, Dancer's Lament is a great example and can't wait til the next one comes out. I really don't care about the Kharkanas Trilogy, but, The Toblaki Trilogy will definitely be one that I will dive into.
“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 #128 on: December 28, 2016, 03:57:44 pm »
Yeah maybe I came off as a bit rough in my criticism. I certainly can see the niche for military fantasy as well and that that would gather fans that are deeply committed to the series. The military banter was one of the things I did enjoy. I haven't read any military fantasy previously, no. I guess I was just disappointed because I had so very high expectations from hearing other people's opinions and especially considering how good the second and third book was.

I know more people who stopped before the end than have actually read it all the way through. I think Malazan suffers some from its immensity, but compared to a lot of the fantasy out there, I'm not dissapointed that Erikson has seen much success.

Btw, glad to see you posting again :)
« Last Edit: December 28, 2016, 03:59:16 pm by Wilshire »
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MSJ

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« Reply #129 on: December 28, 2016, 09:16:54 pm »
Yeah maybe I came off as a bit rough in my criticism. I certainly can see the niche for military fantasy as well and that that would gather fans that are deeply committed to the series. The military banter was one of the things I did enjoy. I haven't read any military fantasy previously, no. I guess I was just disappointed because I had so very high expectations from hearing other people's opinions and especially considering how good the second and third book was.

I know more people who stopped before the end than have actually read it all the way through. I think Malazan suffers some from its immensity, but compared to a lot of the fantasy out there, I'm not dissapointed that Erikson has seen much success.

Btw, glad to see you posting again :)

Which is sad, because the ending great. Well worth the ride. But, I can't blame people who can't handle it, it is truly A slog of no comparison. Wilshire, have you picked up Dancer's Lament? I really think you'll like it A lot. Not what I was expecting as a prequel to the original Malazan, we'll it was, but done was at better than I thought possible.
“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 #130 on: December 29, 2016, 02:20:39 am »
Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed by the ending, but it was beautiful.

I don't plan on reading Dancer's anytime soon, plenty of other authors to explore - I've had my fill of Erikson for a while.
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MSJ

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« Reply #131 on: December 29, 2016, 02:13:37 pm »
Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed by the ending, but it was beautiful.

I don't plan on reading Dancer's anytime soon, plenty of other authors to explore - I've had my fill of Erikson for a while.

It's written by Esselmont. And, you don't need to read any of his of his Malazansruff to enjoy it. Its how the Malazan Empire comes about. 
“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,

Jackehehe

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« Reply #132 on: January 06, 2017, 07:59:39 pm »

Btw, glad to see you posting again :)

Thank you!

Everyone on this forum is very polite. I'm not posting that often but I read here frequently. I think it's mostly because there are so many other knowledge people than me ;). I hope I didn't go too much off topic now!

themerchant

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« Reply #133 on: January 19, 2017, 12:28:26 am »
Skipping Assail by Esslemont but Dancers Lament is meant to be so much better, so buying that now (got insomnia) on kindle to read in the bath.

MSJ

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« Reply #134 on: January 19, 2017, 12:51:19 am »
Skipping Assail by Esslemont but Dancers Lament is meant to be so much better, so buying that now (got insomnia) on kindle to read in the bath.

You'll love it. Esselmonts best book, by far.
“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,