The Stormguard were hard-core though. Is it just me, or did that “Grace of the Lady” thing just come out of nowhere in the big battle? I don’t recall a Stormguard using that in any of the books to date.
Mine is on it’s way to me as well. Should have it by mid week if they don’t lose it on it’s trip across the Atlantic.
I have no idea what that is but it sure sounds like a spoiler.:(
If you don’t know what it is, I don’t see how it’s a spoiler.
I’ll be more careful.
So after finishing Stonewielder yesterday, I’m pleased with it but have issues with it as well. Some great story lines, and a few new things we learn about the Malazan world, but we’re still left with many questions in the end. I felt that some of the story lines just petered out and didn’t really go anywhere at all, while others were a great ride. Loved the introduction of the quietest thief ever. Could do with more of him and his priestly friend.
Still, I liked the fact of the new continent to explore and get to know in the Malazan world, and finding out what really happened to the original Malazan invasion years ago. Hints of visiting Assail in the future from him as well, which intrigues me very much.
Don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling for others, but it was a good ride, an improvement in writing style over RotCG, so Esselemont is improving very much.
Awesome! Thanks for your thoughts, Nix. My copy is right here waiting for me to finish K.J. Parker’s Engineer Trilogy.
Just finished reading Dust of Dreams only to find out that Stonewielder is already out and The Crippled God is coming next month. And as if that isn’t enough, I’ve been one third through RoTCG since the summer and now I have a burning desire to finish that as well. Shit, as if I didn’t have enough on my plate. I should be reading course books, not fiction!
Hood’s balls.
I’m sorta in the same boat as Jora only I just finished Gardens of the Moon. I don’t have course books I should be reading at the moment but I do have a huge stack of stuff I got for Christmas that I thought I’d tear right into. It’s pretty hard to get excited about Jane Austen when Dust of Dreams is sitting right there.
I keep hearing the series just gets better with each book. Am I really doomed to read 9 more of these things before I’m content to sit down with some non-fantasy again? Ah well, there are certainly worse things. :)
Halfway through myself, and I LOVE the malazan books, and RotCG, but man…this book is not very well written, not even compared to RoTCC which I still suspect Steven Erikson wrote. It has so far nothing of the epic feel that the other books has, and the character development is bland, and reminds me of the old dragonlance books.
I am not impressed.
edit: Allow me to elaborate a tiny bit - Eriksons characters and his descriptions of them and their actions are memorable, and interesting, and makes you curious about them, and feel for them, one way or another. Who doesnt remember Karso Olong, and his meeting with a certain neverstopping tyrant? Epic! Who doesnt remember Anomander Rake, the Eel, the fate of people like Tattersail, Captain Paran,and Kallor? Kallor for whom I felt great sympathy and understanding and the rest of the incredible cast? I remember, and like these people,
Here? I’m reading the book, and I remember maybe three persons, and really, I dont really care about them.
Esslemont is simply not as good a writer - maybe it comes from me re-reading the entire erikson series again and thus remembering it more vividly, but man… Esslemont bores me most of the time.
Halfway through Dust of Dreams. Still having fun.
However, someone really, really, really needs to sit on Erikson until he agrees to never write poetry again.
I just started in on Dust of Dreams. I learned long ago to never read the shitty poetry at the opening of each chapter. What kills me is that he makes references to, and introduces, Fisher Kel Tath and people comment on what an amazing literary figure he is. It seems self serving to describe a person in such a manner, then put “their” works in there for you to read.
Much of the “shitty poetry” has great relevance to the upcoming chapter you are about to read…so, if you skip it, you will be missing out.
I’d say those openers RARELY are superfluous. It’s like Erikson style in general, the more attention you pay, the more rewarded you are.
Whenever I encounter that sort of cognitive dissonance in a story, I just imagine the poetry is bad translation.
I read it. Then my internal censor (who is a short, fat, balding man who hates his job) runs frantically through my brain pouring rubbing alcohol on the neurons that absorbed the “poetry” to prevent it escaping and doing any more damage.
There’s poetry. There’s bad poetry. And then there’s what Erikson is writing, which is more properly classified as some form of weapon of mass destruction.
nm. bitchy.
For those who might be interested - Steven Erikson did an “Ask Me Anything” on redit a couple of days ago:
Warning: Harsh language ahead: Please don’t read below if you are of sensitive disposition.
So, I was reading Forge of Darkness until a few days ago, and now I’m pretty much done with the book, the series and the author. I mean, what the HELL happened to Steven Erikson in that he suddenly tells me a story about a female soldier fisting a nobleborn lady to death while jerking off another soldier? Now, I don’t think I’m a pretty little flower that has to be protected but I REALLY don’t want to read about stuff like that. There had been some rather ugly scenes previously (The three sisters, in case anyone wonders) but okay, I could take that, but this? I find it incredibly offensive and without any relevance to the story. Its like Steven Erikson had a brain aneurism or decided to live out some incredibly hardcore, nasty fantasy.
Anyways - I’m done with this guy and frankly, that makes me sad and disgusted at the same time because I REALLY like his previous work.
Steven Erikson…WTF indeed!
That sounds like “Oh John Ringo No” material.
So I didn’t know whether to unveil Hood’s Path (Warren) on this thread or this one:
But I finally cleared out my Robin Hobb stack on my kindle and I picked up Fall of Light, the middle book in the trilogy that started with Forge of Darkness.
A little back ground: I have read all of Erickson’s Malazan books plus Forge and all the ICE books as well. I have always just gone with the flow and had a fun time piecing the ontology and cosmology of the epics together. I’ve enjoyed the Diablo 3-esque over 9000 power creep ride the whole way.
I think my mind blacked out the scene pointed out by Razgon entirely. I honestly don’t remember it although I am sure it is there. There are ahem, odd moments that pop up every now and then. I think it comes more from Erickson’s training as an archeologist and student of ancient civilizations though than from any prurient interests. I don’t think readers pick up his books to be titillated that way.
The end of the Malazan sequence is confusing and open to multiple interpretations. I sort of like that and appreciate not having everything spoon fed.
It’s been something like 3 and a half years since Forge of Darkness was published so I wasn’t sure if I was up to the neural processing that would be required to place all the characters back on the stage…and there are a lot of characters. But I was pleasantly surprised how quickly everything fell back into place and the malazan wikia prodded a lot of the info back into place.
So I’m half way through the book and really enjoying it. I won’t spoil anything but many origin questions are answered…and of course many more raised…but that is the way of things is it not. If you have slogged all the way through the books like I have you will find yourself smiling and nodding at all the bad assery arrayed on the stage. There is a comfort in the familiarity of the same themes that weave in and out of the story lines. The thousand faces of the heroes who traipse across the Malazan stage.
Just a tease: There are Eleint and I think you find out the origin of the Soletaken/D’ivers.