Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

Darzian

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I'm an avid reader of fantasy. I write fantasy.

I-could-not-read-this-book.

After reading tons of positive reviews and hearing about this fabulous epic series, I decided to start it. I'm reading huge series anyway (WoT, ASoFaI) so I thought I might as well add to the list.

The book was truly nothing like what I expected. People told me it was very complex but I found it *too* complex. 200 pages in, I gave up.

This is the first time in my life that I've given up on a book. I even read all the Twilight books. If anyone has read this series, I'd appreciate it if you shared your opinion. I'm surprised that I couldn't get past the first third of the book when so many others did.

Primarily, the characters and jumping plots just didn't hold my attention. And some of the sentences are unnecessarily (IMO) complex and convoluted. I read some of the low rated Amazon reviews and reviewers mention that there is a lot of Deus Ex and unexplained events. I thought that the magic system etc... would be explained later on. Was it? I'm curious and I'm never going to know otherwise.

Experiences?
 

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I am addicted to this series. My son and I fight over the new books. It is convoluted...there are so many characters to keep straight and sometimes your favorites are not even mentioned in the next book. That said, it takes a lot of patience to read and keep reading.

I found that reading it again was almost like reading it the first time. So many little threads weave in and out of the story before they come together that it's almost impossible to keep them straight. This may not be your kind of book, that's all. There are a lot of books that others love deeply and I can't get into. Different taste or preferences?

If I remember right, he first wrote this as a screenplay and then turned it into a fantasy series. Can you imagine a movie of this proportion? There would have to be ten installments at least and a cast of thousands.
 

Miguelito

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I didn't find it too complicated. Maybe reading GRR Martin has "trained" my brain to deal with dozens of main characters and intersecting plot lines.

I actually found the Malazan Book of the Fallen kind of wishy washy. It read like none of the characters were ever at risk of dying. I don't want them all to die, but having one or two go in the middle of the story gives an element of risk and that, yes, even your favorite character might not make it to the end of the story.

And the Deux ex Machina didn't bother me because I got the feeling that the gods existed at the whims of the humans just as much as the humans existed at the whims of the gods.

All in all, I'll likely not read the next one in the series.
 

Darzian

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Interesting. I've heard that the story becomes compelling in the later books but I really couldn't drag myself through the first.

Probably not my type of thing, strange though it may seem. I'm usually very 'into' this type of thing.
 

Darzian

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Thanks for the link, QoS. I felt exactly the same way. At least you managed to skim to the end, though!
 

MattW

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The first book tends to be a hurdle, and after reading the second, I can see Erikson hit his stride a little late.

For me, I like the idea of being thrown into an ocean of a well developed world without the lifevest of backstory.

Compared with another sprawling fantasy with casts of hundreds and interweaving plots, MBotF is far superior, IMO, to Wheel of Time. The reader can follow, and is not frustrated by knowledge one character obviously has but does not share - the knowledge is kept from the reader, not maliciously, but is slowly parceled out as characters find out, or as they reveal their secrets without unnecessary exposition. You also don't see the world through naive eyes - you see them through worldly eyes of people with long history and complex relationships, that understand much, or have seen such strange sights so as not to question oddity.
 

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I agree with Matt on this. That first book is tough. By the third one, favorite characters are dying and conflict and chaos keep you up, reading way too late at night.
 

SPMiller

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The reason the first book is so tough is the near-total absence of narrative exposition. Some might say there's too much show and not enough tell. Linden presents you with the action minus the explanation.

His strength is his description. Second place goes to plotting.

His weakness is characterization. Second worst is probably dialog.
 

DragonHeart

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I'd recommend to actually start with the second book, Deadhouse Gates, which acts fairly well as a standalone since it's not even on the same continent. I went in order of course, but I can certainly see why so many people struggle with the first book. Gardens of the Moon is definitely shaky, but the writing improves with the next books. Sadly, I think the hurdle of getting through the first book turns many people away.

And no, these are not invincible characters. A lot of good characters die, though it's not quite at Martin's level of slaughter. Yet. Still two volumes to go, after all.

For those of you who did not like the first one, definitely give #2 a try. So far it's my favorite book of the series, though I shamefully admit not having made it all the way through Toll the Hounds yet. If you still don't like it I won't argue further, but GotM is the weak link in the chain, in my opinion at least.
 

Darzian

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I'm surprised to hear that the second book does well as a stand alone. The first is SO full of information that it seems almost impossible! I'm willing to give the second book a try though it's the library and not the bookstore for me.
 

DragonHeart

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It does reference the first book but only in a minor way. The story is quite self-contained, though characters and events from it do pop up in other books. There's actually a couple of books like that...DG as mentioned and Midnight Tides does it as well, if I recall correctly. Been awhile since I read that one, I think only some characters crossover. It has to do with the timeline of the books. Deadhouse Gates occurs at the same time as at least one of the other books...I want to say Memories of Ice.

The timeline is weird like that. >.> I think at one point three of the books are actually occurring simultaneously. They're only just now in the tail end of the series coming together to form one main storyline. I haven't reread any of them recently so my memory is fuzzy, but I do clearly remember the weirdness with the chronology. It's really not so bad once you realize what he's doing, heh.
 

Todd Larkin

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Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson

*NOTE* I'm sorry if there are other threads about Erikson's Malazan series. I simply didn't want to spoil anything for me because I'm only 1/4-ish way through Book Two, Deadhouse Gates. *NOTE*


Who else is a fan of Erikson? I'll admit his characterization and believability sometimes leave much to be desired, but he is masterful regarding his world-building/culture-building skills. I've been in awe of the depth of his world, and I find myself incredibly inspired by his work when creating my own (have been for past several years).

He's the kind of author I read and think to myself, "My world will NEVER be as awesome as this one." haha
 

Sophia

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Todd Larkin, I'm going to merge this into the existing thread for the Malazan books. Don't worry, there are no spoilers in it (so far) for the rest of the series.
 

Dragoro

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Malazaan is my favorite fantasy series.

I don't get the comment in an earlier post about non of the characters fear or actually die.

I can't say much without spoiling. But that has to be one of the most untrue statements about this series Ive read. Most times I hear people complain about the opposite.
 

Death Wizard

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Malazaan is my favorite fantasy series.

I don't get the comment in an earlier post about non of the characters fear or actually die.

I can't say much without spoiling. But that has to be one of the most untrue statements about this series Ive read. Most times I hear people complain about the opposite.

I agree. For me, it's No. 2 to LOTR, but otherwise it's my favorite series. I've read all 10 book. Erikson's imagination is unmatched, IMO. Book 1, however, as mentioned above, is the weakest of the 10, again IMO.
 

Dragoro

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I agree. For me, it's No. 2 to LOTR, but otherwise it's my favorite series. I've read all 10 book. Erikson's imagination is unmatched, IMO. Book 1, however, as mentioned above, is the weakest of the 10, again IMO.

Just grabbed your book on amazon. If your a big fan of MBotF, your's has got to be good too right?