# Malazan Book of the Fallen



## The Dark Wolf (Feb 16, 2007)

Chris!

Just wanted to say thanks for the heads up on this series, dude, and maybe discuss it a bit! I haven't enjoyed a series this much since probably GRR Martin. It's totally a page turner. His style is so unique, so different, from traditional fantasy fare. Maybe because he was an archaeologist?

I'm on book 3, 'Memories of Ice', right now, and man, is it great. All I can say is, thanks for the recommendation. I always seem to enjoy the shit you suggest. To anyone else reading this, you might wanna check it out! It's a fantastic series!


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## Chris (Mar 7, 2007)

I just started book 2, got about 1/4 of the way into it. 

What a friggin' fantastic story.  I want to be a Bridgeburner when I grow up.


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## sakeido (Mar 8, 2007)

I just jumped into the middle of that series and read "House of Chains." I thought the bit a bout Toblakai was _fucking awesome_ and that was a good read, but it really started to slow down towards the end. Anything with Toblakai (am I even spelling that right?) was fucking amazing, aside from that... ehh. I think I missed a lot of back story though, but considering the size of the books I am not in much of a hurry to read about characters who are not Toblakai haha.

emergency edit for potential spoiler


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## Chris (Mar 14, 2007)

Dude, Whiskeyjack > *. Read the first books.


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## The Dark Wolf (Mar 14, 2007)

Karsa Orlong, aka Toblakai, is a strange dude. His encounters with Icarium are very... foreboding.


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## Chris (Mar 16, 2007)

You all really, really have to pick this series up.

It's a close second to DT on my list right now, and I"m only 2 books in. It's fucking awesome, just dark, dreary, no-bullshit, combat-laden asskicking fantasty genre.


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## The Dark Wolf (Mar 17, 2007)

It's definitely unlike anything else I've read.

It's weird... I almost feel like I shouldn't like it, since it really departs from the kind of epic-fantasy I'm used to (although in books 3 and 4 he gets to that type of thing a bit more. Especially book 4), but I just can't stop liking it anyway. Very addicting.

And in further good news, book 5 (which has been out since like 2005) will finally be published in North American next month. 


I still like Tad Williams and GRRM more, but hotdamn, this series is a very, very pleasant surprise. Thanks for C's head's up.


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## Chris (Apr 3, 2007)

I just finished book 2.

Fuck all, this KILLS.  It's all so friggin' grim, there's no feel-good moments, ever. Just death, death, combat, death, death.


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## The Dark Wolf (Apr 4, 2007)

I know. I'm fucking Jonesing, because book 5 (which has been published for like 2 or 3 years, but not in N. America) isn't out yet. (But will be this month! )

No happy, joyous elveses n' shit, though, nope. Just Lord Hood, basking in the carnage.


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## Metal Ken (Apr 4, 2007)

Chris said:


> Fuck all, this KILLS.  It's all so friggin' grim, there's no feel-good moments, ever. Just death, death, combat, death, death.



Sounds promising \m/


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## scott from _actual time_ (Apr 4, 2007)

if you love Erikson's gritty style, you should check out Glen Cook's Black Company novels from the mid-80s. that's totally where Erikson cops the filthy soldiers vibe.

if you love Erikson's sprawling world, check out R Scott Bakker's _Prince of Nothing_ trilogy. he's a philosophy professor, so he has a crusades-esque multi-national world with lots of political infighting, and the magic is all built on philosophical approaches.


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## Chris (Apr 15, 2007)

Le bump.



Spoiler



The end of book two is so fucking sad.



It takes some getting used to if you're used to linear fiction. A lot of the books are concurrent with other books, so it's not just "Follow the adventures of these handful of dudes".

Which is cool, but sucks at some points, because:



Spoiler



Where I am right now, Rallic Nom, my favorite character in the series so far, seems to be completely written out.


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## sakeido (Apr 20, 2007)

scott from _actual time_ said:


> if you love Erikson's sprawling world, check out R Scott Bakker's _Prince of Nothing_ trilogy. he's a philosophy professor, so he has a crusades-esque multi-national world with lots of political infighting, and the magic is all built on philosophical approaches.



Alright now that is the coolest sounding premise I have ever heard. I am so getting one of these books!!


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## scott from _actual time_ (Apr 24, 2007)

sakeido said:


> Alright now that is the coolest sounding premise I have ever heard. I am so getting one of these books!!


yeah, Bakker does a great job imbuing the whole thing with realistic human conflict and neat philosophy concepts.

the first half of the first book can get a little slow, but keep pushing through. it picks up in the last third/quarter, and the second book is balls-to-the-wall the whole way through.


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## Chris (Apr 28, 2007)

So after re-reading DG, I have the following to offer. I'm in the middle of MoI so don't drop any spoilers on me, please. 

It took some getting used to, but you have to love how Erikson has no qualms about out-of-nowhere killing off main characters. It makes everyone in his books seem a lot more fragile and human. For example, you know in Wheel of Time that Rand isn't going to die, because there are still two more books coming out. In Malazan, any character you're attached to can die off at any time. It's brilliant.

Spoilers. Whatever you do, do NOT read these if you plan on picking up this series, and you should.



Spoiler



The chain of dogs plotline was fucking fantastic. Without going into detail in case anyone hilights this, what ends up "happening" to Coltaine at the end totally had me teared up. When they're outside Aran's walls, and Duiker the historian sees the fight on the hill and simply says "Coltaine.", then goes on to wonder out loud how the fuck he managed to make it that far, I seriously had goosebumps. His fate, and the fate of the Seventh - One of the most visual reading experiences I've ever had. Absolutely brilliant.



The last ~500 pages of DG is just so incredibly _sad_.


I like this series more than Dark Tower, easily, and that's saying a lot.


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## The Dark Wolf (Apr 28, 2007)

Wow. I'm surprised. It's good, but for you to say that? I'm really surprised.


I feel the same way about GRRM and ASoIaF. I've read that series at least 5 times so far, and every time I'm blown away, for many of the same reasons you state, C. Like a character? Bam! Bye bye. It's a trip.

I cannot WAIT for book 5 of Malazan. (Although my anticipation for 'A Dance with Dragons' (book 5 of ASoIaF) knows no bounds. So much so that I unfortunately get pissed at George every time I check his website for an update and it says he's out sailing, or on a book signing trip, or somesuch.


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## Chris (Apr 28, 2007)

The Dark Wolf said:


> I feel the same way about GRRM and ASoIaF. I've read that series at least 5 times so far, and every time I'm blown away, for many of the same reasons you state, C. Like a character? Bam! Bye bye. It's a trip.



Imagine how badass WoT 10/11 would have been if Faile had just died off in the beginning, leaving Perrin to get back to kicking ass?


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## The Dark Wolf (Apr 28, 2007)

Hah hah ha. 

You kill me dude.  Although, I agree. Fucking bitch. 


I'm glad you're enjoying Malazan. I'm totally loving that series, too, and the only reason I got it was 'cause you recommended it.


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## sakeido (May 10, 2007)

I just picked up Deadhouse Gates since it sounds like the most intense of the books out so far. It also leads right into House of Chains and as much as I like reading epic series of books, after how much time and money I wasted on those fucking Wheel of Time books (read the first six and own the first ten), I am not going to rush out and buy another 6,000 page series.

Anybody else here read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever? Now those are some really, really good fantasy books.. smaller reads too.


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## Chris (May 11, 2007)

DG was abso-fucking-lutely fantastic.  

I'm 3/4 done with Memories of Ice. And (for Bob) - HOLY FUCK is the siege of Capustan fucking BADASS.


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## The Dark Wolf (May 11, 2007)

Chris said:


> DG was abso-fucking-lutely fantastic.
> 
> I'm 3/4 done with Memories of Ice. And (for Bob) - HOLY FUCK is the siege of Capustan fucking BADASS.



 Dude, just WAIT till you get to House of Chains, and you meet Toblakai. You're gonna flip, trust me. 


As an aside, I just started a new series (waiting for the next Malazan book) that really seems promising. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. It's book one in a new series called The Kingkiller Chronicle. Pretty interesting so far.


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## Chris (May 11, 2007)

A couple of buddies of mine from Europe already have Reaper's Gale, and they say it's fucking fantastic.

I should finish MOI this weekend, if not next week absolutely. The shit with the Children of the Dead Seed is just completely fucking twisted.


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## the.godfather (May 11, 2007)

I've just ordered the first and the second book in this series, after hearing all this fucking cool stuff about it. I couldn't resist anymore. And I don't currently have a "main read" at the moment, so this should do me for a while now.

Can't wait to start getting into it.


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## The Dark Wolf (May 11, 2007)

You'll love it.


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## Chris (May 16, 2007)

This series needs to be renamed Malazan Book Of The Fucking Awesome.

Every book just gets impossibly better than the last.


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## Chris (Jun 6, 2007)

Yo Bob!

I finished HoC and got about 50 pages into MoI last night. 

Spoilers!



Spoiler



I loved the ending "battle" of HoC. The ascended BB's coming back and kicking ass, along with Coltaine's Crow Clan standard sticking out of the pit full of Dogslayer corpses was fucking super-badass and damn rewarding.  I would have liked to see Tavore realize that Sha'ik was Felisin, but in true Erikson form, he's not afraid to throw the total curveball.

And I friggin dig the hell out of Karsa.  Too many badass moments to list in this book, like the rest. I especially dug the part with Cotillion coming in and saving (impressing) Kalam as well.



As far as MoI, (you can read this, Bob, teeny spoiler for anyone who hasn't read it but nothing MoI-spoilerish:



Spoiler



If you recall the end of HoC, Trull Sengar is sitting down to tell Onrack and the other Imass his tale. MoI is that tale.



First sentence:



Memories of Ice said:


> From the twisting, smoke-filled clouwd, blood rained down.



Yes.


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## Chris (Jun 6, 2007)

The Dark Wolf said:


> Dude, just WAIT till you get to House of Chains, and you meet Toblakai. You're gonna flip, trust me.



You were right.  I think in the later books his story and Icarium's get told in quite some detail. I've also read that Kalam totally fucking rapes the world in Bonehunters.

[action=Chris]can't fucking wait. [/action]


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## sakeido (Jun 10, 2007)

I just finished Deadhouse Gates. Man, that was quite a story. The Chain of Dogs was too intense for its own good, but all the plot threads were equally interesting. This is what the Wheel of Time series should have been. What happens to Duiker again? Has he popped up again yet?


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## Ancestor (Jun 21, 2007)

I haven't read anything for fun since Lemmy's autobiography. So, I checked out House of Chains from the public library. Pretty good. The last fantasy stuff I read was David Eddings. This has me interested in following a series again.


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## Vegetta (Jun 25, 2007)

I picked up the first book - pretty decent so far.


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## sakeido (Jul 22, 2007)

I just picked up a copy of Bonehunters. Kalam is doing some intense posing on the cover and its softcover already! Only $12 yeah! Anybody else picked it up yet?


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