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Happy New Year & great video! I made a promise to myself to finish Malazan this year, after starting it in past years, and I am currently reading MIDNIGHT TIDES and loving it! Thanks for encouraging others to read this outstanding series, and providing viewers with some excellent insights into why they should read it!

I stalled early last year half way through Memories of Ice. I have re read up to that point recently and have been making good progress. Hoping to dedicate most of my reading this year to Malazan. If I stay diligent I may finish. I am a slower reader though and am mostly concerned with enjoying the journey.

My goal for 2025 is to finish the Main 16! Currently finishing up Return of the Crimson Guard and then onto Toll the Hounds!

Every time I listen to you talk about Malazan, I become more and more excited and interested in reading it! I'm definitely going to start this year and likely soon. Thank you for the advice and information and for sharing your passion!

Hi! John here! I just realised you are doing the same Malazan re-read that I finished just a few weeks ago! Namely re-reading the main series while incorporating the Esslemont books. I hope we can discuss this in more detail further on, but my main takeaways was that House of Chains grew on me and went from my least favorite of the main series to my top favorite. Did not see that one coming. It seems our opinions on Return of the Crimson Guard differs a bit though. I had a very hard time getting through the book, almost DNF'd Esslemont's series right there. By far my least favorite of any Malazan-related books. Very glad I didn't quit though as his writing improved significantly after that. I also read his 4 prequel books, which I enjoyed even more than his Novels of the Malazan Empire. I felt like the books centered on the Crimson Guard was Esslemont trying to write as Erikson, whereas the prequels (and night of knives) was Esslemont finding his own voice and the floodgates then opened. Haven't read Kharkanas or the witness trilogy yet though due to me avoiding starting series that aren't finished (GRRM taught me that lesson the hard way) As for 2025, the Dandelion Dynasti is a top prority, heard so much good stuff about it. As for Abercrombie, it get's progressively better with every single installment. Happy New Year!

Found your channel from Malazan but also enjoy these vlog type videos! I'm from the US but haven't read Walden by Henry David Thoreau but it looks like something I would enjoy for a change of pace. I also practice yoga and meeditation. Sun eater series is also on my list but I might not get around to it until late 2025! Happy New Year

Great video and Happy New Year! I really enjoy this vlog type format of your channel. It was fun and interesting to hear about your reading journey last year and how you went outside of your normal reading comfort zone to try new things. I tend not to read sci-fi, but your videos are making me more and more curious about the Suneater series, so I think I'll give it a try this year. My reading highlights for 2024 were finishing the Discworld City Watch series and the First Law trilogy and reading the Sword of Kaigen, Cirece, and Tress and the Emerald Sea. I also really got a lot out of reading Four Thoussand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. In 2025, I look forward to finishing the Ryiria Revelations and the Faithful and thr Fallen, reading some dark academiastand-alonee books, and starting a new Discworld series. And most excitingly, I am going to start Malazan Book of the Fallen!

Looking forward to another Cam interview. Wishing you great success for 2025

Interesting video and topic! I definitely enjoy witnessing a battle from multiple perspectives. The Witcher books did this in an interesting way, where new and/or random characters' point of view would be introduced during a battle to see it from different perspectives. I also really enjoyed how Joe Abercrombie and John Gwynne did battles too, often swapping between 2-3 different main characters who are involved in the battle. The strategy video game nerd in me also loves getting the bug picture perspective of a battle too, like in the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. It's cool to read the various ways authors will depict battle or combat scenes!

Thanks for the update! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the different boos you are reading and watching more of your content in the future!

Great review! I enjoyed watching this and felt I came away with a good idea about the book without ang spoilers. I also appreciated your comparison to the other Malazan books. I haven't read any Malazan books yet, but plan to start soon I hope! I am curious, after reading some of these other Malazab books, would you still recommend starting with Malazan book of the Fallen?

Great video. I've red and liked the book very much, and the other novels in the series are even better, in my opinion, expecially "Assail" and "Stonewielder". I've just finished "Dancer's Lament" wich is also pretty good. Thank you.

I’m on the last 200ish pages of reapers gale right now for my first read of the series.. Crimson Guard is currently waiting on my shelf for after! So this was a perfectly timed video. SO Looking forward to reading Esslemont’s second installment into this universe!!

Lots of good observations, I agree with most of your sentiments and would also add that I think the lead up to the battle is very important to set the tone and groundwork. Reapers Gale is a great example of this with the Bonehunters and the Awl converging on Letheras. Erikson does a great job of making you feel as if you yourself are there whetting your sword in anticipation!!

Cool. Cool.

Great video! I largely agree with your nine points for what makes a fantasy book good to me. I think the biggest for me are (1) having an interesting world with rich history and mythology, (2) having magic involved in the story in some way, (3) an interesting and believable story, (4) that there are some likable characters - I don't need to like ask the characters but at least some. And picking my favourite fantasy books is hard, but Lord of the Rings and the Discworld books would be up there!

Very interesting topic! I haven't compared the starts of books like this, but it really is eye-opening to see how different these introductions are. (Also very cool that you started reading Malice!). I think the introduction is often very important, especially for authors who don't already have a big name. The intro will hook a reader and convince them to keep reading the rest of the book. It also sets up the feel and premise of the story. I've often heard that starting in the middle of some action is a good way to hook a reader, like in The Balde Itself. Or starting with a mystery, like in Malice. I think slower starts like in Tolkien (which I absolutely love) risks losing the reader early on. Personally, I'm happy with any introduction that sets up a cool story or world, even if it is slow.

Interesting discussion. When it comes to writing the start of a book, to me, the advice is always to have a killer opening line that will knock the reader's socks off. The opening line should hint at what the main theme of the story is going to be, it must have a hook, set the tone, and make a promise to the reader. An opening line is a way in to the story for both the reader and the writer. The opening line captures the spirit of the story, its voice and intent and can help remind the writer just what they’re trying to say. But not every writer is going to come up with something like "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." Personally, I think the opening paragraphs are more interesting. As an example the opening paragraphs of 'The Black Company' are dark and glooming with a twist of humour. With 'Gardens of the Moon' I don't know if I'm interpreting correctly, with the benefit of having read the series, but the opening paragraph of the prologue serves an an allegory for the series. Whether the start of a story is bright and optimistic, of dark and foreboding, as long as the opening captures the spirit of the story, its voice and intent , I'll continue reading.

Interesting video! I enjoy hearing your thoughs on Malazan. It's going to be the next series I start once I finish one I'm currently reading.

He stands in light and shadow as he casually wields some of the most powerful books.

All 28!

Currently waiting for the Broken Binding special editions of 1-3!

That hardcover of Gardens of the Moon is beautiful. All my Malazan books are mass print versions. But I have ordered the Broken Binding Hardcovers as collector pieces. Can't wait

Wonderful interview! It was great to hear more about the history behind him and Steven creating this world and writing these books. He seemed like a kind and goos guy too!

I hope you have a great trip with your friends and have some great book discussions! I am also like @A.Campbell and listen to audiobooks a lot while traveling, most especially when driving. When I moved from Arizona to Ontario, I listened to the entire Name of the Wind audiobook, which was amazing and made the 4 day journey much easier. That said, when I travel somewhere I do often bring a book, usually just one to save on space. The last time I had a trip where I could read a lot, I brought Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames and read the whole thing! Traveling can be such a great time for reading!

Interesting topic. I listen to audiobooks on my way to work. Currently I'm listening to Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. It's a different experience. When the book is in a prose style like Sanderson's, it's an enjoyable experience. But for Steven Erikson's style, I much prefer to read and reread to get the full, immersive experience. But, I digress.

I love you Esslemont

Really nice conversation. I'm currently reading "Assail" by mr Esslemont, and loving it. I think I sligthly prefer his style compared to mr Erikson writing, but I've red Erikson only in traslation and Esslemont mostly in original, so the comparison is not accurate. And I think they are both great anyway. I would be very curious to read a sci-fi book from him, I liked "Rejoice by Erikson. Thank you.

So strange, even though I've never heard Ian's voice before it sounds soooo familiar.

I'm so glad that Esslemont has started doing more interviews, it's great to hear his views on the books and writing.

ICE ICE baby

Great interview. Lots of information to digest.

I always love listening to Esslemont, he seems like the nicest guy

Grace of Kings stands out from the series. It’s a build up book, the others have way more focus on characters yet there are action sequences but more politics.

Sorry for the long comment! This was a great video and gave me a lot to think about! Prose is an interesting one for me. I feel like I sometimes have trouble distinguishing simple from complex when thinking about books I've read after the fact. But when I really thought about it more, what I noticed is that the books I've read that are considered to have good prose by others are the ones where I have much more vivid or clear imagery of the world or characters in my mind without looking up art for the book. Whereas those books others consider to have simple or even weak prose, I remember having to look up official or fan art to really help me visualize things. I think books considered to have more complex prose also tend to be books that draw out more complex emotions or make me think a lot more, though I do find that this is not always consistent, as books with simple prose can still make me emotional or think a lot. This whole thought experiment does make me want to learn more about prose. I also think listening to audiobooks can change my perception of the prose, especially with a good narrator who can breathe additional life into a text. Overall though, I like and agree with your point on simple vs complex prose. Both have their pros and cons. A master at simple prose can be just as effective as a master at complex, just in different ways. I am also a huge lore nerd and want to know as much as I can about the world's i read about. I found the First Law books interesting because I did find a fair bit of lore in them but it was delivered in a very different way - mostly through dialogue or characters actively discovering things. It's not at rich as other series' lore, but I enjoyed the unique style in which I learned it. But diving into the lore is one of my favourite things to do with any good series be it book or video game.