MALAZAN DESTROYS MY LIFE pt. 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
- Malazan Book Of The Fallen has consumed my soul. Let's Talk About Gardens Of The Moon, Deadhouse Gates, and Memories Of Ice.
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Do you want Malazan to destroy your life?
Get the books here:
Gardens of the Moon - amzn.to/38iKFmA
Deadhouse Gates - amzn.to/2qBjz9k
Memory of Ice - amzn.to/2PpiBoV
It does. When you think your happy again it breaks your heart all over again
do one video per book or much longer video
You should have read book 4. Book 1 and 3 related, Book 2 and 4 are related (similar to 1 and 3), Book 5 is once again that drop into a whole new location with all new characters. All the various parts slowly come together for the last.5 books, with what was l, for me, a satisfying conclusion.
I had heard you mention Malazan a few times and actually started Gardens Of the Moon same time you began a reread, I've had fewer distractions but I'm on The Bonehunters and I have to say I really love this world, not gonna slow down till its done. I'm really into the world and scale in my fantasy and Malazan kills it for me in that.
Much appreciation for a indirect recommend and look forward to the review of the next set.
(Also, Chain of Dogs)
@@benjaminmcallister4185 Chain of Freakin Dogs man!! 😭
Naive Daniel: "I will do this series in three videos"
Me: *Laughs in Esslemont books, Kharkanas trilogy, and upcoming witness trilogy.*
Kharkanas IS. SO. GOOD!
@@neriumsuitedher
Small brain = Wanting Erikson to release the god is not willing.
Normal brain = Wanting Erikson to release walk in shadow.
Large brain = Wanting Erikson to release a bridgeburner prequel.
Galactic brain = Wanting Erikson to release a book thats just about Kruppe, Tehol, Iskaral and Ammanas playing Cluedo.
@@sernoddicusthegallant6986 That, but add Sgt Hellian and her corporal!
@@sernoddicusthegallant6986 Bridgeburner is the most small brain option, its the obvious populist choice
Isnt Kharkanas going unfinished because it isnt selling?
The Chain of Dogs is 100% the best subplot of the entire series. I enjoyed it more than any other, and it completely broke my heart.
Completely agree with you. I'm not one to tear up reading fantasy, but the Chain of Dogs absolutely slaughtered me. Coltaine forever.
Beak at the end of Reapers Gale made me cry.
@@captgeesh5163 Yes, right there with you. Beak's tale ruined me and made me love Hood by the end of it.
@@mcinnisboy Hood is the kind of Lord of the dead that I can really get behind. He has dassen ultor as his champ for God's sake and dessembre is the real deal
Just reading this comment broke my heart again.
And I've read all three times already...
Straight face: I loved Gardens of the Moon, and devoured it without trouble. Did I completely follow the plot? No, but well enough. I see how it could be difficult, though.
That was often the case for me in the series... Had to reread a bit sometimes... But it was well worth it.
That was my exact experience with it. And I actually liked being confused at times. It made me step up the level of my concentration as a reader.
Same. A close friend and I both read the series almost concurrently and both agree that Gardens was one of the best. And its strange to us that so many people think it is the worst. Oh well.
I loved Gardens the first time, but the amazing thing about it is how it is a completely different book when you reread it later after other books in the series. You understand more about the world and the characters and see their actions completely differently.
I read Gardens and actually enjoyed it a lot. I couldn't tell you a damn thing that happened in the book, but I remember enjoying it. Then I got to Deadhouse Gates and felt my enjoyment drop like a stone because none of the characters from Gardens showed up. I ended up dropping out about halfway through with intentions to try again in the future. I just have to find the time to sit down and read.
Same, Daniel. Favorite Malazan book: Memories of Ice. Favorite Malazan "book" book: Chain of Dogs. Coltaine forever.
Coltaine Forever!
WIIIIIICCAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNSSSS
Chain of dogs was, and remains, the greatest thing I've read in 20 years of devoted fantasy reading. Coltain forever baybeeeee
The chain of dogs was such a fantastic and brutal running battle, fist coltaine rules!
Coltaine for Life!!!
Malazan Book of the Fallen is hands down my favourite fantasy series. It's a journey well worth the struggle.
Certainly the deepest most layered lore I've ever come across. The Elder Scrolls 3; Morrowind's lore and especially Kirkbrides's (crazy?) ideas come pretty close.
Have you read Stormlight? I’d love to hear you compare the two.
@@TheAntwain143 Stormlight has been on my "read it already, you s'vit!" list for years. I feel deeply ashamed that I haven't gotten around to it yet.
I LOVED the first book. But then the deadhouse gates, the second book came along and I just couldnt do it man....I suffered for about 60% of the book. And while it had its moments for me, the story just dragged and dragged and the pacing was sooo boooring and slow I just could not finish it. Its realy a shame because I fell in love with the first book and with the world of malazan, but I cant finish the second book so it doesnt even make sense to start reading the rest of the series. I really want to though, but the second book is just a roadblock.
Key word is "struggle" it takes a long time to understand. Then you have to start over.
Gardens of the Moon is one of the best books that I ever read. It never underestimate the reader, it's like a amazing puzzle that changes with each new piece discovered.
With Gardens of the Moon, you have to realise that it was written a good 10 years before the rest of the series and originally began life as a screenplay.
Itkovian's story in Memories of Ice destroyed me. Best fantasy book I've ever read.
One of, if not the greatest fantasy book ever written.
Itkovian is incredible and yeah MoI is the best fantasy book I've read as well
"I am the Shield Anvil, and I am not yet done."
-ITKOVIAN
*Sees Malazan in TBR*.
Me: "chuckles in danger".
Malazan has some of the best bromances in fiction.
Also, the Esslemont books are essential reading. The best way to read the series is with them interspersed with the main series.
Having read Glen Cook's Black Company series, I was partially immunized to the "sink or swim" feeling.
It's not talked about as much, but you're definitely right. Cook does not explain. That's one reason I love his writing.
Black companies way better
@@benalo13 I read black company after my first malazan readthrough... it was extremely boring after the first book and not even close to MBotF
I highly recommend you revist Gardens of the Moon once you finish the entire series. It gives you a whole lot more appreciation for the book as it sets up so many things without you realizing it.
100%
This. The entire series is even better on a re-read. You miss SO much the first time through.
Reading it again. 3rd time and I can’t put it down. I really enjoy the Bridgeburners and the book’s dry humor
I actually love the audio book performance. It was grating at first but I really began to appreciate the effort he put into his performance as it really helped in showing the diversity inherent in such a massive world.
"look at me i used to be web developer, no backups needed"
Yes! I live for people talking about my favorite fantasy series. I'm re-reading Malazan and just imagining what a tv show with the right budget would be like. Just imagine seeing Anomander Rake, the Eel, and the assassins and thieves waging war on the rooftops of Darujhistan with the looming threat of the empire. Also imagine seeing the bridgeburners 🤤
This is one of those books that are potentially unfilmable. Too many important characters, too many storylines; it would be very hard to give the world true depth. Perhaps they could isolate a storyline and follow that but I don't see how adapting the entire series could work
@@neriumsuitedher I've always said that Malazan would best be adapted to video game format. Maybe Elder Scrolls or Witcher-esque in scope. I'd love to have a quasi sandbox approach due to how cyclopean the series is. All the lore and ancient texts. Maybe even incorporate different playable races besides Human. Maybe even different Human cultures. I run away with this idea every time.
It would be amazing if someone could pull it off. I think the huge shift in story line in book two would turn a wide audience off.
Animated adaptations is always the best option to be loyal in fantasy series where they would need a lot of special effects, costumes, travels etc. With half the budget they can make awesome animations like Avatar (Korra's is beautiful). The thing is that dark fantasy fans don't usually like the idea of animated adaptations
They need a little bit more of 1 million to make 20 min animated episodes, that means ~4 million for 1 hour. GoT invested 6 million or more per episode, and still had to cut and change stuff
Edit: actually an average 13 episode anime needs 2 million budget, 3 or 4 if they want to make the animation clean af (like Avatar)
Despite Deadhouse Gates not being my favourite book in the series, The Chain of Dogs is easily one of my favourite segments.
TheSkyIsTeal Drafthouse Gates isn’t my favorite, but it has some of my favorite moments, if that makes sense.
After reading first 5 books.. Midnight Tides is my #1. At first i couldn't get into the story but later.. my god.
I am currently reading book 9 and for me MT was the best so far. Many people say that MOI is the best in the series, but I believe books 5-8 are all slightly better. I really liked MOI btw.
Midnight Tides was my favorite too. I read it in a week, and would have been finished sooner if I didn't require to eat and go to work and all that jazz.
MT was my favorite of the first 5 for sure
Would have liked to see more about hull beddict's backstory and motivation. I get what he was about, but we get a lot of tehol and brys and understand those character 100%, but I don't feel the same about hull. I get that hull wants to burn it down and hates what he has been turned into, but he doesn't feel so well fleshed out as his brothers. Would also like to see a beddict family prequel.
I remember starting it and being like "god damnit another whole new cast and cultures to figure out." One of the wildest rides I've ever had. He could have made that book twice as long and I'd be even happier.
I've not read Malazan but the more I hear about it the more I'm curious about it.
I think this might be just the thing for me.
It is a journey and honestly I had a hard time reading anything else after I finished it. It been a year since I finished and I'm just now getting into other books. It is so good that I didn't think it was fair to compare anything else to it. Toll of the hounds is a philosophical masterwork along the lines of Dune. Blew my mind.
@@captgeesh5163 Toll the Hounds is absolutely brilliant. I'm halfway through my first read of Dust of Dreams and I'm also being constantly blown away by its relevance and references to several geopolitical and social issues around the world.
It is by far the most complex and epic thing I've ever read and my favorite fantasy series by a mile. The sheer scale and epicness is unlike anything else. The start can be a bit difficult because you're just thrust right in the middle of it and not much is explained. But don't worry, everything will become clear with time. It's incredibly rewarding.
If you have the determination to power through it, then you'll be very glad once you do.
Be warned though: it's in no way exagerated how dificult it is until you get into it. It's woth it though.
Daniel,
I started reading this series earlier this year, in May, and I am now on book 6, The Bonehunters. I actually subscribed to your channel specifically because of your original review of Gardens of the Moon since I found it helpful in my assessment of whether or not I should start reading the series.
Each time I finish a book, I wonder if I will have the strength to read another, as well as the time and the mental capacity when balancing life and work and social relationships, ha. I am very comfortable saying, while still at the beginning of book six, that this series will be the single greatest undertaking of reading for a “single” narrative that I have ever experienced.
Watching this video makes me want to go back and re-read the first novel to better appreciate everything I have come to experience and understand in this world. Do keep up with the series because I appreciate your takes on the three books so far. I’ll let you know my thoughts in subsequent reviews when you eventually catch up with me. :)
bonehunters one of the best books
I developed liking for Rake in GOTM, the scene where he meets Paran, and kills the two Hounds - from then on I realized that the demons or non-humans have human traits and this is where I turned another corner with the book... can't wait for the next in the series
I’m glad this series is taking off. I came a bit late to it and read it through the first in in ‘12. I’ve re-read it and have convinced a couple friends to read it through too.
By far my favorite fantasy series.
I plowed through Gardens of the Moon the first time I read it, and after seeing the potential of the series, started re-reading it a few weeks later and enjoyed it so much more because I understood the world and magic so much more.
I completed this series recently, and I felt pretty much the same way about the first chapters, except that I found the story of the Chain of Dogs in Deadhouse Gates especially intense and gripping. For this reason, part two has stood out in my memory, not to mention how often it's referred to in the later chapters.
Here, here. Chain of Dogs wrecked me. Like, grinning and ugly crying at the same time, wrecked.
Love your content man, keep the reviews coming helps me pick out my next reads
I can only imagine the dedication you have to undertake such a task. Please post all the Malazan Book Reviews. Such a huge win for the channel. Daniel is my go to for high fantasy and sci-fi recommendations
This is the review I have been waiting for. Thanks Daniel. I think the 'issue' with gardens of the moon is that he really does drop you in the middle of an existing story and says 'keep up'. This takes a while but when (and if) you persevere and it finally clicks then it is so so rewarding. I understand completely why some people get turned off but for me it's the best fantasy series around.
I loved my first reading of gardens of the moon. I didn't find it a hard read at all, i love being thrown into the middle of it, so much of is it as a mystery and that was part of the drive for me to get into the next book. Hoods hairy balls man what a mind erikson has! Great review buddy, great seeing reviews on my favourite series.
I'm so glad you're making Malazan progress!! Can't wait for part 2
If you don't want to do split reviews, consider including a spoiler section in the 2nd half of the vid.
I know several reviewers that do this. If it's clearly marked (maybe with a mid-card?), it can work great.
@@nathanhall9345 Good to see ya around, Nathan! 😀
Glad you came back to it. My favorite series.
I had to stop reading everything for awhile to get other parts of my life on track, but I will return to this series and others like it, love your reviews.
I came up with this “Name” because the Rope is my favorite character in the series
I don’t know what you mean.... 😏
Nice stuff. Memories is indeed special as it’s the climax of the first act of the story. I consider House of Chains the start of act 2, and it is definitely one of my favorites, especially in hindsight. The series just continues to build upon its self and get better and better.
The setup that is missing in Gotm is exactly the thing, that made me love the series.
Jan P not every book needs a Watson.
Subscribed. Can’t wait to hear about the rest of this journey for you. It’s my favorite book series ever. Something else crazy, I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but I read somewhere that Erikson wrote Gardens and then immediately started MOI. About halfway through, his computer died and he lost all of it. So, he angrily started over and wrote Deadhouse Gates instead. Sucks for him at the time, but awesome for us. Not sure the series would be what it is if that hadn’t happen. Enjoy the ride and get ready to Witness!
By far the best series in fantasy. The epicness, the scope, the depth, everything is just insane.
I'm just starting a second read through of Malazan Book of the fallen in 2020! What a way to start the decade!
I did not know that I needed this channel in my life.
I'm not sure how TH-cam knew I had started this series or why it thought to put this in my recommendations, but I'm happy it did. Spoiler-free review well-appreciated! I'm nearly through Deadhouse Gates, and I love it. Knowing that book 3 brings everything together is a relief. I hope to see more of Sorry in the future, her story line is... well, you had it right with intriguing. My personal favorite character. I'll be checking out your other reviews, thanks!
I'm glad you picked up MBOTF again! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the other 3 books - House of Chains, Midnight Tides and The Bonehunters which is considered to be fan favorites.
I just recently re-read The Bonehunters this year after a long hiatus in reading the books and it's just so freakin' good. It sparked something in me to continue the series. Now I'm on Toll the Hounds and hellbent to finishing the series.
I'm listening to the Audible version of the series starting from The Bonehunters and maybe until the end. I wonder if you also listened to this version because if so, I agree on your comments regarding it.
Also, I would like to recommend this blog called Malazan Reread of the Fallen on Tor.com. They have a chapter by chapter no spoiler summary, commentary, discussion and analysis. Malazan books are really really dense and one tends to miss things on a first read. The blog helped me see things that I missed and sometimes helped me understand chapters that are just too difficult. It's also fun to read people's comments and reactions on certain scenes that are just longing to be discussed (there's a lot).
MBOTF is a difficult series but it is ultimately rewarding.
Now, read on and WITNESS!
Awesome series. Thanks for spreading the word.
It's always amazing when some reads the series. The first 3 books are great but the emotion that comes from the rest is un matched.
Audio voices are soooo important to me. Thank you fro sharing.
These books were made to be reread. Erikson has said that himself and now that I am going back and rereading them I can 100% verify that they are even better on a second read since you pick up so much more and aren't as concerned with just following the plot.
I also enjoy both Malazan narrators (they go from Ralph Lister to Michael Page after book 3) but I don't recommend the audiobooks for a first read unless you can devote 100% of your attention to them or are willing to go back and read chapter recaps like the Tor reread. It's so easy to get lost and reading the physical books makes it easier to pick up on the subtext that really sets Malazan apart.
Agreed. Upon reread Malazan became my favourite fantasy series by far. The magic system, the setting, the characters, the climactic endings (OMG).
Though it would be very hard to reread. Due to length and hard language
@@arte0021 Really the most daunting thing is getting started on it. Once you're in it doesn't let go
@@WH1SK3YJ4CK when i first came across the Malazan series, i bought the first 2 books, because i knew the first one was hard to get into. And if i spent money on something means i have to read it now. So i forced myself through the first book and by the second i wanted to read the rest
Idk how I feel about starting the series now. Considering reading a series of this magnitude is so hard for me, idk if I wanna start a series this big that can only be fully enjoyed on a reread
It took me a while before I finally decided to pick up GotM, but once I did, I was super glad. I loved it and couldn't wait to read more. I love how in the series as a whole, Erikson was weaving a web (as opposed to telling a straightforward, linear story) before pulling everything together later in the series. Toll the Hounds is probably my favorite book overall. I loved that the last 200 pages was just one massive climax. I absolutely could not put it down.
It's been about 8 years since I finished reading the series. Time to re-read...
Took me about 5 years to get through 19 books. I was able to get through them by understanding they were written to make the reader feel as if they were in the army with the characters. They were thrown into a campaign without knowing what or why, just had to trust their commander and fellow soldiers. Eventually they will get to their objective.
The only criticism I had was that after a while the various soldiers were basically just blending together. There were so many army characters, I couldn't tell them apart by book 9.
I was looking forward to you covering this, Daniel, and I pretty much agree with you on everything you said, other than Deadhouse being close to MOI. MOI is one of my favourite ever books. It's spectacular. DG is good but doesn't come close imo, but I do particularly love the atmosphere established throughout the first third of that book. You can almost feel the unrest and the first sparks of rebellion across the continent jumping off the page.
I can't speak about the whole series because I'm only almost finished Midnight Tides on my first read of the series, which might be my favourite after MOI so far, but I think I can say without being too spoilery that if the jumping around geographically and the introduction of swathes of new characters is frustrating, well, get used to it over the next two books at least. For this reason it might have made sense to actually go with the first four in this video given the location and events of House of Chains.
And speaking of HOC, I'll be interested to see your reaction to it because for me it's my least favourite so far. I can't get into specifics or even be general because of potential spoilers, but honestly, I hated pretty much everything about it. It almost inspired me to give up on the series. If it wasn't for the memory of how spectacular MOI was and the quality Midnight Tides I might have lost faith, but now I'm glad I didn't.
One piece of advice I would give to new Malazan readers is to be prepared to take breaks and read something else every three books or so, preferably non-fantasy as well imo. Something with some simple prose, or even something light-hearted. If I have one serious criticism of the series and the writing style it's that the heavy, esoteric philosophical proselytizing from just about every character can be completely overbearing at times imo, and for me at least I needed a break.
Thanks for this. Malazan is on my shortlist and I'm definitely going to hit it up.
Awesome recap. I have read the series 3 times now and counting...
This is the series where reading the books a second time gives you the biggest reward. I do this to the extreme: I read every new book twice and only then go to the next one. That second read through is so much better!
I'm on my 5th reread of the series. I love them so so much.
The roller-coaster ride has only just begun. Book 4 is my personal favorite because it introduces Karsa Orlong, who is one of my favorite characters in all fantasy. It jumps back to the Seven Cities and then book 5 goes into a COMPLETELY new story with entirely new characters on a new continent. It doesn't really all start coming together until about book 7, lol. Its so fun, I love it and have read it twice. I'm itching for another reread but I'm trying to hold off as long as I can.
Thank you for reccomending this series. It's going to take several rereads to see everything.
Also, I love Kruppe.
"Kruppe is overjoyed that his meagre skills are appreciated."
Very excited about this because am just about to finish Memories of Ice! Woohoo
Great review Daniel! Loved your description of Rake as a bit of a bro lol.
Perhaps House of Chains will do for Deadhouse Gates what Memories of Ice did for Gardens for you, or at least make it feel like less of a side quest. I hope so anyway, it’s quite a divisive book in the fandom though.
Can’t wait to hear your take on my personal favs Bonehunters and Toll the Hounds!
Just finished Gardens of the Moon, enjoyed it immensely and I'm looking forward to reading Deadhouse Gates . As someone who enjoys jumping headlong into different universes I think I'm going to keep enjoying the whole ride.
Personally, I absolutely loved the first book. It gave me this jump into the unknown, and I always love discovering the world. Plus Anomander Rake is a boss.
But I think the moment I began appreciating this masterpiece was when I began reading about (spoilers, maybe) the Chain of Dogs. That was so interesting!
Absolutely
this makes me want to reread the series. i loved the payoff of the whole thing a lot
I'm surprised this randomly popped up on my feed considering I've just finished Dust of Dreams and started The Crippled God. You're totally right about the first read through of Gardens Of The Moon. I felt like I enjoyed it waaay more the 2nd and 3rd time around considering I had a better understanding of what was going on. Dead House Gates was frustrating simply because I had become invested in the characters of the first book only to have to take this 'side quest' elsewhere before returning in Memories Of Ice, which to me is my favorite (best?) book in the series along with Gardens Of The Moon. My biggest gripe with Erickson's style of storytelling is his refusal to stay with a set group of characters and POV from book to book, so while you may become intrigued by a certain character in one book they most likely won't be there for the next one, Paran and Silver fox are the perfect example of this. Either way great review dude.
The final 500 pages of this fantastic series, where for me the best piece of literature I have ever read..EVER! The way ot closes the chains of stories is superb!
Great review, I'm a big fan of Malazan and the world it's probably my absolute favorite but it's definitely a series that most people would need to work a little harder at to get in it, but man once you do you don't ever want to let it go.
Thank you for this. I put Gardens down and then decided to pick it up later and wasn’t thrilled by it. I decided not to continue the series until your review. I am going to give Deadhouse Gates a try.
Thanks for starting these reviews!
Though you'll probably won't do it because of all the other books there are to be read, I'd love to see you reviewing it again, after reading it a second or even third time. Malazan has such a great re-read potential.
!0,000 pages of nihilistic beauty! The series is an ultra marathon journey through the exploration of the idea that individual human suffering is ignored in the face of an uncaring cosmos. But damn there are beautiful moments along the way.
No Malazan fan can deny that it is a struggle with a straight face...
*Me, handing Gardens of the Moon to a friend with a sweet smile*
"Here, have this, you are going to love it"
*Turns and walks away while pulling up the hood of the cloak, laughing maniacally*
Lol, underrated
Chain of Dogs was one of the coolest book concepts of all time. You could see what was coming from all the way across the continent and that still didn't deaden the shock.
I have never made it best book 4 though as I always fizzle out. ADHD is pretty...squirrel!
I never understand where all the negative talk comes from for gardens of the moon. I absolutely loved it. It wasn't hard hard or a struggle. I couldn't put it down.
I totally agree, but I think I know why. Some people don't like feeling lost or they feel like they need to understand what is going on. Different learning/reading styles.
Can't wait to see your reactions to when everything finally comes together. I've just read book 7 a few weeks ago and it's mindblowing how Erikson connects all the dots. The pay-off is gigantic.
And the hilarious thing is the reader will not understand what the entire series is about until sometime in the 10th book.
@@frutrace Just finished book 2 and I'm guessing the Chained God is going to be the main antagonist.
@@joshuafischer684 :) I can neither confirm nor deny your hypothesis.
I always find it funny how people look at Gardens of the moon. I loved it, read it in one day because I couldn't put it down. I bought the next three books the next day because I didn't want to wait to read the rest of it. I never found it a struggle to read the first book. But maybe it was because I never felt as if I was left floundering in the world he described or confused about what was happening.
Read the series in 3 months. Those 3 months where some of the best of my life...
Also as far as gardens of the moon being a struggle to read through, I don’t think the book as whole as being too difficult, the problem mostly comes from the sudden jump to Darujhistan midway through the book.
Here not only is the reader introduced to a totally new location with only brand new characters, but you also have bizzare sequences like Kruppe’s dreams (which are important, but not explained well) and randomly jumping to perspective of an alien crow. Oh and all of this happens pretty much at once.
So yeah that to me is what causes malazan to lose a lot readers. I just think Erickson was trying to prove how smart he was here, without doing enough to make it actually fun to read.
PS I would drop the notion that dead house gates is merely the “sidequest” of the series, a lot more will come out of the seven cities.
I couldn't follow the first few chapters and quit reading. There's no introduction to anything, and there's too much new stuff for me to be able to start up book 1 and enjoy it, let alone follow any sort of a plot line. I tried to keep up by listening a chapter at a time on the audiobook and then reading a summary of the chapter so I could make sure I was understanding what was going on, but that's way too much work to try to enjoy a book. If I wanted that kind of a challenge, there are a lot of complex books out there, I can just pick some book from the middle of a series and start in the middle of the book.
Erikson has said that he was writing Memories of Ice and that the data got corrupted. He was angry and didn’t want to restart that and so wrote Deadhouse Gates instead, before coming back to do Memories of Ice again.
Just a little info on why it happened that way.
@@peterlarson233 i think your problem comes from how the book's written, not its overall plot structure. In the introduction we are told the basics of the Malazan empire (who rules it, why, and that it conquers other places). We are also given some notable figures, the basics on who the Malazans are fighting, and a quick rundown on the bridgeburners. We also know quite a lot about Paran, and he serves as the audience's perspective. All the information is there, its just written in way that some might consider unnecessarily confusing (particularly in describing the Malaza, Genabackis campaign.
@gorgoroth1919 What you've just described is literally the opposite of world-building: world building is ALL about context. The lack of info-dumps and exposition centered dialogues - that are the usual tools of world-building, and provide context to events - is precisely what people complain about, that sensation of feeling lost in a story in media res. So if anything it's a demonstrable *lack* of world-building that people struggle with...
Your desktop gives me anxiety... that said i love your videos, it really does help in picking up my next book!
I'm just watching this now, haven't checked if you've reviewed the rest of the series yet... Your frustration is exactly what I was feeling... Until I realized that I was reading sub plots as if they were the main plot.
Gardens was hard to get through, but then I read Deadhouse Gates and was hooked. Chain of Dogs, I think, is some of my favorite stuff. Though parts of the Worm hit some of that. But Memories of Ice is my favorite, I think. Those Gray Swords and Itkovian... Great stuff.
I just finished Midnight Tides and I might have liked it even more than Memories of Ice! And don’t worry, the plot of Deadhouse Gates will get woven back into the overall story
Exactly...."I have no idea what happened.". That was my experience with book 1, and it sapped my ability to continue with book 2.
fcentauri8 Same. I wanted to love it, but I just couldn’t. I still own the first three books so perhaps I’ll give it a try another time. But for now I’m super salty about GotM. I couldn’t enjoy it almost at all. I think some parts are good and have potential but, ehh.
@@daniellegreen3817 Careful with the second book, unless you have no issue with ten thousand people getting crucified.
I do wish these would be more in depth and include themes and more. Maybe the spoiler review is coming soon? I’ve been impressed by many of your other reviews but never your Malazan reviews. Also, the third book is “Memories of Ice” plural. I kept hearing you say “Memory” but maybe I misheard.
Cheers, love your videos. Excited for more of all that you do.
Great review!
I also agree with your assessment of GotM. I honestly think it needs an anniversary edition rewrite to flesh it out a bit more and fix some lore issues with later books.
I also have issues with Lister's performance. His voice for Kalam was unforgivable, although his Kruppe and Rake were amazing.
Fun fact: MoI was supposed to be 2nd, but the word processor he was using crashed during editing and he lost it all. He was so upset that he had to write DhG to cool off.
So excited that you liked Malazan so far. Books 2 and 3 are one of my top books of all time. The rest of the series is amazing also. Malazan changed my life and is still the high bar of fantasy IMO.
Can't wait for you to fall in love with Malazan!
Whiskeyjack and Anomander were some of my faves as well. But, no mention of Quick Ben or Kalam? For shame!
I agree with your comment about the audiobook....I have it and tried to get through it, but stopped pretty early on. I've tried getting through the rest of Gardens of the Moon now. Hopefully I can push through as people really do talk about how great the rest of the series can be.
I'm a big fan of this series and I think that this is a very fair review.
Starting at book 4 they change the audiobook reader so you may want to check it out again.
Yeah the change is super jarring at first, but once you've grieved over the old character voices, it's much much better.
@@jholyhead yea the change from t'lan imass to t'lan e-mass messed me up for a while
I read the first 3 and started audio/ebook on the following books. Absolutely loved the narration. Might try the GotM audiobook to see what the difference is
if you're nervous about spoilers you could do a spoiler free section at the beginning of the vid that is an overview of your opinions and thoughts but then go into a section that delves a little deeper and includes as many spoilers as you see fit. regardless, your reviews are great and i've picked up so many new favourites thanks to your recommendations so thanks!
For me, Malazan is a series that is worth pushing through despite the issues in its storytelling and abundant of characters that aren't too focused much on. But I'd still say the world, scope and pay off are still worth pushing/reading through. It still has the most original world/lore in fiction.
Not sure if you cover this in another video but Steven Erikson mentions two things in the forward for Gardens of the moon that I think speaks to your experience somewhat. 1. the series started as a roleplaying game (I'm sure everyone knows this by now) and 2. The first book was originally intended to be a movie script. Erikson has said that book one most closely sticks to the events of their roleplaying game but his writing speeds way ahead soon after this. I agree that the first book feels disjointed and a little sudden but it's surprising how much you take in. Once you get to Deadhouse Gates all the little references to people, places and things in the first book feel like easter eggs and are super exciting. Great review though, it's awesome to see my favorite series getting so much love.
Malazan is really 3 different stories at the start; with book 3 following book 1, book 4 following book 2, and then book 5 introducing the 3rd major story. Convergences (a significant theme) start within those first few books, but really pick up after 5 as they weave together. It's a bit crazy, but the result is so interesting and large scale.
I agree that GotM in the weakest. Knowing that it was originally a screenplay for a film makes a lot of sense with how it's lacking as a novel compared to DHG and the rest of the series -- it feels a lot more reading a movie.
Great that you're enjoying the series, Daniel, and great videos!
I adore the ending to book 2. Fantastic.
Love it, great stuff
Hello Daniel, how are you? After seeing this i got even more hyped to read Memories of Ice, that's hard for me now cause my english is not good enough to understand everything.
Toll the hounds is my favourite in the series and Gardens of the Moon is my second because I loved the sense of mystery and being lost.
i think ima jump into your Patreon. love the outro btw
I had the very same issues with Gardens of the Moon and failed to get through it. I will hit it again due to your recommendation and review. Thx!!! :)
LOL, just saw a bunch of your videos on the Witcher, liked em. Thought: Hey, has he read Malaz yet?
And here we are.
Happy weekend reading to u!!!
Great video overall, thank you for making it. I enjoyed it as I usually enjoy your content. Ooooooone nitpick that irked me throughout the whole video though is that book 3 is not called "memory of ice" it is called "Memories of Ice" which while forgiveable, seems like a pretty big faux pas to make when reviewing the book. Anyway, great video.
I've just started Malazan this very weekend. I am blown away by the depth of the universe and the cheer rush I get reading through it and wondering wtf is even happening. 10/10 would recommend again.
I am in book two. I love reading it, but I can’t read very much at a time. I have to put it down and get my bearings, but I’m always excited to pick it up again.
I think I read somewhere that Erikson was in the Iowa Writers Workshop.
Book three is my favorite in the series.The ending was spectacular! Also with the narrator after the third book they switched narrators and I personally think he did a better job.
What narrator? These books are in third person
@@arte0021 I am talking about the narrator on audible books.
Right now i'm reading House of Chains, and i know it will take years to finished them all... being such a complex history and the fact that english isn't my first language, i have to take some time between books but i'm loving it. Deadhouse Gates is by far my favorite, that scene with the butterflies it's just
I’m on Xmas break soon - these books are definitely a high priority for this break: summer weather bedamned!