Agree, Malazan is more accessible than people think, well, from my experience anyway. Definitely one of my favourite books I've read this year so far. Currently on Book 5.
@@r1ddhima Well, specifically it was either the epilogue or the last chapter beforehand (been a minute). There's like a couple demon monkeys that show up to the road outside Aren and go to the crucifix with Duiker on it. They discuss being sent by Baruk to basically gather his soul up. You can tell it's him because his body has the note from the female veteran soldier he was having a thing with. Easy to miss, but it's for sure there. Malazan in general has kind of a weird relationship with death that's a lot to get into
Can't wait for the debrief and your & Andy's takes on everything! The Prologue, Toc-Tool, Gruntle-Stonny, Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, the K'Chain Che'Malle, the Pannion Domin & the Tenescowri, the Barghast, the T'lan Imass and Itkovian & the Grey Swords: So much that is just epic, heartbreaking, weird and/or simply messed up!
Great review! Re:death/resurrection -- this will get more play throughout the series (including Kharkanas if you persevere that far!) and fleshed out in ways not totally expected. Interested to see how you feel about the next two books in particular! Book 5 (Midnight Tides) has slowly crept up my list of favourites after each re-read.
Great point made about the relationships between parents and children and I didn't contrast those 3 at the time, probably due to the shock of how some of those scenes are written. Looking forward to more of you reviews as the series moves along. I'm on to book 4 after a little break of something lighter.
Love your Malazan vids! The other books you read just aren't really anywhere near my reading list -- except WoT, which is more of a cross to bear than an interest at this point. This is all probably a "me" problem, but just letting you know that your Malazan vids are top notch, and if your other vids touched on my interests I would absolutely watch them! Dark and twisted with a hint of respite is a wonderful way to describe Malazan. I will say, at least, that Erikson really sets up character resurrections. I can't think of one that surprised me where I couldn't go back and respekognize where it came from.
I would definitely agree that it’s not hard to read but this was easily the book I understood the least. Between the mybhe, the imas stuff, the ghost stuff and the master of the deck I was so confused lol. I just learned to accept confusion with Malazan.
I think the confusion is often on purpose though, like every series will have elements introduced but not immediately explained. Acceptance is the way to go lol
There was a lot more to Duiker and his resurrection in book 2 than you might think. And not just in a reread kind of obvious way, but there are definitely elements to notice.
Yes, that definitely slipped my mind. It seems that the resurrection stuff is more of an intentional thing so I'll be more on my feet about it as I keep reading on
@@TheCrazyCanuck420 I'm only up to the same book as Riddhima, so I really don't think it's spoilers. I thought there were some clear aspects left the idea of it being possible in book 2 and then basically confirmed when you see him in this one.
I'm on Deadhouse Gates on a first Malazan read and not encountering difficulties. I didn't have any issues with Gardens of the Moon either. Not everything needs to be served on a platter. The Iliad started in media res, so it's an honorable tradition. I don't like an author hand-holding or spoonfeeding me information that they think I need to know. Don't tell me, show me. Build it into the world and don't overexplain it as if if you don't trust your reader. It's even worse if an author feels they must overexplain everything in an epilogue: it's not the story winding down; it's the author's insecurity showing, wanting to make sure the reader caught very last bit of their intention.
Bingo, I don't like a plot spoon fed to me either but unfortunately many do and that's probably why Malazan isn't as big as it is today. If you have ever seen HBO's "The Leftovers" there are people that love it because you don't know what the heck is happening until 2/3rds in or you hate it for the same reason. I feel the people that love that show (me) will love Malazan as well. I can't remember where on RU-vid I saw it but Steven Erikson describes this quite well and he doesn't exactly say spoon feeding is like treating the audience like children but that's the first thing that popped into my mind while he was describing it.
Since you are on House of Chains you might find this Malazan world map on a globe handy: www.maptoglobe.com/BkLNp_0VL It made visualizing the movements in Memories of Ice easier for me and there is a lot more travel in the next book.
@@r1ddhima You are welcome. I'm not sure how I found that map, but the guy that created the 2D map put a lot of work into it given the details it shows. When I was approaching the end of Memories of Ice I was tracing Caladan Brood/One Arm's army all the way to Coral and at the same time Lady Envy's little killer squad and at the end was thinking this is either going to be really good or horrifying :) I can't wait until you wrap up House of Chains, it feels like a 2nd part of the entire book series and I found it much easier to follow than the first two books (just like Memories of Ice). I'm so glad your channel and others convinced me to read this series when I gave up on waiting for ASoIAF it was down to this and a Wheel of Time and I think I picked a winner here :) (WoT is next up after I get through all the Malazan books which is gonna take a while). The funny thing is I probably should have read Lord of the Rings or one of the other default fantasy stories but I decided to jump straight to a black belt and read Malazan.... hopefully that doesn't ruin all the other great works since I have high hopes for Dresden Files, The First Law, WoT, etc....
@@r1ddhima Was looking around for my old comment and just found it. In midnight tides this will come super handy in the 2nd half. It'll be really handy before hand but when it comes to midnight tides this is an important differance. once you get there it'll be book nirvana so enjoy the trip. Riddima, I recommend finishing the book before releasing anything since your video releases are so on point that I hate reading ahead of you. Go with the 4th book flow, trust me, you'll see what I mean in the long run.
Glad to hear you're not a huge fan of whiskeyjack. I've read this series thrice but never seem to like whiskeyjack whatsoever I think he's overrated tbh
