I remember reading the battle of Pale for the first time. You read stuff like that at the end of a book, the climax. This came in the 2nd f*cking chapter! couldn't believe it, I knew then that I was in for a long ride.
Right?! So intense. I just finished it for the 3rd time and still picking up on new little bits and pieces... the books are so rich with detail it’s almost crazy!
I loved how snarky The Crone is. She is just a hoot. I also like how the Bridgeburners reconvene after the attempted obliteration. They all seem like real people and that's what makes it so special. ❤
I dont get why everyone is worried about knowing who everyone is and understanding everything (like the magic) from the get go.. just enjoy the ride and figure it out as you go. Just finished chapter 3 and I'm LOVING it. Think about it like a movie.. You dont always understand what is going on at first (in detail) or know who everyone is until some time passes and you get to know the characters personally and the author fills you in The end of chapter 3 was a shock!!! I can't wait to learn more about Ammanas and Cotillion!
@@IskarJarak that makes sense why I don't get it. When I read fiction, I read horror/thrillers and mystery; those genres trained me to be the opposite and enjoy a little confusion lol
I don't think that's the primary reason people get frustrated. It's more like the straw that broke the camals back. I just finished GoTM and as a fantasy veteran I can tell you the part that was making my head spin was the Time-contuinty and pacing! The content is amazing it's just an issue of presentation. People want to remember the names because they are some of the only content they can hold onto.
the destruction from the fall of Pale, the power unleashed by all parties, blew my top. Imagining the ravens flying all at once after the initial attack: details like that, handled so efficiently, without a wasted word, really gave me an appreciation for Erikson.
Watching this playlist as I digest what happened and to see if I missed anything big. I don't feel the need to understand everything but throughout reading I'd stop and ask myself if I could remember who was where and doing what and most of the time I couldn't. I'm along for the ride but it sure is using more brain power than other fantasy books I've read. Favourite part of the seige was basically Hairlock. First having casual conversation while split in half and then becoming a marionette. NO SPOILERS PLEASE I do not accept he is gone
This is very helpful. I am trying to read this series but I really hate not knowing what’s going on so I read the chapter and then listen to the summary. It makes such a difference
I love mage battles, so I enjoyed this chapter even though I wasn’t sure who everyone was (except for their titles) and what exactly was going on. I can see this book series is going to be a big commitment.
These videos are great! I just started reading Gardens of the Moon for the first time and I have found these videos to be a really great resource to keep me up to speed!
I imagine the Warren's as the Multiverse of Malazan and the users consciousness effects the type of Warren they can access depending their individual personality.
Just found your channel and rushing to catch up to where you are currently. Loving this. Also, if you aren’t from Santa Cruz, you certainly fooled me! I love your vibe and slang!
Okay I didn't even notice the whole"hour of blood" thing on my first read. (Just finished GotM) but I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that is gonna come back to bite the malazan badly! "Hour of blood" sounds like a ritual to me and I guarantee you that a ritual that takes that much sacrifice is gonna be NASTYYYY
the battle also serves to set up both the limits of power and a whole bunch of rules for magic, quick ben doing the soul transfer on hairlock sets up siloverfox etc etc etc
Dujek did have that tickle that he might be getting double crossed. Malazan command is notorious for improvising throughout the series, so I don't understand why he didn't get word to his boys in the tunnels to be OUT of those tunnels during this wild ass mage battle gonna go down overhead.
Thanks for these breakdowns! I'm currently starting book 4 and while I understand everything happening, it's hard to remember the details from the books I've already read. The review is super helpful.
I read this book 4 years ago and I wanted to pick up the series again. Of course, I dont remeber shit from the book so I watch these summaries, which are a big help! Since I dont want to reread the whole book again. I got limited time and generally I dont like reading something I already read.
Great job again, very nice summaries. I will soon have completed my first full read including all ICE novels and Path to Ascendency. Currently halfway through Forge of Darkness with Forge of Light lined up next. These videos really help in keeping things fresh in one’s mind as the enormity of the Malazan world can be overwhelming on a first read. Keep up the good work 👍🏾
That is so cool to hear, you’re on the home stretch! I really like the Path to Ascendancy and I think you’re really going to like the Kharkanas Trilogy. It didn’t get huge sales, but I really enjoyed them!
Thank you so much for making these, I began my Malazan journey with MoI (and will always be my fave) back around '02 maybe and its my favourite ever series. These vids have convinced me to reread. When will we get some sort of film/series!!?? Keep up the good work buddy, love your enthusiasm and level of detail :)
Awesome, it’s so great to hear that y’all are picking the books back up and diving it. I’m hoping to shine a spotlight on how dope it is so then we can get somebody to make a dope animated series of even some live action adaptations of certain segments or storylines! I think I need to record my recommendations on how to adapt Malazan just to get it out there and go on record in case anybody ever considers it!
@@IskarJarak yes! I would absolutely watch that. I've heard loads of good ideas, about following tavore's story or doing chain of dogs. I mean it should be possible, it started out as a screenplay right? You could follow it up with casting characters. You're the torch bearer now buddy.
At this point in the book, about 50 pages past the halfway point, I don't know if I am understanding what's happening in this book. I like the characters; they keep me in it, but I have to use chapter summaries to help. So I read the chapter, and then read the summary to stay afloat, and even then I often ask myself, how did I not get this? And now I'm checking out your videos as well. They help too! It's a struggle, but I'm determined to finish this book.
I am reading for the first time and on chapter 3. It is confusing but I am also looking at the map and glossaries constantly. It helps at least until you get a grasp on the world as a whole. I also read summaries but they just explain what I've actually gotten from each chapter.
@@andreaporter9879 I’m approaching the end of the following book, Deadhouse Gates. I’m enjoying that one much more than GotM. It takes place on a different continent. Happy reading!
Really like these videos, I'm in the midst of my first re-read now (about 2/3 of the way through Book 2) & this is one of my favorite series ever. One minor critique, though - you keep slapping your hands on your thighs after you gesture & the microphone is picking it up. It is incredibly distracting once you notice it.....other than that, please keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for the feedback-I still need to get my presentation dialed in. Appreciate you leaving me that comment! Glad you’re liking the content and hanging in through the learning curve!
Not that I have seen, but there’s a pretty cool artist who designed a bunch of t shirt designs that I really like, but he isn’t printing/selling them-more like concept art. I’ll try to dig up the link tomorrow and post it here for you to check out. Pretty cool stuff. He said I could print a few myself to wear when I record for the channel so I’m looking into how I can do that!
Here we go. These are the ones I was thinking of by Enaglio on the Malazan Forum. Pretty cool stuff! He has a lot of other cool Malazan art on there as well. He designed the Bridgeburners logo that I use as my channel logo! forum.malazanempire.com/topic/19216-malazan-tshirt-images/page__p__780121#entry780121
4:23 "There's no like gender issues in the Malazan world, I feel like" While I agree that there's a lot of powerful women in the series but there are a lot of female characters that are treated like complete dogshit by others. Mutilation, repeated rapings etc etc.. Or are we gonna ignore what Janath or Hetan has to suffer for example?
There is definitely horrific crimes committed against women for sure. I would even throw Stonny Menackis in along with several others. 😢 But it isn’t an inherently patriarchal or masculine dominant world. SE definitely doesn’t shy away from showing that violence against women is a real and sinister issue in that world. There’s also male characters that get raped in the series as well. I didn’t mean to say that it’s a perfect society by any means. Quite the contrary, it’s one of the most real, dark, gritty series I’ve read. Especially when it comes to the hard stuff. I just meant that I found it refreshing that sexism didn’t seem to be a big barrier in terms of professional/political/military advancement/power/status/achievement, not that it was all sunshine and rainbows.
Women facing oppression due to their sex is real in the Malazan world. But Iskars point in that Gender roles aren't really a thing in the empire and especially its military is accurate. And it impressed me as well with how smoothly he integrates the phenomenal female characters into the stories without calling attention with "strong female character" tropes.
This is an old video, but all I remember saying was that it was nice that gender issues aren’t a thing in the books. I honestly wasn’t trying to virtue signal, I was just trying to point out something I liked. If it’s too over the top, I’m hopeful you can find some channels that are a better fit!
Dude calm down, he literally made one comment about it. Steven Erikson wanted to write books with no sexism, so that if a character is male or female doesn’t matter.
