I’ve got to get back to the series at some point.
I was reading both Erikson and Esslemont and stalled out for a long time after Return of the Crimson Guard.
Last year I read Toll the Hounds and Stonewielder but it’s been a little while again.
I did a search to see if this series had been mentioned here and lo and behold I was the last one to post in the existing thread.
I didn’t think I’d finished Toll the Hounds. I am still kind of doubting it.
It has always stayed with me that I never finished the series but the more time that passed the less that I wanted to pick up where I left off.
Anyway, I discovered that Jeff Cannata and Lana Bachynski of the DLC podcast started a book club for the series. I’d seen some other Malazan podcasts over the years but the tone of them hadn’t really clicked with me.
After some deliberation, I jumped back in from the beginning and watching/listening to the book club as I go.
The club is finishing Deadhouse Gates whereas I just finished Guardians of the Moon. It’s hard to recall, given that over a decade has passed but I think I got more enjoyment from GotM this time around.
I only ever got through the fifth book. Then I decided to reread, and fizzled out after the third. GotM definitely makes more sense on a reread, as do the others. Still kinda want to finish one day, but it just feels like a slog at this point.
Yeah if I think about the amount of reading involved it feels daunting, but so far having the book club and other resources that have popped up since my first read have made the experience fun. We’ll see how it goes…
That actually sounds like something that'd help me get through them. I got up through, like, book five or six. I liked them, but they're not very compatible with my brain. I read slowly, and remember badly. His style of keeping multiple storylines running within a book made it hard for me to keep track of what was going on in each, and if he dropped one for a while, I usually forgot by the time he got back to it. That got magnified when the next book went to a completely different area and set of characters, and then expected me to remember the first bunch when they came back two or three books later.
I love the world building and the amount of trust he puts in the reader to work out how the world works, but it's just really hard for my brain. Having a podcast reading along and recapping would probably help a ton.
Edit: Arg, I didn't realize it was a video thing. I don't suppose they put up an audio-only version somewhere?\\
Edit 2: It looks like the $5 tier of their Patreon has an audio-only ad free RSS feed. Does that mean there's an ad-ful audio-only RSS feed somewhere for free? I don't mind throwing $5 their way, but I'd like to try it for a while first to see if I can actually stick with it.
I’m not totally sure. I’ve been “watching” (mostly just listening) to the videos.
I found out about the club in a roundabout way so I’m not super familiar with DLC. I don’t see the book club in their regular podcast feed so might be a patreon only thing for the audio only version.
Is there a way you could listen to the first episode via the video to try it out?
I am close to the end of Reaper's Gale (Book 7). I am really enjoying the marine and Awl soldier stories ramping up and coming together. Don't really care about Trull and his weird entourage, but curious to how they will come together at the end.
This is an aptly timed thread-necro! Currently (trying) to start this up. I'm about two thirds through GoTM, and I'm not sure I like it? Its not the lack of handholding, or leaving me to my own devices.. I'm pretty sure I've figured out a fair bit of things and I enjoy the challenge... I just think his prose style bores me. SIgh. I REALLY want to read these too. Is it worth toughing out?
His writing is notably better from the second book on. However in my opinion he's not great at writing believable dialogue or natural sounding characters even later on. There's a lot of philosophizing and speeches from characters you wouldn't really expect. A lot of the characters are cool, in the same way that characters in Dragonlance books are cool, but they're pretty one-note. Something jaw-droppingly epic happens about every 100 pages or so, which kept me going for a while. The amount of world building and detail is undeniably impressive. There is literally 300,000 years of world building to learn, and the author is comfortable immersing you in that world so you pick up on that history as you go. This is why it's so rewarding to re-read those earlier books.
I would suggest to at least read to the second book. If that does not grab you, the series might not be for you
Hmm. My memory is only fresh on GotM at this point. I personally find quite a few of his characters to be very richly developed. There are TONS of characters though, so, almost by necessity, some will be static.
I like his style, but some of that comes down to taste, of course.
I've also started a re-read, and finished book 2 a while ago. I haven't started 3 yet.
Believe me when I say I understand how nerdy this is, but someone put together a great summary of each book in the form of a slide show deck.
Here's GotM:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GLRmiaFcxe_cGc93ckE5UItRq5rYsfeU0BhvqcaNq9E/edit#slide=id.i0
I found it helpful in making sure I absorbed all the details, and learned I had been pronouncing a bunch of things incorrectly, including "Malazan".
I decided I'd ignore the correct way to pronounce Malazan, because "MAL-a-zan" sounds way better than "Ma-LA-zan."
Yeah I found those slide shows too. I am finding them helpful for fixing events and names in my head better. And I like the inclusion of maps because I’m on Kindle and don’t feel like “flipping” back to them.
On pronunciation, it is funny to me that I didn’t connect the pronunciation of Malaz City with Malazan. Like Jersey and Jerseyan.
I'm filing the "correct" pronunciation of Malazan in the same circular file where I keep the "correct" pronunciation of Sansa.
I decided I'd ignore the correct way to pronounce Malazan, because "MAL-a-zan" sounds way better than "Ma-LA-zan."
This is the smallest hill that I am willing to die on.
I've also started a re-read, and finished book 2 a while ago. I haven't started 3 yet.
Believe me when I say I understand how nerdy this is, but someone put together a great summary of each book in the form of a slide show deck.
Here's GotM:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GLRmiaFcxe_cGc93ckE5UItRq5rYsfeU0BhvqcaNq9E/edit#slide=id.i0I found it helpful in making sure I absorbed all the details, and learned I had been pronouncing a bunch of things incorrectly, including "Malazan".
I flipped through the first few pages of this and have basically zero memory of it. Looking forward to my reread in *checks math* 2075?!
I'm filing the "correct" pronunciation of Malazan in the same circular file where I keep the "correct" pronunciation of Sansa.
I’m assuming - and comfortable assuming - that’s the correct pronunciation is “SAAN-sah”.
I will not be taking any questions.
Finished Reaper's Gale and started Toll The Hounds. I really liked the ending of RG and it was one of the more memorable ones. Lots of interesting characters getting together and doing fun stuff and all crashing together at the end. I also really loved some of the political commentary on capitalism from Tehol in the middle.
Pages