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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starts off fast especially for this series introdices a new charcter who is tough to like at first but grew into my favorite character in the series.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A satisfying, but not particularly dramatic book. I suppose it is hard to top the endings of books #2 and #3 though on pure emotion. This book started off a bit slow for me with a character (Karsa Orlong) I didn't care for. After about a third of the way in though Karsa really grew as a character and became the most interesting story in this book.
Overall this really seems like a transitional book for the series. We are seeing a closing of some story arcs and a setup for some others to play forward. It seems like the ideal place to sort of split up the series thus far at this point.
Overall this really seems like a transitional book for the series. We are seeing a closing of some story arcs and a setup for some others to play forward. It seems like the ideal place to sort of split up the series thus far at this point.
Another of the best novels ever written
2022 review: So GOOD
2022 review: So GOOD
Never have I had a relationship with a book series quite like the relationship I have with The Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Gardens of the Moon went about as I had expected given my research on the series before diving into it. I was just as confused as I had thought I'd be, and had pretty much no idea what was going on. I thought Deadhouse Gates was a massive step up from its predecessor, but I still found myself very much on the fence about much of the way Erikson was choosing to tell his stories. I really liked Felisin and found her to be easily the most compelling character in the series up to that point, mostly because of how much I appreciated that she was a character who felt just as lost as I did - and she was mad about it.
Then, I nearly DNF'd the series about 1/3 of the way into Memories of Ice. I just got very tired of scenes with dialogues playing out between two or more characters who all fully understand this world and its stakes, using terms that would be familiar to them but completely inaccessible to me, as someone who is reading this for the first time. But not wanting to give up too soon, I pushed through.
And I am glad that I did, because Memories of Ice had me sobbing like a baby for all the right reasons by the time I finished. And that high carried me into House of Chains, which I can honestly say that I loved as well. And yes, it once again had me in tears by the end.
I think I have come to understand something about Erikson's writing, or at least his writing in this series, which is that he is much more focused on themes than any writer I've read previously. To-date, I've experienced mostly character-focused and narrative-focused authors' works. Erikson has a strong narrative beneath the mystery, certainly, but that is just slowly unraveling as the series continues. It's not front and center throughout. And the characters are all very grey, in such a way that within the same book, your feelings on some of those characters may change completely. That makes them interesting to read, but also hard to become too invested in (for me, at least). But thematically, he hits home runs every time. Maybe it was a bit heavy handed in Gardens of the Moon, but I have not really felt that way since, and I truly believe he has gotten better and better with each book.
House of Chains was an incredible reading experience, and I am now even more excited to continue right on into Midnight Tides.
Gardens of the Moon went about as I had expected given my research on the series before diving into it. I was just as confused as I had thought I'd be, and had pretty much no idea what was going on. I thought Deadhouse Gates was a massive step up from its predecessor, but I still found myself very much on the fence about much of the way Erikson was choosing to tell his stories. I really liked Felisin and found her to be easily the most compelling character in the series up to that point, mostly because of how much I appreciated that she was a character who felt just as lost as I did - and she was mad about it.
Then, I nearly DNF'd the series about 1/3 of the way into Memories of Ice. I just got very tired of scenes with dialogues playing out between two or more characters who all fully understand this world and its stakes, using terms that would be familiar to them but completely inaccessible to me, as someone who is reading this for the first time. But not wanting to give up too soon, I pushed through.
And I am glad that I did, because Memories of Ice had me sobbing like a baby for all the right reasons by the time I finished. And that high carried me into House of Chains, which I can honestly say that I loved as well. And yes, it once again had me in tears by the end.
I think I have come to understand something about Erikson's writing, or at least his writing in this series, which is that he is much more focused on themes than any writer I've read previously. To-date, I've experienced mostly character-focused and narrative-focused authors' works. Erikson has a strong narrative beneath the mystery, certainly, but that is just slowly unraveling as the series continues. It's not front and center throughout. And the characters are all very grey, in such a way that within the same book, your feelings on some of those characters may change completely. That makes them interesting to read, but also hard to become too invested in (for me, at least). But thematically, he hits home runs every time. Maybe it was a bit heavy handed in Gardens of the Moon, but I have not really felt that way since, and I truly believe he has gotten better and better with each book.
House of Chains was an incredible reading experience, and I am now even more excited to continue right on into Midnight Tides.
The books are great, it can be a challenge to follow every character arc but there is no doubting yhe storh or world building.
adventurous
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first quarter of the book is one of the boldest narrative decisions I've ever read in a series. Overall this is a step down from the last two Malazan books but I think I expected it to be something a lot grander in scope than it was. No idea what's going to happen next in this saga.