[Old Gnostic Fool]

My favorite series to this day, not just in fantasy but among all literature. I've read all of them outside  of the Broach and Bauchelain novellas.

I'm not sure either Forge or Dancer's Lament really work as entry points into the world, since they rely on a lot of elements from the Book of the Fallen series.

I enjoyed both Kharkanas books, though they do tend to grind too much for their own good. Prazek and Dathenar would sometimes really get on my nerves

When it comes to the philosophy, I think it's a mixed bag. There are a lot of great discussions that do take place, but Erikson tends to go for the verbose approach, where he will muse upon anything that crosses his mind, regardless of whether it fits into the narrative. I prefer Bakker's more economical approach with an emphasis on tackling specific points, even if it is of a smaller scope.

Either ways, an excellent universe, well worth the time needed to soak it all in.

[Old Gnostic Fool]

Kharkanas has been put on hold.

[Madness]

Erikson's foray into author outreach is going well. Excited to see what else comes from that new portion of his network.

[MSJ]

(click to show/hide)

Deadhouse Landing, ten or so pages in and guess who we meet? Tattersail. Always wanted to know her backstory.

Mod Edit: Added spoiler tags upon request.

[Redeagl]

(click to show/hide)

Deadhouse Landing, ten or so pages in and guess who we meet? Tattersail. Always wanted to know her backstory.

Mod Edit: Added spoiler tags upon request.

MSJ. The "S" stands for "spoiler" .

[MSJ]

Oh, that's not even a spoiler, geez Louise! You want some real ones?

[Redeagl]

Oh, that's not even a spoiler, geez Louise! You want some real ones?

I know it's not a spoiler, just messing with you

[Wilshire]

lol

[Madness]

Well... arguably, even though I know pretty much everything that happens in general, I technically didn't know that that character would survive Erikson's ten books.

Just sayin' . Not that I personally care.

[Madness]

So...

If I were to be having a recorded conversation with Erikson, what would SA Malazan fans like to hear him speak on ?

[Wilshire]

I can barely come up with questions to ask Bakker. I'm not sure I have anything specific I'd be interested in hearing Erikson speak on, but hearing him speak would be interesting.

[Francis Buck]

I enjoy reading about the worldbuilding and lore on wikis but for the life of me I cannot get into this series. Started reading the first book multiple times, each time got a little further but still just ended up losing interest. I even got the damn audiobook thinking I could listen to it while driving and stuff, but I can't stand the way the narrator does female (and certain male voices) where his main method of changing his voice...involves...speaking...very...SLOW...with a STRANGE...emphasis...on...RANDOM words...

Is it worth trying to start on the second book instead or something? This is basically the only major epic fantasy series I haven't read so I feel like I need to get through it principle.   

[Wilshire]

I'd say no. The books are all written by the same author(s). They all follow the same narrative and structure and the writing is consistent throughout. There's nothing in books 2-10+ that isn't in book 1. Erikson probably grew throughout his writing career, but he's still writing Erikson, if that makes sense. You might notice a difference in much later books in writing quality, but I don't read that closely.

FWIW, audiobooks are a terrible idea in this case. There is too much information and too many people to keep track of. Listening to Malazan detracts from the overall experience. Keep in mind, I love audiobooks, but sometimes the narrators and the books themselves don't work in audio format.

[MSJ]

FB, as Wilshire has said, all of MBoF (Erikson, Esselmont didn't write any of those, he wrote the companion books) follows the same pattern. The first, oh, 3/4 is mostly worldbuilding and the like with a little reveal or two sprinkled in. The last 1/4 of each book is action packed and makes the slog well worth it.

[Wilshire]

I'd say closer to 2/3 and 1/3, but yeah absolutely.

I'd say read a full book. GOTM is the start, so start there, but you could do DG instead. Either way, if you're feeling like you're missing out, read one book front to back. Once you've done that, if you don't like it, there's no reason to read further.