OT: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Thread - SPOILERS Part Three

[freakydallas13]

I am as tempted as I am intimidated. I opened Gardens of the Moon and was promptly bitch slapped by a Dramatis Personae with like 75+ names. On the other hand I've seen enough people rave about Malazan to have me intrigued. I'll probably wind up picking them up. It won't be the dumbest way I've ever spent twenty bucks.

Malazan is my favourite fantasy series by far, but it's definitely not for everyone. If you get to the end of the 3rd book and still aren't enjoying it, you're probably safe to put it down. The series can be very heavy at times, and bounces around with a lot of different characters constantly while not explaining everything right away, but if you can get past those or don't care about those aspects, the rewards are absolutely worth it. Steve is also hilarious, and the humour in these books is severely underrated imo.

But damn does this series have moments I think about often. Not just plot points, but life perspectives that have probably changed as a result of engaging with the ideas and themes in these novels.

Steven Erickson also wrote a shorter sci-fi series called the Willful Child trilogy if that is your jam. It's somewhere between Star Trek and Galaxy Quest, but pretty funny overall.

 

[Lord Defect]

Malazan is my favourite fantasy series by far, but it's definitely not for everyone. If you get to the end of the 3rd book and still aren't enjoying it, you're probably safe to put it down. The series can be very heavy at times, and bounces around with a lot of different characters constantly while not explaining everything right away, but if you can get past those or don't care about those aspects, the rewards are absolutely worth it. Steve is also hilarious, and the humour in these books is severely underrated imo.

But damn does this series have moments I think about often. Not just plot points, but life perspectives that have probably changed as a result of engaging with the ideas and themes in these novels.

Steven Erickson also wrote a shorter sci-fi series called the Willful Child trilogy if that is your jam. It's somewhere between Star Trek and Galaxy Quest, but pretty funny overall.

I will not be able to understand how anyone could dislike the Malazan series. Dude manages to not just weave 4 or 5 different stories together within the same book but carries those stories over across what, 11 or 12 books? Closing and opening side stories as needed.
Dudes a fantastic author imo. He just has a heavy reliance on repeated descriptive color use. EVERYTHING is OCHRE!!!!

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

I had highs and lows with that book, but I think the long break between books 5 and 6 will give me the perfect opportunity to offramp from this series and not miss it. I don't really care about the greater cosemere stuff and haven't read any other Sando series, so I'm content to leave it there. I love BS's world building, but I find his prose inconsistently frustrating at times. His books also have pacing issues that have me wanting to put them down for long stretches and not pick them back up.

On another note, has anyone read the Black Company? It's been on my tbr list for a while and I'm thinking about picking it up. Either that or finally starting some Robin Hobb series (probably assassin's apprentice).

This was the first Sanderson book I felt like it was a chore to get through. He may have fell into a common epic series trap trying to get everything he wanted to into the final book without being able to cut things down. It felt like there was a lot of the story that could have been pared down.

Robin Hobb is excellent. She can run a little slow in her pacing, though. FYI.

 

[Fire Tortorella]

Is there anywhere I can go to get book summaries (or even chapter summaries in specific books) for the Wheel of Time series? I started reading the series years ago but never finished and I don't really want to restart, just looking for a refresher.

 

[BiggE]

Is there anywhere I can go to get book summaries (or even chapter summaries in specific books) for the Wheel of Time series? I started reading the series years ago but never finished and I don't really want to restart, just looking for a refresher.

Try here

The Wheel of Time series

An overview of The Wheel of Time, an epic fantasy book series by Robert Jordan.

dragonmount.com

 

[Fire Tortorella]

Try here

The Wheel of Time series

An overview of The Wheel of Time, an epic fantasy book series by Robert Jordan.

dragonmount.com

Perfect - thank you!