[Tezz]

Hi All,

Horrible subject for my first post but here i go :S,

I have just finished George RR Martin's a song of ice and fire series (well the ones available at the moment.)

I enjoyed it immensley and was my first foray into the fantasy genre, I am looking for something meaty to get my teeth into to keep my interest going and just order the first book in this series.

Anyone any tips or advice are they similar? complicated (which i enjoy), and with rich backstory and history?

thanks in advance for any help

/Tezz

[Obdigore]

Not sure how you 'finished' ASoIaF since it is not complete, but if you mean you are current, then yes, you will enjoy the Malazan Empire Books of the Fallen.

I think it is deeper, there is more magic, and there are a lot more different 'tales'.

Frankly, you are looking for complicated (yes), rich backstory and history (more than ASoIaF I think), then yes, you would enjoy these books quite a bit.

[Ceda Cicero]

Tezz, on 07 April 2011 - 04:47 PM, said:

Hi All,

Horrible subject for my first post but here i go :S,

I have just finished George RR Martin's a song of ice and fire series (well the ones available at the moment.)

I enjoyed it immensley and was my first foray into the fantasy genre, I am looking for something meaty to get my teeth into to keep my interest going and just order the first book in this series.

Anyone any tips or advice are they similar? complicated (which i enjoy), and with rich backstory and history?

thanks in advance for any help

/Tezz

Welcome, and there's nothing wrong with this as your first post.

Based on the criteria you just outlined and my extreme bias, I say yes, you will enjoy it immensely. Complicated, rich backstory and history are three of Erikson's greatest strengths as an author.

What do you think of GRRM's series so far? It's very, very loosely comparable to Malazan in many ways, while in other ways it's a study in contrasts. As you've just finished 1-4 of A Song of Ice and Fire, if you dive into Malazan I'd say keep these key points in mind:

1.) There's much, much more magic in the Malazan world. As I also jumped into Malazan after GRRM, I can say from personal experience that this can be jarring. Be open-minded.

2.) Erikson won't spoon-feed you the way Martin does at times. Whereas with Martin you can see him setting up many big plot and character developments miles away, this usually isn't the case with Erikson. He asks for more faith and - sometimes - patience on the part of his reader. What makes this okay is that he rewards it enormously.

3.) You know how it's pretty clear as soon as you start GRRM who you're supposed to be rooting for and who the bad guys are? Yeah. Not the case with Erikson. You're not supposed to know who the good guys are because there aren't any "good" guys. In fact, I'd say any time you catch yourself asking a question that starts with "Am I supposed to..?" when reading the first book, stop.

This post has been edited by Neocount Cicero: 07 April 2011 - 05:06 PM

[Abyss]

Notwithstanding how great SIF is, Malazan is better.

Of course, i'm just a teeny bit biased.


But coming out of SIF, just be prepared to be tossed into the middle of an very different story and setting where you won't know quite what's going on, and go with it.

[Tezz]

Obdigore, on 07 April 2011 - 05:01 PM, said:

Not sure how you 'finished' ASoIaF since it is not complete, but if you mean you are current, then yes, you will enjoy the Malazan Empire Books of the Fallen.

I think it is deeper, there is more magic, and there are a lot more different 'tales'.

Frankly, you are looking for complicated (yes), rich backstory and history (more than ASoIaF I think), then yes, you would enjoy these books quite a bit.

Thanks and i did say in my post i read the ASoIaF available at the moment looking forward til july!

[Tezz]

Neocount Cicero, on 07 April 2011 - 05:04 PM, said:

Tezz, on 07 April 2011 - 04:47 PM, said:

Hi All,

Horrible subject for my first post but here i go :S,

I have just finished George RR Martin's a song of ice and fire series (well the ones available at the moment.)

I enjoyed it immensley and was my first foray into the fantasy genre, I am looking for something meaty to get my teeth into to keep my interest going and just order the first book in this series.

Anyone any tips or advice are they similar? complicated (which i enjoy), and with rich backstory and history?

thanks in advance for any help

/Tezz

Welcome, and there's nothing wrong with this as your first post.

Based on the criteria you just outlined and my extreme bias, I say yes, you will enjoy it immensely. Complicated, rich backstory and history are three of Erikson's greatest strengths as an author.

What do you think of GRRM's series so far? It's very, very loosely comparable to Malazan in many ways, while in other ways it's a study in contrasts. As you've just finished 1-4 of A Song of Ice and Fire, if you dive into Malazan I'd say keep these key points in mind:

1.) There's much, much more magic in the Malazan world. As I also jumped into Malazan after GRRM, I can say from personal experience that this can be jarring. Be open-minded.

2.) Erikson won't spoon-feed you the way Martin does at times. Whereas with Martin you can see him setting up many big plot and character developments miles away, this usually isn't the case with Erikson. He asks for more faith and - sometimes - patience on the part of his reader. What makes this okay is that he rewards it enormously.

3.) You know how it's pretty clear as soon as you start GRRM who you're supposed to be rooting for and who the bad guys are? Yeah. Not the case with Erikson. You're not supposed to know who the good guys are because there aren't any "good" guys. In fact, I'd say any time you catch yourself asking a question that starts with "Am I supposed to..?" when reading the first book, stop.

Yes thats a great point on plot and character development, I found myself at times during first 5 Asoiaf books praying the obvious wasn't going to happen and often it did there are some swerves in there though which are some of the higlights of the series so far.

But as someone who hasnt really read a whole lot since school (im 27 now) GRRM's novels were kinda a big commitment and i found you got out of them what you put in, I just went with it for the most part and the way it is structured from different POV's often 1000's of miles apart it just built on suspense and investment i had in the characters.

[Ceda Cicero]

Tezz, on 07 April 2011 - 05:13 PM, said:

the way it is structured from different POV's often 1000's of miles apart it just built on suspense and investment .

If this is your bag, then you definitely want to read Malazan.

[Puck]

Yeah, definitely. If you like that kind of stuff and are willing to invest your time and believe in SE [to many people it may not seem so, but those who trust in SE and stick with the series know that he damn well does know what he's doing] you definitely will be rewarded big time.

And welcome to the forums

This post has been edited by Puck: 07 April 2011 - 06:00 PM

[Ulrik]

Get it, read it. Only thing you can lose is your sanity... and its worth of it
(not constructive response, but rest of group said all valid points:))

[Tezz]

thanks for the replies guys!, came home from work to find the first book waiting for me in the post! gonna get stuck in and report back!

[Herc]

For what it's worth, I hadn't read fiction in about half a dozen years, and I reacquainted myself to it through ASoIaF. I started Malazan 'cause I needed something to keep me occupied while waiting for the new ASoIaF, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up prefering Malazan too. You totally get your money's worth, and you will quickly look forward to re-reading it. One thing that should be said: all you need (apart from time and patience) is to trust Steven Erikson. Everything is in there for a reason. Your faith will be rewarded. Happy reading, and enjoy!

This post has been edited by Herc: 11 April 2011 - 09:38 PM

[worry]

If you're not hooked by the end of book one -- and you certainly might be, since it's pretty great -- I would encourage you to read the second (and even third) book anyway. It's hard to get a handle on what he's trying to do from just the first book alone.

[Kim Bookreader]

I accidentally started with Dust of Dreams, it's book 9 in the series and I got stuck! Got it for a trip to Mexico, after I came home I bought all books that were available and has not looked back since! The books just gets better and better and soon I will re-read Dust of Dreams

[Abyss]

Kim Bookreader, on 14 April 2011 - 12:04 PM, said:

I accidentally started with Dust of Dreams, it's book 9 in the series and I got stuck! ...

so how did that work out? did you finish it or stop once you realized?

[Kim Bookreader]

Abyss, on 14 April 2011 - 03:35 PM, said:

Kim Bookreader, on 14 April 2011 - 12:04 PM, said:

I accidentally started with Dust of Dreams, it's book 9 in the series and I got stuck! ...

so how did that work out? did you finish it or stop once you realized?

Of course I had to finish it, it was very very confusing though. But I really liked the authors writing style, the characters, how he told the story and the world that he described. And I imagine that it will be even better when I will re-read it. I'm almost done with Toll of Hounds

[Ceda Cicero]

Kim Bookreader, on 14 April 2011 - 05:44 PM, said:

Abyss, on 14 April 2011 - 03:35 PM, said:

Kim Bookreader, on 14 April 2011 - 12:04 PM, said:

I accidentally started with Dust of Dreams, it's book 9 in the series and I got stuck! ...

so how did that work out? did you finish it or stop once you realized?

Of course I had to finish it, it was very very confusing though. But I really liked the authors writing style, the characters, how he told the story and the world that he described. And I imagine that it will be even better when I will re-read it. I'm almost done with Toll of Hounds

I can't believe you started with Dust of Dreams and finished it and liked it despite the fact that there's almost no chance that you knew anything at all about anything that was going on. At all. That's actually incredibly impressive.

[nacht]

Be prepared to Re-read and re-read and re-read...

[Abyss]

nacht, on 14 April 2011 - 06:19 PM, said:

Be prepared to Re-read and re-read and re-read...

in a totally awesome way.

[Abyss]

Neocount Cicero, on 14 April 2011 - 05:54 PM, said:

Kim Bookreader, on 14 April 2011 - 05:44 PM, said:

Of course I had to finish it, it ...

I can't believe you started with Dust of Dreams and finished it and liked it ... That's actually incredibly impressive.

Seconded.
And people complain about starting GotM in medias res ...

[Cyphon]

It's also worth saying Tezz, get Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse gates and read both before making a decision as to whether to continue on the series.

Some people find Gardens of the Moon hard, and then years later read Deadhouse Gates, come on here and rave about how stupid they were to miss out. They kind of complete each other.