[Herrick The Younger]

I've nothing to really add but I'll post anyway. The OP had a lot of valid criticisms. I still enjoyed Gardens of the Moon on my first read (enough to read the next 5 books). I enjoyed Gardens of the Moon even more on my second read and noticed a few things I didn't notice before, like the mentioning of two major characters that first appeared in the next book Deadhouse Gates. Some events still feel kind of random though.

The last part of the book with the Jaghut Tyrant felt rushed but I think I understand it better now on the second read. Events would've turned out much worse if the Tyrant had been able to get to the Finnest. I guess that's why he was able to be overpowered with minimal damage to the Tiste Andii. I'm guessing Lorn didn't just leave the Finnest in the Tyrant's barrow because it would've gotten too strong too quickly and she wouldn't have been able to get away? I still don't understand how Kruppe's dream interferes with the Tyrant or how the Azath appears all of the sudden to stop it. I guess that's just how things work in this Universe. Maybe the Azath was always in Darujhistan to begin with?

I read the first 6 books last year or maybe I started them in the end of 2014 and stopped in 2015. I got up to the beginning of Reaper's Gale but I stopped because I became frustrated with the new characters, storylines, and other new strange things happening in the book. I simply stopped caring. Also, I didn't enjoy The Bonehunters very much so that kind of tired me out from the whole series.

But throughout the months after quitting this series, I did think about returning to from it time to time because I enjoyed the weird world within the series. And there were quite a few characters I liked. So I've returned and started over again.

This post has been edited by Herrick: 05 April 2016 - 09:03 PM

[amphibian]

I suspect you'll enjoy it more this time around. You can post in each of the book forums if anything comes up that bugs you.

[Herrick The Younger]

amphibian, on 05 April 2016 - 09:03 PM, said:

I suspect you'll enjoy it more this time around. You can post in each of the book forums if anything comes up that bugs you.

I wish I had checked this forum out back when I was first reading this series.

[melonsparks]

OP is not man enough for Malazan.

[Kruppe of Darujhistan]

Fortunately (for me) my introduction to this series was at the Public Library. IIRC, I started on Midnight Tides (book #5) and hopscotched back and forth to prior and later books in the series as they became available on the shelves (imagine MY confusion). Gardens of the Moon was the first in the series that I actually paid money for, and I wasn't particularly impressed by it either. Even now I am reluctant to introduce the Malazan Book of the Fallen to others through its first book. I generally recommend starting on Midnight Tides (since it comes first chronologically and is also the one that works best as a stand alone read).

[Gorefest]

I can sort of vaguely understand MoI as an alternative starting location. But MT? Really?

[Kruppe of Darujhistan]

Gorefest, on 13 September 2016 - 10:26 PM, said:

I can sort of vaguely understand MoI as an alternative starting location. But MT? Really?

Absolutely. The events of MT precede all the rest, so it seems to me a very good place to start. It is noted as such in the malazan wiki, though it isn't highly endorsed as the book to start with. Though reading MT first would definitely eliminate some of the headscratching of readers of the first 4 books.

[worry]

I thought all the head-scratching was because fantasy fans are generally hardcore dweebs with major dandruff.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Herrick, on 05 April 2016 - 09:02 PM, said:

how the Azath appears all of the sudden to stop it. I guess that's just how things work in this Universe. Maybe the Azath was always in Darujhistan to begin with?

Someone in book says it (Baruk possibly, I forget) - they appear wherever "unchained power threatens life".

[melonsparks]

MBotF should be read in the order intended by the author.

I've had a guy argue vehemently that I should read Book 5 FIRST, and another guy -- my main "malazan bro" -- who strongly argued I should read GotM followed by MoI, then DG followed by HoC. I contemplated these suggestions and am happy I rejected them.

Because really, the author wrote the books in the given sequence and there must be a valid reason for that -- so you might as well trust him. The narrative's flow of information is obviously based on the intended reading order.


So yeah, everyone should start with GotM even if some whiners like the OP complain about how they didn't like that book. Now, I know a lot of people say "hey if you didn't like GotM you should still read the next two books and you might get hooked" -- and obviously that's a real experience people have, but I honestly can't understand how people would like MBotF at all if they think GotM is anything less than "very good".

GotM is leaner and easier to follow than the later books, which get denser and heavier with fictional historical lore and "WTF" stuff that you need to keep in your mental file folder. Heck, I am a supreme Malazan fanboy but every time I finish one of the books I feel drained and need to take a break with something a bit "lighter." But I like that.

If someone didn't like GotM I would suggest they stay away from Malazan forever because it is too hardcore.