[Disgruntled]

I've really enjoyed the series to this point, and have loved spending time in the Malazan world.
However, I'm almost halfway through RG, and I think I've hit a wall. To borrow Erikson's style of emphasis, this book is very...ponderous. I'm OK with the lack of action, but the constant ruminating, navel-gazing, and philosophizing is overwhelming the narrative. Even the big action sequence so far (the battle with Redmask) was burdened with way too much description of battle alignments.
Even through all of this, I'm still loving the series, but it really has hit a "slog" period. Oh well, just needed to vent, onward!

[Andorion]

Things change a lot in the second half

[Abyss]

Disgruntled, on 23 July 2015 - 03:04 PM, said:

I've really enjoyed the series to this point, and have loved spending time in the Malazan world.
However, I'm almost halfway through RG... I'm still loving the series, but it really has hit a "slog" period. Oh well, just needed to vent, onward!

It's not slog, it's setup for awesome.
Carry on, you won't be disappointed.



...Unless you are, in which case please present yourself for mandatory mindrinse and reprogramming at the earliest convenient time.

[Disgruntled]

Oh, I'm definitely carrying on. And I agree, everything is teed up extremely well for a satisfying second half. I'm just ready for the plot to start moving (and I'm not someone who minds Erikson's dense, intricate style generally, but it's become overload in this book).

Side question - There is a short narrative in RG about Stayandi, which was one of the little bits that seemed like filler. I did a Kindle search and found no further references to Stayandi in the remainder of the book. Without spoiling details, will this become significant at some point in RG, the series or in I.C.E's books? It seems like out of left field, and I'm wondering if a couple of books from now I'm going to be having to Google Stayandi to remember what the the heck it was.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Disgruntled, on 23 July 2015 - 05:54 PM, said:

Side question - There is a short narrative in RG about Stayandi, which was one of the little bits that seemed like filler. I did a Kindle search and found no further references to Stayandi in the remainder of the book. Without spoiling details, will this become significant at some point in RG, the series or in I.C.E's books? It seems like out of left field, and I'm wondering if a couple of books from now I'm going to be having to Google Stayandi to remember what the the heck it was.

SPOILERS ALL BOOKS

Spoiler

?es, there is significance. However, the name Stayandi is not used again in the books.

SPOILERS ALL BOOKS

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 23 July 2015 - 06:50 PM

[Felisin Fatter]

Stayandi is the settler child, right? If so: YES, it will be relevant, at some point in the series. You won't find anything, because she changes her name.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Disgruntled, on 23 July 2015 - 05:54 PM, said:

Side question - There is a short narrative in RG about Stayandi, which was one of the little bits that seemed like filler. I did a Kindle search and found no further references to Stayandi in the remainder of the book. Without spoiling details, will this become significant at some point in RG, the series or in I.C.E's books? It seems like out of left field, and I'm wondering if a couple of books from now I'm going to be having to Google Stayandi to remember what the the heck it was.

SPOILERS ALL BOOKS

Spoiler

Yes, there is significance. However, the name Stayandi is not used again in the books.

SPOILERS ALL BOOKS

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 24 July 2015 - 01:35 PM

[amphibian]

Stayandi is important in Erikson's books. Read onwards.

[Puck]

There is no such thing as filler in RG or the following books. Everything either serves to set up things, flesh out the setting or challenge your preconceptions. Enjoy.

This post has been edited by Puckstein: 23 July 2015 - 06:59 PM

[Tsundoku]

Better get yourself a case of Red Bull for when you hit Dust of Dreams then.

[worry]

You can skip the chapter on whale anatomy.

[Maark Abbott]

It's all setup. Setups for frame traps, meaties, whatever terminology you're using, Erikson is doing it. Wait for your mandatory T-booster. And don't Bugg out on us.

[NerMyth]

This book was one of my favorites. I love the philosophizing. The scene with Fisher Kel Teth and Duiker where they discuss why Duiker is having such a hard time writing the history of Coltaine when he was there for it almost made me cry. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I have not finished the entire series yet, I'm on book 9, but there is a lot of set-up in this novel that is important.