[Soletaken1]

Hi everyone!
I am new here so go easy As the title says, I have just finished MOI and I am quite honestly blown away at how SE managed to get my emotions going at the end. WJ, various BBs, Itkovian the list goes on- I can't think of another series that I have read where I have felt such emotion for characters (and I am only on book 3!). While I thought the pacing was at time stagnant (I felt not much was happening at the start), the final third of the book was so breathless that it moe than made up for it. Defintiely my favourite out of the three.

Anyways,I have a few questions:

1. In the scene where WJ dies, Kallor does not kill silverox-is this because of one of the two Malazans injuring Kallor os because of Tayschrenn attacking Kallor?
2.. Korlat and Orfantal are both Eleint Soltetaken- is this a rarity in the Tiste Andii (I know Rake is too) or are lots of Tiste Andii Eleint. If only a few how many are there?
3. Is this the last we see of the Tlan Imass? In particular Olar Elith- an undead eleint soletaken with (according to Kulp) a power similar to Rake/Osric is someone I wanna know more about!

Side questions:
I have heard that DG and MOI are the best books in the series-does this mean tha the series is a little flat from now on or does the bad assery carry on?
I read very quickly, and consequently I often miss subtle plot points. Is there a good point to go back and go and re read GoTM, DG and/or MOI in the series before continuing on?

I probably have loads of other questions which escape me as I am sleepy :/ Thanks in advance- can't wait to crack on with the series!

This post has been edited by Soletaken1: 10 February 2016 - 03:12 PM

[worry]

1. Both in tandem. Everyone with brains is scared of Tays though.
2. It's a rarity. Could be wrong, but you see near all of the Moon's Spawn Soletaken Eleint in GotM fighting Raest.
3. Now that you're on book 3 you can see that the books aren't all one-offs. He does hop back and forth w/ storylines book to book.

The writing gets better and better. You might have your personal favorite moments from anywhere though. Those who tell you otherwise are unqualified to work a deep fryer.

The best time to do a reread is after completing the entire series once. Missing details the first time through is par for the course. If you're particularly stuck on something, ask the board, but otherwise don't worry about getting it all.

[Esa1996]

Soletaken1, on 10 February 2016 - 12:05 AM, said:

1. In the scene where WJ dies, Kallor does not kill silverox-is this because of one of the two Malazans injuring Kallor os because of Tayschrenn attacking Kallor?
2.. Korlat and Orfantal are both Eleint Soltetaken- is this a rarity in the Tiste Andii (I know Rake is too) or are lots of Tiste Andii Eleint. If only a few how many are there?
3. Is this the last we see of the Tiste Andii? In particular Olar Elith- an undead eleint soletaken with (according to Kulp) a power similar to Rake/Osric is someone I wanna know more about!

Side questions:
I have heard that DG and MOI are the best books in the series-does this mean tha the series is a little flat from now on or does the bad assery carry on?
I read very quickly, and consequently I often miss subtle plot points. Is there a good point to go back and go and re read GoTM, DG and/or MOI in the series before continuing on?

3. With the series being as long as it is, it's rarely the last time we see anything. Anything that's even remotely important tends to pop up again at some point. This is one of the great things about long fantasy series like Malazan, WOT, ASOIAF etc. IMO.

My personal favorites are The Bonehunters and Memories of Ice. Many people seem to really like Midnight Tides too, which I found to be one of the worst books in the series (It wasn't bad though). Some consider the 8th one to be the best also. The ending is definitely amazing (Possibly even better than MOI) though it wasn't my favorite. Opinions seem to vary quite a bit.

I see no point in re-reading anything until you've finished it. The one exception is when you can't remember what happened in the previous books.

Also, I'll just say that I strongly recommend reading Esslemont's books at the same time as Erikson's. They are not mandatory for understanding the story but they fill in many details that I found to be quite interesting.

Here's the order I'd recommend to read the books in (Apart from Night of Knives, it's also the order I read them in. I read NoK only after TBH):


Malazan Book of the Fallen
Novels of the Malazan Empire

1. Gardens of the Moon
2. Deadhouse Gates
3. Memories of Ice
4. House of Chains
5. Midnight Tides
6. Night of Knives
7. The Bonehunters
8. Reaper's Gale
9. Return of the Crimson Guard
10. Toll the Hounds
11. Dust of Dreams
12. The Crippled God
13. Stonewielder
14. Orb, Sceptre, Throne
15. Blood and Bone
16. Assail

[Gorefest]

Soletaken1, on 10 February 2016 - 12:05 AM, said:

Side questions:
I have heard that DG and MOI are the best books in the series-does this mean tha the series is a little flat from now on or does the bad assery carry on?
I read very quickly, and consequently I often miss subtle plot points. Is there a good point to go back and go and re read GoTM, DG and/or MOI in the series before continuing on?

Everyone has their own favourite(s). There are also lots of people who value some of the later books most. I think the reason why DG and MoI are mentioned a lot is because at that point the whole experience is still very new and there aren't a lot of fantasy writers out there who can pull at the heart strings like SE can. So that's why the Chain of Dogs and the events in MoI stay so heavily engraved in memory. But the latter books deliver just as much punch, only by then you're a bit more accustomed to SE's style so the overall impact of events might be less mindblowing. The writing itself and the structuring of the tales only gets better though.

Regarding a reread, you could always check the "Tor.com" reread after finishing a novel. It basically gives you a chapter by chapter summary and underneath that the reflections of a first-time and a re-reader. Some people like the reflections a lot, but beware that especially the rereader comments could sometimes be considered slightly spoilerish.

[Soletaken1]

Thanks guys! Also I realised I put Tiste Andii instead of Tlan Imass in the original post!

[Abyss]

Soletaken1, on 10 February 2016 - 12:05 AM, said:

Hi everyone!
I am new here so go easy As the title says, I have just finished MOI and I am quite honestly blown away at how SE managed to get my emotions going at the end. WJ, various BBs, Itkovian the list goes on- I can't think of another series that I have read where I have felt such emotion for characters (and I am only on book 3!). While I thought the pacing was at time stagnant (I felt not much was happening at the start), the final third of the book was so breathless that it moe than made up for it. Defintiely my favourite out of the three.

Welcome, you'll fit in just fine.

When you have a moment, please submit all the usual fingerprint, eye scan, hair sample and DNA map. Also, bank account details.

Quote

Anyways,I have a few questions:

conveniently, we have answers!

Quote

1. In the scene where WJ dies, Kallor does not kill silverox-is this because of one of the two Malazans injuring Kallor os because of Tayschrenn attacking Kallor?

The two marines injur Kallor but it doesn't slow him down and we see him draw on the CG's power to keep going. By that point he's taken out Korlat, WJ, and the two marines.

Then Tays hits him. Hard. That drives him off. Tays almost dies in the process because of the tainted warrens.

Quote

2.. Korlat and Orfantal are both Eleint Soltetaken- is this a rarity in the Tiste Andii (I know Rake is too) or are lots of Tiste Andii Eleint. If only a few how many are there?

As of MoI you've seen five... Rake, Korlat, Orfantal and two others not named.

Quote

3. Is this the last we see of the Tiste Andii?

Nope.

Quote

In particular Olar Elith- an undead eleint soletaken with (according to Kulp) a power similar to Rake/Osric is someone I wanna know more about!

Olar isn't a Tiste Andii. She was the undead dragon Felisin and co encountered in DG, who was guarding the Path of Hands at the end. At the end of MoI she's among the Tlan Imass Bonecasters.

Quote

Side questions:
I have heard that DG and MOI are the best books in the series-does this mean tha the series is a little flat from now on or does the bad assery carry on?

Personally I think the DG and MoI are the best books I have ever read, but the series going fwd is anything but flat. It's flat-out brilliant, and there is a metric dragonfucktonne of badassery, insanity, glory and ohfuckdidIjustREADTHAT ahead for you. DG and MoI just set the hook.

Quote

I read very quickly, and consequently I often miss subtle plot points. Is there a good point to go back and go and re read GoTM, DG and/or MOI in the series before continuing on?

Finish the series, then go back for a reread. You will not believe how much stuff SE (and ICE) hint, bury, foreshadow and sometimes outright state except that you haven't got the context yet. it makes the reread a LOT of fun.

Quote

I probably have loads of other questions which escape me as I am sleepy :/ Thanks in advance- can't wait to crack on with the series!

I envy you for what you're about to experience for the first time.

[Soletaken1]

Ahh I can't wait to carry on! Going to be difficult to take my time with this series- I just wanna power read it! Also do the books written by Esslemont take place at a similar time to the SE books or are they at a different time?

[Abyss]

Soletaken1, on 10 February 2016 - 08:00 PM, said:

...do the books written by Esslemont take place at a similar time to the SE books or are they at a different time?

A little of both. The reading order Esa reco'd upthread will keep everything clear. Ish.

[Soletaken1]

Abyss, on 10 February 2016 - 08:20 PM, said:

Soletaken1, on 10 February 2016 - 08:00 PM, said:

...do the books written by Esslemont take place at a similar time to the SE books or are they at a different time?

A little of both. The reading order Esa reco'd upthread will keep everything clear. Ish.

Ah sweet

[Egwene]

My personal favourite is probably 'The Bonehunters' but I really loved Reaper's Gale as well... and I think the reason that few people quote the last two books as favourites is because they really are one book - one thing all of them have in common... SE delivers incredible finishes- every time!!!

[Soletaken1]

Egwene, on 12 February 2016 - 09:54 PM, said:

My personal favourite is probably 'The Bonehunters' but I really loved Reaper's Gale as well... and I think the reason that few people quote the last two books as favourites is because they really are one book - one thing all of them have in common... SE delivers incredible finishes- every time!!!

Great! Super pumped to crack on! About to start house of chains

[Siergiej]

Do not bother with rereads until you're past The Crippled God, unless you take a long a break between two books along the way. Erikson has buried a ton of amazing foreshadowing in each novel, so it's best enjoyed with the full picture (of as full as it is after tCG ) in mind. Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are, as far as I recall, indeed the most common picks for favorite books (my TOP 2 as well, with Bonehunters taking the third spot). I suspect this is partially for the reasons mentioned above and partially because the next two--House of Chains and Midnight Tides--are sort of a change of direction, both in style and story. I'm yet to finish my full reread of the Malazan saga, but at this point I'd argue these two gain the most when rereading, because you already know where the changes are headed.

[Kanese S's]

Soletaken1, on 10 February 2016 - 12:05 AM, said:

Hi everyone!
I am new here so go easy As the title says, I have just finished MOI and I am quite honestly blown away at how SE managed to get my emotions going at the end. WJ, various BBs, Itkovian the list goes on- I can't think of another series that I have read where I have felt such emotion for characters (and I am only on book 3!). While I thought the pacing was at time stagnant (I felt not much was happening at the start), the final third of the book was so breathless that it moe than made up for it. Defintiely my favourite out of the three.

Anyways,I have a few questions:

1. In the scene where WJ dies, Kallor does not kill silverox-is this because of one of the two Malazans injuring Kallor os because of Tayschrenn attacking Kallor?
2.. Korlat and Orfantal are both Eleint Soltetaken- is this a rarity in the Tiste Andii (I know Rake is too) or are lots of Tiste Andii Eleint. If only a few how many are there?
3. Is this the last we see of the Tlan Imass? In particular Olar Elith- an undead eleint soletaken with (according to Kulp) a power similar to Rake/Osric is someone I wanna know more about!

Side questions:
I have heard that DG and MOI are the best books in the series-does this mean tha the series is a little flat from now on or does the bad assery carry on?
I read very quickly, and consequently I often miss subtle plot points. Is there a good point to go back and go and re read GoTM, DG and/or MOI in the series before continuing on?

I probably have loads of other questions which escape me as I am sleepy :/ Thanks in advance- can't wait to crack on with the series!

1. Combination of both. Tays wasn't in very good shape either, but Kallor decided that getting hit by his power once was enough.
2. Like Worry said, pretty much all of the soletaken eleint of Moon's Spawn came out to fight Raest in GotM.
3. You'll see.

What the best books in the series are... well, you'll get a different answer from everyone, and you'll get a different answer from the same person on different days. It's hard to choose.