Malazan Empire: Gideon The Ninth - Malazan Empire

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Gideon The Ninth discussion thread, spoilers OK but in blocks for now

#121 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 28 August 2020 - 09:49 PM

I still can't get into this book. It seems quite disjointed and my commute isn't that long so I never get a good chunk of it...

This post has been edited by Tiste Simeon: 28 August 2020 - 09:50 PM

A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
0

#122 User is offline   champ 

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Posted 12 October 2020 - 04:23 PM

I'm not enjoying this perspective, feels weird to read and I haven't settled down into the book yet but I'm going to stick with it.

Tehol said:

'Yet my heart breaks for a naked hen.'
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#123 User is offline   HoosierDaddy 

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Posted 13 October 2020 - 12:23 AM

Took me a few minutes to settle in. Was very drop you in and let you figure it out, much like Malazan. But, I stuck to it and trusted and read and did settle in fairly quickly and it picks up considerably and then gets really compelling and easy to read.

I'd have to put some thought into an actual review, but I really enjoyed it in the end.

Onto the second at some point here. After some other books I need to read.
Trouble arrives when the opponents to such a system institute its extreme opposite, where individualism becomes godlike and sacrosanct, and no greater service to any other ideal (including community) is possible. In such a system rapacious greed thrives behind the guise of freedom, and the worst aspects of human nature come to the fore....
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#124 User is offline   Salt-Man Z 

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Posted 13 October 2020 - 04:03 PM

Finished Harrow last night. It was very good! I didn't remember the ending of Gideon well enough to not be entirely confused by the start of this one, so I had to skim the last couple of chapters of that (still on my nightstand from last year, at least!) I do agree that the "flashback" scenes kind of dragged out; they did have a clear purpose, but the reader figures out what's going on long before the book decides to start doing more important/interesting things with that setting. The "A" plot was much more engaging, though maybe felt like it was trying to be a little too clever/convoluted. Loved God and the Lyctors. The pop culture references were rather hit-or-miss, often feeling too forced, the "none pizza left beef" riff being the worst offender of the bunch. ("Jail for mother" was maybe too blatant, but it made me laugh.) And the ending! I finished the last 3-4 chapters last night, and it's just revelation after revelation, holy cow. Things don't get wrapped up a nicely as in the first book, which is a little disappointing, but clearly the stage has been set for the finale. I guess I'm not entirely clear on how things stand at the end, though:
Spoiler

"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
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#125 User is offline   Imperial Historian 

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Posted 13 October 2020 - 04:21 PM

View PostSalt-Man Z, on 13 October 2020 - 04:03 PM, said:

Finished Harrow last night. It was very good! I didn't remember the ending of Gideon well enough to not be entirely confused by the start of this one, so I had to skim the last couple of chapters of that (still on my nightstand from last year, at least!) I do agree that the "flashback" scenes kind of dragged out; they did have a clear purpose, but the reader figures out what's going on long before the book decides to start doing more important/interesting things with that setting. The "A" plot was much more engaging, though maybe felt like it was trying to be a little too clever/convoluted. Loved God and the Lyctors. The pop culture references were rather hit-or-miss, often feeling too forced, the "none pizza left beef" riff being the worst offender of the bunch. ("Jail for mother" was maybe too blatant, but it made me laugh.) And the ending! I finished the last 3-4 chapters last night, and it's just revelation after revelation, holy cow. Things don't get wrapped up a nicely as in the first book, which is a little disappointing, but clearly the stage has been set for the finale. I guess I'm not entirely clear on how things stand at the end, though:
Spoiler



Spoiler


I also loved this whilst being frequently confused! I ended up rereading gideon and then the book made a lot more sense.
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#126 User is offline   champ 

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Posted 14 October 2020 - 01:29 PM

I'm enjoying Harrow now, I had too man distractions when I first started reading the book to be able to settle in to it.


Up to chapter 11, I've got a good idea where it is heading, interested to see how it gets there.


Spoiler up to that point...


Spoiler

Tehol said:

'Yet my heart breaks for a naked hen.'
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#127 User is offline   Dolmen 2.0 

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    Waiting till jean gets here.

Posted 15 October 2020 - 07:10 PM

I loved Gideon the Ninth.

I'll be honest, the ending threw me for a six.
“Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof Gas-Fireproof.”
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#128 User is offline   champ 

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 03:25 PM

View PostSalt-Man Z, on 13 October 2020 - 04:03 PM, said:

Spoiler




Re

My guesses...

Spoiler

Tehol said:

'Yet my heart breaks for a naked hen.'
1

#129 User is offline   Coltaine - 

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Posted 19 October 2020 - 06:00 PM

Got both books last week and finished Harrow yesterday. Probably didn't sleep enough, but worth it ^^


GtN is an amazing book and while I was confused at the beginning of HtN, I really enjoyed what Muir build up to. Also the cast got some great additions.









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#130 User is offline   Coltaine - 

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Posted 19 October 2020 - 06:22 PM

View Postchamp, on 18 October 2020 - 03:25 PM, said:

View PostSalt-Man Z, on 13 October 2020 - 04:03 PM, said:

Spoiler




Re

My guesses...

Spoiler




Spoiler

This post has been edited by - Coltaine - : 20 October 2020 - 07:42 PM

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#131 User is offline   Coltaine - 

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Posted 19 October 2020 - 06:25 PM

And one of my favourite lines Posted Image

Spoiler


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#132 User is offline   Cyphon 

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Posted 26 October 2020 - 10:41 PM

View Post- Coltaine -, on 19 October 2020 - 06:25 PM, said:

And one of my favourite lines Posted Image

Spoiler



Finished tonight. As a relatively new dad I loved that line.

Enjoyed that and made the first book better in my opinion and relived my concerns about it.

I think I'm going to have to buy the eyebooks as well. I like listening but I don't think I quite get the detail in the same way as when I'm reading.

Quite curious as to where the epilogue is set, as it sounded closer to what sounds like normal scenes over the epic sci-fi we've had so far.

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 26 October 2020 - 10:43 PM

Para todos todo, para nosotros nada.

MottI'd always pegged you as more of an Ublala
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#133 User is offline   Salt-Man Z 

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Posted 27 October 2020 - 05:06 AM

Cross-posting from the cheap ebooks thread:

Tor.com's Sep/Oct free short story collection is available now: https://tor.com/2020...ion-newsletter/

It includes a GIDEON THE NINTH spinoff story, about young Palamedes and Camilla of the Sixth House, titled "The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex".
"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
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#134 User is offline   Coltaine - 

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Posted 27 October 2020 - 09:40 PM

View PostSalt-Man Z, on 27 October 2020 - 05:06 AM, said:

Cross-posting from the cheap ebooks thread:

Tor.com's Sep/Oct free short story collection is available now: https://tor.com/2020...ion-newsletter/

It includes a GIDEON THE NINTH spinoff story, about young Palamedes and Camilla of the Sixth House, titled "The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex".


Thanks alot Posted Image
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#135 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 03 November 2020 - 10:33 PM

Not quite sure what went on tbh but I finished at last. I think I got enough of it to understand it mostly but I'm still not sure
Spoiler

A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
0

#136 User is offline   Coltaine - 

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Posted 04 November 2020 - 10:36 PM

View PostTiste Simeon, on 03 November 2020 - 10:33 PM, said:

Not quite sure what went on tbh but I finished at last. I think I got enough of it to understand it mostly but I'm still not sure
Spoiler



Spoiler

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#137 User is offline   Abyss 

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Posted 31 July 2021 - 03:52 AM

https://www.tor.com/...om-tamsyn-muir/

Whoa... the trilogy just became FOUR BOOKS!
THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
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#138 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 01 August 2021 - 05:49 AM

So excited we get 4 books.
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#139 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 01 September 2022 - 09:35 PM

https://www.tor.com/...nona-the-ninth/

Still debating whether I'm going to read the 3rd... I loved Gideon, did not love Harrow. I might see if I can find a fairly in depth recap of what happened in both books and see if I'm feeling it because I do love the way the works has been created and the concept behind it all...
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
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#140 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 01 September 2022 - 10:46 PM

I'll let you know if it's more like Gideon or more like Harrow after I'm done - which will be the first week it's out. I do need to figure out who's getting a black edge edition though.
I survived the Permian and all I got was this t-shirt.
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