[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

QuickTidal, on 27 March 2026 - 11:44 AM, said:

and nothing is ever going to hit like the first time I read and finished TCG which was a banger ending. So would I be chasing a feeling I can't repeat, through a LOT of heavy heavy themes.

You know, that's something I hadn't thought about but you're absolutely spot on. Even if I could get through the series again, I'm never going to be able to recapture what finishing TCG and wrapping up the series felt like (largely, reading the last 40 odd pages through tears up until "You were always the best of us Fid" and then descending into full on ugly crying for a solid five minutes) - and not just the ending either. The first time reading the climax of the Chain of Dogs, the first "It was time for the First Sword of the T'lan Imass to announce himself", the first time I read any of the other moments that really stayed with me.

Whereas other things that I'll never recapture the "first time" feeling have transcended into being comforting things to return to, so I don't feel the loss. Malazan is many things but it's never going to be comfortable by its very nature.

Tiste Simeon, on 27 March 2026 - 12:15 PM, said:

I can't fault you for any of that TRB. Plus there are so many good books out there, if you're not going to enjoy reading these huge books you're just wasting your time.

A very fair point - none of us have the time to read/listen to everything we might want to as it is!

Macros, on 27 March 2026 - 12:58 PM, said:

I see me rereading the earlier books at some stage but probably skimming or skipping the depressing boring sections (scillara a prime example)
And stopping at Reapers Gale

But the hard backs of the last 3 are going in the next book purge

I got rid of my Esslemont (never did it for me in quite the same way) and Kharkanas hardback books a long time ago - actually getting through those two and being in a "Bloody hell, never again thank you" headspace should have been a bit of a clue to the direction of travel.

Thanks all, I really appreciate the answers and getting it "out" so to speak was helpful

[Macros]

I don't think I even finished book 2 of kharkanus.

When we finally do get the house sale sorted my book purge will be extensive, dont think any Esslemont or new Erikson will survive

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 27 March 2026 - 01:46 PM, said:

I don't think I even finished book 2 of kharkanus.

I own the second one and never even cracked it open. The first one was just hard to get through. Kudos to anyone who's into it, but it won't be me.

I have a few series on my forever shelf that are probably going to be shown the door in any next purge.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

QuickTidal, on 27 March 2026 - 02:04 PM, said:

I own the second one and never even cracked it open. The first one was just hard to get through. Kudos to anyone who's into it, but it won't be me.

My memory (read it on release, so it's a good while back) is that the second one was even more dense and felt like wading through treacle.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 27 March 2026 - 02:25 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Macros, on 27 March 2026 - 01:46 PM, said:

I don't think I even finished book 2 of kharkanus.

When we finally do get the house sale sorted my book purge will be extensive, dont think any Esslemont or new Erikson will survive

If it helps, I will take your Empire trilogy (Wurtz/Feist).

[Abyss]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 27 March 2026 - 09:02 AM, said:

I think this thread is the best fit - but I've come to the conclusion that I'll be letting my Malazan books go....

GIVE THEM TO MEEEEEEEEE


...ahem, sorry, don't know what came over me there....


...anyways, two thinks:
1. ive always thought and said more than once that part of the love for Malazan is triggered by when you found them.... once upon a time in 2004ish i finished the three SIF books and looked to the interwubs for what else to read and a bunch of recos swore Malazan was the nextestiest thing and HoC had just landed and the rest is entirely subjective personal history that drew me in and kept me as the series rolled out and this place evolved and my life did life things. If i were just encountering the series now, 2026, with 24ish books on the shelves and most of my reading in earbook form and evrything else where it is i'm sure my take would be different, but there it is and there it was and i wouldn't change anything (except those times when i had to hunt/chase/threaten assorted courier company employees but i'm told i can have those charges expunged in another five years). My point is sometimes things are precious as much for when as what and that can and does change, which brings us to...

2. They're just books. ...oh sit down and stop throwing things people i'm going somewhere w this.... they're just 'things'... now if someone comes for my signed books or out of print and/or utterly read to shreds MMPBs we're going to have bloodshed and dismemberment, but the rest.... they take up space, they're heavy and huge and yes they look lovely on a bookshelf but no i'm never going to sit and read them ever again in dead tree form barring a worldwide EMP events disintegrating my tablet and if i need the space or the spinal health, away they go. And if somewhere down the road i decide that i want them back, possibly to decorate my tomb, i'll get them again, new or 2nd hand, whatever.

All of which is to say GIVE THEM TO ME TRB WHY MUST THE POOR LITTLE BOOKS SUFFER GIVE THEM TO MEEEEEE ... ahem, right, what were we talking about?

[Cause]

There was a time I loved the Malazan series and this forum has been part of my life for longer than it hasn’t been. I have to echo Abyss’s sentiment though that timing was key.

When I was a younger reader and everything was fresh, plot Hooks bit into my brain in a way I can no longer experience. Today I’d probably recognize the overly complicated hundred thousand year old backstory of Malazan and endless promises of new mysteries waiting for revelations as promised for a feast that will never come. 25 years ago I loved diving deeper into the lore and thought when everything came together my head would explode with how brilliant it all ways.

Kharkanas is untouchable. After waiting years for the Teblor trilogy I recently saw on shelves that it came out and passed me by without me noticing and can’t tell if I even want to try it. Today I can realize how Malazan coming from Erickson and Esselmonts DnD campaigns led to it being the mess that it is.

Sadly my enjoyment of fantasy in general these days is somewhat undermined by the fact that most series either never finish or finish below their promised expectations. Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch,

This post has been edited by Cause: 03 April 2026 - 08:13 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

FWIW the witness books are phenomenal. A lot faster paced and more entertaining than the heavier slower MBOTF or Kharkanas.

[Macros]

Eh, YMMV, I didnt jizz in my pants like everyone else over witness

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Cause, on 03 April 2026 - 08:12 PM, said:

25 years ago I loved diving deeper into the lore and thought when everything came together my head would explode with how brilliant it all ways.

I really recognise this for me too! I'm mildly irritated to this day that I have no explanation for why Quick Ben was having a chat to Mother Dark as if he knew her in whichever of the last three books it was. I can absolutely be content with things not being explained - just don't bait me with the possibility of an explanation that never arrives.

Cause, on 03 April 2026 - 08:12 PM, said:

Sadly my enjoyment of fantasy in general these days is somewhat undermined by the fact that most series either never finish or finish below their promised expectations. Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch,

I'm a mixture of hesitant and slow to read new fantasy series, so I haven't really got into a new one in quite a while.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 10 April 2026 - 02:56 PM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Cause, on 03 April 2026 - 08:12 PM, said:

Sadly my enjoyment of fantasy in general these days is somewhat undermined by the fact that most series either never finish or finish below their promised expectations. Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch,

Oh man, I feel like there's no better time than today to be a fantasy reader! There are so many series that are up and coming, or recently finished, or just regularly published by consistent authors that I have faith in.

[Tiste Simeon]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 11 April 2026 - 06:43 AM, said:

Cause, on 03 April 2026 - 08:12 PM, said:

Sadly my enjoyment of fantasy in general these days is somewhat undermined by the fact that most series either never finish or finish below their promised expectations. Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch,

Oh man, I feel like there's no better time than today to be a fantasy reader! There are so many series that are up and coming, or recently finished, or just regularly published by consistent authors that I have faith in.

I thought the exact same thing! Three examples (one of which is massively overrated) does not represent the entire genre which is alive and thriving!

This post has been edited by Tiste Simeon: 11 April 2026 - 09:58 AM

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 11 April 2026 - 09:57 AM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 11 April 2026 - 06:43 AM, said:

Cause, on 03 April 2026 - 08:12 PM, said:

Sadly my enjoyment of fantasy in general these days is somewhat undermined by the fact that most series either never finish or finish below their promised expectations. Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch,

Oh man, I feel like there's no better time than today to be a fantasy reader! There are so many series that are up and coming, or recently finished, or just regularly published by consistent authors that I have faith in.

I thought the exact same thing! Three examples (one of which is massively overrated) does not represent the entire genre which is alive and thriving!

Third'd... GRRM was failing even before the current drought, Rothfuss put out a decent, not great, bk 1 that became massively overrated and overhyped none of which was borne out by bk 2, and Lynch's produced a wonderful bk 1 but didn't/couldn't maintain the high (which is in no way a comment on his mental health, just his writing). These are not a basis on which to judge the state of fantasy lit. They're outliers that demonstrate author implosion is a thing.

[Maark Abbott]

I am still excited for Blessed Khark but I am not really in a rush to read Witness 2. The first one felt kind of... forced? I don't know, the pieces were there but it just didn't click for me.

That said I barely read any more these days because the mental noise distracts me away from it.

[Cause]

I still read a ton of fantasy obviously. Those 3 I mentioned however are not the only 3 just some of the more obvious and Lynch was recently on my mind after falling off my radar for years. Bakkers series is in limbo which is a shame. Series drop off in quality. It’s not even a fantasy book problem so much as an entertainment problem. Tv shows get cancelled all the time, movie sequels drop in quality. However books sucks in me in the most. I move on from a cancelled tv show far sooner than I do a book series that never finishes. Finding a completed high quality book series is such a joy.