The Malazan Empire is a cluster fuck. You've got Empress Laseen on one hand, who's taken the continent in a coup a couple of years ago, the resistance on the other hand trying to eliminate her rule and maintain the unoccupied cities and then you have the gods who are meddling in mortal affairs and trying to screw each other over. Fun Times!
INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
First of all, if you haven't read this book already, make sure you buy it in paperback! Avoid Audio and e-book versions. I had it on my kindle and was unable to view the map + found it really tiresome to skip to the glossary every time I encountered a new character/race/country/etc. which kept me in a state of continuous confusion.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is infamous for being a mind fuck. Erikson even writes a note at the start pretty much warning readers about how confusing the book is going to be. Found that a bit odd tbh, it was like he's defending his writing. an author shouldn't have to do that! Anyway it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be in terms of having to keep up but I definitely have to go back and read it now, things will make SO MUCH sense and the reading experience will be way better. That being said, i enjoyed this, it was a breathe of fresh air. What an intricate world and what an imagination! How can one man (or two in this case) hold all this in their heads? Very impressed. 5 stars for the world Erikson created and for all the pedantic details that went into it.
Contrary to what others say, it wasn't a fast read for me. Because I wasn't 100% certain what was going on, some storylines did not interest me and i found my reading lagging every time those chapters came up. On the other hand, I breezed through chapters that contained plots I enjoyed (Crokus, Sorry, Krupe- who btw is the best character evaaa). All in all, this book was 50/50 for me; I was intrigued but not blown away, impressed with the world building yet slightly bored, amused by the characters but not invested in them.
I have high hopes for the rest of the series. Now that I have my bearing and will be purchasing a paperback, I feel the second book will be rewarding.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
First of all, if you haven't read this book already, make sure you buy it in paperback! Avoid Audio and e-book versions. I had it on my kindle and was unable to view the map + found it really tiresome to skip to the glossary every time I encountered a new character/race/country/etc. which kept me in a state of continuous confusion.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is infamous for being a mind fuck. Erikson even writes a note at the start pretty much warning readers about how confusing the book is going to be. Found that a bit odd tbh, it was like he's defending his writing. an author shouldn't have to do that! Anyway it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be in terms of having to keep up but I definitely have to go back and read it now, things will make SO MUCH sense and the reading experience will be way better. That being said, i enjoyed this, it was a breathe of fresh air. What an intricate world and what an imagination! How can one man (or two in this case) hold all this in their heads? Very impressed. 5 stars for the world Erikson created and for all the pedantic details that went into it.
Contrary to what others say, it wasn't a fast read for me. Because I wasn't 100% certain what was going on, some storylines did not interest me and i found my reading lagging every time those chapters came up. On the other hand, I breezed through chapters that contained plots I enjoyed (Crokus, Sorry, Krupe- who btw is the best character evaaa). All in all, this book was 50/50 for me; I was intrigued but not blown away, impressed with the world building yet slightly bored, amused by the characters but not invested in them.
I have high hopes for the rest of the series. Now that I have my bearing and will be purchasing a paperback, I feel the second book will be rewarding.
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