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Dalmuti posted:sometimes you get hit in the face by sky garbage and sometimes it contains the soul of a wolf god This series seems to have a lot of that kind of stuff. I was confused as hell when Tool materialized out of dust in Book 1, but now I mostly take such events in stride.
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Nov 26, 2013 23:54
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The books aren't linear in terms of time: why on earth would the world be any different ? 
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Dec 6, 2013 22:42
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nucleicmaxid posted:Well you're not going to get much out of them in The Bonehunters sadly. It's an ok book, but it's nothing compared to Midnight Tides and Reaper's Gale (which you should totally super look forward to, it's a great book.) I'm in the middle of Reaper's Gale right now. Tehol and Bugg make me laugh out loud: something that hasn't happened consistently since I was a teenager reading David Eddings.
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Jan 8, 2014 17:11
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I need to hurry up and finish this series so that I can go back reveal all of the spoiler tags. I'm on Reaper's Gale at the moment... I'm really enjoying the series. My biggest gripe in terms of world-building is that all magical contests seem to devolve into whose energy blast is bigger than the other guy's. The occasional use of Mockra aside, there's nothing subtle about magic. I feel like a lot of potential for mysterious, insidious magic was left on the table largely unexplored and mostly ignored (e.g. candles, interactions with spirits and the undead).
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Feb 2, 2014 18:19
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I don't disagree with the points above, but it still seems to me that every contest between magicians devolves into a contest of explosions. Maybe that's okay, though. At any rate, the descriptions of magic outside of Big Energy Blasts are both interesting and well-written.
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Feb 3, 2014 13:46
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the least weasel posted:An author writes a non-standard (read: not traditional attractive) woman for a change and some idiot cover artist transforms her into Sexy Thin Lady #852. When "artistic license" means "prettifying", honestly I find that kinda poo poo. I have to agree. One of the early things I liked is that Erikson's characters weren't all paragons of beauty.
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Feb 4, 2014 14:28
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I consistently have a difficult time expressing why I'm enjoying this series, and there are several things I strongly dislike. And yet, I always want to read "just a few more pages" before turning in for the night.
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Feb 8, 2014 02:04
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Sometimes I think the OP should be updated to say "Go read the first 10 books, and then read this thread. No, seriously. I'm still on Reaper's Gale, and may do just that when I get through The Chained God.
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Feb 20, 2014 23:16
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I see this kind of stuff and really wish ebooks came with art. Even maps are hard to read.
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Feb 25, 2014 01:29
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I've gotten all of mine through Google Play in the last 12 months or so, and have noticed only a handful of errors (perhaps 1 per book). Not to start a religious debate between Amazon, Google, etc., but the Google Play versions don't have DRM. Do the Kindle versions?
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Feb 26, 2014 16:36
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I tried, really tried, to read Fiest after his first four books. Prince of the Blood was tolerable. The rest I found miserably bad. Trench warfare with archers? Really?
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Feb 27, 2014 03:13
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The Malazan Book of the Fallen: Get used to spoiler tags I seriously think I'm going to re-read this thread when I finally get through Book 10. Too many words, indeed. I do appreciate that many characters don't resort to brute force at the first opportunity, though these same characters are often quite tragic.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:35
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So I'm coming to the end of Reaper's Gale. Am I correct that Tool and Onrack are brothers-in-law? Also, I found Toc the Younger's story arc a bit of a letdown in the end. Am I missing something, or is an overriding theme here futility?
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Mar 12, 2014 19:40
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I didn't love Gardens of the Moon, and in some ways wasn't any less confused several books in. I started enjoying the story a lot more, however, when I just acknowledged that not having any clue what was going on is part of the story-telling. Some authors hide the Big Bad Monster. Some authors hide distant lands. Erickson hides the plot.
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Mar 20, 2014 15:45
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The laughing monk certainly thought so.
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Mar 21, 2014 14:22
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Tattersail's use of the deck at the beginning of Gardens of the Moon definitely hooked me on the series, in spite of my later misgivings over the use of magic. I really like the concept that using magic to foresee is inherently dangerous to the magician and those around her or him.
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Apr 3, 2014 05:15
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Fiddler is one of my favorite characters in the series so far, probably because he reminds me of several grumpy sergeants I knew. Hedge, on the other hand, I can't stand.
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Apr 3, 2014 15:09
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I'll admit the undead cyborg space velociraptors threw me off at first, but I've come to enjoy being thrown off balance by this series.
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Apr 5, 2014 03:02
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You forgot the various one-man armies that seem to stroll around. Though it's always surprising when one of them suddenly gets their teeth kicked in unexpectedly.
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Apr 6, 2014 13:26
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savinhill posted:Cutter does get to finish TtH on some really high notes though, so reading his parts won't be in vain if you're not enjoying them so far. Well, that's a relief. He was an okay character in Gardens of the Moon, but I'm just starting Toll the Hounds and have found him insufferable ever since. Icarium started off interesting, but with no real character development since his introduction, Ifind sectinos with him to be a slog. Mappo makes up for a lot, however. I can't help but wonder if these sentiments are intended by the author, however. Most characters seem to like Fiddler and barely tolerate Hedge, in spite of their friendship, and I feel much the same.
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Apr 7, 2014 10:07
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Really? Heboric I understand, but Udinaas has grown on me throughout the series. Maybe it's because his nihilism degenerates into "Oh yeah? Well gently caress you too!" rather than "I shall sit here despondently until death takes my gloomy, worthless soul in this, my hopeless existence." I saw a real turning point when he told Feather Witch to get lost.
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Apr 7, 2014 22:30
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I like to think that if Udinaas was ever hit by a train, he'd flip off the conductor just before being hit.
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Apr 9, 2014 23:19
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Habibi posted:A Dragondemonimassfalconthunderbird. ...with swords for arms.
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May 4, 2014 13:34
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The Empress' incompetence is something that took awhile to sink in for me. I don't think I really picked up on it until the end of The Bonehunters. One gets so used to highly competent characters--sometimes supernaturally so--that coming across someone in power who's an absolute fool is jarring. For the first several books I just assumed she was very, very subtle. To be honest, I've started to wonder the same thing about Tayschren (sp?).
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May 14, 2014 17:07
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amuayse posted:I never got the whole thing about the Empress sacrificing the Wickans though. Also, how did she manage to lose the Moranth's support? I interpreted it as her redirecting the anger of the Mob. She felt like Malaz City could explode at any moment, so it was better to give the Mob an enemy on which to vent their anger.
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May 15, 2014 19:12
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Habibi posted:Out of the entire main series you have maybe two books of their Really? Even that crew seems to be able to get things done when they need to, albeit with a lot of passive-aggressive "we don't give a poo poo and our existence is pointless" monologues.
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May 27, 2014 21:44
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apathy and whatever, and every other book of them getting poo poo done.
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uh zip zoom posted:I like the "who would win in a fight" game. Let's play: Quick Ben, hands down. I just don't see Sormo knocking three dragons out of the sky. Apsalar, again hands down. I don't remember anything Lostara Yil did that was particularly impressive. As the OP says, though: there are too many wor'ds, so I may be forgetting something. Do you mean old, alive Hedge or new, Ascendant Hedge with an unlimited supply of cussers? If the former, then Apt. If the latter, I'd go even odds on Hedge. Rallick if he gets the drop on Baudin. Baudin in a straight up fight. Depends on who's on home turf. If on neutral ground, probably Kruppe given he seems to have some inside knowledge into the workings of Ascendants.
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Jun 1, 2014 01:15
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I've used nothing but ebooks since starting the series a year or two ago. The versions from Google have not had any errors I've noticed. I read fairly quickly, so it's possible my eye simply skips errors and fills then in, but I haven't found it distracting, for whatever that's worth.
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Jun 4, 2014 12:06
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The loss of both Trull and Rhulad affected me far more than Beak, to be honest. Still, this series is the gift that keeps on taking. I just got through the attack at the tavern and didn't realize I liked Bluepearl as much as I did until he passed.
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Jun 9, 2014 15:36
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Really? I like Blend and Picker a lot. Even Antsy has grown on me, in that "this guy is annoying as gently caress but he's still family so we have to put up with him" kind of way. I still can't stand Hedge, though. Go figure.
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Jun 9, 2014 20:47
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If you remove all of the hand-wringing, self-loathing, and internal pontificating on the virtues of nihilism, they might be able to get each book into a 2-3 hour movie, or 4-6 episodes on HBO. I'd love to see the sales pitch: "So we've got these undead cavemen, right? And they hate these loners with ~Ice Powers~, but sometimes these velociraptors with swords for arms come in and just gently caress everyone up, and then there are these soldiers running around under a mountain that flies and..."
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Jun 16, 2014 15:14
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The whole point of GURPS is that the setting didn't drive the core rules. I don't know of any system expressly designed for it, however. D20 would oversimplify it. Rolemaster would need modified soul departure rules, but could work.
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Jun 17, 2014 04:38
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Danny DeVito is only good at playing Danny DeVito. I always pictured Tattersail as pretty in spite of herself, so to speak. Confidence goes a long way in making someone attractive.
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Jun 28, 2014 12:52
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Don't worry: enough characters are introspective nihilists that the prolific magic and powerful beings seem to fade a little. Plus, there are so many bad assess traipsing around it levels things somewhat.
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Jul 2, 2014 02:41
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Later on a number of characters muse on the worship of empty thrones. The empty throne becomes a recurring image, both explicit and at times implicit.
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Jul 3, 2014 00:08
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It's an interesting hypothesis that will alone can beget a warren, but seems to contradict Erickson's nihilist viewpoint that nothing really matters in the end anyways. "Yes, your will is so strong it can be its own warren. Too bad everything dies anyways.
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Jul 22, 2014 18:24
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anilEhilated posted:That could also refer to Spite and Envy, though. IIRC at least one of them actually helped Anomander there. I hadn't considered that angle, but I think both interpretations are valid.
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Jul 23, 2014 12:05
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anilEhilated posted:My favorite bit of foreshadowing in the series is the whole plotline related to the ship Silanda. It's spread over three or four books and it's just amazing when you put the whole story together. I'm towards the end of Toll the Hounds, so I think the Silanda storyline is complete. Is it?
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Jul 25, 2014 15:10
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Spermy Smurf posted:Plus the Malazan universe has a huge boner for Rake. I thought Rake was kind of meh in GotM. Then I read the other books. He's a much deeper character than Erickson first shows us, even though all sorts of Tiste Andii basically scream that fact at the reader. Maybe I'm slow, but I didn't really get the hubbub about Rake until just recently, when I finished TtH.
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Aug 16, 2014 03:13
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"We need a better bow with which to hunt bhederin." "Nah, we'll just use magic to convince the bhederin to come closer." "Nah, we'll just use fireballs to kill the bhederin faster. It cooks them, too." "Nah, we'll just ..."
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Aug 18, 2014 21:20
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