[Brinkrunner]

I've been reading reviews for this series, and alot of people say that the characters from the first book don;t appear in the second book, but then the reviews for the third say "now that you're connected with the characters..."

Are the first and second books basically 2 casts of characters and they all converge and from the third book in the series they are the main characters? What happens? Why do the reviews contradict eachother?

I'm thinking about reading the first in the series after I'm done with Sword of Truth, I need an author who doesn't forget he's writing a fantasy series halfway through.:D

[Evil Agent]

Erikson is great, but the scale is huge. Multiple continents, and probably more than a hundred characters.

There are basically 3 main storylines, which I'll call A, B, and C. Each one takes place on its own continent.

Book 1: follows storyline A (on the continent of Genabackis)

Book 2: follows storyline B (on the continent of Seven Cities)

Book 3: back to storyline A

Book 4: storyline B

Book 5: introduces storyline C (on the continent of Lether)

Book 6: back to storyline B

Book 7: storyline B & C begin to combine.

That's as far as I've read. But basically it goes A, B, A, B, C, B, B/C....etc.

[molybdenum]

All of Evil's information is quite accurate, barring some characters who cross over into different books. The A, B, C thing probably more accurately describes location then storylines, but you get the picture.

To answer your question, the reviews aren't contradicting. The characters introduced in Book 2 are not the same as in book one, which is true. In Book 3, you go back to the Book 1 characters, so you are familiar with them. This is opposed to at the start of Book 1, when you were not familiar with them. Main characters are kind of not specified in this series, as no character has been in every book.

[D_A]

Some of the characters from Gardens of the Moon are in Deadhouse Gates, but the majority of characters from GotM come back in the third book, Memories of Ice.

The further you get into each of the books, the more characters that Erikson introduces, though most times you'll still get characters from previous books.

Also, if you're looking at reading Erikson, you might want to consider picking up his partner in crime, Ian Cameron Esslemont, who helped create the world with Erikson.

Hope this helps. :)

[Seak]

Erikson is great, but the scale is huge. Multiple continents, and probably more than a hundred characters.

There are basically 3 main storylines, which I'll call A, B, and C. Each one takes place on its own continent.

Book 1: follows storyline A (on the continent of Genabackis)

Book 2: follows storyline B (on the continent of Seven Cities)

Book 3: back to storyline A

Book 4: storyline B

Book 5: introduces storyline C (on the continent of Lether)

Book 6: back to storyline B

Book 7: storyline B & C begin to combine.

That's as far as I've read. But basically it goes A, B, A, B, C, B, B/C....etc.

Nice work, Evil. That puts it quite succinctly, which I'd've never thought one could do with Erikson. :) I'll have to refer people back to this.

[Brinkrunner]

Thanks guys. How wonderful is this series? I've heard people say varied things, world not described well enough, too many characters, etc.

[D_A]

The only thing I can really suggest is to try the first book for yourself and see what you think, and rely less on other people's judgement.

Personally, I think for characterisation, SE is one of the best authors out there. :)

[Seak]

Thanks guys. How wonderful is this series? I've heard people say varied things, world not described well enough, too many characters, etc.

Obviously opinions are all across the board with this series. I love it. It's definitely confusing, it's definitely massive (in both page count and world breadth) and it takes some work, but it's all worth it.

Each ending to each book will blow your mind and I felt that the way you're just dropped into the action actually helps in the end. I felt like I was a part of the world and it was fun for me to figure out certain things along the way. The point when it just dawns on you is great.

So, if you want a series that's little to no work, this might not be for you. If you're willing to put in some effort to get into it, then I think you'll enjoy it immensely like I do.

Hope that helps. :)

[Evil Agent]

The series is awesome. But it is also very long, very complicated, and quite confusing (especially at first). Even reading the first novel isn't necessarily enough to decide whether the series is for you; the 2nd novel is a big step up, in the eyes of many fans.

I'd recommend it... but I don't know what else you've read besides Goodkind. There are author great authors out there, including George R. R. Martin who is one of the most popular on this forum.

[Brinkrunner]

The series is awesome. But it is also very long, very complicated, and quite confusing (especially at first). Even reading the first novel isn't necessarily enough to decide whether the series is for you; the 2nd novel is a big step up, in the eyes of many fans.

I'd recommend it... but I don't know what else you've read besides Goodkind. There are author great authors out there, including George R. R. Martin who is one of the most popular on this forum.

I've also read Tolkien and The Runelords by David Farland. I like The Runelords more than the SOT series though. More magic and action and intrigue is my cup of tea