Anyone read this series? I bought the first book, Gardens of the Moon , read two chapters and quit. I found it hard to get into and I didn't relate to any of the characters (unlike most of Tokien's work).
Should I give it another go or move on to something else?
you definitely should give it another try
granted, gardens of the moon isn't exactly light reading, but once you get to know the history and the characters, i'm pretty sure you'll be swept away by it.
so far i thought the third book in the series was excellent ! looking forward to the next ones (haven't read the fourth one yet)
this series for me is right up there with Martin's Song of Ice and Fire and other great classic Fantasy series like Thomas Covenant and yes, Lord of the Rings
Should I give it another go or move on to something else?
Anamatrix, I did the same thing with GotM as you did about a year ago. I heard great things about the series so ordered the first book. When it came in the mail, I dove right in, but only made it to about page 75. To be honest, it confused the hell out of me. Anyway, about 8 months ago, I picked it back up and swept through the whole book. Within the next few months I read the 2nd and 3rd books in the series.Should I give it another go or move on to something else?
Needless to say, this series is among my all time favorites. If you pick GotM up again in a few months, you may be able to get into it a little more easily since you've already had a 'primer' of sorts.
yeah give it another go if you like epic fantasy and don't mind not being handed everything on a silver plate.
good fun trying to figure out who's the good/evil guys as well
Tolkien's characters are as flat as cardboard.Originally posted by Animatrix
I found it hard to get into and I didn't relate to any of the characters (unlike most of Tokien's work).
If you don't like not knowing what's going on, don't bother reading the rest. Erikson never fully explains anything, you are kept guessing through the entire series thus far.
its all very confusing throughout the first book really, but persevere, and it'll all be much clearer when you get to the later books...
Oh come on Animatrix, it's fantasy bombs, what more do you want?Seriously I think Erikson is the best fantasy author out there. In never experianced this confusion everyone mentions with Gardens of the Moon, but trust me, it's worth getting into.
Originally posted by sadf
Tolkien's characters are as flat as cardboard.
China, is that you?
DrB
I have to agree with the above comments. SE explained in an interview that he wanted to make it difficult and challenging for the reader. He wanted to make the story line unclear so that it wouldn't be the same predictable kitchen boy saves world cliche'. Anyway my own personal opinion is that he ranks right up there with Hobb, and Martin in cleverness, inventfullness, and creativity. I loved his books, and "yes" I do admit there were times in all of his books that I said out loud, "What the **** is going on here?", but kept on reading and eventually everything ironed itself out. Eventually he starts giving you little inklings on what a warren is, or what a jhag is, or what the history of the T'lan imass is...I think what he has done is pretty intense and incredible and based on most people's opinions I think everyone else does too.
To sum up, KEEP READING! YOU WILL ENJOY IT!!!!! LOL.
They're good, but nowhere near ASOIAF. Better than just about everything else.
Excellent novels. I have not seen a drop in quality throughout the series which is a wonderful thing indeed.
I find the books fast moving and exciting - I do not think ive really read a chapter that has bored me in the slightest (and usually i bore easily as my attention span it not so good heh). There also really seems to be a wonderful change of perspective between each chapter. For me this makes the reading so much more exciting.
For the record I was also a bit concerned when i started to read the series. Trying to take in a new author/writing style along with fairly complex fantasy - and with the storyline starting in the middle of some action was fairly tough. It was fine afterwards though once i got some experience with the writing style and the Malazan world - then i was able to concentrate on the storyline a bit more.
In regards to Erikson being better than GRRM or not, it really does depend on what you are looking for. For example if you want lots of magical aspect to your novels then it has to be Erikson.
go here
What is it everyone finds difficult about the book in the beginning? I got the book this morning after the numerous recommendations ive seen here (and cause fools fate hasnt arrived yet!!) and given im only 60 pages in i dont really find it difficult or at least any more so than most books in a new series.
I find in a new series it always takes a while to get used to characters, worlds ,environments etc. The only difference so far is how you are thrown into a bit of action at the beginning and not knowing all the details of what is going on.
Throughly good so far.
Whiskeyjack....got be name of the year
Keep reading, it becomes better and better. The first book is really good but the next three are in a league of their own in the epic fantasy genre. And for me is a bit silly to judge the characters from two chapters especially SE's characters, most of them are kind of mysterious and not what they look like in when we first meet them. At lest try until page 200 or something when you know the Bridgeburners. If you don't like them chances are you won't like the whole series.
Agreed.Tolkien's characters are as flat as cardboard
And I have to say that Erikson, IMO, is far better than Martin but that's another topic.
What's the deal with this "I can't understand GOTM!" nonsense! The series isn't dense, just rushed and flimsy.
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