yeah that's what I've heard about WoT. I definitely wanna give it a go sometime.

@xeno: I'd take a break after MoI. often considered a fan favorite. it's a fun book (lots of action) and ends in a good spot for a break - so much so you don't even see a lot of the characters again until the 8th book. plus the first few hundred pages of book 4 focus entirely on one single, new character before picking back up from where DG ended.

although taking a break now and then another before book 5 (which is an entirely new set of characters on a new continent) would be good too

Album Rating: 4.0

agreed with that actually, MoI is a good break point, since it wraps up a few plotlines started in Gardens of the Moon and, like trilogique said, the first third of House of Chains dumps you directly into yet another brand spanking new setting and group of characters.

but whenever you do get around to it, I guarantee that you'll love Memories of Ice if you even had a passing affection for the first two. that book is pretty much my personal standard for completely balls-out high fantasy.

Album Rating: 4.0

also, I would argue that Malazan is at its best when it brings the whole "giant zombie velociraptors with swords for arms" plot element into the mix.

Album Rating: 5.0

"I’m 50/50 on starting Memories of Ice and diving into the pulpy Wheel of Time for a little break/levity"



the best stop point is actually after book four because book five introduces the last of the three major regions and spawns an entirely new cast of characters so you start fresh there. Memories of Ice would be the next best just because the first three books tie in really closely by the end and even though House of Chains is more related than Midnight Tides, the first third or whatever makes it feel like a totally new series.

Album Rating: 4.5

MoI is definitely one of the most consistently engaging books in the series

Midnight Tides was consistently more engaging for me personally, but MoI is definitely second. only knock on MoI is the Mhybe plotline which was boring as hell.

"However I am not entirely sure what’s going on"

Malazan in a nutshell

Album Rating: 4.5

Midnight Tides is definitely one of the tighter books too yeah. Plus, it has Tehol and Bugg.

maybe? it introduces a new major character and some people find the first section that follows him to be off putting or repulsive for reasons you'll discover. I enjoyed that part and him in general a lot though.

other than him it focuses on the Malazan army and Whirlwind stuff, Mappo/Icarium, Kalam, a duo of new characters (who I loathed in book 4 but grew to love in book 5), Crokus/Apsalar/ST/Cotillion and a few others as well.

it's the third weakest of the series for me (book 1 being my least favorite and book 9 being second weakest) but I'd still give it like a 7.5/10. maybe 8/10. the ending is what soured me most on the book tbh.

yeah you might not like the first part of book 4 then haha

Album Rating: 3.0

Just read the Silmarillion

Album Rating: 4.0

House of Chains is definitely one of the lower tier Malazan books for me largely because, yeah, some of the new additions are pretty fucking offputting (although they do actually become a lot more likeable in later books). however, the plot is still pretty crucial, and the storylines with Cotillion and with Icarium makes it a net positive read imo.

Album Rating: 5.0

'"However I am not entirely sure what’s going on"



Malazan in a nutshell'



imma be honest, i think this is how you're supposed to feel. like you have to have an absurd memory and reading comprehension to perfectly keep up with all the bullshit he throws in there.

Album Rating: 5.0

also idk what to say to anyone that doesn't know that toll the hounds is the worst book in the series. i dont care that the last 200 pages or whatever are fantastic, the rest of that motherfucker drags like a bitch

it is how you're supposed to feel. there's very little exposition, which is one of my favorite parts about the series. it makes the characters feel authentic - like they actually live there. and it's really rewarding to piece together the hints and clues. i heard the second read is a totally different experience because of all this.

and nah i don't think toll the hounds is the worst at all. i thought dust of dreams was so much more of a trudge to get through. it started off well, and the ending is incredible, but the middle section drags so much.

Album Rating: 4.5

I agree, I like Toll a lot but Dust of Dreams is probably my least favorite (granted, it’s supposed to be understood as the first half of the finale so it’s not really intended to be a satisfying whole in itself like the other books are)

Album Rating: 5.0

The kchain che'malle were very hard for me to imagine at first too, especially once you learn more about them. I was questioning the plausibility at certain points just off base anatomy, but as far as I can tell they really are just giant velociraptor things with sword arms lol



which is fucking classic in retrospect.



I will reiterate that I generally find the whole stretch from Toll the Hounds to Dust of Dreams and the first part of The Crippled God to be really fucking slow, but Toll the Hounds actually bored me to tears for so much of its length.

Album Rating: 5.0

I routinely see people pop up and say Toll The Hounds or Dust of Dreams is amazing though so it's clearly just the opinion for some, but I have seen a lot more people generally agree with me on those two. You might like them more than me of course. All in all the trudge is worth it since both have really powerful moments, it's just the in between that Erikson really fails at for me.

Album Rating: 4.0

there's some decent fan art out there for Malazan (and some not-so-decent stuff), but of al the K'Chain depictions I like this one:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNxJqCG8EQo/UjnRkWaTJKI/AAAAAAAABcc/ZRAHLMbIkYA/s1600/K__ell_hunter_by_dassemultor.jpg

It's definitely dinosaur'y but not ridiculously so (like, a lot of depictions are a step away from Jurassic Park raptors with sword arms and this is not that)

Album Rating: 4.5

The thing with the latter end of the series is that you have a million characters doing a million different things - except that half the time they’re just pondering their existence, and you can sometimes go hundreds of pages without seeing them at all.

I enjoy that more thematic stuff, but it can get dry at times for sure.

the K'chain are super interesting. you learn a lot more about them later on.

@Xeno like he said it's just one man's opinion. I was never "bored to tears" with TtH and even at DoD's slowest point I still enjoyed it. hell, I still enjoyed even the slowest points in the series more than something like ASOIAF, which I couldn't get into outside of the first few seasons of the TV show. but you'll also find people who think ASOIAF is the best damn fantasy out there.

I guess what I'm getting at is it's not like there's universal disdain for them. idk how much value you put into ratings, but the weaker entries are pretty highly rated on other websites. you may find out you're really into the thematic and philosophical stuff found in the latter books.