Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

As many of the group have already completed their read-through of the Malazan Ultimate Reading Order, this is a new thread for a new start-to-finish read-through beginning in 2018.

Proposed Actual Schedule:

Gardens of the Moon - January 5, 2018
Discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Deadhouse Gates - February 16, 2018
Blood Follows - March 30, 2018
The Lees of Laughter's End - April 13, 2018
The Wurms of Blearmouth - April 27, 2018
Memories of Ice - May 18, 2018
House of Chains - June 29, 2018
The Healthy Dead - August 10, 2018
Midnight Tides - August 24, 2018
Night of Knives - October 5, 2018
The Bonehunters - November 16, 2018
Reaper's Gale - December 28, 2018
Crack'd Pot Trail - February 8, 2019
Return of the Crimson Guard - March 1, 2019
Toll the Hounds - April 12, 2019
Stonewielder - May 24, 2019
Goats of Glory - July 5, 2019
Dust of Dreams - July 19, 2019
Orb Sceptre Throne - August 30, 2019
The Crippled God - October 11, 2019
Blood and Bone - November 22, 2019
Assail - January 3, 2020
Forge of Darkness - February 14, 2020
Fall of Light - March 27, 2020
Walk in Shadow - May 8, 2020 [wtf is this?]
Dancer's Lament - June 19, 2020
Deadhouse Landing - July 31, 2020
The Fiends of Nightmaria - September 11, 2020

The 6 week average start between books is probably good for BotF. I think the K&KB you can do a week, Empire a month, Kharkanas 6 weeks and Path to ascendency a month. That's factoring in length of the books and the toll they take on you.

The three K&KB books in a row for instance I read in 4 days if memory serves.

Oh and Goats of glory is only 20 pages and can only be found in this compilation Goats of Glory

I'm ready.

HELL YES I've been wanting to get into this and I know I'm gonna need you guys to get through it hahaha

On my list too.

I literally know nothing about this series, but everyone seems to love it so I'm in

Scott wrote: "The 6 week average start between books is probably good for BotF. I think the K&KB you can do a week, Empire a month, Kharkanas 6 weeks and Path to ascendency a month. That's factoring in length of..."

Thanks - I used your comment from the other day as my baseline. I set 2 weeks for K&KB and all other shorts (except for one that got 3 based on page count) to allow for some breathing room. I figured if we get to that point and are antsy to continue, I'll adjust everything.

Ima need the 6 weeks. My life is Malazan in 2018.

Good luck to everyone! This series is fantastic so far that I've been loving it. I'm up to The Healthy Dead in the Ultimate Reading Order. From my experience, some of the books once I've finished them, I've found I've needed a break between books, especially after Deadhouse Gates. That book left me emotionally wrung out. It's great to see you have space between books!

Angus wrote: "I literally know nothing about this series, but everyone seems to love it so I'm in"

Haha same here.

Think our paths are due to cross in July 2019 for Dust of dreams.

By September 11th 2020 book 3 of both Kharkanas and Path to Ascendency will be out.

On one hand, i really want to do this.

On the other, I know I won't be able to keep up with this schedule.

I'm really excited this game of thrones and wheel of time it's gonna be an epic couple of years

Mayank wrote: "On one hand, i really want to do this.

On the other, I know I won't be able to keep up with this schedule."

I'd say start with us and let's see how it goes. :) I'm a little worried about the schedule too.

Mayank wrote: "On one hand, i really want to do this.

On the other, I know I won't be able to keep up with this schedule."

Same here but will try my best.

Scott wrote: "By September 11th 2020 book 3 of both Kharkanas and Path to Ascendency will be out."

How far beyond those is the series planned? Or is the end near! :)

Ahdam wrote: "I'm really excited this game of thrones and wheel of time it's gonna be an epic couple of years"

So epic haha. I feel like we're presenting Fantasy 101.

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Scott wrote: "By September 11th 2020 book 3 of both Kharkanas and Path to Ascendency will be out."

How far beyond those is the series planned? Or is the end near! :)"

One more book for Kharkanas and PTA. There's also a new trilogy planned which takes place 14 years after TCG.

Oh that's cool. It will be fun to get caught up to the point where I'm eagerly awaiting the new books. Because, unlike other series I don't have to mention, at least they're being published with consistency haha.

Holy moly this list is even more intimidating than I realized... 2018 should be plenty of time to finish the series that I'm currently reading! I'm both excited and scared to try these lol

This is awesome. You guys are going to have so much fun.

Amber wrote: "Ohh man this sounds fun! And these books are on my tbr list....buuut i wonder.. How do y'all do several fantasy reads at once?
I'm doing the Wheel of Time group thing.. But I usually only read one..."

For me I try to mix different types of books. Malazan is as heavy of a read no matter the genre as you can get. So I always tried to do some sort of YA or lighter fantasy to compliment it. When I was tired and knew I couldn't focus on Malazan I'd read the other book.

WoT is epic in it's own right but it's also light reading comparatively to Malazan. I've completed both series and could read both together. I usually have three books going at once. One heavy, one light and one audio.

I am totally going to join. I hit a rock this year and I am not happy about not being able to give continuity to the reads. So I will most certainly jump in and buddy read this whole series!

I'm just reading Malazan now but only the main books so I might join for the side books if that's ok. And eventually you might catch up with me.

Interestingly enough, even though Wheel of Time is definitely epic in quality, it is still light reading next to Malazan haha. Wheel of Time kind of gradually eases you into the content, whereas Malazan throws you immediately into the deep end. You'll either drown, or you'll learn how to swim haha.

To be honest I someone imagine what it would be like to read each book series for example for wheel of time it's be like lord of the rings music while on some sort of journey it's all relaxing your having fun with your mates and your not bothered what your going to do your just hear to enjoy it

On the other hand according to you guys who read the book it sounds like the minute you open the book guys enter your house put a bag over your head and then dump you in the middle of a wasteland while the bag is on your head and your hands tied up....too much

Also since I read Ready player one which it talked about D AND D and some investigating on the game I assume it shares a lot of similarities with the play style of the game being you have control of everything and you do what you want since I remember reading Erickson always a fan of the game or something

Niki, I'd like to join this. I've read BotF through Bonehunters and Night of Knives, but I can jump in for the novellas and review the tor.com reread threads for the books I've already finished. That should set me up nicely for Reaper's Gale forward.

Plus, I'll be done with school by that time :)

Chris wrote: "Niki, I'd like to join this. I've read BotF through Bonehunters and Night of Knives, but I can jump in for the novellas and review the tor.com reread threads for the books I've already finished. Th..."

It sounds like the timing will work out great, then! You're welcome to join - it seems shaping up to be another epic read haha.

I am in!

I'll probably finish the main series at the end of 2017. As I've read them in combination with the ME series from Esslemont, I'll continue on with those (still two books to go then).

I won't start immediately with the other trilogies as I don't start unfinished series anymore. So probably I'll join in on the buddy read once you reach those books.

What is the difference in writing between Erikson and Esslemont? Anybody who read the series have any noticeable comparisons?

I haven't read any of the Malazan books yet, so I may join in for these.

Niki Hawkes wrote:

I'd say start with us and let's see how it goes. :) ..."

Sure, will try.

Liam wrote: "Interestingly enough, even though Wheel of Time is definitely epic in quality, it is still light reading next to Malazan haha. Wheel of Time kind of gradually eases you into the content, whereas Ma..."
I definitely drowned on my first attempt. I figure doing a BR will be like having a life preserver this time.

And you have Scott! Frank, he's essential in commenting as he just remembers so much from the series. I recommend him as a go to guide for any queries you have on Malazan.

Liam wrote: "What is the difference in writing between Erikson and Esslemont? Anybody who read the series have any noticeable comparisons?"

Scott, this is all you - answer away!

I agree with Angela - for any and all Malazan questions, Scott has dedicated his time to becoming an expert of sorts.

Jenna wrote: "Liam wrote: "What is the difference in writing between Erikson and Esslemont? Anybody who read the series have any noticeable comparisons?"

Scott, this is all you - answer away!

I agree with Ange..."

Angela wrote: "And you have Scott! Frank, he's essential in commenting as he just remembers so much from the series. I recommend him as a go to guide for any queries you have on Malazan."

You're both very kind.

SE makes detritus sound cool. That's not hyperbole. He'll talk about layers of dirt and the history buried there in a portent of massive events and layer it to an epic context. He'll make you love the characters and then when they die he shoves that pain down your throat through the eyes of another character you love. He'll take social economic issues of the real world and blend them into the story through some symbolic scenes and some not so subtle. At times he does go a bit overboard in this regard.

You can never take a moment off with SE because you'll miss something huge and series impacting. When you're done with one of his books it's like you fought a fucking war. You're burnt. I think Jenna, Angela, Samir, Bill and others who are done or far along would especially agree with this last point.

ICE in comparison is much more direct. He will help fill in the blanks with much less subtlety than SE. What you see is what you get. ICE doesn't spill empathy into his characters like SE does......until Dancer's Lament. Every book you see ICE get better as an author. Night of Knives would be so much better a book if he wrote it now. It was a great story but his style was so messy it took away from it. ICE has a much more classic story telling style. He has a much smaller POV count in his books where as SE will jump to a perspective of somebody witnessing an event as a bystander and then you never see them again after their one paragraph. The he'll screw you up and you get one perspective for the entire first quarter of House of Chains.

I hope that's helpful.

I may just have to hop in on this for my re-read. I read the first 5-6 books over a roughly 3 year period and then finished the rest fairly quickly, so it might be nice to read them all closer together. Plus I'm pretty sure I could just re-read this series for eternity and remain happy...

I agree with everything regarding Erikson and you're spot on with your war reference.

I have to confess that one of the first books that made me cry for the loss of a character was Memories of Ice. I felt like it was the loss of a beloved family member, so painful.

And I am looking forward to experiencing ICE story telling as well! So hyped for this!

Scott wrote: "SE makes detritus sound cool. That's not hyperbole...."

If Erikson is reading this, he should put this on his website. Well written Scott.

"it's like you fought a fucking war"... this describes it perfectly!

Mayank wrote: "Scott wrote: "SE makes detritus sound cool. That's not hyperbole...."

If Erikson is reading this, he should put this on his website. Well written Scott.

"it's like you fought a fucking war"... th..."

Samir wrote: "I agree with everything regarding Erikson and you're spot on with your war reference."

Thanks mates.

Scott, thanks for that description.
In reading the first two books, I was surely thrown into everything, which I was not expecting. Perhaps that's where I lacked, and didn't spend the time doing my homework on the the first book.
With that I am excited that we have you, and so many other Malazan aficionados to help guide thru this exciting venture.
Thanks all.

Thanks for the input, Scott! I think that reading both authors in the recommended reading order might actually help me absorb more, as I can get a break from the different writing styles as we make our way through. I was definitely burnt out by the end of Gardens of the Moon, and I absorbed so little because I was trying to do it on audio. Won't make that mistake again!

I don't see how BotF can be done on audio.

I was a total noob, but I completely agree, it just isn't even possible haha.

Perfect summing up Scott. You've made me really look forward to starting the ICE books.

Liam, the recommended reading order is really good. I enjoyed the novellas to date and I'm not usually a novella reader.