Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

Feb 10th.

Spot😀

Started last night. It's a lot like book one only the second generation.

I'm a quarter of the way through. It pretty much is book one, generation two. A little darker which is always fine by me.

You are kidding! And here I was waiting for you to say go!!! OK, I am starting it tonight:) I will take my time with this one, since it is a very depressing world for me... And you say it is even darker, I will need you to hold my hand through it:):):)

Choko wrote: "You are kidding! And here I was waiting for you to say go!!! OK, I am starting it tonight:) I will take my time with this one, since it is a very depressing world for me... And you say it is even d..."

Not exponentially darker. Book one wasn't too dark to begin with.

See, I thought it was very emotionally difficult... For me, at least...

Goodness, that is the most pathetic family... Even the dog park has only three legs 😢...No wonder the little girl is terrified ...

Ch. 2... OMG! What kind of monster is Ralph?? And he is only a child! What is wrong with him?

Up to Ch. 13... I just feel so bad for that poor girl Gwen... She has the worst things happening to her all the time. I know that horrible childhood has warped her somewhat, but I think she needs faith to give her a break!

With the other characters, particularly the antagonists, they are quite formulaic. I hate them all, but they do seem like carbon copies of book one. I am completely hooked, of course, since I am addicted to anything Medieval period. It is a bit masochistic of me, since I always feel so angry and helpless when I am faced with the realities of the time.

What the hell is wrong with Gwenda's father? A little burn is not enough for all he has done! And her mother should go to hell too, the complicit weakling that she is... I don't think Gwenda should have done the potion either though...

Choko wrote: "Ch. 2... OMG! What kind of monster is Ralph?? And he is only a child! What is wrong with him?"

He's definitely this book's villain.

Choko wrote: "What the hell is wrong with Gwenda's father? A little burn is not enough for all he has done! And her mother should go to hell too, the complicit weakling that she is... I don't think Gwenda should..."

The sad part is there are people like that in the world. I could never imagine doing anything 1/1000000000th as bad to my children.

Choko wrote: "With the other characters, particularly the antagonists, they are quite formulaic. I hate them all, but they do seem like carbon copies of book one."

Totally. Also he seems much more obsessed with sex this time around.

Yes, it is all about someone finding a corner and having someone to do it with... 😕

Op to ch 29 and I really don't understand how can there be an issue with inherited land when it is a male hair, only living relative, and despite him being just 16, this should still be a no brainer! I know that the land doesn't truly belong to the peasant but is rented out to be worked, but still, there are rules of inheritance even at that time... How did this happened?

This is also a bit unbelievable for the times - a woman in love with the man she is pregnant by but doesn't want to wed him just on principle... I am sure there maybe were some very rare few who felt that way, but the culture was such that most women wouldn't even question the outcome in that situation... There were so many variables that brought on general depression for all, but even more so for the women, that anything even close to stability was a g-d sent! Only after Victorian times real rogues and the chaos they bring became en Vogue, and mostly among housewives who had guaranteed food on the table. I just don't understand why she is refusing to get hitched with him...

Ch. 31.... I new it! I knew that asshole (view spoiler)[ Ralph is the father!!! Now I really feel sorry for her and her husband! Are they ever, EVER going to get a break?????????? (hide spoiler)]

Do you realize I have been reading for a day and a half and I have not even reached the halfway mark yet?!!! Just reached Ch. 41 and I need to get some sleep... This is what I call a long book!

Just wait Choko. I'm on chapter 44 and it gets a lot worse with both Ralph and Godwin. So, very much, worse.

Caris is no more pious as a nun than she was as a regular person. She is like a dog with a bone, going after the army...

And how could the nuns trust Goodwin and the monks even for a second with their money??? What were they thinking?!

I realize I just caught up with you 😀😁😂

I have no idea why am I doing this to myself... I love History and anything based on History, but I find humans of all nationalities, types, creeds and so on to be monstrous at times... What the English are doing to the Normans in this period is horrific, although I know it is nothing different than what the Normans did during the Norman invasion... I know everyone is a monster during war, but I wish we as humans were not like that...

Ch. 52... Why wouldn't Ralph die already! He is revolting! 👿👿👿👿👿👿

Ch. 60... I didn't think Goodwin could get any prettier... I was once again wrong. And I feel sad for the tavern keeper. I wish he would hook up with her...

Any more petty is what I meant to say...

This book is keeping me much more enthralled than the last one. I have no idea why. Up to Ch 63. I didn't see what Godwin and the monks did coming...

I am so angry! I really don't understand why the author had to put us all through this? I get it, Ralph is despicable and evil. I think this church treasury episode was just too much! I just want to rage with fury and vengeful anger! Ch 71 just should not have been... I feel just so emotional and helpless!

I need to get some sleep, but I only have about 250 pages left and I want to know what the hell is going to happen... I wish I could skim, but the way Folet writes you can't do that, because there is always something little happening or some detail being told in passing, which would be important later on...

Where are you up to now and how do you like it?

I have to give him credit. The second half of this book has been better than the first.

through 61 (view spoiler)[As much as Ralph is evil I had Godwin more. People who hide behind morality are so much worse. Ralph for all his ills knows it.

The plague has been heartbreaking. (hide spoiler)]

I agree. Goodwin is a special type of a bastard!!!

I finished! I stayed up all night and finished it. Very emotional for me. There was a moment I actually angry-cried. But I know that just from the fact he can make me feel so much, Follet is a master of manipulating our emotions... And as I said, you had to be invested in every word, because it all mattered to the overall tapestry of the story. I am in for the third book, whenever you decide to read it. I will be hanging around and chatting with you about this one to the finish though:):):)

Choko wrote: "I agree. Goodwin is a special type of a bastard!!!

I finished! I stayed up all night and finished it. Very emotional for me. There was a moment I actually angry-cried. But I know that just from th..."

This has been really moving. Better than the first book which has surprised me. I still have a bit left. I'm re-reading Deadhouse Gates at the same time. Talk about a ton of sadness.

I am starting that one on the 16th... I need something lighter before putting myself through that again... I have no idea how you are doing it. And yes, this book was way better than "The Pillars of the Earth "...

Choko wrote: "I am starting that one on the 16th... I need something lighter before putting myself through that again... I have no idea how you are doing it. And yes, this book was way better than "The Pillars o..."

Last night I read the part of Deadhouse Gates where (view spoiler)[Coltaine makes it to the walls of Aren and they won't let his soul escape. Fricking brutal. (hide spoiler)]

I was about to come in here and say y'all a bunch of cheaters reading a book worth 22 points... but I don't think it is worth that much... when I looked the book up, it was only 1014 pages, not 1252... 17.9 points is still respectable... meanwhile, I'm starting Deadhouse Gates, which is 8hrs longer than Gardens of the Moon, but 60 pages shorter...

Iain wrote: "I was about to come in here and say y'all a bunch of cheaters reading a book worth 22 points... but I don't think it is worth that much... when I looked the book up, it was only 1014 pages, not 125..."

The version we are both reading is the 1252...

Also, you would have killed us if you had to read it! This took me 3 days + nights to finish, I am still exhausted!

Iain wrote: "I was about to come in here and say y'all a bunch of cheaters reading a book worth 22 points... but I don't think it is worth that much... when I looked the book up, it was only 1014 pages, not 125..."

We'll take care of our points and you take care of yours. The fact that we both had the same page count should tell you something. I haven't checked a single person's page count in this game. If somebody is going to cheat on something fun but in the end meaningless I seriously feel bad for them.

I finished up this morning. Although not without flaws a very enjoyable read. You had to know (view spoiler)[In spite of all the setbacks in the end they would all end up in a better spot and the villains would all come to a bad end. (hide spoiler)]

I'm 15th on 6 copies which puts me roughly 40-ish days out. Finish out the series late March or early April when it comes due?

Scott wrote: "I finished up this morning. Although not without flaws a very enjoyable read. You had to know [spoilers removed]

I'm 15th on 6 copies which puts me roughly 40-ish days out. Finish out the series l..."

Absolutely! We are in it to the end:)

Choko wrote: "Absolutely! We are in it to the end:) ."

Awesome, thanks for the flexibility.

Hey, I really fell for this one - it made me an emotional wreck! I need to see how he is going to wrap it all up.

I'm happy you had all the feels Chili and when you read the third book I will join or rather potter arnd in your wake like I'm doing on India. Hope the comment loads.

Scott wrote: "Iain wrote: "I was about to come in here and say y'all a bunch of cheaters reading a book worth 22 points... but I don't think it is worth that much... when I looked the book up, it was only 1014 p..."

I haven't been going around checking point... this was just a random one-off... I thought it was book 2 of the Earth's Children series (which had crazy high page counts when we were looking them all up around new years)... but it wasn't, so I saw the page count details on the book page when I looked it up... there must be a 2nd listing on goodreads where the page count is higher, tho, since I couldn't find a 1252 page listing anywhere in connection to the book I looked up... it's not like you guys went the highest pagecount route, anyway...

Like I know there's a version of the first Outlander book where they gave the book a name different than just Outlander... sometimes Goodreads merges those things... sometimes it doesn't... Final Empire was originally just called Mistborn, I think, before other books released...

It is cool, Iain😉. This was longer than Oathbringer for sure though... I am so glad the next book is actually short, compared to the first and this one. I think it is in the 600's pages count... I am very proud of myself for reading this one in four days😊...

This 2nd Malazan book feels longer than 600 pages... audiobook length makes me think around 900... or the narrator is slow

Iain wrote: "Scott wrote: "Iain wrote: "I was about to come in here and say y'all a bunch of cheaters reading a book worth 22 points... but I don't think it is worth that much... when I looked the book up, it w..."

Peace in our time..........

Iain wrote: "This 2nd Malazan book feels longer than 600 pages... audiobook length makes me think around 900... or the narrator is slow"

The longest version of DHG reference 960 pages. It only gets longer from here. These are the word counts for the different books. Other than book #5 the first two are the shortest.

1 Gardens of the Moon 209,000
2 Deadhouse Gates 272,000
3 Memories of Ice 358,000
4 House of Chains 306,000
5 Midnight Tides 270,000
6 The Bonehunters 365,000
7 Reaper's Gale 386,000
8 Toll the Hounds 392,000
9 Dust of Dreams 382,000
10 The Crippled God 385,000

Bad luck on the most popular edition... GotM was 666 pages I think (longest edition was 768)... and 26hrs... meets my simple audiobook math rule... ~30pgs/hr = 780pgs... so more like 25pgs/hr...

DG is 34hrs or 18pgs/hr with the edition we are going with... I checked audible for the whole series today, and them 385k books get up to 45hrs long... then Esslemont's books are 15-30hrs long...

Just more proof that whoever suggested word counts as a better indicator was right... if only there was a good source for word counts for all books...

As an audiophile, it would be convenience to measure in hours listened... since there tends to be only one audiobook edition for all books (discounting re-dos and abridged versions)

I suggested word count but it's not always available. That's why we decided to go with the longest English version. Esslemont's books aren't nearly as long. RotCG at 272k is the longest and nothing else hits 200k.

Until it was decided longest English version was too much work over time, and decided to just go with whichever page count shows up on the book page...

Deadhouse Gates uses the Tor hardcover...
Gardens of the Moon used the Tor Mass Market Paperback

The audio of this Malazan is waaaay too long, I agree... I have no idea why...