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/lit/ - Literature

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2817373 No.2817373 [Reply] [Original]

Finished A Song of Ice and Fire, thinking of picking this up after recommendations. Thoughts?

Else, other suggestions? Pretty much only read ASoIaF, LotR and half of WoT fantasy wise.
Well, that and Eragon

>> No.2817387
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2817387

Pleb

>> No.2817394

>>2817387
I also enjoyed Dresden Files (well, most of them).

>> No.2817418

I finished it recently. My thoughts:

The scope and depth of the setting necessitates a lot of explanation from Erikson. Since this is the first novel of the series, there's a metric fuckton of this stuff. This has two effects on the novel:

>a)
The story and characterization both suffer. There are a lot of POV characters in this novel; many of them end up either incredibly annoying or making inexplicable choices or logical leaps. I am fairly certain this is because Erikson has put so much effort into crafting the world itself--the other elements suffer for it.
>b)
It gets confusing. Erikson tries very hard to show, not tell, and the effect is that the reader can have trouble keeping track of all the elements ("what the fuck are these tarot cards and why are they even mentioned at all?"). It gets better once you start grasping the various concepts, but can be a bit jarring at first.

All in all it's a decent work. Not great, but decent. I will, however, point out that Erikson does pull all the loose strings together in a satisfying way towards the end (whilst still leaving plenty of room for sequels, of course).

I would recommend you stick with it, because the second novel is much better. Likely the result of Erikson gaining experience as a writer, and due to his not having to spend quite so much time introducing the world to the reader. After finishing the second, I knew I had to read the series to its conclusion.

>> No.2817459

>>2817418
Will pick up the first two then and decide if it's worth sticking to, thanks. Don't really mind a slow start if it's there because the world is really vast, would argue first book in ASOIAF fit that description.

>> No.2817477
File: 54 KB, 992x518, Malaz Map v8-CG-SW.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2817477

>>2817459
Oh, and save this image. There's no official world map yet, but this is a fan-made one based off a rough sketch by Erikson. It shows how the continents are positioned in relation to each other, which is useful because the first novel takes place on two different ones.

>> No.2817481

The First Law Trilogy if you like war scenes of ASoIF.
Gentlemen Bastard Sequence if you liked Arya's urban city scenes.

>> No.2817482

>>2817477
Thanks, will definitely be useful. Had an ASOIAF map on my phone I referred to a lot.

>> No.2817488

>>2817481
Have had Locke Lamora on my list, heard mixed opinions about it though so held it off. Will make a note of The First Law as well then. Liked both the war and Arya parts of ASOIAF, less fond of Daenerys and Sansa.

>> No.2818012

Picking up the first two and deciding doesn't work well with this series. The reason for this being that many events in the first few books how no relation other then being in the same world. Then you read the next book, and every couple chapters find yourself going "Holy shit, THATS why". This continues on for the entire series. Book 9 you'll find enormous meaning to what seemed an offhand remark in book 3. A plot string dangled in book 4 may flow seamlessly into a new one from 7. He does this on a vast scale. Book 5 takes place in a completely different continent with almost no overlapping characters. Then this entire new continent's worth of plot and characters is, incredibly, merged with those from the earlier books.
The last two books are possibly the greatest books I've ever read because of this.


As >>2817418 pointed out, its very PoV and little is explained. Many characters will explicitly state what they believe to be facts, and are in direct contradiction to statements made by other characters. This can be either very frustrating, or very rewarding; it lets your imagination fill in the details, and decide what you think is right. Erikson leaves a lot of mystery in his world, it's designed so others can fill it in.
tl;dr
If you like 4 book long cliffhangers, and awesome connotations to events near forgotten, its worth it.

>> No.2818021

>>2818012
>Picking up the first two and deciding doesn't work well with this series.

Eh, from my own experiences I'd say it works fine.

OK, you might not (completely) understand what's going on but the tone is set and I've read up to Midnight Tides and nothing changed in the way the series worked. What was good in books 1 and 2 remained good there after, what criticisms I had also remained.

TBH, I think you can make your mind up after GotM alone. If you like it, you'll like the rest. If you don't, you won't.

I quite like GotM and five books later I still quite like it.

>> No.2818022

If you are patient, it is great. If not, it'll drive you nuts.

>> No.2818023

>>2818021

*when I say "it" I mean the Malazan series as a whole.

And, god, I thought Erikson was done with the Malazan universe (except for maybe B&KB shorts). Can't believe Forge of Darkness is all about Kurald Galain.

>> No.2818035

>>2818023
>Kurald Galain
>Warren of Darkness
>Anomander Rake

Can't. Wait.