[Books] The crippled god has gone gold!

[denoginizer]

For those who are growing weary on the Erikson stuff I just want to throw out another recommendation for the Prince of Nothing series by R Scott Bakker.  Bakker's world is as vividly presented as Erikson's, and maybe even more complex.  But the cast of main characters is much smaller and I find Bakker's writing style to be much more focused and eloquent.  So far there have been 4 books and the 5th is due out early next year I believe.

[Qantaga]

While I'm not weary of Erikson , it's nice to know that the Bakker series is good. I just picked up the first book in the Prince of Nothing series (The Darkness That Comes Before)
 
I'll probably start that one as soon as I finish Night of Knives.
 
I'm still planning on going through as much of Erikson's as possible on my Kindle (with Deadhouse Gates and Dust of Dreams currently unavailable on the Kindle). However, my Kindle is still vaporware at the moment. My boss has promised me one, but it has yet to materialize.

[Kevin Grey]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue. 

[denoginizer]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue. 

Not sure what a Mary Sue is.  But I can understand not liking Bakker's characters.  My wife hated the books because of the way he treats his women, especially in the first two.

[Kevin Grey]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue. 

Not sure what a Mary Sue is.  But I can understand not liking Bakker's characters.  My wife hated the books because of the way he treats his women, especially in the first two.

A Mary Sue is basically a character who is perfect in every facet and is often comes off as an idealized version of how the author perceives his or herself.  So it's probably not an accurate description since I don't want to tar Bakker personally with Kelhus's actions and ideals but it's still how the character came off to me.

I liked the characters a bit in the first book but I lost interest in Warrior Prophet when:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Basically all of the principles came under Kelhus's spell.  At that point they ceased to be fully realized characters to me and instead became pod people.

[denoginizer]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue.  

Not sure what a Mary Sue is.  But I can understand not liking Bakker's characters.  My wife hated the books because of the way he treats his women, especially in the first two.

A Mary Sue is basically a character who is perfect in every facet and is often comes off as an idealized version of how the author perceives his or herself.  So it's probably not an accurate description since I don't want to tar Bakker personally with Kelhus's actions and ideals but it's still how the character came off to me.

I liked the characters a bit in the first book but I lost interest in Warrior Prophet when:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Basically all of the principles came under Kelhus's spell.  At that point they ceased to be fully realized characters to me and instead became pod people.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had a similar feeling at around that same point. But circumstances change during the last quarter of the book.  It might be worth going back and checking it out if you ever have the time. After 4 books I am not sure at this point in the story if Kelhus is the hero or the villain.

 

[Razgon]

Just a heads-up that Esslemonts "Stonewielder" will be released on the 25th this month!! Amazon has listen the Crippled God for february 10th, so... can't friggin wait!

I wonde if the empire series, which is Esslemonths part of the malazan series, will continue after this? I hope they dont leave the world entirely...

link to amazon stonewielder: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stonewielder-Malazan-Empire-Cameron-Esslemont/dp/0593064445/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290086954&sr=8-2

[Crusis]

I think that after I finish the new Wheel of Time book I will read Crimson Guard then reread Dust of Dreams. That should take me through Jan.

So excited for the new book. Erikson is my favorite writer.

[CeeKay]

alright, after doing some browsing for my next Kindle book I saw that Amazon has Gardens of the Moon for $2.99, so here we go.

[Razgon]

Good luck, Shirley! We are counting on you!

Anyways, I read Esslemonts latest book, and sad to say, it's quite boring compared to both Return of the Crimson guard, Eriksons works. I still say Erikson has written RoTCG and not Esslemont.

Cant wait for the Crippled god, though!

[Rowdy]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue.  

Not sure what a Mary Sue is.  But I can understand not liking Bakker's characters.  My wife hated the books because of the way he treats his women, especially in the first two.

A Mary Sue is basically a character who is perfect in every facet and is often comes off as an idealized version of how the author perceives his or herself.  So it's probably not an accurate description since I don't want to tar Bakker personally with Kelhus's actions and ideals but it's still how the character came off to me.

I liked the characters a bit in the first book but I lost interest in Warrior Prophet when:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Basically all of the principles came under Kelhus's spell.  At that point they ceased to be fully realized characters to me and instead became pod people.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had a similar feeling at around that same point. But circumstances change during the last quarter of the book.  It might be worth going back and checking it out if you ever have the time. After 4 books I am not sure at this point in the story if Kelhus is the hero or the villain.

 

I also have read Bakkers books and while they're ok, they're not in the same class as Erikson in my opinion.  The concept for sorcery in that world is pretty cool, but that's about it for me.

Spoiler for Hiden:

He's supremely obsessed with sex.  The main characters are regularly getting it on, one of them is a whore, and all the bad guys are motivated by sex; to the point where it's disturbing.  I had a hard time reading the final chapter of the Warrior Prophet.  I don't need to hear about how your renamed Orcs need to rape women and children to death, thanks, or how they're kept in line by Nazgul analogues who like to give their underlings handjobs.  The whole thing just felt exploitative.  And what's with the very very thinly veiled allusions to Christianity and Islam?  Someone has an axe to grind with organized religion, I guess...

[Barrakketh]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue.  

Not sure what a Mary Sue is.  But I can understand not liking Bakker's characters.  My wife hated the books because of the way he treats his women, especially in the first two.

A Mary Sue is basically a character who is perfect in every facet and is often comes off as an idealized version of how the author perceives his or herself.  So it's probably not an accurate description since I don't want to tar Bakker personally with Kelhus's actions and ideals but it's still how the character came off to me.

I liked the characters a bit in the first book but I lost interest in Warrior Prophet when:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Basically all of the principles came under Kelhus's spell.  At that point they ceased to be fully realized characters to me and instead became pod people.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had a similar feeling at around that same point. But circumstances change during the last quarter of the book.  It might be worth going back and checking it out if you ever have the time. After 4 books I am not sure at this point in the story if Kelhus is the hero or the villain.

 

I also have read Bakkers books and while they're ok, they're not in the same class as Erikson in my opinion.  The concept for sorcery in that world is pretty cool, but that's about it for me.

Spoiler for Hiden:

He's supremely obsessed with sex.  The main characters are regularly getting it on, one of them is a whore, and all the bad guys are motivated by sex; to the point where it's disturbing.  I had a hard time reading the final chapter of the Warrior Prophet.  I don't need to hear about how your renamed Orcs need to rape women and children to death, thanks, or how they're kept in line by Nazgul analogues who like to give their underlings handjobs.  The whole thing just felt exploitative.  And what's with the very very thinly veiled allusions to Christianity and Islam?  Someone has an axe to grind with organized religion, I guess...

Bakker gives us one of the most kick-ass sorcerers of all time in Drusas Achamian. I love that guy - he's conflicted, filled with self-doubt, but at the drop of a hat he can unleash enough devastation to wipe out small armies, single-handed. I'm eagerly awaiting book 2 of the Aspect Emperor trilogy.

[CeeKay]

Good luck, Shirley! We are counting on you!

I really digging it so far.

an don't call me shirley.

[Rowdy]

Bakker didn't do a lot for me.  I bailed about halfway through Warrior Prophet.  I ultimately didn't care about any of his characters and Kelhus was getting to be too much of a Mary Sue.  

Not sure what a Mary Sue is.  But I can understand not liking Bakker's characters.  My wife hated the books because of the way he treats his women, especially in the first two.

A Mary Sue is basically a character who is perfect in every facet and is often comes off as an idealized version of how the author perceives his or herself.  So it's probably not an accurate description since I don't want to tar Bakker personally with Kelhus's actions and ideals but it's still how the character came off to me.

I liked the characters a bit in the first book but I lost interest in Warrior Prophet when:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Basically all of the principles came under Kelhus's spell.  At that point they ceased to be fully realized characters to me and instead became pod people.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had a similar feeling at around that same point. But circumstances change during the last quarter of the book.  It might be worth going back and checking it out if you ever have the time. After 4 books I am not sure at this point in the story if Kelhus is the hero or the villain.

 

I also have read Bakkers books and while they're ok, they're not in the same class as Erikson in my opinion.  The concept for sorcery in that world is pretty cool, but that's about it for me.

Spoiler for Hiden:

He's supremely obsessed with sex.  The main characters are regularly getting it on, one of them is a whore, and all the bad guys are motivated by sex; to the point where it's disturbing.  I had a hard time reading the final chapter of the Warrior Prophet.  I don't need to hear about how your renamed Orcs need to rape women and children to death, thanks, or how they're kept in line by Nazgul analogues who like to give their underlings handjobs.  The whole thing just felt exploitative.  And what's with the very very thinly veiled allusions to Christianity and Islam?  Someone has an axe to grind with organized religion, I guess...

Bakker gives us one of the most kick-ass sorcerers of all time in Drusas Achamian. I love that guy - he's conflicted, filled with self-doubt, but at the drop of a hat he can unleash enough devastation to wipe out small armies, single-handed. I'm eagerly awaiting book 2 of the Aspect Emperor trilogy.

Meh.  As I said, I like the meta-physics and mechanics of sorcery in Bakkers world, but I'll take Quick Ben over Achamian any day.  In the same universe he was nothing compared to Kellhus or Cleric even.  I don't even get the impression that Achamian is any more special than any other Mandate schoolman from any of the descriptions.  Sure, his school is powerful compared to some of the others, but that's about it.

[Eightball]

I really liked the first book in Bakker's trilogy, but felt it went steadily downhill after that.  It just devolved to become too formulaic; I really expected it to be something more than what it ended up being.  There were too many sterotypes.  The whore with the heart of gold; the old sorcerer/advisor; and most annoyingly to me, the superhuman main character.  The third book left such a solid distaste in my mouth that I'm not even interested in reading anything else that comes out of Bakker.

[Razgon]

You guys are really mean..I keep seeing this bumped, and think someone wants to talk Erikson with me... or how bad Esslemont is... or that Crippled god is out!

[Barrakketh]

You guys are really mean..I keep seeing this bumped, and think someone wants to talk Erikson with me... or how bad Esslemont is... or that Crippled god is out!

Crippled God is only, what, 3 weeks away now? I'm almost afraid to read it since it will be the end of the line for a lot of characters. Any bets on who, if anyone,  lives? 

I really liked Return of the Crimson Guard, so I don't think Esslemont is that bad. I haven't read Stonewielder yet.

[Crux]

You guys are really mean..I keep seeing this bumped, and think someone wants to talk Erikson with me... or how bad Esslemont is... or that Crippled god is out!

Crippled God is only, what, 3 weeks away now? I'm almost afraid to read it since it will be the end of the line for a lot of characters. Any bets on who, if anyone,  lives? 

I really liked Return of the Crimson Guard, so I don't think Esslemont is that bad. I haven't read Stonewielder yet.

I don't think Esslemont actually wrote the Crimson Guard. I think Erikson did.

[CeeKay]

You guys are really mean..I keep seeing this bumped, and think someone wants to talk Erikson with me... or how bad Esslemont is... or that Crippled god is out!

Crippled God is only, what, 3 weeks away now? I'm almost afraid to read it since it will be the end of the line for a lot of characters. Any bets on who, if anyone,  lives? 

I really liked Return of the Crimson Guard, so I don't think Esslemont is that bad. I haven't read Stonewielder yet.

I don't think Esslemont actually wrote the Crimson Guard. I think Erikson did.

I don't think either of them were responsible for the Crimson Guard:

Spoiler for Hiden:

 

[Razgon]

You guys are really mean..I keep seeing this bumped, and think someone wants to talk Erikson with me... or how bad Esslemont is... or that Crippled god is out!

Crippled God is only, what, 3 weeks away now? I'm almost afraid to read it since it will be the end of the line for a lot of characters. Any bets on who, if anyone,  lives? 

I really liked Return of the Crimson Guard, so I don't think Esslemont is that bad. I haven't read Stonewielder yet.

Are you making fun of me? But yes, its becoming clearer to me that Esslemont couldnt have written Return of the Crimson guard as well.

I don't think Esslemont actually wrote the Crimson Guard. I think Erikson did

[Razgon]

You guys are really mean..I keep seeing this bumped, and think someone wants to talk Erikson with me... or how bad Esslemont is... or that Crippled god is out!

Crippled God is only, what, 3 weeks away now? I'm almost afraid to read it since it will be the end of the line for a lot of characters. Any bets on who, if anyone,  lives? 

I really liked Return of the Crimson Guard, so I don't think Esslemont is that bad. I haven't read Stonewielder yet.

EVERYBODY DIES! Crimson guard is pretty good . have you read his first one? Night of knives? Not very well written, and now suddenly he can write like in Crimson Guard? And then goes back to being very bad in Stonewielder? I dont believe he wrote Crimson guard!!

[Crux]

EVERYBODY DIES! Crimson guard is pretty good . have you read his first one? Night of knives? Not very well written, and now suddenly he can write like in Crimson Guard? And then goes back to being very bad in Stonewielder? I dont believe he wrote Crimson guard!!

I haven't read Stonewielder yet but will probably do so sooner rather than later. But the stark difference between the writing in the Night of Knives and Crimson Guard was just too big of a shift for it to be the same author. It was absurdly different.

[Razgon]

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this! Erikson has a certain scope and epic feel to his storytelling, something that Esslemont doesn't have yet, and tecnically, he's a poorer writer, and yet, Return of the Crimson Guard is every bit as good as every other Malazan book... I wonder why the switcheroo...

[Crusis]

Maybe Erikson just stepped in and did some tweaking/rewriting. Even the first few paragraphs of Crimson come off sounding epic. A big shift from Knives.

[Barrakketh]

Erikson and Esslemont are friends, so anything is possible, but I find it hard to believe Erikson wrote Crimson Guard, a brick of a book, while also writing his own, with no disruption to his MBotF release schedule.

I do agree that Crimson Guard is a big step up from Night of Knives.

[Razgon]

If you guys read Stonewielder, you'll see a clear shift in writing style,albeit a bit better than in Night of Knives. Maybe Erikson got ashamed of taking all the credit and co-wrote the big with him? Its their shared world, after all.

Btw - I read that Esslemont will be writing about Assail as well! Cant wait to see what the heck is going on there... And I can never remember if thats where the Seguleh are from, but I do remember that some ass-kicking is going on there!

[Kevin Grey]

If you guys read Stonewielder, you'll see a clear shift in writing style,albeit a bit better than in Night of Knives. Maybe Erikson got ashamed of taking all the credit and co-wrote the big with him? Its their shared world, after all.

I believe that large parts of Crimson Guard were written many, many years ago well before he had a publishing contract.  I think that Stonewielder is the first book that he written start to finish since getting the contract so I would probably assign stylistic differences to that.  I found a similar shift with Erikson and GotM and Deadhouse Gates (which were written ten years apart). 

[Crusis]

Tomorrow is the day! Unless you live in the UK and picked it up last week.

I'm re-reading Toll the Hounds so I can power through Dust of Dreams and Crippled God as a single book. I just need the next few weeks off work so I can do it. 

I can't believe he did it. He delivered 10 books in a tad over 10 years just as he promised. I met him at a couple of book signings and he was such a cool guy. I went to the one for the US release of Memories of Ice. He read a great scene with Quick Ben and when he got done he asked if everyone liked it. Turns out that we had all read the UK version months ago and were on the new book. He laughed and dug out a copy of House of Chains and asked if we had questions about it.

[CeeKay]

just got around to finishing Gardens of the Moon and loved it.  I liked most of the characters except Kruppe (CeeKay doesn't think he can stand anymore of Kruppe).  the one thing that surprised me:

Spoiler for Hiden:

all the 'good' guys lived.  even Tattersail looks to be coming back.

[Razgon]

So, did you actually understand what was going on? Not being patronizing, I didnt understand a word of that book the first time I read it - but I still really liked it. After rereading it a few times, I understood everything much better.

Oh, and the poems and the like in the beginning of each chapter in GotM actually tells a lot about what is really happening, if one has the patience to read them. I didnt the first time.

[CeeKay]

I thought Gardens was fairly easy to follow, but it does feel like there is room for a ton of prequels. I've heard the first of the other guys books takes place before Gardens.

I admit I did skip the poems.

[CeeKay]

cool, now I can finally give the series a shot.  after Martin and Jordan taking forever I swore not to start any epic series until it was finished.

If you do this, please, dont give up after the first book - Its a hard read, especially since you are thrown into a very complex world pretty much without any explanation... I promise you, things will become clear around...book 3 :-D

hmm, while I kid, its actually more or less so, book one is...very very hard to read, but, despair not, since I want people to love erikson, I have this for you which is actually gold for those who have a hard time reading the first book. Over at Tor books, they started doing a re-read, where they have to people, one who knows the series, and one who doesnt, read the book together, and discuss the chapters together - its actually pretty damn awesome

linkie: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/07/welcome-to-the-malazan-re-read-of-the-fallen-on-torcom

Enjoy!! Eriksons books are some of the most interesting fantasy I've ever read

yeah, I've heard that about book one.  a friend even suggested I skip it and just start with the Deadhouse Gates but I'm a completist.  I figure after slogging through some of Jordan's slow points I should be able to weather anything    hopefully this series will tide me over until The Wheel of Time is completed so I can get back to that series (been buying the HC's for each new release but put it on hold until it was done).

It's funny. I absolutely loved Gardens of the Moon, but Deadhouse Gates was the hard read for me. I was lost almost the whole time and literally had to force my way through it. Then, I felt right back at home with Memories of Ice.

I'm having trouble getting into Deadhouse Gates too after loving Gardens.  I like the parts with the Bridgeburners but the rest have been a forced march to get through.

[Kevin Grey]

I'm having trouble getting into Deadhouse Gates too after loving Gardens.  I like the parts with the Bridgeburners but the rest have been a forced march to get through.

If need be, you can skip DG for now and move on to Memories of Ice, which is more of a direct follow-up to GotM.  However you need to read DG before reading the fourth book, House of Chains. 

[CeeKay]

I'm having trouble getting into Deadhouse Gates too after loving Gardens.  I like the parts with the Bridgeburners but the rest have been a forced march to get through.

If need be, you can skip DG for now and move on to Memories of Ice, which is more of a direct follow-up to GotM.  However you need to read DG before reading the fourth book, House of Chains. 

I'm a thrid of the way through, so I might as well finish it..

[Soulchilde]

just got around to finishing Gardens of the Moon and loved it.  I liked most of the characters except Kruppe (CeeKay doesn't think he can stand anymore of Kruppe).  the one thing that surprised me:

Spoiler for Hiden:

all the 'good' guys lived.  even Tattersail looks to be coming back.

Spoiler for Hiden:

You have a problem with Kruppe now then I don't think you are going to like some of the later books.  Quick Ben is the best

[Soulchilde]

I'm having trouble getting into Deadhouse Gates too after loving Gardens.  I like the parts with the Bridgeburners but the rest have been a forced march to get through.

If need be, you can skip DG for now and move on to Memories of Ice, which is more of a direct follow-up to GotM.  However you need to read DG before reading the fourth book, House of Chains. 

I'm a thrid of the way through, so I might as well finish it..

I struggled with DHG as well,

Spoiler for Hiden:

but I enjoyed Coltaine sections

[Razgon]

just finished this... and...eh...what?

Is it just me, or are Erikson's books terribly hard to read? Now, this could because I'm not a native english speaker/reader, but man, I have trouble following a lot of whats going on. Sometimes, I just kinda glaze over a page and read on a bit lower or on the page, since I have no clue what's really happening.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Anyways, I don't understand why the Chained God had to be killed by Cotillion at all, like others have mentioned. I honestly didn't understood who, what, or how Tavore did all she did, and how she came by her knowledge of stuff.

I think the series have jumped the shark a bit with all the dead people coming back, and all the people turning into demigods. It lacks impact when it becomes mundane.

I enjoyed the series, and Reapers gale and Toll the hounds is one of the best books I ever read.

Esslemont is not very good though, and I STILL maintain Return of the Crimson Guard was written by Erikson and then just had Esslemonts name tagged to it. His last book Stonewielder was a mess, and insanely boring to me.

Anyways, still looking forward to more fun.

Oh, and now that Game of Thrones has shown its possible, I want a HBO show on this series!

[Wargus]

just finished this... and...eh...what?

Is it just me, or are Erikson's books terribly hard to read? Now, this could because I'm not a native english speaker/reader, but man, I have trouble following a lot of whats going on. Sometimes, I just kinda glaze over a page and read on a bit lower or on the page, since I have no clue what's really happening.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Anyways, I don't understand why the Chained God had to be killed by Cotillion at all, like others have mentioned. I honestly didn't understood who, what, or how Tavore did all she did, and how she came by her knowledge of stuff.

I think the series have jumped the shark a bit with all the dead people coming back, and all the people turning into demigods. It lacks impact when it becomes mundane.

I enjoyed the series, and Reapers gale and Toll the hounds is one of the best books I ever read.

Esslemont is not very good though, and I STILL maintain Return of the Crimson Guard was written by Erikson and then just had Esslemonts name tagged to it. His last book Stonewielder was a mess, and insanely boring to me.

Anyways, still looking forward to more fun.

Oh, and now that Game of Thrones has shown its possible, I want a HBO show on this series!

I have enjoyed the series, however, they definitely get wordier as series progresses. He really needed better copy editors willing to chop needless sections out of the books.

[CeeKay]

I'm having trouble getting into Deadhouse Gates too after loving Gardens.  I like the parts with the Bridgeburners but the rest have been a forced march to get through.

If need be, you can skip DG for now and move on to Memories of Ice, which is more of a direct follow-up to GotM.  However you need to read DG before reading the fourth book, House of Chains. 

I'm a thrid of the way through, so I might as well finish it..

I struggled with DHG as well,

Spoiler for Hiden:

but I enjoyed Coltaine sections

finally finished up DHG.  I took a break from it, and that's what I apparently needed.  I enjoyed it a lot more after cleansing the palate on some light stuff; I think I'll do that between each book.