Fantasy Book Club Series discussion

Wow Wow Wow....

Icarium is returned!
Mother Dark is back!?!?
and Draconus?!?!?!?!

Things are about to head way up the scale!

Yeah oh yeah!!! The story is moving forward at a fast rate now! The Bridgeburners at the Gates of death, hmmmm where is Hood then!?! Oh and Draconus walking the moratal world CAN'T BE GOOD! And exactly what is Icarium doing??

Finally love love LOVE the title of this book IV! "The Path Forever Walked"! It's the name of the first poem in this book! "....I walk the path forever walked, one step ahead of you, and one step behind....Look up one time before I am gone." These lines of "The Path Forever Walked" has stayed with me and I think of them often!

So right off there is the scene where the Snake is getting close to the glass city, and Baydralle finally shows what she really is...and Bedalle responds in kind. WOW

so the quitters=inquisitors=Forkrul Assail, and we are finally seeing what happened to these children.

Sinter and Kisswhere's plan...this really surprised me...theyre not exactly the 'for the greater good' types...just another example of Erikson' showing how people really do show their true colors when push comes to shove....

It is sad that this all results in the demise of the Khundryl Burned Tears...many cultures are becoming anielated in this battle, arent they?

In all of the misery, death and destruction there still rides a great need to ensure that pride still holds strong. Even against massive odds and the likelihood of destroying your race of people, a war leader cannot back down when 'allies' are against the sword.

yup-and look at Tavore...what does she know that no one else doees? What is all this about being unwitnessed?

and Gesler and Stormy's disappearance....bad omens indeed

What do you guys think of Tanakalian?

I'm a little bit ahead of the group reading, but from the start of this book I felt he was a bit of a worm.

oh definitely not Shield Anvil material, that's for sure...Brughava seems fairly clear that she is regretting her choice in Shield Anvil, and with good reason....Tanakalian veers more toward glory than mercy...

Right from the get go Tanakalian seemed a lose cannon!

Finally we learn The Crippled God's real name....Kaminsod!

and then the 14th daughter all willing to sacrifice Shurq's men to get a message to her mother? These people play hardball!

...and isn't she also only 14 or 15 years old?

Gesler and Stormy being taken was a "ah of course, what a perfect choice" moment for me. Not sure where everyone is on this book so dont want to say more than that.

Tanakalian is an odd character, especially keeping the Destraints dying message to himself. What will the Betrayal be in the form of?

I thought so too Lee-it made the whole issue of what happened to them back in Deadhouse Gates come together...

OMG I cant wait to discuss CG.

and then the sky opens up....

Does anyone think Tavore knew about the Nah'ruk threat? Were the Bonehunters really in the wrong place at the wrong time????

I really loved what happens with both Ruthan and Lostara here....

I really do believe that she had not factored on the Nah'ruk appearing.
There was too much on the spot decision making that appeared she was caught unaware. In all other circumstances she seems to have been able to pull a rabbit out of the hat so that everyone thinks she had planned it. But this was nothing but a slaughter and a lucky escape.
If not for the sacrifices of allies distracting the Nah'ruk (and possibly that fact that the Nah'ruk had no interest in the Malazan army, they were just in the way) then the army would have been slaughtered to a man.

Unless of course, (there is always an 'Unless') she meant to negotiate with them and use them as allies, but when her negotiators were killed without parley she realized she miscalculated. But surely that is a massive stretch of the imagination.

I don't think she has any idea about what is going on with the K'Chain Che'malle and the Nah'ruk, I think she is going to be as surprised as anyone when they turn up with their Shield Anvil and Mortal Sword.

I am assuming that Kalyth will become the Destraint for the Grey Swords. Maybe she will be able to reveal the true Tanakalian.

True Lee-I didn't think she expected them either....really really super bad luck...

Lee wrote: "I really do believe that she had not factored on the Nah'ruk appearing.
There was too much on the spot decision making that appeared she was caught unaware. In all other circumstances she seems to..."

Actually I disagree to a point. Remember back in Bonehunters where she sends Quick Ben and company to figure out where ALL those Skykeeps were going??? I'm sure to most that seem an odd thing to do, but there had to be a point too it all! So I think she was factoring them in in the battles to come, but just not so soon!

As to Kalyth, she is the Destraint of the K'Che'malle not the Grey Swords, Setoc will play a part in the future of the Grey Swords, member she'd been called Destraint several times.

The Final battle in this book is a amazing!! Thinking of all the sh*t that happened to a lot of main characters and having to wait a year and a half to find out who had lived and who had been lost for good was torture! When I finished this book, I turned right around and read the last book all over again just to make sure I had really read what I read!

I know, this book leaves you hanging. I thought all my favorite Bonehunters had died. I had to go on to the Crippled God just to see if I was right or not.

Terrible battle, but the Bonehunters held their own better than all the other groups that had encountered them previously. Do the K'Chain Nah'ruk have sorcery of some kind? It sure seemed like the other people who fought them, maybe I should say encountered them, didn't even get to fight them. They were obliterated, frozen or something like that.

Amelia wrote: "I know, this book leaves you hanging. I thought all my favorite Bonehunters had died. I had to go on to the Crippled God just to see if I was right or not.

Terrible battle, but the Bonehunters h..."

Lucky you had the TCG in your hands so you could do that!! I went a little crazy waiting to find out what had happened!

The Nah'ruk commandeered a warren, but for the life of me I can't remember which one!

Shelley wrote: "Amelia wrote: "I know, this book leaves you hanging. I thought all my favorite Bonehunters had died. I had to go on to the Crippled God just to see if I was right or not.

Terrible battle, but ..."

I was glad to be able to move on to the next book. I do feel like I'm still on a Malazan high. I've been reading some books my sister recommended and they're falling a bit flat to me. They're just not as good as Malazan.

Amelia wrote: "Shelley wrote: "Amelia wrote: "I know, this book leaves you hanging. I thought all my favorite Bonehunters had died. I had to go on to the Crippled God just to see if I was right or not.

Terribl..."

Wait Amelia!! When we get finished you'll understand the sheer depth of where SE has taken all of us, YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!! There is a moral to the story that I think you will find truly life moving!

You'll also understand why I was trying to convince Sandra to stay with the series....it was all WORTH it!

I'm tearing up just thinking about it!!

As to Kalyth, she is the Destraint of the K'Che'malle not the Grey Swords, Setoc will play a part in the future of the Grey Swords, member she'd been called Destraint several times.

Yes, that is who I meant, there was a couple of references to it and I was waiting for her to find the Grey Swords. Not sure why I got confused with Kalyth.

Lee wrote: "As to Kalyth, she is the Destraint of the K'Che'malle not the Grey Swords, Setoc will play a part in the future of the Grey Swords, member she'd been called Destraint several times.

Yes, that is ..."

It happens to the best of us Lee! :) Just think of all the characters in these books, there's something like 500 characters, or more!

I am starting to think about what I am going to do with 'life after Malazan',

I don't want to read it again so soon, so I guess my TBR is going to get a good run.

Lee, you're going to have to go give some input on our poll for the next series!

My tbr has gotten terrible during this read, as Malazan (rightfully so) took up a lot of my time!

Voted :)

Lee wrote: "I am starting to think about what I am going to do with 'life after Malazan',

I don't want to read it again so soon, so I guess my TBR is going to get a good run."

Hey Lee! What I was going to recommend to everyone was to go back and reread Gardens of the Moon right away! When everyone first read it, no one understood a damn thing, NOW you'd understand. If you go back and read Gardens now, you'll SEE so much more and realize that SE had layed it all out in Gardens, but we couldn't see it!

Yes that would be ideal, but I do want to read other books to now. Generally if I have committed to a Malazan book I find it hard to get into anything else. So since June last year it really has been all Malazan. I don't think I want to commit another 9 months to re-reading them. It would be like getting pregnant the day after giving birth.

I know it's an investment in time, to be sure! All I ask is that you reread Gardens soon, which is SE smallest book, something like 650 pages :) so not so bad! :)

ok, i'll do that. I won't commit to the series, but I'll read Gardens as soon as I finish CG. But if i then start on Deadhouse gates so that makes more sense I am going to blame you.

I read Gardens, Deadhouse, and Memories twice and yes I completely agree you'll be surprised by how easy Gardens is to understand. I finished Crippled God early January and I'm just now finding my reading groove again. But I do plan to reread them all sometime later this year. Just call me Mrs. Duggar (cause you compared it to getting pregnant again right after giving birth).

Lee wrote: "ok, i'll do that. I won't commit to the series, but I'll read Gardens as soon as I finish CG. But if i then start on Deadhouse gates so that makes more sense I am going to blame you."

Fair enough Lee!! :) I'll have to be okay with you cursing my name....DAMN Hight Fist Shells! LOLLLLLL.... :)

Thanks Traci for the back up!! :) Hopefully everyone will see Gardens as the master piece it is!! :) I know I sure didn't think so the first time I read it! I've said in the past that the story had to start with the Bridgeburners and end with the Bonehunters and you get that on the reread! :)

Oh and Amelia that goes for you too, you must reread Gardens soon! :)

I have read Gardens twice and it did make more sense the second time, but I hadn't read anything past that one when I reread it. I'll have to see. I'm like Lee, all I've been reading for the last year for the most part is Malazan. I've got quite a build up of other books I thought I'd tackle. (Maybe if I reread Gardens, I could push my brother into reading more of the rest.)

Amelia wrote: "I have read Gardens twice and it did make more sense the second time, but I hadn't read anything past that one when I reread it. I'll have to see. I'm like Lee, all I've been reading for the last..."

I understand!! All I've been reading for the last few years is SE/ICE, if I pick up any other book I'm BORED in five seconds flat!! I think I've only managed to read about 5-10 other books since I first picked up Gardens!

The new Epic series read on here looks like it will be Mistborn, so I would give that a go. I doubt it will replace Malazan, but then what would?

LMAO at Mrs Duggar there, i had no idea who Duggar was, so you can imagine my laughter when I landed on their home page.

Lee wrote: "The new Epic series read on here looks like it will be Mistborn, so I would give that a go. I doubt it will replace Malazan, but then what would?
"

Wait until you get to the moral of the story Lee, you'll know for certain that nothing will be able to replace Malazan Book of the Fallen!

You know when you read the story from the Forkul Assail perspective, you can certainly see why they want to wipe out humans. I will be interested to see how it all finishes. You'd think after all this time I'd have an idea what is going to happen, but anything could happen, I wouldn't dare predicting the ending.

Hahahahhahahhahahhahahhahahaahhahaaaaaa... *see Shelley rubbing her hands together* Wait, just wait my friend, you're gonna be laughing, crying and cheering all at the same time!!!! :)

So my Orb, Sceptre, Throne is supposed to arrive today. This is the first time Ive ever ordered anything from the UK! I have been telling myself for months that I will get to all these books I want to read as soon as Malazan is over, but I dont seem to be in a hurry for it to end!

Shoot, I ordered the last five SE/ICE books thru the UK, since I couldn't wait for the US release!! :)

I am sure you will enjoy OST. It has a great story line and keeps you very engaged, except maybe ICE trying to write the Kruppe character, which is cringe worthy.

I'm just happy to know there is still a NEW Malazan tomb out there just waiting for me to read it!! :)