Books

I'll be the voice of the counter-argument. I’m gonna say some harsh things and then the things I did like. It’s not all bad, but man, people need to be prepared for these books (minor spoilers as I list characters or events to support my point)

These books are for a very specific reader. They're badly in need of an editor and I think about 30% of them could be trimmed with no loss of narrative or even world-building. They are needlessly wordy.

Malazan was originally created for a GURPS campaign and, oh boy, does it feel like it. Many characters ramble or talk with annoying tabletop idiosyncrasies that work fine among friends, but does not translate well to a novel. Iskaral Pust is the worst example, but there are so many variations on that character you can practically spot the player that created them every time. The Malazan Empire itself feels like an incredibly annoying tabletop conceit, a bunch of adventurers in a tavern decided to create an empire. They combine a bunch of magical McGuffins and incorporate modern tactics and strategies and basically go on to take over a significant chunk of the world.

These books are graphic and violent to the point of feeling like torture porn in novel form. While Karsa Orlong’s introduction is especially repugnant and noteworthy, I’m reminded of smaller scenes, such as Felisin getting attacked out of nowhere by a swarm of magical blood flies. It’s long, it’s graphic and, honestly, it served no narrative link to the events surrounding it. They just show up and attack one character in particular and vanish, never to be a thing again. These books have a deep, unsettling fascination with violence and pain.

They are intentionally confusing. This may be a selling point to some, who like a narratively consistent world, but don’t like having characters spell out the rules of the universe in exposition, ala Brandon Sanderson. For me, this occasionally really works, as you labor to understand what’s even going on and then suddenly break through; it can feel very rewarding. Other times you realize there will never be an explanation or a reason and that can be deeply frustrating when confronted with bad characterizations that could be acceptable with a proper explanation.

Alright, the good stuff:

1. Deadhouse Gates contains one of my all-time favorite characters and military campaigns. Every victory feels earned, the stakes are high and constantly rising. So good.
2. The Battle at Capustan contains a wonderful blend of real world siege with fantastical shenanigans and certain moments that happened there will forever be etched into my memory.
3. The Redeemer.
4. There was always a plan from the very beginning. Despite the rambling and circuitous paths of these books, Erikson always knew where they were going and how he wanted to get there.

I would say there are better individual books or shorter series, at least if you're looking for different things, but if you're looking for a big, complex narrative in a detailed world with an epic scale? This is far and away the best. Toss in remarkably grounded characters, bombastic climaxes, and weirdly hilarious comedy, and I've never read anything quite like it.

I just finished The God Is Not Willing a couple of months ago and it reminded how amazing these books are. Definitely snagging this bundle to reread everything on my kobo.

Recently started reading The Way of Kings by Sanderson which is it's own journey but now you got me convinced to buy this series lol.

You can also use Calibre (or calibre-web) to fix the covers.

Thanks for the reply!