OT: Malazan Book of the Fallen

[Agema]

I think they're amongst the best fantasy out there...

Keeping a track of who everyone is, particularly when you read them as they come out and have 18-month-long gaps between each one is a bit of a struggle. Furthermore the pacing of the books can be weak, and the narrative structure shaky, so it's easier to get lost about what's going on than many.

I think they're generally good because the world Erikson and Ian Esslemont (who has only just started getting published) have created is extremely rich. I like them also for the sense that for all that's going on, the characters seem very small, flawed cogs in a huge machine, rather than the world-striding, magic-sword-wielding, square-jawed, dragon-slaying, dark-lord-vanquishing, naive, over-righteous pricks that normally populate fantasy.

[Zeldor]

I somehow never touched it. I will have to find and give it a try. But I will be really suprised if it tops my favourite fantasy - Chronicles of Amber.

[Reverend Zombie]

While it has its flaws, this series has been about the only fantasy I've read after many years away from the genre.

I started reading it based on a description in an earlier thread in this forum on what books dominions players liked.

[Kristoffer O]

I like them a lot. I'm not sure why, since there are things I don't like in the books. The inflation of power and increasing number of ascendants annoy me, but I like the epic feel of Karsa Orlong and others.

I also dislike fantasy dragons, including the dominions dragons . Dragons tend to be horribly unimaginative. Proud and noble!!! What a bunch of crap. THey are not even monsters enough to stay monsters. Instead every author (obviously including me) makes them human, just better, nobler and more beautifully winged than petty humans (or elves). To me, dragons symbolize everything that is bad fantasy. Ten times more then elves, dwarves and orcs.

Oops . Sorry.

Back on track: I'm strangely fond of the books and it is currently the only book series of which I anticipate new releases.

[JimMorrison]

Kristoffer O said:
...I also dislike fantasy dragons, including the dominions dragons . Dragons tend to be horribly unimaginative. Proud and noble!!! What a bunch of crap. THey are not even monsters enough to stay monsters. Instead every author (obviously including me) makes them human, just better, nobler and more beautifully winged than petty humans (or elves). To me, dragons symbolize everything that is bad fantasy. Ten times more then elves, dwarves and orcs. ...

Well in some conceptualizations, the purpose of taking a human form, is not some sort of utility (like better spellcasting), but rather so that they can more easily meddle in and manipulate the affairs of man. And depending on their moral alignment, they are either providing covert aid, or really just trying to mess with the silly little monkeys in between eating entire villages. I do like the view of dragons as semi-divine beings, similar to the Norse gods in temperament and power. But then, all of the pretenders in Dominions have that sort of flavor, to me. <3


But I haven't read these books, reminds me of all of my friends talking excitedly about Robert Jordan, back in the day..... They still like him, even the ones who still read the books, and admit that he has only one motive - to sell more books.

[MaxWilson]

JimMorrison said:
they are either providing covert aid, or really just trying to mess with the silly little monkeys in between eating entire villages.

It wouldn't happen so often if monkey PD weren't so awful.



-Max

[Electro808]

I really like these books too. His strong point is the way he describes giant battles, the detail is better than any other author I've read. I particularly enjoyed the book with the pannion seer. That was creepy stuff.

[HoneyBadger]

Kristoffer: that's your problem right there!

Dragons aren't meant to be "proud and noble", atleast in human terms. They aren't human! Dragons are like an earthquake, a forest fire, or a hurricane. They're a natural disaster, an elemental force of nature that's become A: intelligent (and vengeful), B: greedy (and ambitious), and C: very, very patient. They aren't necessarily evil-but that's like saying the 'Walking Dude' from Stephen King's 'The Stand' wasn't necessarily evil.

Dragons should be terrible, awesome, beautiful, and deadly. Some-Chinese dragons for instance-can be wise and kindly, but that makes them no less fierce-infact, they're about as close to the gods themselves as you can get.

They also should be protean. As in, they shouldn't be confined to any one shape. Dragons are winged, or have no wings, they can have horns and scales, and sometimes beards. Some of them have many limbs-and opposable thumbs, and many heads, while others are just serpents. Their very blood can be anathema to everything it touches, or the very key to immortality.

Dragons should be as varied as the clouds in the sky, and as unpredictable as the ocean.

To the medieval mind, a dragon was just the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen-and the medieval mind had a lot of bad to dwell on.
Dragons were worse than the plague, worse than the inquisition, worse than the king, worse than getting drafted, worse than the Devil himself. Yes, they had plenty of tales about knights slaying dragons, but that was because they were afraid, and the knights were all they had. Knights usually didn't fare too well, anyhow, unless they had God in their corner.

Even Beowulf-all around mightiest of men, who'd already proven his worth against Grendel and his mother-met his end at the hands of a dragon.

Down with the Disney version! Down with Anne McCaffrey!! Down with Dragontales!!!

Bring back real dragons! Bring them to Dominions! I'm sorry but, as nice as the dragons we have are, in the game, they don't quite terrify me. And Dominions is the one game where they absolutely should.

[Agrajag]

Kristoffer O said:
I also dislike fantasy dragons

Huh?

From what I've "seen", most of the time dragons are cunning little selfish lazy bastards (:P).
Which is why the generic hero goes an slays them.

Not that I have any fondness for dragons.

Zeldor said:
I somehow never touched it. I will have to find and give it a try. But I will be really surprised if it tops my favourite fantasy - Chronicles of Amber.

I'm in the process of reading those right now. (I got the gigantic book.)


I think A Song of Ice and Fire, has to be the best strategy-fantasy book I've read

[Zeldor]

Agrajag:

I was reading Chronicles as ebook in Polish, now I got English version, also that all-in-one version It is waiting for my return from China. Good for autumng and winter evenings.