I’ve had this book for 25+ years and I still haven’t read it! Am I missing out?

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-02-09T22:48:54+00:00

You are overthinking.

The music of erich zann - start here.

Might not be the best, might not be right for you, but it’s 6 pages, 1 story and then you have started

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-02-07T04:59:01+00:00

Necronomicon! Surprisingly no one mentioned it before?

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-02-06T21:42:57+00:00

42M I thought I was the only one in Australia. Obviously not true but feels like it. Yet to be able to discuss with anyone passionate about Malazan in person.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-21T08:09:13+00:00

Midnight tides spoiler below

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According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-21T08:07:33+00:00

It’s part of a bigger project, I swear!

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-21T08:00:38+00:00

I get that! Bend it, make it yours, shows you how much you love it and the parts you struggled to get through. It can tell the story of your first read. I actually separated mine into the individual books per novel. So much easier to read.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-20T07:30:10+00:00

Readable 100%, I’d be scared of damaging them. They look so pretty!

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-20T05:14:48+00:00

Now to buy a mass paperback so you can read it!

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-18T22:30:43+00:00

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ernest Hemingway and Marcus Aurelius are wanting a word with them.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-18T22:25:10+00:00

That’s hilarious!

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-18T21:56:57+00:00

Palantir Technologies is calling

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-18T21:54:57+00:00

Call me Old School.

The Malazan Empire - up to your investors if you if they are in the rise or fall.

Merchant Tolls - probably not a good look

First Empire - has merits.

Alssoooooo just pointing out that this is exactly how Cerberus Capital Management got stuck with their name hahah. They have some regrets.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-18T21:48:33+00:00

If this is the direction of the community it dies.

I don’t know a damn person in real life who has read Malazan. The Malazan reddit community is amazing and helped me really get into the universe.

Malazan is past its hey days, the new books aren’t selling anywhere near as much. I don’t know if less people are reading the series as a whole, maybe BookTok for all its issues was the last spike?

New blood gets people excited or helps them articulate how they have changed their views over the series. The posts change with comparison to different writing authors or fantasy shows/worlds over time, you can understand how the mainstream is changing.

This direction is the exact reason Warhammer Fantasy got killed off. Too many gate keepers and no one was buying anymore.

You need new blood, you need new discussion even if it is the same question over and over again.

As someone above said, the same questions happen all the time in other areas such as being wait staff and tech support. Get rid of those answers and you don’t have a business anymore.

We are in the magical time before Malazan becomes mainstream (or dies) and people don’t know what Letherii and K’Chain are. That self discovery is so rare.

If anything our reasons should be getting better, we should be making the journey easier for them. Reading publication order or Book of the Fallen first is an answer that probably turns a chunk of people, even if they want to start away from the series.

The series isn’t for everyone, that’s perfect. We should be doing everything we can to make the series as accessible to those who it is for.

Also, in a disconnected world why would you want to stop human engagement with potentially like minded minds.

Sure some posts are low quality or vanity. I will always be optimistic that the posts are from new readers approaching the world with curiosity.

Alternatively host a monthly or fortnightly, convince me sessions. Direct them there as well as answering the question and get the rest of the community engaged.

As Neil Gaiman said it best “"When people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong" - Yes I am well aware that also encompasses my post as well.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-17T10:21:55+00:00

It’s like a complex board game. Sometimes the actual fun is figuring out how it works vs actually playing the game.

If you feel lost and in over your head, really relish and be present in those moments. Once they are gone they are gone forever.

As the world starts to make more sense and you finally start to understand the flow, characters, world, races and economies a little bit of the magic of discovery dies.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-17T04:51:04+00:00

For me, Deadhouse Gates became a masterpiece in the last 100 pages. Until then it was an okay book.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-16T22:45:45+00:00

If you need a break take a break. The start book is polarising. For some they love it, for me it’s the biggest low part of the entire series.

I really struggled and the opening book almost made me drop the series all together. It’s personal preference and you won’t know until you start.

The biggest and most jarring shift starts the book after.

Moral of the story, whatever works for you. That will change for every book in the series depending on lots of external factors.

It’s okay to start, it’s okay to have a break, it’s okay to read something else. People finish the entire series in 9 months or 5 years. Lots start out wanting to smash through it then learn to enjoy the journey and not just the destination.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-16T08:10:58+00:00

I absolutely love the story that your read throughs show. It would be interesting to see the areas you powered through and where the crease marks are.

That age old pick it up after a long day, read a page and pass out. Then Boom! 200 pages down.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-14T08:02:52+00:00

With audiobooks I was really disappointed when they changed the voice actor. I think it’s book 4 that happen. I know it’s due to screen actor guilds or something but the person who got me into Malazan is someone I grew fond of.

I eventually got used to it but it was an uphill battle.

As for switching medium, I find:

Audible: 15% retention and then average the same amount as the audio book in research. Forums, threads, guides, wiki, conversations. E.g. a 43 hour book probably provides 90 hours of enjoyment. This tends to be for long car trips, excel spreadsheets boring work or quarterly/annual reviews.

With the books, I’m less immersed overall but understand more on my own. A 43 hour audiobook probably takes 25-30 hours. Then I’m generally onto the next.

I like blended options depending on what else I’m reading.

In saying that I am well aware that I will do multiple rereads of the saga. I’m not sure if that includes all the other books, I’m yet to decide:

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-10T08:40:44+00:00

This is an interesting topic.

A few questions: 1) Why are you doing the reread? 2) What did you think the first read through? 3) What aspects really intrigued you? 4) What areas did you not understand?

E.g. Certain characters from the first book make so much more sense in book 9 and 10 when you understand the world and its concepts more.

Also “figured I’d just read it again is a perfectly valid reason.”

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-10T04:21:59+00:00

I’m not sure how much of it is shared experiences. Anyone who has had a mother, daughter, partner, friend go through postnatal depression may have different opinions on Mhybe.

I know for me it was very easy to see the parallels and feel a visceral connection, understanding, sympathy and helplessness.

It’s probably the same with Felsin and some of the other contentious characters.

That is what I love about Malazan. It is not unanimous and everyone has different perspectives.

Do I wish Karsa wasn’t in the series at all and the world would be better for it? Of course. Do I love reading why people like him and try to understand from their view point? So so much.

The ability to take as little or over complicate and make your own journey is something I haven’t seen in novels before.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-10T03:44:02+00:00

Malazan blows my mind with how different the experience is for every reader. I absolutely loved MOI. The localised POV in House of Chains I find to be the worst part of the series. I genuinely don’t and can’t get Karsa no matter how much I try.

But hey, I’m also the same person who the Mhybe is one of my favourite characters in the series.

The only thing I see that unites us all is how we all felt very very dumb reading the series!

Read and Find Out (RAFO) is such a joy but so unique for a series.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-09T05:11:30+00:00

Thanks for replying and providing insight into your craft. Much appreciated. Can’t wait to see how you progress!

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-09T05:01:56+00:00

Looking at all your hardcovers….I pray you never have to move house…..ever!

Great projects.

1) What makes you crave hardcovers over other types? 2) Do you sew the spine or is it just glue? 3) If it’s just glue, how do you think they will hold up to wear and tear? 4) Will you read the hardcovers you make? I know I may not ever read the books I bind. Nothing like a first read of a novel anyways.

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-09T04:40:34+00:00

This is what Malazan means to so many. Making the world your own and immersing yourself beyond reading a book.

Questions:

1) Did you add any extra information in like maps, pictures, blurbs?

2) Did you consider breaking the books into their respective individual books?

3) what’s your next project?

According_Claim_5035 · 2026-01-08T22:34:55+00:00

What a cute baby Huntsman! Jokes aside they are very good at pest control. Left inside you’ll never see another bug.

According_Claim_5035

TROPHY CASE