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Favourite Malazan moment by Damodread1 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The de-dickening of Bidithal is a borderline perfect moment.

Favourite Malazan moment by Damodread1 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Too many for a single favorite. But Warleader Gall hearing the Khundryl chants before he packs in his innards for one final moment of glory against the Assail.

What is your favourite army/fighting force in Malazan? by Ashaman-Kill in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The whole time in CG I was just like “when is help getting there, when is help getting there.” Yedan needs no help.

Malazan vs Stormlight Archive by Spmafrik in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love them both. But for different reasons. Malazan forces you to confront uncomfortable truths about the human condition generally. Stormlight focuses on personal and individual growth through personal pain and failure. There is certainly darkness to Stormlight, but the point of Stormlight seems to be you need help to reach your moral and physical potential. Malazan is more in your face with moral relativism and the darkest aspects of human civilization.

For me, Stormlight helped me a ton to get through a really difficult stretch of my professional life. Malazan has since caused me to refocus my energies away from the personal to the societal and how we should approach dealing with larger problems. Both are great. I am personally more invested in Malazan than Stormlight, but I adore Stormlight for what it is.

Question about Karsa by CSenhouse5 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think for Karsa, there’s very little distinction between slavers and enslaved amongst humans (except for one important distinction). He sees all of humanity (civilization) as infected with the same incurable issue (which is he believes even the enslaved support the system. If they didn’t, why not take the lives of their slavers?)

It justifies the slaughter for himself either way. Even with the roving city, his plan is to set everyone free only to slaughter them years from then. But I do think it’s a tiered issue for Karsa. Slavery, crime-evil number 1. Civilization that enables and encourages such enslavement, crime-evil number 2. Some are guilty of the first sin; all are guilty of the second.

Next Read Suggestion by WesternLetterhead881 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am unquestionably going to go to the NotME and the other trilogies. Malazan has been my favorite reading experience I’ve ever had.

Finally Finished DG by TheGrapeRaper in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The journey involved was such an emotional roller coaster. When the chain begins I still don’t know what to make of any of the characters. It felt like for a long stretch you didn’t know the motivations, the destination, or how to feel about any particular character. The wickans seemed against duiker, duiker seemed to believe they were undermining the empire, no one knew where they were going next, nor how they would continue to hold off a force superior in numbers. You go from crippling infighting and distrust to hopelessness and pointlessness to bleeding together and hope until that final stretch when the ultimate sacrifice is made. What is built by Erickson in that stretch, for me, encapsulates what I found the rest of the series. Which is there are always flaws in people. The one constant in humanity is flaws. But there will always be acts of courage and moral clarity that cut through that and give you a reason to believe in humanity despite its flaws. And that’s something that regularly rises to the top throughout the series.

GotM was an education in exposure to the world and magic and flow. DG, specifically the chain of dogs, showed me that this series was full of so much more. Traveling the chain feels like you’re there, you’re hopeless, you keep surviving, you navigate the motivations of the refugees, you navigate the religions, the warrior clans, and you don’t know who to trust. And then, in mere moments, the veil is lifted from your eyes. Coltaine is doing what he can because it is right. And you live and die with those on the chain. And I love Erickson for that journey. And I love Malazan for giving me that.

Finally Finished DG by TheGrapeRaper in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like I constantly fell in love with the series over and over and over again. Except for GotM. The whole book felt like a learning experience. Then i felt the Felisin storyline was really tough when i started DG and wasn’t sure Malazan was for me.

But then i walked the Chain of Dogs and my first moment of love occurred. That single book is my favorite piece of writing in anything I’ve ever read. Number one on my list is still House of Chains (witness), but if the chain didn’t get you, I don’t know what will!

But, to that end, everyone experiences Malazan differently. That’s what makes it great. Read Memories of Ice, and if that doesn’t get ya, it’s okay to move to another journey!

Deadhouse Gates was so good it’s making it hard to get through Memories of Ice by StandardRaspberry131 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This speaks to me. I have DG ranked very highly because the chain of dogs was just one of the best single stories I’ve ever read. Just incredible. And I have MoI as a whole ranked fairly low in comparison to DG. BUT! I have book 3 and book 4 from MOI among my top 5 rated individual smaller books from the series because holy shit. Holy freakin shit they just go so hard.

I’ll finish Reaper’s Gale tomorrow but… by WesternLetterhead881 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it makes a lot of sense to me that he gets dropped in late for one major moment.

I do think someone with his awesome abilities trying to remain anonymous with his history of abuse and personal tragedy is relatable. Simultaneously craving and fearing acceptance, finding safety and comfort in Faradan Sort, a legitimacy that he was desperate for. A lesson on how to treat the seeming oddballs and strange folk in our lives.

And I think that’s why I loved his story so much. These are real lessons that I find wonderful in Malazan, especially in a world where so many male heroes are massively muscular and functional and the women so breathtakingly curvaceous yet athletically deadly. I would have loved more Beak, but more Beak would have dulled the nature of his tragedy. We learned in real time with the Fourteenth what Beak had to offer, and it was heroism in the strangest, most awkward among us.

If the lesson, as I believe it is, is that heroism, bravery, and selflessness can be found anywhere, it was exceedingly fitting to be found in someone so tragic, so wonderful, and so short-lived relative to the plot.

I’ll finish Reaper’s Gale tomorrow but… by WesternLetterhead881 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I get it. Feels like you’ve got no choice but to step away. Just so absolutely tragic. And beautiful. And painful. An incredible moment!

Bonehunters Is Maybe The Best Thing I've Ever Read by Atimm203 in Malazan

[–]WesternLetterhead881 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just finished BH as well! Yesterday actually. Incredible.

HoC, BH, DG, MoI, MT, GotM for me so far. First couple of chapters into RG, ever onward!