have I told you how much I admire you for telling people that it's okay for people not to like what you like and vis versa? because I think it's really cool

This guy is nice. He deserves subscribers. I'll give him one.

As a huge Malazan fan I appreciate you talking about some of the challenges without attacking the authors choice. The fandom can get defensive when they hear people attack Erikson saying he can't write or is bad at something. When it's objectively not true, every technique he uses is literary and valid(especially when you finished the 10th book and understand why he wrote it that way. If he wrote it the generic structure the ending doesn't work for what he wanted.) You just might not like how he wrote it. One technique he uses that I found most frustrating was waiting till the end of a paragraph to signal who was talking. Thus making me essentially need to reread the paragraph. Lastly I will say I also bristle when people refer to it as a job or chore to read it. It takes more effort than anything I have ever read by light years, but I read it when I felt like it...I don't know many jobs where you can just choose not to do it when you felt like it. I viewed it like a project. It's like putting together a complex 10,000 piece puzzle. How many people start a 10,000 piece puzzle and complain about it taking longer and more effort than a 50 piece puzzle? Cheers.

More Malazan videos on literally anything. These are just really fun to watch and share with my friends.

Your editing has improved so much. I am loving all the cutaway gags

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

Thank you!!! I actually stuffed up the microphone on this recording like a rookie. (The sound here is from the camera itself, digitally cleaned up. 😱😱) So it's nice to know at least the editing looks competent! 😃

This has definitely helped me make up my mind. It will not be on my list to read, at least anytime soon. I appreciate it can be a great series but one needs to be prepared.

@LadyKestrel23

4 ай бұрын

Awwww. It needs a lot of research. But that’s what makes it so good

I had started the 1st book about a month ago. Only about 10 chapters in because I'm struggling with the chapter lengths. I like to start and finish a chapter in one sitting. So I'm only reading on the the weekends. I thought I had a pretty ok grasp of what was going on in the story so far. Then i watched this video. And you brought up chapter summaries! So I went and I read the chapter summaries for the 1st couple chapters, holy shit was I wrong! I didn't know anything, I instantly started the book over again and it's freaking amazing how much more I understand now, gigantic thanks, subscribed, thumbs up

Your "Style" section got a sub from me. All reactions are valid and don't be mean to people that react differently than you. Spot on!

as a huge fan of malazan, (currently on book 5), i really love how dedicated you are in explaining the books. way to go. you got a new subscriber. keep it up!

I am a huge Malazan fan and I still learned a lot from this. Really good research!

Great intro to the world of Malazan! One quibble that TTRPG fans might find interesting: Erikson and Esslemont gamed the world in GURPS, not AD&D. The added flexibility in the GURPS system was important.

Thank you for this! it made me want to start anew with a reread after reading the first two. I didn't take notes the first time around as I read it in paperback, but now I'm using ebook and can highlight all the things I know are important later on, and scribble little descriptions about character personalities and local cultures. I'm only at chapter 4 and I see so many things I didn't notice as important on the first read.

On chapter 20 of first book, thank you thank you. Because now I don't feel CRAZY! I have Tor,s recap thanks for that. It helps so so much. Love your channel

First video I’ve watched from this dude. I’m on the second book and wanted to watch a few videos cuz I’m obviously having the same problem a lot of people have while reading Malazan (I am loving the series despite my problems to be clear). And Could watch and listen to this dude talk about books all damn day. Your video is a big help buddy!

Discovered your channel looking for a bit of help getting my head around Malazan ( in doing audio books and the lack of handy glossary was tough) and have really enjoyed your breakdown. Watched the Malazan vidos twice now! (While also checking out other stuff to add to the ever growing To Read List)

Thank you for this incredible video. I can’t wait to start my third re read of the series. The Bonehunters is my favorite book of all time.

What a large, kind, thoughtful, Aussie man. I will absolutely subscribe.

Love your intro! Books, cats, and heavy metal guitar?! We're birds of a feather... Liked and subscribed sir. And this video is excellent btw, and very helpful to those considering embarking upon the Malazan journey. I'm going to take your advice from your first video and try to get through at least the first three books to determine if it's for me. From the high praise it normally receives, I feel I'd be missing out if I didn't at least try. Thanks again TBG.

Lol my personal library is nearly identical in content to your background. I am just happy to see a content creator with a similar book taste to mine whose opinion i can trust. Thank you for doing what you do! Im starting malazan for the first time, and your videos have helped. Ive been waiting years for a lul in my TBR list and finally took the plunge. Its complicated, but good complicated

Man honestly you the best malazan youtuber out there love your videos Please keep em coming

About halfway through Memories of Ice myself, Malazan has definitely become an obsession of mine. These videos are a great way to help with it too. You should consider doing a lengthy video on each book... and not just the main series 🤘

Found your channel today, looks like I got some binging to do

Thank you for this deep dive! 🌻 When I’m ready (when I have space to do the work which this series needs and deserves as I hear everyone gushing 😊 also I’m reading my way through the Cosmere now so I’m preoccupied 🤣) I’ll be sure to rewatch great video! It’s really nice to have some guidance and tips on a series like this one!

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

Thank you! 😍 Though take your time with the Cosmere. That is my personal favorite universe. Can't go wrong there!

I read Malazan as it came out, well before there was any internet-based info. I must replace my old copies as they have literally fallen apart after being re-read so many times. Even now, I always find new things to wonder about. One of the best things about the series is that it makes you think, and it can shake you to the core with simple pathos. ‘Children are dying.’ Lull nodded. ‘That’s a succinct summary of humankind, I’d say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.’ Those words will never leave me.

Started the series in February of 2023 and I'm on book 7 now, but my brain is about to burst. Had to put the book down for a solid month. I think these tips will slow me down a bit, but are super useful. Thanks for sharing!

All excellent points. Erikson's choices make Malazan a challenging read. You need to pay attention, figure things out, etc. I mostly read to relax at the end of a day. I breeze through books for general enjoyment. You can't breeze through Malazan, at least not in a first reading.

Ok I know im only one view per video but I've watched two of your videos now. That's an hour of my time. I just wanted to let you know that you are doing a great job! Your videos are 100% worth peoples time and I will be starting at the beginning and watching them all. Very insightful and funny. Well done you. I did look for you on socials but got nothing 😊

Another reason people get confused or lost reading any book that isn't linear is the speed they're reading at. I've encountered so many readers that claim they can read through books in hours but when it comes to comprehension, they suffer. Terribly. They lose track of plots, characters and dialogue. Quite a few seem to remember very little of anything. I always suggest to take your time with the book, enjoy it, truly imagine the characters, guess their motives, forsee possible scenarios approaching later in the book etc. I have a habit of never quite imagining the setting or what they are wearing as described in the book but create my own which keeps my attention and imagination hooked. I only say all this as I've only started the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I asked someone who read the whole series if it's worth reading, they said yeah absolutely, they read through the whole series in a matter of weeks but when asked about the first book, couldn't really remember what went on throughout it. I've got this response with many a speed reader.

You're awesome, Dude. Great Content.

When I first started Malazan, it was with that Peran fellow I latched on to, along with the mystery of the character soon to become Sorry, along with the warren he traveled to, to go talk to the new Empress Laseen. That petered out, the mystery forgotten. It was an unsatisfying conclusion that we then find Peran two years later with the bridge burners. I don’t find confusion to be a problem. I find that the character arcs Peter out without meaning, after investing in the character. I’m on book 6 by the way, doing audio. Book 3 is my favorite so far, but book 2 had a nice poignant ending. I thought book 4 was more of a back story, thousands of years earlier, despite what you spoke of in your first video. Thank you, by the way. Good stuff.

just came across your channel & watched the first part last night & this one rn because i just started malazan & i. am. terrified. ive only read stormlight archive & i still have rhythm of war left. but im super intrigued by malazan especially because the fantasy community on KZread doesn't stop talking about it. i feel like it's an awesome story but im so intimidated 😭 you just make it soooooo much better. also your energy is EVERYTHING. immediate subscribe hehe. all my love 💗

I bought book one a while back and after watching both of your videos I finally feel like I’m ready to get to it ! 🎉 Thanks to the people commenting too. It’s nice to have so many POVs and advices. 🥰

@filipecosta6790

2 ай бұрын

i just finished Gardens. It's a great book!

New subscriber here, love your channel! 😃 Controversial opinion (maybe?): you don't have to put in that extra work to enjoy the Malazan series. I'm currently in the middle of book 8. I've been hearing the audio version (which is great), but also means that I've not seen any maps, character glossaries, etc. I've even fallen asleep on the train and missed a few things here and there. But none of that have detracted from me immensely enjoying this series. Perhaps my approach to this series is different? I don't think of it in terms of plot points. To me, this fantasy world feels like a living, complex thing - much like you wouldn't think of plot points, when you look a the the real world and it's history. Steven Erikson does a phenomenal job of writing PoVs that even if I've momentarily forgotten a character, it doesn't take long to remember them - or, you can just enjoy existing in their brain for a bit. I really think that what makes Malazan Book of the Fallen shine is the nuances in human perspectives and how different people tackle "life" and the hard choices thrown upon them. So, IMO, if you want to read the Malazan series but feel like all that extra work seems daunting - I just want to say: you don't have to do any "homework". I've certainly not, and I've enjoyed it SO MUCH and gushed about it to anyone who would listen (especially when I was in the middle of any of the PoVs related to Tehol and Bug - boy, do I adore those two haha). The re-read potential of this series is an extra gift, not a requirement. Well, that just my subjective opinion - have a nice day 😊

@AB-ee5tb

6 ай бұрын

Thank you friend, I want to give this series a shot. I’m pretty new to fantasy

I read Malazan the first time whilst the series was still in process… a long time ago. I didn’t love Kasa at the time. I just recently read The God is Not Willing (good book!). This prompted me to start a Malazan reread. I am now in book 4 and the reread, the first part with Kara’s is amazing! The foresight in the forth book is staggering after comprehending the Sequal. Cheers

Lol, didnt use any of your tips. Still enjoyed the series. But I did read it when it came out (or at least from 2004 onwards). Thank you for the vid. Love your energy.

In my opinion (only on book 2 btw) using the glossary really helps. If it’s in the glossary you get the needed info. If not you don’t need to know the specifics yet and it’s a stylist choice. I really didn’t struggle with Gardens of the Moon because I went to the glossary like every 5 pages.

Thank you for these suggestions. When I have time to start Malazan I’ll definitely read the chapter summaries as I go in the hope I understand what’s going on better 😂

I'm currently rereading the series after about 10 years. It's long enough that ive forgotten many details, but I still get a good sense of the overall plots. It also def helps the enjoyment to have all the books at hand, in stead of waiting for the next volume to get released

Great video and channel thanks. I am 120 pages into Gardens of the Moon and I think I might need to pause it and come back to it later, mostly because I just finished R. Scott Bakker's second apocalypse series (which is amazing, please read it and cover it here) which was also very dense and perhaps I need an easy pallet cleanser. This inspires me to try again though. Question: are there spoilers in your Malazan begginers guide video?

Congratulations. Easily the single greatest booktube video ever made. 🇦🇺🙏👍

This series was so good, but the complexity and focus needed (and as you mentioned, the constant __ needs) make it a difficult series to want to re-read, especially when I have so many un-read books that I have purchased and have not yet read.

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

That's just it! Rereading takes time from other books. Doesn't fit with everyone's TBR. 🤷‍♂️

Wow I really listened to both your videos and my friends and after I finished GotM I thought, "it's not that complicated or hard to follow??" Today I got 6 hours into Deadhouse Gates. Okay I get it now, there's a fucking lot to keep up with and remember and pay attention too

As a smoker, it’s extra confusing. But that’s on me. Content and story is so good that I put in the extra effort to keep up

Read read online. Researching the books it so much more amazing! Makes it so much better! My fourth read. Learn things every time. My comfort read. Makes me happy 😄. Super fan here. Would love to compare notes

Haha, nice way to get quick clicks on a vid, mate. And yes, especially when it concerns us Malazan fans 😂 But honestly, a very well made and even well explained vid. Very recently finished the 3rd novel - 'Memories of Ice'. I had lots of doubts wrt the series myself. Whether I should start it in the first place; is it too confusing; is it too lengthy for me, and so on. Trust me, 3 books in, and I'm absolutely loving the series. Is it confusing? Yes, it is. Especially at the start. But once it gets going, you won't be able to stop reading it. I would recommend that you give it a right go, and find out for yourselves, like I did. Best decision ever! A truly epic series, written by a genius of an author that is Steven Erikson.

Favourite series of all time nothing will ever come close in my eyes. You just have to go with it. On third reread this time with some essl mint thrown in a long the way. I found it easier to break down the races into typical fantasy races. Made it easier.

Just finished Gardens of the Moon. Definitely feel a little out of my depth but what I managed to wrap myself around was so good that I went and ordered the second and third Book of the Fallen books. These videos have actually made a lot of what I had absorbed make more sense so thanks for that! Subbed from here on.

@ScottnCarol4JC

5 ай бұрын

I was lost my first time through Gardens, but I enjoyed it immensely for my second re read of the series.

Great video, highly informative and entertaining. A like and a sub to you sir!!

Malazan has exposition. Off the top of my head. In dead house gates Erickson gives exposition to explain what happened to Dancer.

For the magic system, should have used the bar description in the books lol each warren is a type of liquor, you have a particular preference but drinking too much will wreck you.

Just started GOTM only just starting Ch 3, so glad I found this video, already enjoying the book more with these tips. What is it about this series that bores into your brain and says, “You might as well do the work, cuz I’m here to stay”? 😂

Middle Earth is basically "earth" check the maps of areas unexplored in the novels

@cronkthebookguy

9 ай бұрын

Yeah buddy, you can see that map at 2:35.

i think karsa's long pov was epic *because* it was karsa. if we had 300 pages of just duiker, i think we might tear our hair out

Triggering the Malazan devotees? My man here is brave. Hope you've got your bunker well stocked!

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

Now I'm nervous. It sounds like you know something I don't! 😂😂 lol!

@Michael_R_Miller

11 ай бұрын

@@cronkthebookguy They will find you 🤣

@widdershins5383

10 ай бұрын

We are very devout lol almost as insane as the crippled gods followers

Great take subd

I'm not gonna lie, I tried a few times to get into Malazan. I've read Gardens of the Moon a few times. I enjoy it quite a bit. But Book 2 completely turned me off. I'm fascinated by the world and the characters, but it just felt like way too much of a slog. After watching this and your other Malazan videos, I'm gonna give it another shot. I'll skim through Gardens since i have a decent understanding of it and pick it up again at Deadhouse Gates and try my best to get to Memories of Ice lol

I love the Malazan series, I'm on the last book now. But what really annoys me the most is this: I'm a reader who always visualizes what she's reading. And Erikson has this horrible habit (or writing style choice) of going on for pages about a character and you just don't know WHO it is. Until the name is finally there. That disturbs my imagination.

I think I’m going to buy a physical book of the series. I have the kindle and there’s just no easy way to flip to the glossary.

I have been intending to buy the whole 10 Malazan Book of the Fallen series to reread

I rawdogged it and still had a great time

How's Ian's writing style btw? Everyone always talks about Erikson. I wonder if starting with Ian's books might be easier to get hooked on the series

Will you be attending Dragonsteel this year? Would love to meet you.

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

That's a lovely thought! Sadly I live in Australia and likely won't be up for such a big trip. But it's something I'll consider down the track!

@Avid_Reader

11 ай бұрын

@@cronkthebookguy Next year would be a good time, since it will coincide with the release of Stormlight 5.

According to Cedarsaurus' chart, the Ox in Toll the Hounds gets more page-time than 53% of POV characters, higher than 206 other characters. Imagine being a master assassin or a badass demon and getting of less spotlight than the Big Dumb Cow who literally just pulls a cart and does no other things.

Speaking as someone who originally read the series when it was coming out, with large chunks of time between the books, I'd almost say that trying to read the whole thing straight through is another mistake, particularly if you're the type of reader who will flip to the glossary every few pages, reread sections of the book, take notes, etc. I decided early on to reread the previous 2 books each time a new one came out just to keep track of ongoing plots and characters, although nowadays reading the summaries for those books would suffice. Even if you just read one "non-challenging" book between each, it will serve as a palate cleanser and allow you to maintain the necessary focus on this series. As an aside, I also read WoT as each book was published and actually reread the series from the start with each new volume; this is probably NOT a good idea with Malazan.

It’s like reading a game turned into a book to me. It’s level 60 mages with a super weapon, who joined the thieves guild and is now questing to find infinity stones. To each his own on what you like but I would recommend other fantasy.

@AB-ee5tb

6 ай бұрын

What would you recommend?

i bought a bundle of ebooks with all of them in english (which is not my native tongue). I understand fairly well, and have read other books in english, but i;m starting to wonder if i should proceed with those :D. i mean, no matter how good i am, i'm not perfect and i will probably struggle.

Ok you made belly laugh at the big pov chart

I'm currently halfway through book 2 and ngl, the pie charts make me a bit sad. I just want to read more about Anomander Rake and some other badass characters. I have no issue if the characters show important things through their eyes, like a battle or campaign taking place and they're standing next to a commander, but some characters seem to be in the middle of nowhere doing nothing. I'm sure they'll be important somehow, but it makes it frustrating to read.

There is exposition though, Every once in a while a character will usually have to explain something to another character. It's natural and not an info-dump but it's exposition.

Books 1-2 = confused and lost af Book 3 = Things started clicking Books 4-10 = God-tier storytelling

As a guy who made the same mistake while streaming for over a month, I don’t think your mic is on or isn’t picking stuff up correctly

Personally, I gave it a shot and felt it wasn't worth the effort for me. If I'm going to work that hard to read something, to put in that active reading, there ought to be something grander than just a story to get out of it. Something beyond reading. Maybe something literary like Wordsworth, or something with reflection on the human condition and difficult realities like Tolstoy. Maybe it's unfair citing classics, but even Discworld novels which aren't literary but classic fantasy, contemplated larger questions. I just read Jingo, for example, and while a little rough, I appreciated its ironic take on delegation, law, and the futility of war. The reward of Malazan seems to be learning the world of Malazan...and I am not seeing anything in this particular video (or others) that contradicts this. It seems from reviews and from my own brief exploration that the reward of Malazan is the story and world. Maybe learning the perspectives or the magic system. And that is great, and maybe that would be great for me too if I had a bit of a different temperament. But I still wonder. Is there more? And is it substantive enough? Am I missing something? I would be interested in giving it another go if I'm just plain missing something. Can we learn something larger from Malazan? Or is the enjoyment of Malazan in exploring and working out its fantastical world, plotlines, and many characters?

14:40 lmao dude I think maybe all Terrys just suck at exposition. If you think Terry Brooks is bad, then try that awful asshole hack writer Terry Goodkind (who's ironically very Badmean), and if you think Goodkind is bad, then pick up Terry Mancour's Spellmonger series. Maybe it gets better but I've tried to read Spellmonger 4 times and the furthest I ever got was 60% because I swear to god every damn page the story would get interrupted and come to a complete standstill so Terry could deliver us the driest exposition that would just go on and on and on and on and on. What really broke my brain was how often he would pause the story for exposition and THEN PAUSE HIS EXPOSITION to exposit about something else, and then fucking do it AGAIN. Like a truly abysmally dry Inception. I swear there were times where we'd be like 4-5 layers in exposition. So you'd get to the "end" only for him to resume the previous explanation about the world, characters, history or magic. And then you'd "end" that one and only surface one layer up, meanwhile the last time we saw the actual real plot was about 35pgs ago lmao. I thought I was never gonna recover. It was such a bullshit reading experience lmao. I've truly never seen anything quite like it. It was honestly like 5% show, 95% tell with the 95% tell being broken down further into 15% telling about the current day plot, and 80% telling about the telling about the telling. Legitimately one of the worst books I've ever read. Sure I've hated many other books more, but Spellmonger was just a triumph in terms of proving just how awful Terry's technical writing ability was. I hate Robin Hobb cause while I can admit she's an incredible writer, I personally think she's a terrible storyteller. Meanwhile the dude Terry Mancour is the worst of both worlds and somehow has like +20 books at this point. So I hope to god he's gotten better since then.

Planning to use this series to learn german. Am I crazy?

@cronkthebookguy

6 ай бұрын

Haha! It might be a tad bit difficult! I tried reading Harry Potter to learn Spanish, and never got through the first one. But good luck!

Interesting. The long Karsa segment is kind of my least favorite part of the series. Karsas journey is fascinating, but he starts out so incredibly unlikable, that his PoV just did not do it for me for a very long time. Also: My top tip is: just roll with it. It is fine to be confused, you dont have to understand everything, especially not the first time you read it. Sure I google the odd name here and there if I forgot who somebody was that had 3 pages 5 books ago, but I dont read summaries, nor do I take notes. I do reread, but out of necessity (every time I put the series on pause for longer than 2 weeks, it is back to book 1 for me).

Started malazan but had to give up after a few chapters. I’m an audio book reader and the combination of being thrown in the middle of the world not knowing anything and the gruff narrator, I couldn’t understand anything and had difficulty remembering characters.

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

Yeah first book is rough. For what it's worth, the narrator changes from Book 4 onwards to Michael Page, who is IMO one of the very best narrators in existence.

How do you feel about the audiobooks?

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

The audiobooks are great! But they struggle with so many POV characters, it's hard to keep track. The first three audiobooks are a little weaker and strange. The narrator Ralph Lister does a lot of 'silly' voices to help distinguish all the many characters. They don't always work. But from book 4 onwards, Michael Page is the narrator. He has a much wider range of voices and it goes a long way to making it feel polished, and easier to track characters.

@goodluckiz2669

2 ай бұрын

@@cronkthebookguy awesome I think that’s how I’m going to read them! Thanks!

But do I have to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek?

@cronkthebookguy

Ай бұрын

Lol not for Malazan. But I always find learning Hebrew really improves your barrista skills. 😉

Its not confusing, the first book is borderline boring compared to the rest. The pacing is less than ideal for a first book, though it does a good job introducing you to the people and some of the setting.

i kinda dont like that lether is so big on the map, the invasion of edur would take weeks longer if it realy was that huge

@fafal9836

4 ай бұрын

And i dont feel like the time skips make up the difference

Well….as a Malazan fan….yea it can be lol people die and change their names, time has passed and language has changed. As an archeologist he did a great job of showing how shit decays over time. Side note: I’m even more proud of my reading comprehension after hearing how many people had to take notes and stuff reading this series haha

Nice😂

I gave up at book 5.

A Malazan adaptation is impossible

Gotcha, badly written because he chose to write it in that style, probably not enjoyable or relaxing but you can sort of make it closer to books that weren’t written with all of these problems by doing a lot of work.

man, this is the dark souls of books... i don't like dark souls :/ idk how any story can be worth all this trouble

…..there are only 3 main plot lines lol the crippled god being freed, the elder gods coming back and fiddler. Everything else is, as the crippled god says, just the stories of the fallen so they’re not forgotten. Just the people who helped and did what they could for the cause.

If a different author wanted to go through the series and rewrite it, I might try these books again. But put the exposition back in and stick to one or two points of view. I hate this style, if anyone ever writes in the Malazan style again, I will skip them.

@widdershins5383

10 ай бұрын

Lol have you read game of thrones? It’s pretty much based off the same thing lol

@AB-ee5tb

6 ай бұрын

Weak brain

The bickering and childish behavior in The Wheel of Time was a big turn off for me. I couldn't finish it.

you wanted to trigger the Malazan readers but the most triggering thing in this video was the lung map of Middle-Earth 🤮🤮🤮

@cronkthebookguy

11 ай бұрын

Lol oh yes, cause of the numerous inaccuracies! Such as Beleriand and Numenor never existed at the same time. 😁 Eh, it illustrated the point. But I promise I won't use it for any LotR video, ok? 😆

Looking at those pie charts, it appears Malazan is intended for an audience with ADHD. 😁