Steven Erikson thread, calling Barsoomcore

Liminal Syzygy · May 28, 2004

(This isn't just for Barsoomcore, he just seemed to be one of the few people here who had read this series as well.)

Have you read Midnight Tides yet? I'm a bit over 100 pages in.

Anyway, here's an interesting thread I stumbled onto at usenet:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...ea78bf663b2c0b9896b2@news.freeserve.com#link1

This was interesting to me from two standpoints:
1) It was further confirmation for me that people have problems with the first book (for me the first half of the first book)
2) General opinion seems to be DHG is the best of the series, interesting in the context of our previoius conversation

US readers, I believe Gardens of the Moon is about to be realeased in hardback in the states, as Erikson finally wrapped up a US publishing agreement. For those of you who like darker fantasy (with similarities to the Black Company but on a broader canvas and more richly imagined world) I highly recommend it. Take note of the thread above, however. It gets much better after the first book.

Pants · May 28, 2004

Only a few weeks till happy Erikson goodness... Mmmmmm

Most readers I've talked to online pretty much agree that Garden's of the Moon is a bad first book. Some suggest reading Deadhouse Gates first and then reading GotM, but I'm not going to. I'm fully prepared to slog through GotM if I have to.

nikolai · May 28, 2004

I'd like some advice. My position's similar to Cordo's. I've picked up Garden's of the Moon and have read the first section. I'm finding it a bit strange; it's ultra-high fantasy and there's a total lack of info-dumps to tell you what's going on. This is refreshing in a way, but I'm finding it odd and hard to get into. Is it worth plowing onwards?

barsoomcore · May 28, 2004

I LOVED Gardens of the Moon but it's very much up my alley -- incredibly complicated, NO explanation whatsoever, grim and grotesque and very, very weird. But it IS difficult to get through and Erikson's not for everyone.

I'll say this: IF you can get through it, Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are two of the best fantasy novels ever written. You need to have read GotM, in my opinion, to take on the latter novels, but believe me, it's worth getting through it. The latter part of GotM I think is a little easier to digest -- it's just that he doesn't explain anything at the beginning that makes it bewildering.

I got a little disappointed with House of Chains, frankly. But the previous two books were so mind-blowing that I'm willing to forgive him.

Haven't read Midnight Tides yet -- cash flow. I had to read Sethra Lavode first and can only afford one massively over-priced book per month.

That said, I most definitely WILL read it.

And I still maintain that Memories of Ice is the best book in the series. I always cry over Itkovian. Darn it.

Liminal Syzygy · May 29, 2004

Hi Nikolai, if it wasn't clear from the rest of my post, yes it most definitely is worth pressing on. I found the second half of GotM picked up as fewer new characters were introduced, and your understanding starts to gradually pick up.

But once you get to the next book it is absolutely worth the effort. The reason I was linking the usenet discussion was that it so closely reflected my own take on those books.

Tanager · May 29, 2004

I don't know what it is, I LOVED Gardens of the Moon but I'm having a really hard time geting into Deadhouse Gates.

I liked the fact that GoM made you work, think, extrapolate, whatever, as you read to fill in the blanks. But somehow I'm finding myself lacking connection to Deadhouse Gates. There's a gap between the two that I don't seem able to bridge just yet. It seems to lack the flow of Gardens of the Moon.

Liminal Syzygy · May 30, 2004

How far into DHG are you?

Tanager · May 30, 2004

Cordo said:
How far into DHG are you?

About 200 pages in, I've put it down for now while I read Dan Brown's Angels & Demons (which so far lacks the driving rhythm of DaVinci Cide) and finish up Jane Jacob's Cities and The Wealth of Nations.

I'll try it agin later, who knows maybe I'm just not in the right headspace for it right now.

Liminal Syzygy · May 31, 2004

Hmm, yeah I was going to say it took me maybe 50 pages or so to get into DHG but I was definitely into by page 200.

Pants · Jun 1, 2004

Note to those interested:
I just orderer GotM from Walmart.com for 15.80. Not a bad price and their shipping time is relatively quick as well (from previous experiences of course...).