(OT) Better than George Martin

[madriel]

I bought his first book last year. It took me a couple of tries to get into it but it was good. It's a little confusing at times, but the second half of the book is definitely worth it.

 

[GreyOne]

So jhallum, anyone else? Comments so far?

 

[GreyOne]

Top 5 reasons why these books are cool:

(1) Huge cast of diverse, ambiguous characters.

(2) The methods of magic (warrens, houses, the Deck of Dragons)

(3) Epic and bloody combat and warfare.

(4) Intricate and devilish plots and intrigue.

(5) Super-detailed world and cultures.

 

[GreyOne]

Bump to see if anyone got or read.

 

[Tyrion]

I'm still a little bit confused. Are you saying these books are good?

Yeah, I'll read them...but how many is the author planning to write in the series? For me, the fewer the better.

 

[GreyOne]

Quiet Imp.

 

[corvus]

I read the first book. It was good, but I still like Martin better. De gustibus.

I believe there are going to be TEN books in the Malazan empire series. That's a lot of ink, especially considering how long and dense the books are.

 

[GreyOne]

Well, technically I like Martin better too. I just needed a potentially contraversial headline to get people to look. Erikson's books for me though are a close second.

 

[Avarice]

I'm down to the last couple of chapters in book one, and have to admit that I'm enjoying it immensely. Not as good as Martin, mind you, but with a two year wait in between aSoIaF installments, I'll take what I can get.

Two minor qualms, off the top of my head. One, Erikson hurls a pile of unexplained details at you early; makes those first chapters a bit difficult to comprehend. Two: too many goofy sounding names! Whiskeyjack? Hairlock? The cities of One Eye Cat and GreyDog? Kind of takes away from what otherwise seems to be a very plausable (in fantasy terms, anyway!) setting.

Well, back to reading. Oh, and thanks for the suggestion GreyOne! Very good stuff, all in all.

 

[jhallum]

Finished book one, and about 60 pages into book two.

I liked book one. It differs from Martin in that the characters are as completely fleshed out. One the other hand, the plot is pretty interesting, and I do like how we have been pretty much started in the middle, with no clue how the magic works, or who was allied with what. Some of the justices that various evil people (well more evil than the heroes, anyway) got were fun to read about. I'm hoping the other books are as good.