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Entromancer
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 02:52:05
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Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.
I'm going on vacation later this summer and am looking for a good-sized novel to read on the beach. I've heard great things about both series, but I'd like to know which has a more fantastic feel to it. I mean, which has a more sword-n-sorcery sort of tone, with fantastic creatures and magic?
For those who have read each, could you give me a vague rundown of the books' fantasy worlds? I'm interested in the tone as well.
Mod Edit: Shifted to a more appropriate shelf...
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"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
"Suffering builds character."--Talia Al Ghul |
Edited by - The Sage on 05 Jun 2012 04:11:11
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 06:40:48
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Gardens of the Moon, no doubt. Just be prepared for their concept of gods. It's not the same as in most fantasy books. A lot of fighting, a rather good balance of swordplay and spell-duels.
The Way of Kings is rather too 'historical' and filled with so many fillers I kept on yawning as I read. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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DragonReader
Senior Scribe
USA
371 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 20:28:50
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| Well I have not read Gardens of the Moon yet, I thought The Way of Kings was fantastic. But I would not really call it sword and socery. It is epic fantasy. I have heard great things about Gardens of the Moon and Erikson's work. Have all the Malazan novels on my shelf an will be diving in soon... |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 20:41:43
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| Gardens of the Moon was fantastic, but as noted above, a little weird at first. The author's magic system is a little confusing and his choice for some names is a little strange/annoying...but very well written. Way of Kings is on my "To Read" list as well. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 21:08:56
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Indeed. I forgot about the names. Really, many of them are so irritating. It's as if Erikson was too lazy to think of original, better-sounding names.
Characters don't have proper introduction. They appear out of nowhere, most often than not. But having read a couple of the Malazan books, I'm kinda used to it now.
I actually like their magic system. I liken it to how the (Realms') Imaskari archwizards worked magic.
I agree with DragonReader; The Way of Kings is not sword and sorcery. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 22:08:41
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| Yeah Sword and Sorcery to me is Conan, Red Sonja, Elric, Gray Mouser, etc. I am reading the third Malazan book now and I am getting used to the names but I think they just make it more confusing than it needs to be. The character names aren't too bad, but the names for some of the warrens is just ridiculous. Omtose Phellack? C'mon! |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2012 : 15:25:45
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You will get used to it. I used to find it impossible to remember the names of main characters let alone pronounce them, fortunately my lil bro is a whizz at names and was always on hand to correct me, albeit in an annoyingly superior fashion.
Now I find most of his names to be quite cool, how can you not like Malazan empire or Anomander Rake.
Still its best to take a bit of a break between his books cause if you read them one after the other ,you might just end up throwing them out of the window. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2012 : 15:35:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Thauranil
You will get used to it. I used to find it impossible to remember the names of main characters let alone pronounce them, fortunately my lil bro is a whizz at names and was always on hand to correct me, albeit in an annoyingly superior fashion.
Now I find most of his names to be quite cool, how can you not like Malazan empire or Anomander Rake.
Still its best to take a bit of a break between his books cause if you read them one after the other ,you might just end up throwing them out of the window.
I agree with the suggestion of taking a break in between books. His third book is starting to feel a little long winded for me. Erikson does have some names which I do love though, including: Anomander Rake, Malazan, Calladan Brood, Whiskeyjack.  |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2012 : 16:36:03
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| Yeah that's what I'm talking about. He starts of grow on you , his battle scenes are amazing though he does tend to kill of many people in a pointless fashion but that goes with his whole ethos i suppose. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2012 : 08:11:17
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The 'philosophical' ramblings at some point irritated me, especially when he tended to stretch it to almost an entire chapter. Luckily, I get used to (and more tolerant of) it. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2012 : 09:50:18
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The main problem I had with that was the fact that he seemed to be repeating the same points over and over again is all of his books, humans need to take better care of the planet, nothing lasts etc etc.
It does get irritating after a while, i stopped reading Dust of dreams halfway through and did'nt pick it up again until an entire year had past and my mind was refreshed, i enjoyed it much more the second time around. |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2012 : 16:52:55
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| Both books are fun, neither is sword and sorcery. Gardens of the Moon has very high magic, lots of characters, races, I've seen more people struggling to get through than with the Way of Kings, sometimes you don't know what's going on. The Way of Kings has a clear plot, despite that I think it's more mysterious. Malazan the Fallen is a finished series, it will take probably twenty years to finish the other one. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2012 : 01:15:12
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Mysterious? Never thought it was. Oh well, to each his own.
I hope Entromancer is happy with his decision, whatever that is. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2012 : 15:53:36
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| One thing Erikson does that detracts from the story (IMHO) is not mention certain character for several hundred pages. I understand that he is writing about alot of different events at the same time, but by the time he gets around to rementioning some characters I have almost forgotten who they are. I never felt that way when reading any of the Song of Ice and Fire books. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2012 : 16:53:41
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That's probably because he doesn't write from chapter one to last, as he said. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Entromancer
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2012 : 19:01:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Mysterious? Never thought it was. Oh well, to each his own.
I hope Entromancer is happy with his decision, whatever that is.
Hey all, I went ahead and got Gardens of the Moon. I read the sample chapters of each, and Gardens hooked me moreso than The Way of Kings. Necromancers, a witch and some shadow hounds. What's not to like? 
(For the drive to the Florida I picked up Rage of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Lots of Norse mythology to be found in this series.) |
"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
"Suffering builds character."--Talia Al Ghul |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2012 : 20:20:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
That's probably because he doesn't write from chapter one to last, as he said.
Plenty of authors do that, Erikson just focuses on one group more at any given time instead of progressing the other characters along at the same pace. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jun 2012 : 11:33:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Entromancer
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Mysterious? Never thought it was. Oh well, to each his own.
I hope Entromancer is happy with his decision, whatever that is.
Hey all, I went ahead and got Gardens of the Moon. I read the sample chapters of each, and Gardens hooked me moreso than The Way of Kings. Necromancers, a witch and some shadow hounds. What's not to like?
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope that a fellow fan has been born, or is it too soon or that?
(For the drive to the Florida I picked up Rage of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Lots of Norse mythology to be found in this series.)
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Clad In Shadows
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jun 2012 : 17:16:19
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I found The Way Of Kings to be excellent, and I'm really looking forward to book 2. The series has a lot of potential. But like was mentioned earlier, this series will probably be done in 20 years.
Gardens Of The Moon (and the Malazan books in general) are a little tough to digest at first. You really don't know what's going on. It's like the first book drops you in the middle of book four, with no idea what's going on. But stick with it, because it's rewarding. I finished the third book (I have books 1 through 9 on my shelf) in April and I agree that it's wise to take a break after a book or two. It's just so much to digest at once. I love the names, though. Rake, Tattersail, Whiskeyjack, Silverfox, etc. Awesome!
One thing to think about is that if you're a collector of hardcover books, the Malazan series will frustrate you. Books 2 and 3 are almost impossible to find in a non-SFBC hardcover edition. Book 6 is pretty bad too. I did manage to find the 6th book, but people were paying over 100 dollars each for 2 and 3 on ebay. |
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Entromancer
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2012 : 00:09:47
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@Clad: The first--and last--series I had decided to collect in hardback edition was Stephen King's Dark Tower Cycle. I liked the dustjackets of the Grant editions. Needless to say, the prices were outrageous, so I kicked that idea to the curb.
One more question fellows--Kell's Legend by Andy Remic. What are your thoughts? The protagonist looks like a barbarian, which is one of my favorte type of characters. The antagonists sound a bit like Phyrexians, who're pretty cool guys. |
"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
"Suffering builds character."--Talia Al Ghul |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2012 : 05:12:19
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Of all the Sanderson novels I've read (all, except his WoT 'contributions' and Alloy of Law, which I intend to read soon), I'd say his Mistborn series is his best so far... Allomancy is simply too cool. And Kelsier and his 'gang' are so easy to like. The Way of Kings, on the other hand, felt a bit hollow for me. There's hardly any character I could like. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2012 : 07:39:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Clad In Shadows
You really don't know what's going on. It's like the first book drops you in the middle of book four, with no idea what's going on.
That's exactly Erikson's point. Besides, didn't he say something like "writing from beginning to end bores me"?! The thing with the Malazan series is, if Erikson cut all the philosophical (and sometimes inane) musings, each book would probably be 200 pages less. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Clad In Shadows
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2012 : 18:24:20
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| I can't see I really notice a lot of philisophical musings. Or at least, not that don't add to the story in some way. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2012 : 12:56:51
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Well, Dust of Dreams alone is peppered with them. Nearly every chapter is introduced with a 'lecture,' which is insightful but eventually becomes tiresome. Gardens of the Moon doesn't have that much, but it's a relatively short book compared to its sequels. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Clad In Shadows
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2012 : 15:46:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Well, Dust of Dreams alone is peppered with them. Nearly every chapter is introduced with a 'lecture,' which is insightful but eventually becomes tiresome. Gardens of the Moon doesn't have that much, but it's a relatively short book compared to its sequels.
I'm not that far yet. I just finished Midnight Tides about a month ago. Will probably start Bonehunters within the next couple weeks. |
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I need your opinions on a couple of books...
