Malazan Book Of The Fallen

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
2,354
3,142
He loved LOTR and the Hobbit, I have never read Silmarillion nor the Unfinished Tales, so I did not think to suggest those.

So far I have purchased Book 1 of Black Company and Book 1 of the Stormlight Archive (Way of Kings). I think I will buy Book 1 of WoT and maybe Malzan GoTM too.

Thanks guys, sorry for the slight derail.
Silmarillion os great for those who love world building and lore expansion but reads like a history text book and many who loved LOTR and the hobbit say it is boring.

I am sure ill get called a fag for throwing this out there but when I was his age I ate up the Valdemar books by Mercades Lackey.

The Shannara books also fit his age and are very similar almost rip offs of LOTR.

Lastly 13 sounds the right age for to become acquainted with the Eternal Warrior and dive into Michael Morecock
 
  • 1Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 users

Janx

<Silver Donator>
6,299
16,907
I am pretty confident that he can handle it, his Lexile is pushing 1200 iirc. Sorry I wasn't more clear, I think I got distracted RL when I made this post earlier and didn't really finish my thought. My question is more along the lines of do you think I should have him read other series before diving into the Malazan series. Like will he be disappointed with most other books the rest of his life if he reads Malzan at 13? Should I get him the Wheel of Time Series first? What about Ice & Fire?

Series that he has read (in no particular order) are...

Eragon
Percy Jackson
Harry Potter
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Belgariad
Myth Series by Robert Asprin
Lord of the Rings
Wings of Fire



I went with option 4, not even knowing this was a thing. When I was going through the Dune series I looked at those books written by his son and "noped" the fuck out.
Throw in some Dragonriders of Pern imo.
 

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
9,017
12,575
Fully into Bonehunters on my second read through - what a phenomenal book. Also, I remember not really liking Midnight Tides much the first time but really enjoyed the second read. How Erikson was/is able to keep up with the timelines, connections, etc is pretty mind boggling.
 

Rod-138

Trakanon Raider
1,137
888
Just an update, first read through and was struggling with beginning of midnight tides. Felt like it was too disconnected from the rest.

Fast forward. I’m halfway through and it’s rivaling book 3 as my favorite. The intensity of the Edur situation followed up with silly Tehol adventures is awesome for pacing. I like every char except Seren so far, she just feels like a forced perspective with no personality.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Furious

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
2,921
4,994
Mistborn is also a good one. The first trilogy is not without flaw, but the follow up books with wax/wayne are some of the best.

From the books you listed that he has read, gardens of the moon is going to be a large step in reading difficulty. Not that it’s not doable, but I can easily see someone that age giving up due to not knowing what is going on.
I hated Mistborn, I have book 2 on my bedstand and can't enjoy it.

I preordered TGiNW for Sep 27 in Canada.

Hope it's good
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,288
42,316
I am pretty confident that he can handle it, his Lexile is pushing 1200 iirc. Sorry I wasn't more clear, I think I got distracted RL when I made this post earlier and didn't really finish my thought. My question is more along the lines of do you think I should have him read other series before diving into the Malazan series. Like will he be disappointed with most other books the rest of his life if he reads Malzan at 13? Should I get him the Wheel of Time Series first? What about Ice & Fire?

Series that he has read (in no particular order) are...

Eragon
Percy Jackson
Harry Potter
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Belgariad
Myth Series by Robert Asprin
Lord of the Rings
Wings of Fire



I went with option 4, not even knowing this was a thing. When I was going through the Dune series I looked at those books written by his son and "noped" the fuck out.
Way late on this. I’d recommend starting with WoT over asoiaf and malazan. WoT has a shit ton of characters but it adds them slowly. I read it at 14 and loved it. Asoiaf and malazan just throws a shitload of names at you at once. I don’t think I ever really knew wtf was going on in gardens of the moon until second read through. I think he’d do better with those later. They also are more vague than WoT, which spells out everything. Vagueness is fine for older readers I think, but younger I think it would be more confusing trying to fill in the blanks.
 

Nemesis

Bridgeburner
1,191
628
I am pretty confident that he can handle it, his Lexile is pushing 1200 iirc. Sorry I wasn't more clear, I think I got distracted RL when I made this post earlier and didn't really finish my thought. My question is more along the lines of do you think I should have him read other series before diving into the Malazan series. Like will he be disappointed with most other books the rest of his life if he reads Malzan at 13? Should I get him the Wheel of Time Series first? What about Ice & Fire?

Series that he has read (in no particular order) are...

Eragon
Percy Jackson
Harry Potter
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Belgariad
Myth Series by Robert Asprin
Lord of the Rings
Wings of Fire



I went with option 4, not even knowing this was a thing. When I was going through the Dune series I looked at those books written by his son and "noped" the fuck out.
I really love the Malazan books... but, IMO, Malazan is something better enjoyed with more perspective and life experience. The content is really heavy, but can also really subtle, and I think it's easy to miss so much of what's there if you're not a mature reader and at least somewhat a mature person.

I'm casting a wide net, but here are a handful of ones I've liked, and that I'd recommend for your son:

Kingkiller Chronicles - it's easy to poke holes if you want to, but it's really an enjoyable series with great characters, especially for a younger reader
Riyria Revelations --> Riyria Chronicles - clever, sharp, fun character duo
Legends of the First Empire --> prequel set in the Ryiria universe
Dresden Files - dude, this needs to be top of the list. for anyone, but especially a young reader
Cycle of Arawn --> Cycle of Galand - another really fun character duo in a great magical realism world, great for a young reader
Witcher Series - I mean, it's the adventures of Geralt the Witcher... cmon
Saga of the Forgotten Warrior - magical realism fantasy with a little bit of grimdark going on
The Good Guys - light hearted litRPG
Bobiverse - fun sci fi with a pretty unique angle
Expeditionary Force - fun sci fi kinda like a better version of Independence Day
Undying Mercenaries - fun sci fi kinda like Starship Troopers
 

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
2,354
3,142
I really love the Malazan books... but, IMO, Malazan is something better enjoyed with more perspective and life experience. The content is really heavy, but can also really subtle, and I think it's easy to miss so much of what's there if you're not a mature reader and at least somewhat a mature person.

I'm casting a wide net, but here are a handful of ones I've liked, and that I'd recommend for your son:

Kingkiller Chronicles - it's easy to poke holes if you want to, but it's really an enjoyable series with great characters, especially for a younger reader
Riyria Revelations --> Riyria Chronicles - clever, sharp, fun character duo
Legends of the First Empire --> prequel set in the Ryiria universe
Dresden Files - dude, this needs to be top of the list. for anyone, but especially a young reader
Cycle of Arawn --> Cycle of Galand - another really fun character duo in a great magical realism world, great for a young reader
Witcher Series - I mean, it's the adventures of Geralt the Witcher... cmon
Saga of the Forgotten Warrior - magical realism fantasy with a little bit of grimdark going on
The Good Guys - light hearted litRPG
Bobiverse - fun sci fi with a pretty unique angle
Expeditionary Force - fun sci fi kinda like a better version of Independence Day
Undying Mercenaries - fun sci fi kinda like Starship Troopers
I would hold off on kingkiller and see if he ever actually releases book 3.
 
  • 1Solidarity
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 users

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
2,354
3,142
I hated Mistborn, I have book 2 on my bedstand and can't enjoy it.

I preordered TGiNW for Sep 27 in Canada.

Hope it's good
It is really good, back to form much more book of the fallen not so much karkannas
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Ritley

Karazhan Raider
15,712
34,228
I would hold off on kingkiller and see if he ever actually releases book 3.
He won’t, but I think the first book is still worth reading. Second was basically a trashy fanfic though
 
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 user

zzeris

King Turd of Shit Hill
<Gold Donor>
18,858
73,595
He won’t, but I think the first book is still worth reading. Second was basically a trashy fanfic though

It’s almost amazing how far off those two books are in quality. Then you find out he worked on book 1 for a decade as his big project and you realize he just had one good book in him. He didn’t have the drive or ability to continue creating this world in a timely fashion. It’s sad but at least we got one great book.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Ritley

Karazhan Raider
15,712
34,228
It’s almost amazing how far off those two books are in quality. Then you find out he worked on book 1 for a decade as his big project and you realize he just had one good book in him. He didn’t have the drive or ability to continue creating this world in a timely fashion. It’s sad but at least we got one great book.
Yeah, which is why to me the question of whether he releases a 3rd book is somewhat irrelevant. I can guarantee that it will be at best mediocre, but far more likely is that it will be bad. Read the first book and pretend the author died of monkey pox before he could write the second.
 
  • 1Worf
  • 1Solidarity
  • 1Like
Reactions: 2 users

Drinsic

privileged excrementlord
5,642
5,920
Amod Amod can we get a thread title fix? There should be no colon, the same way you wouldn't write Dominican: Republic or United: States.
 

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
<Nazi Janitors>
28,325
43,163
Amod Amod can we get a thread title fix? There should be no colon, the same way you wouldn't write Dominican: Republic or United: States.
Done.

I think I read the first 3 books, but I have literally zero recollection of them. Was this like the crazy story of all kinds of gods fighting/plotting against each other?
 
  • 3Like
Reactions: 2 users

Drinsic

privileged excrementlord
5,642
5,920
Done.

I think I read the first 3 books, but I have literally zero recollection of them. Was this like the crazy story of all kinds of gods fighting/plotting against each other?
that's the one.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Rod-138

Trakanon Raider
1,137
888
Just an update on getting through the series - finished the Tides / Bonehunters.

Tides I think I already commented on how it was difficult to leave behind an entire world and enter a new one, but I ended up enjoying the book and feeling very positive about it after accepting I just had to leave the characters I knew. Ending was wild like usual.

Bonehunters was cool and split into like 2 climax with the fire and the 14th returning to the city. Also enjoyed it and felt generally good about things - no real complaints.

Starting the 7th - jesus I'm struggling with this one. I think I just don't have it in me anymore to keep leaving these stories behind that I love and starting new ones that I dont care about after 7 fucking books. Trying to keep the faith but started skipping my first few sections of the series. Very glad overall I picked up and genuinely loved most of the books so far. Fuck this one though.
 

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
2,354
3,142
Just an update on getting through the series - finished the Tides / Bonehunters.

Tides I think I already commented on how it was difficult to leave behind an entire world and enter a new one, but I ended up enjoying the book and feeling very positive about it after accepting I just had to leave the characters I knew. Ending was wild like usual.

Bonehunters was cool and split into like 2 climax with the fire and the 14th returning to the city. Also enjoyed it and felt generally good about things - no real complaints.

Starting the 7th - jesus I'm struggling with this one. I think I just don't have it in me anymore to keep leaving these stories behind that I love and starting new ones that I dont care about after 7 fucking books. Trying to keep the faith but started skipping my first few sections of the series. Very glad overall I picked up and genuinely loved most of the books so far. Fuck this one though.
I would say try not to skip too much it feels like your leaving behind stories and starting new ones but they tie back together
 

Randin

Trakanon Raider
1,924
875
If it helps, I believe that Midnight Tides is the last book that introduces an entirely new storyline to the mix. Everything after that point is about moving the existing threads forward and bringing them together. So you are at least at the limit for how many story threads you have to juggle.
 

Valorath

Trakanon Raider
922
1,477
The snake… oh lord the snake. But yea I think you’re mostly right about no new storylines/PoV.

I am on Toll the Hounds on my reread. This is one of my favorites in the series. Can’t wait for the convergence.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Asshat wormie

2023 Asshat Award Winner
<Gold Donor>
16,820
30,963
The snake was aids. I am pretty sure I read all the chapters about it in an absolutely checked out state. Can't say I recall anything about it other than aids.
 
  • 2Solidarity
  • 1Like
Reactions: 2 users