A New Hope told a cohesive story within a larger series. Malazan felt like the author wrote 2000 pages and just grabbed a section of 500 out of the middle at random to call the first book.

floor exercise

Canada5847 Posts

November 02 2008 12:32 GMT

#42

Not to mention half the things that take place in the Malazan book are inferred instead of actually explained in any detail. The writing is poor. You can tell what he was trying to do with the series but he just fails and ends up with a convoluted mess of ideas that have no immediate relevance to the story and are briefly revisited several books later leaving you wondering what the fuck he was smoking while writing this series.

Despite that there are characters and plots within the series that I do find somewhat interesting, but it's a matter of time before I get sick of trying to navigate the authors ADD.

Archaic

United States4024 Posts

November 02 2008 13:36 GMT

#43

"and anyone with a C iccup rank look like Combat-EX"

This made me smile

ulszz

Jamaica1787 Posts

November 03 2008 04:22 GMT

#44

thanks op to making this thread, without it i wouldn't of read the blade itself.

that book was awesome. i'm buying second tm prolly. action in the book is so badass. if you love to read high get this book. best book i've read high by far. so sweet.

ShadowDrgn

United States2497 Posts

November 13 2008 01:03 GMT

#45

I finished The Blade Itself and wasn't impressed. The book didn't feel like a novel, it felt like one third of a novel -- there was no conflict, climax, or resolution. The character development was average, but the plot went nowhere. I felt like the book was 500 pages of fight scenes and four-letter words. Not bad overall, but not one I'd be recommending to everyone or comparing to GRRM.

I should probably add that I obviously know it's a trilogy, but that doesn't mean each book shouldn't stand on its own merits.

Deleted User 3420

24492 Posts

November 13 2008 01:14 GMT

#46

is this author's name really G.R.R. Martin?

No one else finds this funny?

jigga

Canada1141 Posts

November 13 2008 01:17 GMT

#47

I read through the trilogy and while it isn't quite as epic as ASOIAF, it was definitely worth my time and a highly recommended read for anyone who enjoyed ASOIAF. The parallels between the two are impossible to miss, both are set in a similar setting and have the same "epic story" feel. While ASOIAF stays excellent throughout the books, I felt The Blade Itself waned a bit around the middle of the third book, though definitely picked up for an excellent ending, leaving me wanting more.

Lucky for me the author is writing a stand alone book set in the same world (coming out 2009) and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Especially considering The Blade Itself was his first work and that he will only improve from there. The future looks bright for Joe Abercrombie - even if you didn't enjoy The Blade Itself, keep an eye out for his future works.

Osmoses

Sweden5302 Posts

November 13 2008 01:17 GMT

#48

No, apparently he's just supposed to write like G.R.R. Martin.

pooper-scooper

United States3108 Posts

November 13 2008 01:36 GMT

#49

On November 01 2008 17:52 ShadowDrgn wrote:

Show nested quote +

Yeah, Robert Jordan died last year but left a lot of notes about how he wanted the story to end. Brandon Sanderson is currently writing the last book in his place.

I've actually just been reading Sanderson's final Mistborn book, which came out a few weeks ago. That's a series I strongly recommend to anyone looking for non-standard fantasy. The hook is "What happens if the prophesized hero fails to save the world?" The story begins 1000 years later.

I read the first Malazan book and didn't really get into it. I've heard the later books are better, but I generally won't continue with a series if I don't like the first one. The first book didn't do a good job of telling a cohesive story - it dropped the reader into the middle of things, and the sequels occur both before and after those events. Too confusing for me.

I read the first trilogy of the Thomas Covenant books and hated them (bought all three of them together). Thomas Covenant is just too unlikable as a character, the supporting cast is just trash, and the plot is flimsy.

Amazon's been recommending The First Law series to me for awhile so I may check it out next. I have to find something to read while GRRM writes his one book every 5 years. Funny thing is that Amazon always recommends the second and third books, never the first one.

Yeah this shit fucking pissed me off. The problem was that Jordan had the BEST ideas for fantasy universes. The down side was that he took for fucking ever to develop them. The book with the winter cover didn't have the main charecter of the freaking series in it at ALL.

Then this guy wrote a prequel rather than writing the next book and then died. That is like giving someone ass-flavored rock candy. Thank you Robert Jordan for your ass-flavored rock candy.

defenestrate

United States579 Posts

November 20 2008 06:15 GMT

#50

I've finished the trilogy. It's worth reading - stylistically mediocre but good content and varied characterization. The atmosphere is nice and dark. Quality improves through the second and third books.

It's still vastly inferior to GRRM.

ulszz

Jamaica1787 Posts

November 25 2008 00:04 GMT

#51

so i finished the trilogy and need some more stuff to read. a lot of martin fans here so i think this is a good place for my question. has anyone read Hedge Knight or The Sworn Sword, and if so what did they think of them? i also might read The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan... thanks

Falcynn

United States3597 Posts

November 25 2008 02:31 GMT

#52

On November 25 2008 09:04 ulszz wrote:
so i finished the trilogy and need some more stuff to read. a lot of martin fans here so i think this is a good place for my question. has anyone read Hedge Knight or The Sworn Sword, and if so what did they think of them? i also might read The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan... thanks

Both of those novellas are incredibly awesome, you can finish them in roughly an hour each so they're definitely worth checking out whenever you come across them.

Never heard of The Steel Remains though.

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