I am a bit overwhelmed by Erikson’s books. They are big to start with. 800 pages (with no pictures even) is always intimidating. Add in the fact that he just drops you into the middle of a complex universe with more characters than a Slater phone book and it’s easy to lose track of plot threads. I’m currently reading the above book, and his new one is out in September. I also have a novella of his waiting in the wings. I am tempted to restart this series from the beginning, hoping to finish before the next book is out, but considering how slowly I read these things, I doubt I’d manage to.

I’m also guessing the girlfriend is getting sick of hearing about these books. It’s like my obsession with House. At least for the first two seasons all she had to keep track of was, The Boss, The Black Guy, The Australian Guy, The Hottie, and The Best Friend. But I digress.

I am not a fast reader. And Erikson is a dense writer. Sometimes an important plot development is handled in what appears to be a throw-away line. And sometimes conflict is too dark or too intense to take in all in one sitting. I know for a fact that certain parts of these books will be more demanding on a reread, since I will know how they resolve. But some will be a lot easier, since this time through I will know why were spending 100 pages with a character I couldn’t care a rat’s ass about.

The Malazan books are unique as far as I know. No other series, that I have read, has managed to maintain quality over this many books. I know some people point to Martin or Jordan, but I have yet to read either of those, so if I am wrong, I apologize. Usually in any genre series the books kinda die out after the third. To me that is where Erikson finds his stride, with most books being better than the previous. I can’t wait for “Toll the Hounds.” In the meantime, I just need to decide it I want to spend the next 8 months in the Malazan world.