FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

I haven't read any of them yet (even the 3 I bought outside of this bundle ), but they're really popular among the more thoughtful kind of fantasy readers that usually complain about other books. There's also some sense of them being "challenging" to read, but for me that's a plus.

Yeah, that's a plus for me as well. I'm not a huge fantasy reader, and I think it's because I'm not a fan of R.A. Salvatore and Brandon Sanderson.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Here's an article about the series from The Wertzone.

Thanks for this. It basically confirmed my fears: the series was created as a backdrop for tabletop RPGs, and it never had any kind of narrative vision behind it. Looking at some of the comments, even some past hardcore fans were finding the books to get more tedious and frustrating as the series went on, which is IMO the opposite of what should happen in a long series. The author should be working towards resolution, not throwing in more and more random events and characters just to create a reason to write more books in the future. It sounds like the fantasy equivalent of a soap opera.

[batpuppy]

I enjoyed the 10 books or so of the main series.
But then long books and series don't bother me,
I am currently rereading Janny Wurts "
The Wars of Light and Shadow" series and some books in that series are 800 to 900 pages long.

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Thanks for this. It basically confirmed my fears: the series was created as a backdrop for tabletop RPGs, and it never had any kind of narrative vision behind it. Looking at some of the comments, even some past hardcore fans were finding the books to get more tedious and frustrating as the series went on, which is IMO the opposite of what should happen in a long series. The author should be working towards resolution, not throwing in more and more random events and characters just to create a reason to write more books in the future. It sounds like the fantasy equivalent of a soap opera.

[GlennD]

The Riftwar series by Raymond Feist was based on an RPG campaign as well, and that turned out pretty well. It's not a showstopper IMO.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Thanks for this. It basically confirmed my fears: the series was created as a backdrop for tabletop RPGs, and it never had any kind of narrative vision behind it.

That's not quite accurate. The SETTING was created as a background for tabletop RPGs and then Steve decided to write books that take place there.

The author should be working towards resolution, not throwing in more and more random events and characters just to create a reason to write more books in the future. It sounds like the fantasy equivalent of a soap opera.

He did resolve it. The entire thing is a ten book series with an ending and is already complete. They are all included in the bundle. A ten book series sounds daunting to me. But the first five books work as stand-alones, so I'm still going to give it a shot.

For me at least, it is worth the purchase, even if I don't read all the books. Plus it helps charity. (Does anyone else see what charity the bundle is funding before buying?)

[ottdmk]

I picked up the first one from Tor's Book Club a while back. Haven't read it yet, but my brother-in-law has been recommending the series to me for years. I will pick this up, just not this paycheck. Thankfully, the Bundle is on for 19 more days...

[DrNefario]

I read the first Malazan book some time ago, and kind of hated it. Maybe that’s too strong, but I didn’t get on with it at all. Not because it’s long, not because it throws you into the action, but because it’s bad.

So many people seem to love it - many even rate it at as the best series - that I occasionally still think about trying book two, but I’m not having much trouble resisting this bundle. In all of SF&F, it’s probably the place I am furthest from the consensus opinion.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I read the first Malazan book some time ago, and kind of hated it. Maybe that’s too strong, but I didn’t get on with it at all. Not because it’s long, not because it throws you into the action, but because it’s bad.

Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's good or that I like it. For me, "it gets good" is what people say to rationalize the time and money they have spent on something bad. Even if its true and "it" does get good, they're still acknowledging that the opening is bad.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's good or that I like it.

Yeah, that's me with some of the most popular fantasy authors.

For me, "it gets good" is what people say to rationalize the time and money they have spent on something bad. Even if its true and "it" does get good, they're still acknowledging that the opening is bad.

For me, that one is tough. I haven't yet tried Stephen Donaldson's Gap series because of exactly that. I do believe it gets good. But if reading the first book is a slog through misery, I know I won't ever feel like picking up the second book.

[Critteranne]

This makes me think of a tweet (I still call 'em that) I saw this morning. A booktuber said someone responded to his most recent livestream by typing "You can’t call yourself a fantasy reader if you haven’t finished Malazan" in the chat. And he typed that 12 times.

Yes, Virginia, you can call yourself a fantasy reader if you haven't finished Malazan. Fans like this push some people away from the series instead of toward it.

Anyway, while these bundles are great bargains, I'm avoiding them for now because they're all through Kobo. I bought the Lackey bundle but haven't done much about it. I don't want to have to read through the app or figure out how to convert it (if I can). Someday, I might buy a Kobo, and then I'll have a bundle of Lackeys to read on there.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Anyway, while these bundles are great bargains, I'm avoiding them for now because they're all through Kobo. I bought the Lackey bundle but haven't done much about it. I don't want to have to read through the app or figure out how to convert it (if I can). Someday, I might buy a Kobo, and then I'll have a bundle of Lackeys to read on there.

Humble Bundle says you get the files as EPUBs, so I don't see how that ties you to Kobo? Even Send-to-Kindle supports EPUBs now...

[lkmiller]

The Malazan bundle is DRM-free epubs downloaded directly from the Humble Bundle site.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's good or that I like it.

Of course not, but this is not like Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, which is widely derided by genre fans but is also inexplicably popular. Malazan is regarded as the absolute pinnacle of the genre by otherwise sane readers who like the same stuff I do.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Humble Bundle says you get the files as EPUBs, so I don't see how that ties you to Kobo? Even Send-to-Kindle supports EPUBs now...

That's better. The Lackey bundle was tied to Kobo.

But these books are still verrrry loooong.

[rguion]

Tsalmoth (Vlad Taltos Book 16) by Steven Brust is $2.99 on Amazon