AngelEy3

Pretty sure that Midnight Tides is also in a pre chapter poem in MT. Plus I think it could refer to Rhulad flooding the Nascent. 

I voted

I'd say that my favorite sort of side story is either The Snake or Nimander/Twilight/Shore 

Edit: Basically the entire Tiste Andii subplot from the meeting of Clip with Nimander and Co, to the battle at the shore. 

On 1/1/2019 at 0:12 PM, Zurvanite said:

Final Fantasy XIV. Getting ready for Shadowbringers expansion and Patch 4.5 A Requiem For Heroes by leveling up my Dark Knight tank. And Blue Mage comes out in a week but people have mixed feelings about it because it's designed for solo play.

Shadowbringers Trailer

Patch 4.5 A Requiem For Heroes trailer

I'm just getting back into ffxiv. Stopped playing a couple years ago cause my brothers quit on me, but now we're back. Still have to finish ARR though, so I've got a ways to go in catching up. Made a new character for coming back. 

4 hours ago, hoiditthroughthegrapevine said:

So I read the sample they have of Midnight Front on Amazon, the opening was good and the prose would work well for an audiobook (have 1 audible credit, and the audiobook narrator sounds decent). So AnglEy3, does book 1 have a good ending? Have been spoiled with Malazaan and Sanderson to expect a satisfying conclusion, and I don't know if I could get this book if the ending isn't good.

As to the second part, Stonewielder is a great book so far, I'll post on the Malazaan thread when I finish it. I'm really, really liking it so far (with the exception of the Ivanr from Antr parts which are kind of boringr, unpleasant flashbacks to the start and middle parts of the Rivvy snake from DoD)

@Ammanas and I read it together on release last year. I think it had a decent ending to the first story and then a good set up for where it's going in the series. But I'm also a horrible critic, lol, so I'll let him weigh in too. 

5 hours ago, hoiditthroughthegrapevine said:

Did you finish this yet? If so, what did you think?

It's one of my all time favorite books.

Any book that has a serious character who happens to be an associate of the devil and also happens to be a cat wearing pince nez is worth a read in my book.

If you're a fan of deal with the devil Faustian bargain stories, you should check out Peter Sclemiel by Aldebert Von Chamisso, it's about a guy who sold his shadow to the Devil for a pair of 5 league boots.

I'm reading Stonewielder right now, and just got some info about the mysterious Ruthan Gud. Very interesting...

Also reading the Johnny Dixon books by John Bellairs with my daughter. Those books are awesome and Edward Gorey's illustrations are so beautifully rendered, atmospheric, and creepy.

The Midnight Front comes to mind with regards to soul selling to demons. It's quite good and book 2 comes out this month. 

And yay Stonewielder! 

Tell me again, love, about the Tiste Edur with the spear. 

36 minutes ago, Ammanas said:

If anyone has been on the fence about starting Forge of Darkness I just noticed that the ebook is on sale for $2.99. Don't know for how long:

https://www.amazon.com/Forge-Darkness-Kharkanas-Trilogy-Malazan-ebook/dp/B008BU74J6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539948952&sr=8-1&keywords=forge+of+darkness

It's worth every bit of $3 and then some. Get this, Mezlas, if you don't already have it! 

That would be pretty great. I should really check out the books 

@urrutiap Longmire rocks! I wish there was more

How many Malazans does an Aran weigh? 

13 hours ago, officiumdefunctorum said:

I think I might be one of the only people in this thread that didn't have any issues with RotCG! I did let it sit for a long time before getting started with it, but I went straight through without wanting to give up. It wasn't amazing and I'm not sure I'll listen to it again, but I didn't hate it, haha.

Granted, I consume books and audiobooks at an alarming rate. I started  Stavely's Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne last Friday and I'll probably finish the trilogy by this Friday.

Me either! It's my favorite Ice novel if you don't count Path to Ascendancy.

What do you think of Unhewn Throne so far? 

This is sweet! @Ammanas

@officiumdefunctorum I'm reading Caliban's War from The Expanse. It's really good so far. Picked up at the recommendation of @Ammanas

@officiumdefunctorum

Try this out if you are looking for Malazan discussion. 

https://discord.gg/A5zPMZH

It's pretty much the opposite of ruffians

1 hour ago, officiumdefunctorum said:

I feel like night of knives is an ill conceived introduction to characters that will later be important in that series. Tay, Kiske, the Stormriders, etc. Like an extended prologue.

As for Ruthan Gudd, especially if he's getting addressed in Karkhanus, it's probably a safe bet that he's 

  Hide contents

one of the Azathenai.

 

I 2nd that wholeheartedly. Path to Ascendancy is where Esslemont really really shines. 

Esslemont really picks up in Return of the Crimson Guard and Stonewielder (2&3.)

1. I think the 'broken' part of Koryk was his viciousness. His objection was that, like us, he didn't see it coming that they had to kill TCG to release him. I trust Fid that it was the only way. 

2. Itkovian, while not directly influencing the ending, did team up with Mother Dark to save Black Coral from the Dying God. Which freed Nimander/Spinnock to lead the Andii to the Shore and stop the Liosan from taking Kharkanas and the Hold of Darkness. The Liosan are also loosely allied with the Forkrul Assail iirc. Them winning would have been very very bad for our protagonists at the final battle. 

3. No one knows who Ruthan Gudd is. But everyone has a theory. 

4. Draconus presumably keeps hunting other Elder Gods, but makes an appearance again in the Esslemont books. 

5. I don't remember anything about Bolkando coming back up or the Queen's ensorcelled Segulah being mentioned again. RAFO Esslemont to find out about the pickled ones. 

Really glad you enjoyed it! Great final thoughts too, I got chills a couple times just reading your highlights. 

Yea it's fun and easy. I'm just flying through it. 

@Wander89 I've read and loved Kings of the Wyld and I'm currently about halfway through Bloody Rose, which is the sequel and released on Tuesday. 

9 minutes ago, Hood said:

I was re-reading the Wise Man's Fear. I just cannot understand the meaning of this quote:

// It's one of those times when Kvothe visits Auri.

She grinned. “I have an apple that thinks its a pear. And a bun that thinks it’s a cat. And a lettuce that thinks its a lettuce.”
“It’s a clever lettuce then.”
“Hardly,” she said with a delicate snort. “Why would anything clever think it’s a lettuce?”
“Even if it is a lettuce?” I asked.
“Especially then,” she said. “Bad enough to be a lettuce. How awful to think you are a lettuce too.”

What does this whole lettuce thing mean? Am I missing something?

It's about knowing the nature of oneself coupled with them having a little fun. 

@TheOrlionThatComesBeforeA solid tell for whether or not someone read or listened to a book is their ability to properly spell character names. If you just read 500 pages of something, you should remember what it looks like. 

@hoiditthroughthegrapevine The Crippled God is my favorite Malazan book solely for the 2nd half. You. Are. Not. Yet. Done. 

Also, would you really give up on 9600ish pages to skip the ending? 

Oh my! Those are amazing! Is that Subterranean Press? 

7 hours ago, Briar King said:

So pissed.

lightning fried my PS4 HDMI port or chip while it was in rest mode on a surge protector Sunday and my 49 in smart tv’s “smart functionality”... got a 65 in 4K replacement though. Probably just gonna buy a used Pro if I can’t find anyone to fix this one(white Destiny 1) 

Home owner's or renter's insurance, if you have it, will usually cover burnt out electronics from lightning strikes. Something to look into.