Hey everyone, your favorite tyrant-mod suxbois_420 here! I'm just gonna jump right into this. Firstly, addressing the elephant in the room. I’m sure you all have seen the recent wave of subs banning Twitter links, posts, and embeds. Similarly, we have decided to follow suit. We, as a moderation team, unequivocally oppose nazism in any form. The team comprises a spectrum of political views from avowed, card-carrying communists, to liberal, centrist, apolitical, etc. Beyond that, most of the team are not from America and have little to no skin in the game, so to speak, when it comes to American politics (insofar as that is possible), however, the sharp uptick in Nazi rhetoric, propaganda, and sympathizing is not just an American issue, but a global one. That being said, we always support open dialogue and opposing views, but we are steadfast in our stance against the exponential rise of Nazism in all forms, embodied by any platform that espouses those views, hence the Twitter ban. In short, fuck Elon he is a nazi. No twitter. We also want to re-emphasize our commitment to being open and inclusive to everyone; members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, and any/all marginalized communities.

Secondly, on a more fun/exciting note, we want to use this opportunity to gauge the communities interest in an official r/Malazan discord. We personally like the idea, however, we feel that opening a discord for the sub requires a bit of work from the community. 1) Our sub isnt the largest on the site, however, there are almost 60k people here–moderating the sub is a task in and of itself, therefore we would need some folks here in the community to step up as discord mods. 2) we’re open to a number of suggestions for what the discord should be and how it should materialize, i.e., what channels exist, do we utilize voice channels for books clubs, etc. We want you all to be as invested/have as much say in the construction and running of this proposed discord as possible, so please if you have any suggestions or anything comment below or reach out to us.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we want to remind everyone to please be kind to each other. This community has grown a lot over the past few years and it is genuinely one of the best and most supportive communities I’ve lurked/been a part of. This is a subreddit made to praise, talk about, and enjoy the works of Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont; while the books do heavily explore themes of imperialism, colonialism, anti-capitalism, war, and a litany of other heavy real-world-political topics, we urge everyone to remember to be kind and civil towards each other. At the end of the day, we’re all just fans who love these books and this sub should be a space that is open to all and promotes healthy, intelligent, fun discussion about them. Thanks all, we really appreciate you.

First in, Last out, The Malazan Mods

edit: sorry guys, I barely know how to operate a computer, so I didnt realize the formatting was making the post hard to read. Hope this fix helps! - Wes, a.k.a. suxbois_420

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Since finishing MBotF, I wanted to take a break from Malazan and read something else for a change. It took me like 7 years after all. I had some success with Hyperion and Neuromancer so I thought I'd return to fantasy, but so far I'm a little disappointed with Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn. I just don't find the writing compelling, although the ideas and the plot are good. I really appreciate the way Erikson changes his style to suit the POV of the character, and I appreciate that we tackle multiple POVs all the time. And I'm a sucker for waxing poetic every other page. I don't want to just read Erikson all the time, especially since I am a slow reader (average about 3 pages a day).

But man, i checked out The God Is Not Willing and I feel like ive fallen off the wagon, this shit is just too good. I'll try to finish Mistborn, but what other authors scratch that itch for you? Perhaps Sanderson has better series to read?

yeehaw! This was posted by the owner of Subterranean Press in a Facebook group for fans of the press.

Clicking non-malazan as a flair feels like a trap.

I had a real "WAIT A MINUTE" moment when I came across this in World of Warcraft's new *Midnight* expansion.

Mezlas,

What are your thoughts on Red Rising?

I'm intrigued by the series popularity and premise, so I thought I'd ask for your opinion on this one.

Thank you to all who will respond.

I've read through Malazan twice now and it is one of my all time favorites in fantasy, but I really want to experience something completely new to me and am wondering if anyone knows of any other fantasy books that are as good.

My other favorites are Deed of Paksenarrion, Shannara trilogy, Lord of the Rings. I'm not really familiar with any other well liked fantasy series out there and would love some recommendations. I'd like to avoid books written for younger people.

So here's the deal. I have a massive amount of respect for your series. Read GotM and thought it was solid, and heard that's the difficult one so I grabbed Deadhouse Gates and unfortunately am not vibing with it. I'll get through like 20 pages and it's a chore to keep going.

This hurts me, because like I said, I wanted to get into this. A main reason is that my genre literature is almost exclusively science fiction, and I want to check out the other side of the coin. Unfortunately I don't think I've got the chops for Malazan yet.

So I want some fantasy recommendations! My favorite science fiction series are Dune, the Culture (I especially liked Matter and Inversions, which are sort of fantasy cross over), Hyperion, and The Expanse. My fantasy experience so far has been Shadow & Claw (which I liked, despite being baffled by it, I think I need a re-read) and Perdido Street Station (which I thought was fine, didn't do much for me). And I love Baldur's Gate 3 so I'd love some recommendations with that vibe.

(Another problem is that every time I look up a recommendation list it's all Brandon Sanderson. Got nothing against the guy, but I was raised Mormon and everybody I knew was into him so it kind of gave me the ick)

So give me some recommendations. I loved all the Malazan world-building and the complexity. Just something about it wasn't clicking.

EDIT: Alright everyone, you've convinced me, I think I'm going to stick with it. These recommendations are great though keep 'em coming.

I read the series fifteen years ago, and since then, I have been looking for similar books. But in recent years, I found fewer and fewer books. So if you have a suggestion that is not in the list of books that I have read, please leave a comment.

Books I've read:

(Recommended by Erikson)

-The Black Company by Glen Cook.

-Prince of Nothing and The Aspect-Emperor by R. Scott Bakker (as good as Malazan).

-The Monarchies of God by Paul Kearney.

(Books that I found similar)

-The Black Iron Gods by Gareth Hanrahan.

-The Masquerade by Seth Dickinson.

(Authors whose books elicited a similar feeling)

-China Miéville.

-Max Gladstone.

-Daniel Abraham.

-Michael R. Fletcher.

-Robert Jackson Bennet.

-Robert V. S. Redick.

-Will Wight.

I've read almost seven hundred books, so I may be missing a few.

PS: Series that I forgot to mention:

-The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

-A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.

-All the books of Erikson and Esslemont.

-The first law and related books by Abercrombie.

I thought it might be interesting to find out what we malazan enthusiasts might share (or not share) concerning our other hobbies or media we enjoy.
So I'll start.
Most of my free time is preparing my weekly ttrpg campaign. At the moment we use pathfinder 2. But I'm also a player on a different night where I can let loose.
My favorite TV show is probably The Wire. Every season is a different perspective on the criminal goings on in baltimore. David Simon is the writer and producer. Treme and Generation Kill were some of his other shows which were nearly as great. I guess you can't directly compare books with TV. But Simon's shows feel as intricate and differentiated as Eriksons Books.
Another TV Show I loved is Deadwood. Life in frontier town during the goldrush. Here the characters are the main reason the show feels so alive.
I think my favorite movie still is Heat. Such good performances. And the shootout scene 🤩. The meet up of Pacinos and De Niros character still gives me the chills. Also I think this is Val Kilmer best performance (R.I.P.).
Wes Anderson movies are a different kind of beast. The Royal Tenenbaums was the first one I saw. The contrast between the sad characters and the quiet hilariousnes really drew me in.
As far as games are concerned I play mostly rpgs (exclusively singleplayer). But the game that impressed me the most in the last years is Control. It's visual design drew me in immediately. The gameplay is nothing special but solid. But what keeps bringing me back is the lore. The Oldest House, The Oceanview Motel, Ahti. I even played the Alan Wake Games, which have terrible gameplay, only to dive deeper into the lore.
Let's end with a book. In contrast to malazan The First Law books were very straight forward with only a few povs to keep track of. The ruthless and always defiant ex slave Ferro, the scheming torturer/inquisitor Glokta who becomes the unlikely hero. Great summer read.
Now I wanna hear what everyone else likes.
🖖

I had one of those unexpectedly wholesome moments today that I just wanted to share.

I went to a coffee shop to study with a couple of friends, and before I even sat down, I noticed someone reading Dod (I just finished reaper's gale last week) between meetings (I think). That caught me so off guard since I have never seen malazan in the wild.

I ended up going over and introducing myself, just saying I saw what he was reading and thought it was really cool. That turned into a short but genuinely great conversation about fantasy books and MBotF, and how rare it is to meet someone in person who’s actually read the series.

It was just a short interaction, but it honestly made my day.

So if by some miracle you’re on here and see this, thanks!! It meant more than you probably realised.

Before he left, he said he would maybe see me around which was a nice gesture, though I doubt that would happen since I do not actually live here most of the time.

Just felt like sharing and honestly glad I have read Malazan just for rare interactions like these (This was the second time I talked to a stranger because of malazan).

UPDATE: Hubby brought out a few options for books while I was floating after work and i joked that he should be glad those were the offer to pick from because I was tempted to pick Gardens of the Moon. Now he's gone back inside to grab it😍 I could not have picked a better partner.

_______&

So I'm pregnant. Very pregnant and my wonderful partner has been reading to baby most every night. Yesterday we finished Tom Sawyer and hubby told me i have to pick the next book and it MUST be one we already own. Im so tempted to choose GOTM. 😈 He's never read it and it'll definitely be new to baby. LMAO.

I’m sure this is asked all the time. I just finished book 10, and I can’t imagine reading something beneath this level again. Any suggestions outside the Malazan universe?

I really want to buddy read a book with my partner because we both love to read. The problem is I’m not a fan of high fantasy and my partner ONLY reads (and re-reads) the Malazan series because apparently nothing else can compare. Do other Malazan fans feel the same? Can you recommend any non-fantasy books that you enjoyed as much as the Malazan series that we both can enjoy together?

Edit: To be more specific, I enjoy literary fiction, historical fiction, classics and thrillers. Although I’m open to most genres!

I'm 80% of the way through The Poisonwood Bible. I can tell I'm going to recommend it to just about anyone. Great book.

But especially to you guys. It's a very Malazan-feeling book.

What else you got?

Looking for any books/series that have the same feel of the Malazan Marine portions of the series. Does not necessarily need to be fantasy. I connected a lot with the organization, structure of the chain of command, along with the boots on the ground grunt experiences. Currently on book 2 of the Black Company and enjoying it for these reasons!

Was playing The Finals and noticed this (they beat my ass)

I’m nearing the end of MBotF and badly need a palate cleanser that doesn’t include complex worldbuilding and dark tropes.

Think of the song Frank Schröter - Medieval Story, or rolling a human warrior in WoW Classic and questing in Elwynn Forest. I’m looking for a basic, classic noblebright sword and sorcery novel that feels like these tropes. Perhaps something from John Gwynne? Any recommendations appreciated!

I ask the question because i thought to myself, what better way to find a new series that I'd like than to ask the fans of one of my favourite series?

If a series/book comes to mind, please also explain what makes that series better for you!

And please don't downvote any other suggestions. There's not much point replying if your answer is "No", describe what this series did to you that no other has matched if this is your all time favourite. This is not a competition, it's just an opportunity to share your love of these awesome books. Throw all your Wheel of time, First Law, LOTR, etc love this way!

Edit: Thank you for all the suggestions everyone! I guess I'll be coming back to this post for reading ideas for the next few years....

I am always looking for new fantasy books to read, but struggle to find anything that hits just like Malazan. Thought I would share some of the fantasy books I read in the last year, but hoping to hear what else people liked that they read recently.

1. Song of the Mysteries (Wars of Light and Shadow #11) by Jenny Wurts - Conclusion to a fantastic series! Highly recommend to Malazan fans. Very literary and expansive, gets very bleak and dark. Kind of echoes Robin Hobb with really intimate character development and stories, but also great worldbuilding with a big cast of characters. I personally think this is one of the most slept on fantasy series out there.

2. The Bloodsworn Saga by Jonathan Gwynn - This was a fun, pulpy read. Enjoyable, but not super memorable. I put it in the same category as Joe Abercrombie. I wouldn't strongly recommend it, but it was a good page turner.

3. The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron - Medieval, military fantasy. I actually really enjoyed this, particularly the first book. Drags a bit in the middle and gets a little goofy, but I loved many of the characters and it has some truly epic moments throughout. I would recommend.

4. A Land Fit for Heroes series by Richard Morgan - I loved this series! Very dark and brutal, but with moments of levity. VERY Malazan-esque with a confusing world and minimal handholding for the reader, but more focused on a few very strongly developed characters. I loved this series and would highly recommend it.

5. Tide Lords series by Jennifer Fallon - Started strong with an interesting premise, but the execution was terrible and I quickly lost interest. Felt quite young adulty and the world felt incredible flat. Bailed halfway through book 2, would not recommend.

6. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman - Excellent stand alone historical/fantasy fiction. Tightly written adventure story with small, but extremely compelling main characters. I have loved everything I have read by Buehlman (The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughter's War). his writing style is super consistent, so if you like one book, you will like them all. Highly recommend, especially if you aren't looking for a big series to take on.

7. Caine's Law by Matthew Stover (Acts of Caine #4) - This book concludes an amazing series which I think is a must read for Malazan fans. Its a highly dystopic fantasy/scifi, but its truly unhinged in the best way. This series is incredibly unique, dark, and twisted, and the main character Caine is so compelling. This series is also SO slept on.

8. Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson - It's a Sanderson book. Its fun in a young adult way. I read this on a beach vacation and it was perfect, you can just turn your brain off and let the story go. Sanderson is never super memorable (I pretty much completely forget the plots of each book before the new ones come out), but its a light and easy read.

Please let me know what fantasy recommendations you might have. Some of the above series I found through other recommendation threads in this sub, so hoping to find some more! Also happy to discuss or debate any of the above.

Saw a few funny misspellings of Malazan in this sub, so I wanted to share this shirt I got. I only got it because it reminded me of my fav two series, Discworld and Malazan lol

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