Thank you for reading this series. Glad you enjoyed the first two novels. There was a span of about eight years between the last revised version of GotM and the writing of Deadhouse Gates, and even with that final re-write, GotM had been sitting on a shelf for a few years prior. So, a lot of life lived in between, and maybe a smidgen or two of wisdom in there, too. Or at least, experience. That said, your analogy of Christmas and that happy rush to the presents (which I loved) is as applicable to the writer as it is to any reader. But, rather than the writer being that wide-eyed child, the writer is a minion of S. Nick, down the chimney and into the room, burdened with more presents than seems reasonable, yet eager to fill the room. Gardens of the Moon is very much like that. The challenge was in deciding which presents to leave, and my decisions there were based on their relevance to what was to come, through the remaining nine novels. To extend the analogy, this year you got toy train tracks, and might be left wondering what to do with them; but next year the toy locomotive arrives, and the year after that the first few cars, and so on. Clearly, that's a big ask for the kid in pyjamas. Patience is a thing to be learned, after all. The writer needs it, the reader needs it. The writer's challenge is to deliver on the promise. In turn, the reader is asked to take a lot on faith. It's an unfair bargain, something that, to my mind, the writer should never forget. Be well. SE
Thank you for stopping by and for the well-thought out comment. This was some amazing insight and very cool to hear briefly about how you designed the series and the release of information. You have earned my trust, and I am certainly along for this locomotive ride. I’m so happy you created this world.
Sounds like you’re having a great experience so far! You do a great job providing large-framework overviews. As you get deeper into the series, I would find spoiler-filled videos preferable, but I’ve read the series. I just enjoy hearing specific moments that resonate for different readers and reasons why, like what you were sharing about Coltane and Duiker. Great hearing your thoughts, Colin!
Thanks so much for your input, Johanna! I agree I found myself yearning to talk about some specific stuff and holding back in this one. Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Wonderful review, you are picking up on so much already, way more than I did my first go! Can’t wait for you to tackle MoI!!! 🥰🥰 Also, I think half and half reviews would be best since there would be something for everyone!
I definitely had some help, I’ve been following along the DLC book club chats as I read along in the series and they are ak much fun to watch. And okay thank you so much for your input, and thank you for watching!
"Ladies and gentlemen... good lord." That about sums it up, right there. XD Erikson is so incredibly good at understanding human emotions, experience, and trauma. I'm so inspired by it. I'm glad you had a good experience with Deadhouse, it's still my favorite fantasy novel of all time.
Haha it really does sum it up! I remember hearing you say this was your favorite fantasy novel of all time and I can certainly see why. What a ride! Erikson stepped it up big-time in this one. Thanks so much for watching, Tori!
Nice one Colin -- great to hear your in depth thoughts!! This book is killer. The other theme I'd mention that's super important is that of *history* and how important it is to remember the past. Pretty obvious with one of our main POVs being the historian Duiker, and gets even more important at the end of the book (no spoilers but you know what I mean lol) I had a very similar experience to you, reading it the first time. It's compelling and gripping all the way through, with lots of humor sprinkled in (PUST OR BUST), and again no spoilers but the ending is magnificent and so emotional. As for future reviews -- having watched a LOT of Malazan videos, I would suggest you start doing spoiler-filled reviews. OPTIONAL is keeping some spoiler-free stuff at the beginning -- I would suggest 5 minutes or less spoiler free, then jump into spoilers so you can really talk about the book and your feelings. Looking forward to the live chat for DG!! Oh also, you shouldn't tell secrets in a cornfield because there are ears everywhere :)
Yes you’re certainly right, history was a massive theme throughout the entirety of this one! I appreciate your input and will certainly be making some changes I think moving forward. And YES good guess! I love when people get the Comedy with Colin!
Liked hearing your thoughts on this one. I found it hard to do non-spoiler reviews on the latter books as well. There is just too much context and everything becomes so interrelated. I'll be tuning in regardless!
Thanks so much for watching, Jared! I think the value of non-spoiler reviews goes down significantly as one progresses to the later books in the series. If people read 2 of these books I think they’ll be in for book 3 and beyond.
Loved the review! Right with you on the Duiker/Coltaine stuff being riveting throughout. You mentioning “fan favorite” Pust gave me a chuckle since I think he’s more of a fan least favorite 😅. He certainly annoyed me! I’m all for spoiler reviews going forward or a split format. Def agree that this book just flowed better and I do think there was some kind of prose change from Gardens with clearer communication with the reader that made everything easier to follow.
I def feel spoilers in discussions are important to have as there are a lot of moments that happen in each book I love hearing people talk about. As to if you have a spoiler free session that is completely up to you. To be fair you guys anyways have your spoiler live chats with the other channels
Yes, I certainly agree that spoilers in discussions are critical. I will definitely be taking into consideration everybody’s input and I appreciate yours. Thanks for watching and interacting!
Because they all have EARS!! 👂 🌽 Yea, Deadhouse Gates was mind-meltingly epic, as I'm sure was designed. The last half is where I felt completely engaged. Though I was exhausted and drained emotionally by the end. I can't wait to see how you like Memories of Ice
I picked up Deadhouse Gates almost at random from a little free library, not having read Gardens of the Moon. The prologue was creepy, awful (situationally) and compelling. It was overwhelming at first as I was introduced to puzzle pieces and characters but all the little bits intrigued me and started to make a sense of both recent and deep time. I will be reading more.
Wow, what a fun unique way to have stumbled into Deadhouse Gates. I’m sure it was a bit jarring, like you said the prologue does not mess around. I’m happy you enjoyed it and want to continue. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate you interacting!
I really love all of the resources available for this series. I’ve been using them, there’s no shame in my game 😂 and it’s helped me enjoy the series so much more I believe. Thanks for watching, Usman. Can’t wait to chat about this one.
Nice review. DG is of course my favorite in the series, and feel glad when others enjoy it as much. Wish you would have at least mentioned the themes regarding Felisin, but probably you didn't because of worries about spoilers. That is a tradeoff. Now regarding review structure from book 3, I will say what I say to everyone else without bias. Spoiler free reviews are great for the first 2 books, as it helps new readers get interested in the series. But from book 3 onwards, only spoiler free reviews won't make much sense because of the target audience. Those who haven't read any book in the series will hardly check out the review for a 3rd book of that series. There will be very few people who have read the first 2 books and only still deciding whether to read book 3. So from this point on, most of your target audience will anyway be those who have already read it. For them spoiler reviews are much better. However you can definitely keep a spoiler free section at the start and mention that in the title, so that interested people who haven't read may still look into it. And then the spoiler section after that with a clear warning before starting. That may be a good way going forward.
Yes, there was definitely some aspects that I held back from in this due to it being non-spoiler and even that was hard haha. I appreciate your feedback as always, Sourav! I will definitely be trying to tweak things a bit moving forward in the series but as always I appreciate your interaction and support!
Imagining other characters listening to Pust plot against (and insult) them as he ‘thinks out loud’ is freaking hilarious. He and Kruppe certainly grew on me on re-read.
Thank you for reading this series. Glad you enjoyed the first two novels. There was a span of about eight years between the last revised version of GotM and the writing of Deadhouse Gates, and even with that final re-write, GotM had been sitting on a shelf for a few years prior. So, a lot of life lived in between, and maybe a smidgen or two of wisdom in there, too. Or at least, experience. That said, your analogy of Christmas and that happy rush to the presents (which I loved) is as applicable to the writer as it is to any reader. But, rather than the writer being that wide-eyed child, the writer is a minion of S. Nick, down the chimney and into the room, burdened with more presents than seems reasonable, yet eager to fill the room. Gardens of the Moon is very much like that. The challenge was in deciding which presents to leave, and my decisions there were based on their relevance to what was to come, through the remaining nine novels. To extend the analogy, this year you got toy train tracks, and might be left wondering what to do with them; but next year the toy locomotive arrives, and the year after that the first few cars, and so on. Clearly, that's a big ask for the kid in pyjamas. Patience is a thing to be learned, after all. The writer needs it, the reader needs it. The writer's challenge is to deliver on the promise. In turn, the reader is asked to take a lot on faith. It's an unfair bargain, something that, to my mind, the writer should never forget. Be well. SE
Thank you for stopping by and for the well-thought out comment. This was some amazing insight and very cool to hear briefly about how you designed the series and the release of information. You have earned my trust, and I am certainly along for this locomotive ride. I’m so happy you created this world.
Sounds like you’re having a great experience so far! You do a great job providing large-framework overviews. As you get deeper into the series, I would find spoiler-filled videos preferable, but I’ve read the series. I just enjoy hearing specific moments that resonate for different readers and reasons why, like what you were sharing about Coltane and Duiker. Great hearing your thoughts, Colin!
I agree with all the above. 😊
Thanks so much for your input, Johanna! I agree I found myself yearning to talk about some specific stuff and holding back in this one. Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Wonderful review, you are picking up on so much already, way more than I did my first go! Can’t wait for you to tackle MoI!!! 🥰🥰
Also, I think half and half reviews would be best since there would be something for everyone!
I definitely had some help, I’ve been following along the DLC book club chats as I read along in the series and they are ak much fun to watch.
And okay thank you so much for your input, and thank you for watching!
"Ladies and gentlemen... good lord." That about sums it up, right there. XD
Erikson is so incredibly good at understanding human emotions, experience, and trauma. I'm so inspired by it. I'm glad you had a good experience with Deadhouse, it's still my favorite fantasy novel of all time.
Haha it really does sum it up! I remember hearing you say this was your favorite fantasy novel of all time and I can certainly see why. What a ride! Erikson stepped it up big-time in this one. Thanks so much for watching, Tori!
Nice one Colin -- great to hear your in depth thoughts!! This book is killer. The other theme I'd mention that's super important is that of *history* and how important it is to remember the past. Pretty obvious with one of our main POVs being the historian Duiker, and gets even more important at the end of the book (no spoilers but you know what I mean lol)
I had a very similar experience to you, reading it the first time. It's compelling and gripping all the way through, with lots of humor sprinkled in (PUST OR BUST), and again no spoilers but the ending is magnificent and so emotional.
As for future reviews -- having watched a LOT of Malazan videos, I would suggest you start doing spoiler-filled reviews. OPTIONAL is keeping some spoiler-free stuff at the beginning -- I would suggest 5 minutes or less spoiler free, then jump into spoilers so you can really talk about the book and your feelings.
Looking forward to the live chat for DG!! Oh also, you shouldn't tell secrets in a cornfield because there are ears everywhere :)
Yes you’re certainly right, history was a massive theme throughout the entirety of this one!
I appreciate your input and will certainly be making some changes I think moving forward.
And YES good guess! I love when people get the Comedy with Colin!
Oh and one correction. Ganoes is the older brother of Tavore. He is the oldest sibling. Tavore is the middle child.
Whoops 😅 thanks for pointing that out my bad!
I have so many thoughts on this book, I don't know where to begin. 😂. Lol looking forward to our live discussion
Haha oh man so do I. It’s going to be a long chat I feel! Thanks for watching, Christopher!
Liked hearing your thoughts on this one. I found it hard to do non-spoiler reviews on the latter books as well. There is just too much context and everything becomes so interrelated. I'll be tuning in regardless!
Thanks so much for watching, Jared! I think the value of non-spoiler reviews goes down significantly as one progresses to the later books in the series. If people read 2 of these books I think they’ll be in for book 3 and beyond.
Loved the review! Right with you on the Duiker/Coltaine stuff being riveting throughout. You mentioning “fan favorite” Pust gave me a chuckle since I think he’s more of a fan least favorite 😅. He certainly annoyed me!
I’m all for spoiler reviews going forward or a split format.
Def agree that this book just flowed better and I do think there was some kind of prose change from Gardens with clearer communication with the reader that made everything easier to follow.
Hahaha maybe I’m misinterpreting then 😂.
Thanks for the input, Ben!
I can’t wait to move forward with this series. Thanks for watching!
I def feel spoilers in discussions are important to have as there are a lot of moments that happen in each book I love hearing people talk about. As to if you have a spoiler free session that is completely up to you. To be fair you guys anyways have your spoiler live chats with the other channels
Yes, I certainly agree that spoilers in discussions are critical. I will definitely be taking into consideration everybody’s input and I appreciate yours. Thanks for watching and interacting!
I so love watching someone fall in love with Malazan. ♥️ All very well said, excellent review. 😀👌🏻
Thank you, Matt! I’ll be starting Memories of Ice here within the next week. I’m so excited.
Because they all have EARS!! 👂 🌽
Yea, Deadhouse Gates was mind-meltingly epic, as I'm sure was designed. The last half is where I felt completely engaged. Though I was exhausted and drained emotionally by the end.
I can't wait to see how you like Memories of Ice
I agree this one certainly took a toll emotionally. But man was it a compelling read.
And yes you got it!!!
Thanks for watching as always, Anthony!
I picked up Deadhouse Gates almost at random from a little free library, not having read Gardens of the Moon. The prologue was creepy, awful (situationally) and compelling. It was overwhelming at first as I was introduced to puzzle pieces and characters but all the little bits intrigued me and started to make a sense of both recent and deep time. I will be reading more.
Wow, what a fun unique way to have stumbled into Deadhouse Gates. I’m sure it was a bit jarring, like you said the prologue does not mess around. I’m happy you enjoyed it and want to continue. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate you interacting!
Looking forward to chatting about this! Lots to unpack and a big help is all the online resources available, it’s impressive and welcome
I really love all of the resources available for this series. I’ve been using them, there’s no shame in my game 😂 and it’s helped me enjoy the series so much more I believe. Thanks for watching, Usman. Can’t wait to chat about this one.
Nice review. DG is of course my favorite in the series, and feel glad when others enjoy it as much. Wish you would have at least mentioned the themes regarding Felisin, but probably you didn't because of worries about spoilers. That is a tradeoff.
Now regarding review structure from book 3, I will say what I say to everyone else without bias. Spoiler free reviews are great for the first 2 books, as it helps new readers get interested in the series. But from book 3 onwards, only spoiler free reviews won't make much sense because of the target audience. Those who haven't read any book in the series will hardly check out the review for a 3rd book of that series. There will be very few people who have read the first 2 books and only still deciding whether to read book 3. So from this point on, most of your target audience will anyway be those who have already read it. For them spoiler reviews are much better. However you can definitely keep a spoiler free section at the start and mention that in the title, so that interested people who haven't read may still look into it. And then the spoiler section after that with a clear warning before starting. That may be a good way going forward.
Yes, there was definitely some aspects that I held back from in this due to it being non-spoiler and even that was hard haha. I appreciate your feedback as always, Sourav! I will definitely be trying to tweak things a bit moving forward in the series but as always I appreciate your interaction and support!
🫶🥰
Gut punch of a book.
It really was. But at the same time so absolutely beautiful. Thanks for watching the review!
A lot of people, largely people who haven't gotten very far into the series, call this Grimdark. I love Grimdark, but i disagree. Its an Epic Tragedy.
I think I align more with your line of thinking as well.
Pust is not aware that people can hear his inner monologues because he says it out loud. LMAO
Hahaha he is a trip of a character man!
@@ColinsCornerYT wait til you meet his wife. 😅😂🤣
Or imagine a scene with him and Kruppe! 😅
Imagining other characters listening to Pust plot against (and insult) them as he ‘thinks out loud’ is freaking hilarious. He and Kruppe certainly grew on me on re-read.