I reckon that once you get to the first Tehol and Bugg scene,you'll find the motivation to keep reading Erikson - ok, it's quite a different novel. But just take it as a standalone - the information necessary from the previous books is very limited, and if you don't try and think of how it fits into the story as a whole until you finish it, you should be able to enjoy it. Some of the parts weren't as good as others (Udinaas storyline was drawn out a bit - it constitutes some Erikson's best writing and some of his worst). But overall I think it's one of Erikson's best novels - up there with Memories of Ice and Deadhouse Gates, but also quite different in style - much more understated.
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My question is - what is the trick to reading these books and not getting confused as hell!
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Read them one at a time (ie reading other books in between them). Then once you get to where the series is at the moment (the Bonehunters) take a break. Come back to it after reading some other stuff, then start re-reading the series. Especially Gardens of the Moon. It suddenly becomes so obvious what it was all about on the second read, because you have all the information about the world.