Orb Sceptre Throne - Out January 19th

[Lenny]

This is a very pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting another Malazan book for close to a year, but it turns out that Esslemont's next, Orb Sceptre Throne, is due out (in the UK) on January 19th.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orb-Sceptre-.../dp/059306450X

The summary from Amazon:

The tumult of great powers colliding has passed and the city of Darujhistan and its citizens can at last get on with what matters: trading, bickering, politicking and enjoying all the good things in life. However, not all are ready to leave the past behind. A treasure hunter, digging amongst the burial grounds that surround the city, is about to uncover a hidden crypt. He will open the last of a series of sealed vaults - the one that no other dared touch - and, in so doing, set free something so terrifying that the knowledge of its internment may have been systematically wiped from all history.

Fortune hunters are also at work far to the south. When a fragment of Moon's Spawn, once the home of Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, crashed into the Rivan Sea it created a chain of small islands. Legends and rumours already surround them. The most potent of these is that here is hidden the Throne of Night, claimed by some to be the seat of Mother Dark herself. Either way, all who seek this ancient artefact - renegade mages, hardened mercenaries, even a Malazan army deserter - believe it will bestow unlimited power upon the eventual possessor. The stakes are high, greed is rife, betrayal inevitable, and murder and chaos lie in wait...

From what I've read in interviews and remember, I do believe that this book will focus on the Tyrants of Darujhistan, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get to see a good chunk of the Empire under Mallick's rule, which should be interesting.

EDIT: Can't believe I forgot the pickled Seguleh!

[Bugg]

Crikey, I haven't even read Stonewielder yet!

Thanks for the heads up

[nixie]

I'm Skint for the next few months

[Ross]

I havn't gotten around to reading any Esslemont. Is he definately worth picking up? I really enjoyed Erikson so I don't want the Malazan world to be ruined.

[Clansman]

Originally Posted by Ross

I havn't gotten around to reading any Esslemont. Is he definately worth picking up? I really enjoyed Erikson so I don't want the Malazan world to be ruined.

Ross, I've steered you right before (Wars of Light and Shadow), so...

I loved Night of Knives. It was a very quick read, and very intelligible and linear (except for one or two flashbacks) compared to Erikson's normal style, and you get the background of Kellenved's and Dancer's ascension to being Shadowthrone and Cotillion, and of course Laseen's rise to power. The whole story takes place in one night, and you are introduced to some of the major players in the Malazan universe that background Erikson's story. You are guaranteed to like Temper, one of my favourites in the Malazan universe.

I am in the midst of Return of the Crimson Guard, which needs the references of Erikson's first five books, especially The Bonehunters, for it to make sense. Don't read RotCG until after you have read The Bonehunters, as the latter will be spoiled, and RotCG will be harder to understand. Esselmont hasn't grabbed me yet, but I have been only reading it at bedtime lately, and all these books are ones you need a good chunk of reading time each night to really enjoy it.

Esselmont is a good counter to Erikson. I had hoped for more of the crispness of Night of Knives, but I reserve judgment on RotCG. I'll let you know.

Question, at what point in the reading order of Erikson and Esselmont should Stonewielder be read? Over to you Lenny:

[Lenny]

Ooof. I can tell you what order to read Erikson's in, and even get down to chapter level on a good day, but throw in Esslemont's and I'm not sure.

The generally accepted reading order among fans seems to be:

Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
Night of Knives
The Bonehunters
Reaper's Gale
Return of the Crimson Guard
Toll the Hounds
Stonewielder
Dust of Dreams
The Crippled God

Some people put Stonewielder between DoD and TCG (as technically it does take place at some point during the two), but seeing as they're effectively two halves of a huge book, I prefer to read DoD and TCG together.

From what I gather, Orb Sceptre Throne takes place in Darujhistan almost immediately after TtH.

Whilst we're here, Esslemont has two more books planned: City in the Jungle and Assail. My guess is that DoD/TCG is supposed to be the end of everything for both series, so I'd slot them in in order after SW and OST.

---

As for Esslemont's books, NoK is a fantastic little book that showcases his writing skills. RotCG and SW are less coherent, but they're still good. Maybe not quite at the same level as Erikson's writing, but the story, characters and depth are all still there. They're worth reading if only for a greater look at the world (though if you found yourself in the weird situation where you only have to pick two, I'd go for NoK, as it deals with such a major event, and OST, as it's effectively a sequel to TtH).

[Ross]

I can always rely on you guys. I'm currently reading the latest Janny one and have a couple of others to get through then I think I'll try Night of Knives.

[Bugg]

I finally got Stonewielder last week. I had to hunt around on Amazon to get the US mass market paperback so that it matches the size of the other books in my Malazan collection. I hate that the UK editions suddenly moved to a larger format halfway through the series. Stupid publishers. I've had to do this for each paperback from Toll the Hounds onwards

[Peeves]

I've read it, (bit of spoilers underneath)









and whilst parts where good, the endgame and the battles left me a bit dissapointed. I kept w8 for the big finale which never truly game imo.
Wether it was with Antsy, with Vorcan's daughter, the Tyrant himself.
Only the seguleh vs the moranth was moderately done. Though i felt the ancient grudge should have been more fleshened out.

Anyone knows who Malakai is by the way. I keep wondering about it.
Is it Crokus, is it Topper, is it ... i got no idea.
The Throne of Night also popped up out of nowhere. Next we gonna get a throne of day...
Didn't really like that notion.

Despite all that, i did like the book well enough.

[williamjm]

I finished it a couple of days ago. While Erikson at his best is better than Esslemont at his best I think Esslemont is more consistent. His pacing is better and he doesn't have the long tedious sections where nothing of interest happens that have marred recent Erikson books. However, although I thought the end of the book was pretty good I didn't think it was as powerful as Erikson's best endings, and Erikson might have been able to write the same events better. I probably preferred the previous two Esslemont books a little bit, since they introduced some new things to the Malazan world (principally the Crimson Guard and the Stormwall) whereas most of the characters and settings in this book previously appeared in Erikson's Gardens of the Moon and Toll The Hounds. I think following on from Erikson's books so closely might have helped the characterisation a bit, since they come into the story with a reasonable amount of backstory they're not quite as bland as some of the previous Esslemont-only characters have been.

Originally Posted by KiwiBird

I've read it, (bit of spoilers underneath)









Anyone knows who Malakai is by the way. I keep wondering about it.
Is it Crokus, is it Topper, is it ... i got no idea.
The Throne of Night also popped up out of nowhere. Next we gonna get a throne of day...
Didn't really like that notion.

I thought that Malakai may well have been Crokus, his skills do seem to match fairly well with Malakai, I'm not entirely sure how much his personality matches Crokus' personality, but he's about as annoying as Crokus is. Also, if I remember correctly, Apsalar tells Crokus about the Gardens of the Moon in Gardens of the Moon (the book), so I thought the Malakai saying he was searching for them might be a reference to that.

As for the Throne of Night, there was already a Throne of Shadow in Erikson's books that the Tiste Edur were trying to get to, so it makes sense there would be equivalents for the Tiste Andii and Tiste Liosan.

[Peeves]

Originally Posted by williamjm

As for the Throne of Night, there was already a Throne of Shadow in Erikson's books that the Tiste Edur were trying to get to, so it makes sense there would be equivalents for the Tiste Andii and Tiste Liosan.

Tiste Andii : Throne of Darkness
Am i missing something?

We did hear about Draconus being the suzerain of Night or something along those lines.

[Chaoticheart]

Originally Posted by KiwiBird

Tiste Andii : Throne of Darkness
Am i missing something?

We did hear about Draconus being the suzerain of Night or something along those lines.

Yupyup.

He definitely is addressed as such in RotCG, and almost certainly elsewhere as well. Can't think of any other examples though.

[williamjm]

Originally Posted by KiwiBird

Tiste Andii : Throne of Darkness
Am i missing something?

We did hear about Draconus being the suzerain of Night or something along those lines.

Throne of Darkness would also make sense, but there are plenty of associations between darkness and night in the books (as well as the obvious connection).