Current Events > To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Malazan

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To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Malazan Book of the Fallen. The worldbuilding is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the lore will go over a typical readers head. Theres also Whiskeyjacks nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these books, to realise that theyre not just fantasy - they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Malazan Book of the Fallen truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldnt appreciate, for instance, the humour in Whiskeyjacks existential catchphrase Wubba Lubba Dub Dub, which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenevs Russian epic Fathers and Sons. Im smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Steven Eriksons genius wit unfolds itself on their Kindle screens. What fools.. how I pity them. <img src="https://twemoji.maxcdn.com/v/13.0.0/svg/1f602.svg">

And yes, by the way, i DO have a Malazan Book of the Fallen tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. Its for the ladies eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that theyre within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid

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I'm 20% of the way through the 9th book. Going pretty slow to soak in as much of it as I possibly can.

Lol. It is my favorite series but I dgaf about the philosophical stuff in it.

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Hope this meme never end.

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EndOfDiscOne posted...

Lol. It is my favorite series but I dgaf about the philosophical stuff in it.

but idle philosophical musing is like ... at least 5-10% of the books

NotYou posted...

but idle philosophical musing is like ... at least 5-10% of the books

It definitely ramps up more around book 7. Book 8 was a bit of a struggle for me but overall the awesome outweighs the boring.

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EndOfDiscOne posted...

It definitely ramps up more around book 7. Book 8 was a bit of a struggle for me but overall the awesome outweighs the boring.

This is my second readthrough. The first stalled out midway through book 7. I'm appreciating it a little more this time. I got a little frustrated at what felt like a constant barrage of coy cliffhangers the first time around. I was struggling to keep up with all the storylines and characters, and it felt like every chapter was like, "Character A's eyes widened in realization (fade to black without explanation". "Character B would have done things differently if he knew what was coming." "And then Character C suddenly understood who Character D was." He likes to (at least temporarily) withhold information from the readers, but parade it around by letting the characters in on the loop. That stuff really started to bug me the first time through, but on the second time I can see the pieces fitting together much more cohesively. It's been a nicer experience.