A series suggestion: Malazan Book of the Fallen

A forward and a forewarning for future suggestions: I love to read. I can say there have only been two series I absolutely despise, the first being A Song of Ice and Fire, the second being The Sword of Truth (AKA cheap Wheel of Time knockoff). Everything else I have enjoyed, and I'm not too critical of books (unless you blatantly rip off the Wheel of Time).

I've had requests for a blog with book suggestions, and here's one for the Malazan Book of the Fallen. At the moment there are 16 books in the series, as well as two authors, and an assortment of short stories. I'd argue this is the best fantasy I've read, even beating out Jordan and Sanderson (those of you who know my preference for authors should have fainted after reading that sentence).

The main sequence (10 books) is written by Steven Erikson, who is currently writing a prequel series (1 book so far, I think it's going to be a trilogy), and there are "supplements" to the series by Ian C. Esslemont (5 books). Esslemont has one more book coming that I know of, and Erikson is going to write a sequel trilogy after he's done with the current trilogy. The books are based off a D&D campaign they made together some time back. The series is dark with some adult content and some swearing.

The first book is Gardens of the Moon. Imagine being suddenly dropped into the middle of the House of Representatives with no prior knowledge of how the government works and this is going on. This is how it feels picking up GotM for the first time, but with less "moral" selfishness and more reality. Erikson does not coddle you, and you will not have any idea what is going on for some time. This may not be the strongest start for a series suggestion; if you keep with it you will not be disappointed.

The main idea of the series is power attracts power, and when enough powerful beings decide to hang out a convergence happens, and everything could go to hell in an instant, or not. The Gods interact with the mortals, and there are demigods that will deus-ex-machina out of nowhere. It's really cool.

Erikson's characters are human, not the beacons of morality some people expect in fantasy. The books get darker, and just when you think there is no hope the light appears and there is relief. You'll hate and love his characters at the same time. There will be moments when you will be cheering, and many moments when you will feel like crying.

One of the bad things in suggesting a series such as this is I can't go into too much detail, or I'll spoil everything. I'll end with this: If I could go back and read these books for the first time I'd do it in an instant. I envy those of you who will brave the Malazan Book of the Fallen for the first time. 

Savior of my world

Yes, the title is satirized. Tastefully so, I hope. Now, as many of you know,  I died for a minute or so awhile back. There are a few funny stories that occurred after I was brought back and in the hospital, here's one of them, and a brief story to go with it.

I am a history major, and I like to say I'm focused on Russian history. The reason for this is a story I heard back when I was a wee little lad. What follows is a brief telling of said story, if you've heard of Rasputin before you can skip to the next paragraph. Grigori Rasputin was a monk/mystic/sex fiend who was around during the last days of Tsarist Russia. The Tsar in question is Nicholas II, who was married to Alix. She bore him a son, and due to the slight inbreeding of the Romanov family, he was born with hemophilia. Alix did everything she could to help her darling Alexei, but nothing worked. Eventually she turned to mysticism. She went through a couple different mystics, but none of them could work their magic. Finally she was introduced to Grigori and he could stop the bleeding of her sweet son. There are several theories as to how he did this, none of which are relevant. The part that got me as a kid was his death. He was lured to Yusupov Palace by Felix Yusupov, who had hinted that his wife wanted some of his "medicine." The first thing he and his cohorts tried was cyanide in the cake and wine. Rasputin finished them off and called for more. Then they shot him and rolled him up in a rug. After a bit Felix went to check on the body, and Rasputin opened his eyes and charged him. After Felix broke free he shot at Rasputin, missed twice, then hit him in the back and in the head. They dumped his body in the river. When his body was found there was water in the lungs, indicating he could have still been alive in the water. To my young mind this guy was the ultimate man, and I immediately fell in love with the story.

Here's where what happened to me picks up. I even vaguely remember this part. I was in the ER and people were talking around me, but it sounded like they were underwater. Because I was not responding the doctor wanted to put me in a coma to prevent brain damage. My parents didn't want this (neither did I, but I couldn't hear them), so my mother leaned in really close and yelled, "Jake! Who was the creepy Russian?" I responded correctly, and thus was able to prevent the doctor from putting me in a coma. While Rasputin certainly was a drunkard, womanizer, manizer (that's not technically a word, but it's funny), and one of the causes for the fall of the Romanov dynasty, he prevented me from being put in a coma. I now vow that when I am older and get a house a picture of Rasputin will hang prominently in it, and it will be the first thing people see when they walk in. I owe it to him. The man who saved me from being put into a coma.