DLC Bookclub - Reaper's Gale - Prologue + Chapters 1-3 - MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN

Jeff and Lana begin their read-along of the seventh novel in the Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson, entitled Reaper's Gale!
This episode covers the events of the prologue and chapters 1, 2, and 3
Special thanks to Emily Bachynski for the DLC Bookclub theme song. Find more of her work at www.badbuddy.b...
Link to the reading guide we use: docs.google.co....
DLC Bookclub Discord: / discord

[@believer773]

This far in I'm so excited for your reaction to my favorite Malazan book. You guys really are the best Malazan commentary there is.

[@slidenaway]

Haven’t said it for a while so here it is - y’all are the *target audience* for Malazan. A lot of people struggle with the beginning of this book: 1. very bleak in many ways 2. Lot of new characters and confusing societal structures and interactions 3. More sexual assault, which is harder to read in some ways than in previous books But you guys don’t let that stuff bother you!! And I didn’t either, my above “critiques” are not really my own, but they’re so common that I have to give them some validity. Anyway I say all that to say that once again this just hits you the way it’s intended and I think that’s beautiful :) You’re spot on with a couple important themes that will be relevant throughout the book - 1) the conquering of Lether by the Edur - who conquered who? The Letherii power structures being intact means the Edur are being sucked in 2) uncertainty vs certainty. Fanaticism requires certainty. Such big and relevant topics, and the quotes you picked really illustrate those points perfectly Random note, yes you’re right about what the Silchas crew is doing: searching for Scabandari’s soul Beyond all that, it’s so nice to see old friends!! Erikson is always fond of that mix of confusing new stuff along with very familiar stuff and I love that. You’re right that a lot of mysteries are being set up and don’t worry you’ll get plenty of answers!! Excited to continue on :)

[@Tremain]

yaaaay! Reaper's Gale is when things finally start coming together into one single coherent plot for the entire series. Can't wait for this journey.

[@dentonholmgren4886]

Currently laid out on my couch recovering from a rough knee surgery, in a ton of pain. Then this pops up on my feed. The next 1.5 hours will be GREAT.

[@Perrylump]

Woo, my fave book in the series. Let the vicarious re-enjoyment being.

[@dlasis]

Red Mask was mentioned in the last scene of the Prologue. He’s described as a man with a crimson mask or something.

[@Northernsolstice]

The Patriotists are the woooorst. I know there's some benefit to being forced to acknowledge the nastier bits of humanity/reality so I appreciate their place in the story. But oh man, it can get bleak.

[@Cedarosaurus]

Ah, Karos Invictad, the Steve Bannon of the Malazan world… (this is literally the only character in the series that I’ve ‘fancast’ in my mind as a person from the real world, and boy does it work)

[@EricMcLuen]

Will you meet the Bonehunters? Not a spoiler - the book is dedicated to Glen Cook. But slowly the story lines draw closer and it is always fun to recognize a call back from 2+ books ago.

[@salomealhusami594]

Yaaaay! Finally! I've been waiting for three weeks for you to start reading Reaper's Gale! Hope you enjoyed your break! I missed your takes on the series so much, and didn't realize how much I appreciate them and you until I started listening to the Ten Very Big Books podcast! So excited to have your refreshing reactions every week! 😊 Love you! ❤❤

[@karloswald407]

Can’t remember if you’ve talked about this, but with the Malazan series being a shared world between SE and ICE, a non-spoiler topic could be thoughts and opinions on shared worlds in fiction. There’s cross genre examples with American comics having shared worlds, as well as the recent emergence of shared worlds on film with things like the alien franchise or MCU, and of course shared worlds in fiction like the many novels based on DnD settings. A rich topic I’d love to hear your thoughts on! Certainly a lot to say on it but cram it in to 15-20 minutes please 😂 lol

[@jeffgraham3201]

Hell yeah, definitely my favorite book in the series! Looking forward to hearing yalls thoughts!

[@Plaeya01]

Oh my gosh yay I'm so excited I missed you guys ❤❤❤ I love this book so much I think it's my 4th fav

[@BetheQuail]

The second half of this book is so good

[@angeldevilson]

Y'all are back and there's gonna be some chaos...

[@jayheywood9635]

✌

[@Jabberwhorl_Cronstadt]

Reaper's Gale! The least good of the big ten, in my humble opinion. But I seem to be in the minority on that one. Still a great book! I vividly remember reading the section about fanaticism you guys selected this week. Outside of it's obvious relevance for politics in the world today, it also tickles me when I come across a Malazan fanatic online who declares it the best series of all time, no need for debate, it is simply unquestionable. Like, my dude. Did you actually read the books? 😅 The dangers of fanaticism and certainty are one of the main themes of the entire series!