House of Chains - Part 3 (Spoilers) | Malazan Book of the Fallen

[@something00witty]

Good points! The ending with Felisin and Tavore was tragic in a way that felt really appropriate. Looking at the book as a whole I think the decision to begin with Karsa and give us half a book of backstory absolutely pays off - his arc throughout this book is so impactful and rewarding. I don't think it'd have half the impact if we'd skipped the long segment from his POV.

[@taylor-kenny]

100% agree, I'm on book 7 now, and the time we spent with Karsa is paying off big time. I get why he's a fan favorite now. Felisin and Tavore's storyline was incredibly dark and beautiful.

[@believer773]

To me House of Chains shows perfectly how brilliant Malazan is, it's 100pct true that this is many peoples least favorite in the series. But for some of us it's one of the best, the beauty of the series is how every reader really does have a completely different experience with it. In my humble opinion it is proof of Erikson's absolute brilliance in crafting this entire story. Glad you're starting Midnight Tides, universally loved by most fans for a good reason it's remarkable, can't wait to hear your thoughts, enjoy reading

[@taylor-kenny]

I'm working my way through Midnight tides! So far so good :)

[@tinytownsoftware3837]

Who the hell dislikes HoC? That intro with Karsa is amazing!

[@driftwood42]

I just started midnight tides a week or so ago and Im about halfway through it,. Its cool you are basically at the same point I am. But the biggest thing I agree with about what you said was how Erikson ties things together. All these books so far have come together in such a satisfying way.

[@taylor-kenny]

The beginning of Midnight Tides has been giving me some trouble but it's starting to pick up!

[@PatrickLugo]

Solid takes overall! On Bridgburners seems like it’s a bunch of things, the spirit song, Paren (Master of the Deck) blessing their burial at the end of Memories of Ice, any more?

[@raswartz]

Great breakdown! A few thoughts on various points. - Gamet's POV is rooted in his depression and pessimism in a way that pushes him into unreliable narrator territory. It's a similar pattern to the Mhybe in MoI or Duiker in DG, both of whom project negative perceptions of what's happening into the text. So I enjoyed it as more than just an old man moping - there was more going on psychologically. - Felisin is so heart-breaking. That scene where we see the "real" Felisin for the last time in Heboric's tent. . . omg. It only becomes more powerful the more you think about it and reflect on it in the context of her whole story. - L'oric and Tanno spiritwalker stuff - It sounds like you have a very reasonable take. Kind of impressive that it's that coherent. I would only add the reminder that "magic" in Malazan is more than just the warrens. Sorcery is only one particular form of magic. - Pronunciation: Not Aspalar, Apsalar. Great stuff, look forward to seeing your reactions to Midnight Tides!

[@slidenaway]

Not Not-Aspalar, Not-Apsalar!!!

[@taylor-kenny]

Thanks Richard, I did enjoy Gamet's POV I just like yelling at the characters internally haha Glad I'm on the right track with Loric and the Tanno Spiritwalker stuff! Thanks for the comment :)

[@Birdshowace]

Love the the way you broke down your reading experience using this format I love this book but Midnight Tides was one of my favourites in the series and I cant wait to hear your thoughts on that too Thanks!

[@taylor-kenny]

Glad you enjoyed it! Midnight Tides video coming soon.

[@nazhopkins5825]

This was the first in the series that I laughed a lot in. Iskaral Pust and Magora on form and I absolutely love Greyfrog!

[@taylor-kenny]

Pust is a great character and Greyfrog is so strange in the best way.

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

Some of the best lorebuilding and worldbuilding in a book I have read. Dunno how to rate this book critically since while I do have nit picks such as not being really invested in the malazan army and feeling their story took too much space. But damn stuff like the Jade giants in space, the otatoral dragon, Karsa olong and his presence seeming almost a danger to all the gods themselves... I just love this book

[@ZampanosCat]

Karsa is for real the GOAT. You are in for a treat

[@demidrek-heyward]

thanks

[@dlasis]

Watching these videos compel me to start reading Malazan. Thank you

[@taylor-kenny]

That's great to hear! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[@dlasis]

@@taylor-kenny lol. I’m on Deadhouse Gates now, friend.

[@slidenaway]

Wonderful video!! Don't worry about rambling, these books are long and there's so much to say. I think you're doing great staying on track and just talking about what you wanna talk about!! As someone else said, your grasp of the Tanno song is really really good. I'd say it's one of those things that is meant to be a little fuzzy -- we understand the outline, the general pieces -- but we don't need all the specifics or details. It just is! :) And yeah, I'm definitely one of those that enjoys listening to your thoughts on the books! It's a little bit of vicarious living, right, like I personally only get to read these books for the first time *once* -- but through you I get to kinda sorta do it again. Most of your reactions are similar to mine, and those that aren't, I'm interested to hear about. For instance I never really got annoyed with Fist Gamet, but I can totally see how he could come off that way. And when you said that made his ending all the more impactful for you, that's also interesting! So you were saying at the end that you think you're getting more out of these books because you're thinking a lot and analyzing, etc, for these videos. I agree 100%. I do think that it's very possible to enjoy, understand, and love these books *without* this kind of analysis and deep thought, and I wouldn't say anyone who doesn't analyze is *missing* anything per se -- but at the same time, I think that doing this kind of thinking is particularly rewarding for these books. Not only do you give your brain a workout, but there are definitely times where you can gain a deeper or better or more thorough understanding. Anyway glad you loved the book and I am confident you're gonna keep loving them -- can't wait for your first MT video!

[@taylor-kenny]

Thanks Chris! I'm glad you're enjoying them. There's definitely a careful balance to analyzing the book and also just sitting back, enjoying the experience. I should have video on the first part of MT sometime next week!

[@slidenaway]

@@taylor-kenny great to hear, looking forward to it!!

[@duffypratt]

Go back and read the scene in Deadhouse Gates where Fiddler talks with the spiritwalker.

[@taylor-kenny]

I should re-read that portion.

[@CyrilZhe]

Regarding the small cliffhangers I think Erickson likes to put similar in a few places. For instance, at the end of memories of ice, you get the veteran bridgeburners talking to a strange man that is preparing to tell them the saddest story. It is heavily implied that this is Duiker reborn and he is going to tell the chain of dogs. This is a little Easter egg connected to the part that deadhouse gates was supposed to be the 3rd book and memories of ice - second book in the series.

[@Sang-Drax]

Loved hearing your experience with the book over these past 3 vids, a lot of people feel it's a weaker entry in the series but honestly it's one of my favorites if not my favorite.

[@taylor-kenny]

Thank you! Midnight tides video is on the way.

[@paulcoulthard5831]

Great video. Just reached this point on re read. I completely missed the Gamet thing. I was confused, and I think you are ablsolutely right.

[@taylor-kenny]

Thank you! :)

[@drawyrral]

I am contemplating a fourth read of the series and listening to your comments here are giving me a good push in that direction. Names don't often follow normal rules of grammar so pronounce as you see fit. Except Jaghut.😁

[@taylor-kenny]

Glad I'm pushing you in that direction! It's so good.

[@somatraseng]

You are doing well! All your thoughts and observations are where they need to be. Keep it up!

[@taylor-kenny]

Thank you! I appreciate it, haha I feel like I'm taking a college course.

[@somatraseng]

@@taylor-kenny oh yeah, I feel that too. It's makes me laugh at myself because I feel like I am better at literary analysis now reading this series than back in high school when they made us to that with the classics. Listening to other readers and booktubers talk Malazan just naturally made me better and reading this series and other books too. I am on book 9 and it feels like that last few semesters of college. I can see the end but I am tryna enjoy every bit before the series is over.

[@turtle62785]

Pronunciation fun: Tiste = I makes an eh sound like the word tiff but with an “st” on the end. In the books Edur is pronounced Ed-war. Like “edi”fice and “war”io

[@taylor-kenny]

Thank you!

[@Paul_van_Doleweerd]

@@taylor-kenny Tiste is tie-st (hard I) and Edur is ed-oor, at least that's Erikson's take, but he's probably wrong. 😅

[@Andre-xl2oe]

Remember when the lady of luck bargained for the life of Paran? Felisin was the bargain...

[@taylor-kenny]

Ahhhh Interesting

[@ReallyGoodandKind]

Ra Ra Kuu