It could just be me but after having read this series I am having a hard time reading anything else without comparing. The depth and range of characters has really grabbed me and refused to let go. At first it seemed fairly disjointed but after I really waded in the complexity was just amazing to me. Anyone else genuinely fond of this series? I might go so far as to say that this is my favorite series of books.
This is an odd coincidence as I just started to re-read the series. The first time I read it, I had a love-hate relationship with the books. Some elements Erickson included were amazing and fantastic (the end of Deadhouse Gates got me good), but then other parts were incredibly annoying (the constant in-character references to memories of ice in the book titled Memories of Ice). Then the fourth book started with a 200+ page cold open and the fifth book went in an entirely different direction. So I ended up dropping the series. I have just started re-reading Gardens of the Moon and I am enjoying it immensely, especially as I can see all the connections and plots from later books being woven in already. Hopefully I will be able to stick with the series through the end this time,
If you can it is worth sticking with. To be honest the entire series is woven together and you don't get to see the entire tapestry until you read all of the books. It has been noted by many fanatics of the series that if you were to read in the books out of chronological order that the story would actually make more sense. However I like to think of it as shockingly similar to Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. The entire series would be worth reading simply to have the moment of clarity and amazing revelation that comes when the end ties up everything. As the Dude says, "That rug really tied the room together."
I just started reading this series. I am only on book two, The Deadhouse Gates. I feel like I need to take notes on everything going on to keep it all straight. I have a feeling that this is going to be a series that gets better on the second or third read through. I went in knowing that but still, it feels almost like work trying to get through the books.
