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*cue the squeals of fanboys coz Anomander Rake is here
1. Description: this was first written as a script for a huge television series however because this is the most iconic high fantasy of all-time and because it's super *epic* (mindblowing plot twists, hundreds of continents, hundreds of characters from humans to gods and elder races, and thousands of years of history and magic) the budget of the producers can't accommodate the show and now it's a ten part series: Malazan book of the Fallen Empire by a former anthropologist and archaelogist Steven Erikson.
Book 1: Gardens of the Moon Book 2: Deadhouse Gates Book 3: Memories of Ice Book 4: House of Chains Book 5: Midnight Tides Book 6: Toll of Hounds Book 7: Reaper's Gale Book 8: The Bonehunters Book 9: Dust of Dreams Book 10: The Crippled God
Nb: This is another advanced high fantasy, so I suggest you read this when you have a lot of time (like summer or christmas break), and use malazan wiki fandom for questions and tor.com for characters
2. Summary/ plot: The story started with the fall of Malazan Empire under the rule of Emperor Kellanved and his right man Dancer. Empress Laseen (former sorcerer of the Emperor) seized the throne and is planning to assassinate the former loyal followers of the emperor (the army group called Bridgeburners) as well as widen the territories of the empire. But don't be deceived by the summary because Gods and elder races are players too and if the stakes are high, they can also get killed along with the humans.
3. Characters: Due to tons of characters, fans of the book don't agree on whose the best and worst characters. You'll like some of them, you won't care a whit for most. There's a gap, a detachment but you'll still root for your favorites. (Mine is the guy above).
4. Worldbuilding: Is there any other book in fantasy genre as huge as the world of this? Every book in the series you'll explore different continents and history of broken swords and ruined temples that is to expect when the author is an archaelogist. The world is so huge that it intimidates even the most advance readers.
5. Magic System: Warrens. Compare to ASoIaF, Malazan have hard-magic systems which means the history and limitations of magic was explored. There's still a sense of ambiguity but the magic is not limited to one person or race only. There is what you called Path and Elder Warrens.
6. Writing Style: O-kay. The writing style of Erikson is the downfall here. He's great in his prose and descriptions but there's a sense of detachment from the narrator and the characters which make it impossible for first time readers to get into the series. Although I love Gardens of the Moon more than Deadhouse Gates, it's different for first timers in Malazan, it's a chore to them to get pass from the first book. So heed my suggestion and read the book with Malazan wiki fandom for explanations about ascendants, warrens, elder races, tribes, religions, and places. Because Erikson won't explain it to you, you just have to take what he gives to you and let you find it for yourself.
7. Pacing: There are some slow parts, dragging parts, but if you reread the series it would actually make sense.
8. Rating: Great. Recommended for ADVANCED ++++ readers.
