re: Malazan series

I'll echo what others have said. If you're having trouble with Gardens of the Moon, put it on the backburner and read Deadhouse Gates. If I remember correctly the two books are happening fairly concurrently.

In Media Res is a tough technique to tackle, and Erickson unfortunately uses it as a bludgeon.

However, you really, really appreciate it on subsequent re-reads of the series.

MBoTF is by far my favorite fantasy series. By a rather large margin.