Oh, sorry I missed this! The prose shouldn't be an issue (though Erickson does love the occasional fun word, so for example, I learned what "susurration" means.)

Again, the actual difficulty of Malazan is understanding why things are happening. Some of the narrators are unreliable (or, more often just don't know the full picture) some people will lie but unlike something easier, where there will be a helpful "Bill narrowed his eyes at these lies but said nothing" its on the reader to decide whom they believe and to what extent.

I'd say give the first two books a shot. The second is much better than the first and really starts to get into the full majesty of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.