BellaGrace, on 21 November 2014 - 11:48 PM, said:
1. Quick Ben is much more powerful in this book - he basically takes down and kills three soletaken ascendants on his own (I realize he had help and one got away wounded). In a previous book when his ship was attacked by the Tiste Edur warlocks he was only able to hold them off with an illusion. Doesn't make sense to me - he wouldn't let the entire fleet and himself be destroyed just to hide his true power? So what's the deal, he suddenly got MUCH more powerful and it's unexplained (thus far).
1(a). The 3 sisters seem to die pretty easily and quickly considering they were soletaken ascendants - they were basically equal in power and parentage to Lady Envy and she carved a path through the entire Pannion Dominion without getting scratched. It feels inequitable to me.
2. What was the point of Redmask? I feel like that entire storyline could have been left out and we would have missed nothing except Toc's death. I'm guessing this might be a RAFO situation? Even if Tavore is headed to fight the Barghast invaders, the Awl storyline could have been left out.
3. Why does Silchas Ruin bother with swords at all (other than it's bad ass)- at the big fight scene when they come out of the gate he fights Trull with weapons and then uses magic on one of the others. Just wondering what's the point of getting up close and personal with a sword when you have the power to kill with magic (more like how QB fights).
4. Almost off topic, but is Hood a bad guy? Most of the time when he appears in this book he seems like a decent, fair god - except that I know he did something bad to Dassem's daughter.
5. Am I the only one that really wanted Samar Dev to get it on with Karsa
1. If you read the scene carefully, you will note QB didn't do as much as it seems. When the three were in flight, he didnt hit them with magic at all, he hit the ground, causing it to fountain up, first deflecting their own magic, and then causing them to collapse to the ground. His subsequent waves simply kept them entangled. Then Menandore and Sheltatha Lore turned on each other. One killed the other, while sustaining critical injuries, and Hedge finished that one with a cusser. A cusser inside a stomach can take out practically anything. As for Sukul Ankhadu, she was injured, veered back into Tiste form and facing two Imass Soletaken Bonecasters. Note they didnt kill easily, they both died as well. One very important element in this whole set up was that the three sisters consistently underestimated their opposition. They were taken by surprise. .
2. The importance of the Awl storyline is RAFO for DoD, TCG.
3. It may simply be a case of personal preference.
4. Good/bad gets hazy in Malazan. Remember, what little we know about Dassems daughter are from 2nd/3rd hand perspectives. It may not be as simple as it seems.
5. RAFO (Maybe, maybe not, maybe never)