[jbs87]

I thought that the hounds could not be harmed by most weapons. How did pretty much everyone seem to be able to harm them (eg Barathol)? I just thought that 10 hounds of light would be a bigger threat than that. How does shadow dancing work (when cutter kills gorlitz)? Is it some kind of teleportation or what? Why does Traveller have to kill Rake? What does it mean when Picker drinks the blood at the end and what is the significance of her being an ex tor bearer?

I also want to rant a bit about this novel, lots of it might be due to my lack of knowledge. Some characters didn't seem to have much of a story here. Kallor walked a lot, had a few regrets and killed a dragon at the end. There was some philosophizing going on but it seemed like psychobabble to me for the most part. And so many characters said stuff like "I must do this" or other fatalistic crap that after a while i started to blend together. What was Endest Silaans deal at the end? From what I gathered , he used the power of nature or something to hold back the dying god. What happens to the dying god and the seerdomin? Seems like he died but I am not sure. And I really am clueless about why Anomander was cursed by MD for whatever he did a while back? Was it the chaining of the dragons native to each realm or warren? What is Silchas Ruin's deal and why is he so pissed off and why did Scabandari betray the Tiste Andii?

Back to my annoyances, why can no seem to adapt to the Mazalans and their use of explosives? The dragons and other entities (eg: Silchas Ruin) have lived for thousands of years and have presumably had deal with several threats and adapt to them and yet the Malazans seem to steamroll everyone. Also most of the story involving Rake ( except for the last third of the book) seemed pointless. Lots of psychobabble, talk of war, fatalistic statements but not much really happening.

So basically stuff I had to get off my chest as misinformed as I may be. Discuss/ correct feel free

[caladanbrood]

Did you, urm... read the book? Or any of the threads already posted in this forum?

[Wry]

Christ... Worst first post ever!

You need to read the books again. All of them, this time go slowly untill you understand what all the words mean...

I mean really, 'why was Silchas pissed off?'

[Dolorous Menhir]

Have you read the previous seven books? It sounds like you haven't.

[Terez]

You guys are so not helpful. Obviously he's read the previous books, though he apparently either forgot some details or didn't comprehend certain details when they were presented. Easy thing to do when you've only read the books once - I couldn't answer most of his questions very well.

[Tarr]

I will try and answer your questions as best I can...

1)I thought that the hounds could not be harmed by most weapons.

A)Apsalar also attacks the Hounds of shadow with her knifes so none of the hounds are invulnerable to swords or knifes

2)I just thought that 10 hounds of light would be a bigger threat than that.

A)It took a toblaki god/ascendant (who killed two degaroth), the knight of death, a weaponsmith, a simpleton and an edur elient (who once ruled shadow and considered challenging St and Cot for the throne) to just drive them off (5 or 6 are still alive).

3)How does shadow dancing work?

A)Theres a thread on this somewhere but the search function isn't working so I can't find it

4)Why does Traveller have to kill Rake?

A)There are a couple of threads discussing this mystery such as http://www.malazanem...ead.php?t=10962

5)What does it mean when Picker drinks the blood at the end and what is the significance of her being an ex torc bearer?

A)The blood is the blood of dragons and she she uses it to get back to her own world as for the torc she used to have a torc belonging to treach which may link her to the treach or he may just be demanding a favour for gruntle removing the torc from her arm (it wouldn't come off)

6)From what I gathered , he used the power of nature or something to hold back the dying god.

A)He was remembering a river in Kurald Galyan that seems to have some significance to the tiste andii and he drew strength from that memory

7)What happens to the dying god and the seerdomin?

A)The redeemer healed him and the dying god "slipped away", seerdomin is dead but his soul is with the redeemer

8)And I really am clueless about why Anomander was cursed by MD for whatever he did a while back? Was it the chaining of the dragons native to each realm or warren?

A) He killed Tiam and drank her blood

9)What is Silchas Ruin's deal and why is he so pissed off and why did Scabandari betray the Tiste Andii?

A)Ruin is pissed off cause, scandari stabbed him in the back and tossed him into an azath because he apparenly had something against the andii

10)why can no seem to adapt to the Mazalans and their use of explosives? The dragons and other entities (eg: Silchas Ruin) have lived for thousands of years and have presumably had deal with several threats and adapt to them and yet the Malazans seem to steamroll everyone.

The malazan campaign on genibacksis had ground to a halt even with their explosives so the Crimson Guard, mott irregulars and tiste andii must have adapted to explosives.

I think thats all of them:D

[caladanbrood]

Tarr;355508 said:

A)Ruin is pissed off cause, scandari stabbed him in the back and tossed him into an azath because he apparenly had something against the andii

Well... it was Ruin's plan all along anyway to end up in the azath, so he didn't get hunted down by others for being a very naughty boy.

[Tarr]

caladanbrood;355509 said:

Well... it was Ruin's plan all along anyway to end up in the azath, so he didn't get hunted down by others for being a very naughty boy.

Agreed but when he takes the finnest he talks of giving scabby a reprieve he does not deserve, so it sounds like ruin is still unhappy with him.

[Dragnipurake]

Tarr;355513 said:

Agreed but when he takes the finnest he talks of giving scabby a reprieve he does not deserve, so it sounds like ruin is still unhappy with him.

Silchas Ruin gives up the soul to the Azath without venting his anger/revenge etc for what Scabandari did to him and the andii way back when, so, understandably he feels it was a reprieve.

[kalmavet7]

Right, there's enough bad blood there that i'm sure Ruin still wanted revenge even though he planned to hide out in the Azath. I think Scabby killing nearly all of Ruin's Andii would also be enough incentive. I'm sure we'll get more info on all this in the Tiste trilogy.

[HoosierDaddy]

It also might have been a reprieve because of what the 3 Daughters were planning to use the Finnest for. Perhaps it would have been like a form of soul-torture? And, I imagine Angry!Silchas wanted a little bit of payback on Bloodeye.

[Dolorous Menhir]

kalmavet7;355550 said:

Right, there's enough bad blood there that i'm sure Ruin still wanted revenge even though he planned to hide out in the Azath. I think Scabby killing nearly all of Ruin's Andii would also be enough incentive. I'm sure we'll get more info on all this in the Tiste trilogy.

If Ruin choose to allow the betrayal, that means he allowed his followers to die to serve his own interests. It would be hypocritical of him to seek revenge for something he knew would happen and did not prevent.

[caladanbrood]

Dolorous Menhir;355577 said:

It would be hypocritical of him to seek revenge for something he knew would happen and did not prevent.

Doesn't neccessarily mean it's not true of course.

[kalmavet7]

right it's hypocritical but so far from what we've seen of ruthless Ruin i wouldn't put it past him. regardless, his reasons for revenge could very well stem from some incident before the MT prologue

[drinksinbars]

ruin was a cold calculating bastard and its obvious from this novel that anomander had plans for all three of them. I think he set ruint he task of leading the andii off with scandabari and had andarist betray their siblings with a knife in the back. He killed tiam and so must have been the first to drink her blood, though there is an indication that this was on behest of draconus.

In fact according to the high priestess draconus must have been involved at the time so he was obviously consort before father light showed up. all that boring stuff you mention for anomander is explaining all thats gone before and is going to happen. its showing why rake is how he is and what he has sacrificed for his people.

mother dark turned her back on him because she saw a betrayal in his accepting tiams blood and opening the path to starvald demelain by killing tiam. But rake saw the constant civil wars and betrayals as a form of stagnation because his people were so conformed. Theres a part i think in reapers gale where they take about the nature of civilisation where conformity defines how civilised you are, and it seems liek this is what rake had as motivation. The andii were tearing themselves apart so he set himself on a path. when md turned her back on him draconus must have created dragnipur or been thinking about it, cant remember the timeline but i think the andii warring against the kechra was after the fall of the crippled god so draconus must have been planning the sword for a logn time.

given what happened at the end fo the book i think rake planned everything, all those years waiting just for that moment when everything could happen at once. this is why when he looks at the hgih priestess she recoils at what she sees and muses on his patience.

[Aptorian]

caladanbrood;355279 said:

Did you, urm... read the book? Or any of the threads already posted in this forum?

Wry;355323 said:

Christ... Worst first post ever!

You need to read the books again. All of them, this time go slowly untill you understand what all the words mean...

I mean really, 'why was Silchas pissed off?'

Dolorous Menhir;355457 said:

Have you read the previous seven books? It sounds like you haven't.

Geez, people!

If I was a moderator I'd consider giving you a warning for that welcome.

His first post, admittedly a bad first post, and you tear him a new one? I understand one person reprimanding him for making a bad post, but three in a row, with nothing better to say than boo and flame him? Please.

How about if you don't have anything positive to contribute to a thread- shut the hell up?

I don't have anything else to add to the thread other than advicing OP to do a read through of the relavant forums as suggested by the above... which isn't very productive either I admit.