I'm newly registered but I've watched this forum for a long time, and forgotten my account name and password just as many times.
I've just finished reading RoTCG and must admit that I enjoyed it- in parts. There did, to me at least, appear to be a great deal of problems with the writing in general, characterisation, plot, conflict resolution etc...
Well these are my thoughts anyway:
I think Esslemont's had a twofold problem. One, he switches characters so quickly that it can often be annoying for the reader to follow through- especially when you come across a favourite character, read 2-3 pages then have to wait another 20. That -is- annoying. Sure its a writing techniqiue but it doesn't work in this novel for one simple reason. And that reason is, ICE has yet to define any of his characters. He introduces his main protagonist, Kyle who we follow for intermitently periods for much of the novel, but he really is nothing more than a side character for the development of the plot as a whole. He isn't really that intregral to it, he is just a witness to events that play out around him (except he has of course, a super powerful sword). He is not defined in any way, apart from his near obsession with Father Wind. And herein lies the problem to me, ICE's main focus is characters that he did not write or develop (he may have created them- I can't be sure of that, but he hasn't done the majority of the writing for them). Every character he introduces lacks motivation, justification for their actions and a reality that the other characters have. Kyle, Erecko, the Lost Brothers... they all really are nothing characters. They don't bring anything with them... they're emotionless, faceless things who I couldn't associate with. I've read multiple times that people hate Kyle and I tihnk its just becaues nobody can understand what he was doing, why he was doing it etc... Poorly justified characters are the bane of any writer. Cause ICE was hellbent on switching characters so readily, so quickly and so often, there just wasn't a chance to attach to him, to understand him and to feel some form of empathy towards him.
If you contrast this with the character of Karsa, you realise how long Erikson spent constructing the character in the begining. We begin to understand him, we understand the way he thinks (to a degree- he is Karsa and unpredictable), we know why he does things and it makes sense to us. Contrasting Kyle and Karsa is like sun and moon in terms of brightness... Kyle is a nothing character whilst Karsa is a central pillar in the Malazaan universe. One was given immense book time, the other was shovelled into the background whilst events rolled on around him.
Which brings me to the next problem. Because you can't attach to the characters you cannot understand their actions... a LOT of events happen that make no sense. Ereko dying to Kallor. Kyle's actions... Damn, half the time I didn't understand who was fighting who or why... I had to keep backtracking and reading to try and get my head round it. Now it really shouldn't be that hard- sure it conveys a sense of the mass of political intrigue going on, it conveys a sense of the complexity of the war and how their is constant shifting... but was it too much? Thats a personal question I suppose.
When Tayschrenn and Laseen died I immediately asked the question- jeez, I wonder how Erikson felt about that? Characters he had been developing for a long time, snuffed out at the end of a book very quickly. Not that I understood either characters actions- especially Tay's when he is just sitting there whilst the Crimson Guard walk through the city and Cowl has a chat to him. You cannot keep peddling the excuse that he is saving himself to be Quick's shaved knuckle... again, I am of the opinion that he is a poorly written character, from both Erikson and ICE. He was painted as the villain twice, then became some sort of save the day hero, then sits and does nothing for a long time whilst all goes to hell. It makes little sense, but then, not much did to me.
What irked me more than anything was the way ICE palmed of his own character creations into the backstory and instead just seemed to randomly introduce a mass of characters from Erikson's side. And he did -not- flesh them out in ANY way. Ameron, Choss, Toc, Topper... they all just seem to have appeared- and it just seems like a total joke. Toc the Elder for example just sitting there all along... I'm reading thinking, well what about your son? Don't care? Don't give a damn anymore? It doesn't make sense to just abandon everything. Back to downplaying his own characters, the biggest is obviously Ereko, who did jack all and just died. Yet for some reason, his existence garnered more interest from the enigmatic Queen of Dreams than any book before (excluding perhaps Leoman's defection). And he is old and has seen so much. And then Kallor who appears out of nowhere just cuts him down. Now again I've read people vainly try to justify the actions, some even suggesting that just because we don't know the reasons, doesn't mean it shouldn't happen... Bah- what a joke! You never write something without at least alluding to the reasons why it happens. Thats the problem, there is no allusion at all. It just happens like so many events. Like the busting out at the begining by the Guard, sure that was interesting, but again- totally unjustified, unconnected and just leaves you asking what? why?. I'm all for allusion, even misleading ones, but the complete lack of reasoning behind events points the finger towards a poor writer.
And finally, to who I thought was the worst character of all. Dassem himself. A lot of people speak of how cool he is, how this book really reveals his desire for vengeance. All it revealed was the stupidity of his own actions. He holds Hood accountable for killing his daughter, for taking him from her- yet how many people is he willing to straight out slaughter in the quest for his vengeance. How many fathers, brothers etc? It doesn't reveal his desire, it reveals his hypocrisy and insantiy. He himself is the biggest agent of Hood still- perhaps this is the Tragedy! Surely he has realised now that he cannot meet him the way he keeps doing things. Option B? Kill himself? Sure, he's awesome to read about but again, the justifications are wearing very thin.
Well, thats enough of me biatching about why I didn't like it. In truth I liked a great deal of it- it was intriguing and offered an insight into a great many things. I just wish it could have been written to the SE standard- not the dramatic prose crap that SE offered in TtH, that was terrible, but his traditional style of solid, descriptive writing.
Feel free to argue away with any of this
