Malazan Empire: The ending - Malazan Empire

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The ending You'll only have yourself to blame for peeking Rate Topic: -----

#141 User is offline   tiam 

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Posted 29 August 2009 - 07:45 PM

View PostVaran, on Aug 27 2009, 04:37 PM, said:

I don't think the FA have neccessarily been watered down or any of that, the fact that calm couldnt be killed and had to be pinned just implies that she was unique, and I wouldnt be surprised if she pops up again, I suspect she probably is one of the catalyst to whats happening in kolanese, with her been freed for a good few years now.

Second yedan, the watch - has Royal Andii blood, and as DoD kept going on about how the royal blood gave them access to memories and etc, so im guessing the the title and the blood bestows the power. Also the FA yedan faced didnt have a hold on his name, but the title obviously meant something to it, so the FA have probably had a run in with a previous watch at some point and knows enough to be afraid.

Second Sand is Queen of Dark, and her being a hostage and everything makes me think thats she has royal andii blood as well, and with her being orfantals (and by extensions korlats) mother, i wouldn't be surprised if she is a eleint soletaken.

All in all I cant wait till the CG comes out...


Doesnt Sandalth say something along the lines of her daughter followed Rake in the footsteps of the Eleint in MT suggesting that she isnt but Korlat and ORfantal are?
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#142 User is offline   Powder 

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Posted 29 August 2009 - 08:17 PM

Well her surname is druKORLAT so yea to that point I agree.

To be honest I am terribly disappointed in this book, THERES A TYPO ON PAGE 359! Talks about Ruthan Gudd scratching his BEAD when clearly he should be scratching his BEARD. Tisk tisk!

Further more SE makes a crack about timelines on page 803 'I mean, his timeline makes sense' as said by skanarrow. Now this is totally unprofessional making forum cracks in ones second to last novel of all places! ugh! ok ok /sarcasm off

I loved this book, couldn't put it down in fact. In all seriousness new favorite character MASTER SEARGENT PORES! Guy totally rules and adds some great comic relief to the rest of the work once tehol moves out of the picture. Made me LOL IRL several times.

When Lostra said she was going to shadowdance I felt as though I was going to weep, it seemed so final and so tragic.

YD and YT are quite special people. All this talk of them being 'normal' needs to stop. The Watch and Twilight are a big deal. Could dassem beat up a nameless FA? Could Kallor? Could Dancer while he was alive? These were all 'human' w/o Royal Tiste blood (however dilute) in their systems.

In other news, did anyone pagemark the part where sunrise/twit is talking about the word 'aye' because that was perfectly written and i almost died reading it and it is exactly what that word means.

Draconus' entrance was so epic. He and Ublala will make a great pair.

I do feel this book had a predisposition to talking about the sexual for some reason. Between Shurq, Ublala, the barghast nation, even gesler had a flashback of a woman dragging his hand into her nethers, i dont recall this predispositoin from previous books but this theme did seem pervasive in this one for some reason. Along with that I felt that SE also threw out quite a bit more swearing in this books than in previous. This saddens me. In the previous books I always felt as though it was tastefully done few real life cursing situations (saying things like Hoods balls and whatnot is what made this series IMO) and the sex scenes even when they were dispicable (like in RG with Tehols future wife) were done in a manner which was tasteful as well. I can't say for specific instances, it just felt like the over all product was more, and I hate to use this label, low brow than the rest of the series.

That aside though this book rocked my sox and I can't wait for more Kudos SE!
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#143 User is offline   deth 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 03:39 AM

View PostPowder, on Aug 29 2009, 09:17 PM, said:

Well her surname is druKORLAT so yea to that point I agree.

To be honest I am terribly disappointed in this book, THERES A TYPO ON PAGE 359! Talks about Ruthan Gudd scratching his BEAD when clearly he should be scratching his BEARD. Tisk tisk!

Further more SE makes a crack about timelines on page 803 'I mean, his timeline makes sense' as said by skanarrow. Now this is totally unprofessional making forum cracks in ones second to last novel of all places! ugh! ok ok /sarcasm off

I loved this book, couldn't put it down in fact. In all seriousness new favorite character MASTER SEARGENT PORES! Guy totally rules and adds some great comic relief to the rest of the work once tehol moves out of the picture. Made me LOL IRL several times.

When Lostra said she was going to shadowdance I felt as though I was going to weep, it seemed so final and so tragic.

YD and YT are quite special people. All this talk of them being 'normal' needs to stop. The Watch and Twilight are a big deal. Could dassem beat up a nameless FA? Could Kallor? Could Dancer while he was alive? These were all 'human' w/o Royal Tiste blood (however dilute) in their systems.

In other news, did anyone pagemark the part where sunrise/twit is talking about the word 'aye' because that was perfectly written and i almost died reading it and it is exactly what that word means.

Draconus' entrance was so epic. He and Ublala will make a great pair.

I do feel this book had a predisposition to talking about the sexual for some reason. Between Shurq, Ublala, the barghast nation, even gesler had a flashback of a woman dragging his hand into her nethers, i dont recall this predispositoin from previous books but this theme did seem pervasive in this one for some reason. Along with that I felt that SE also threw out quite a bit more swearing in this books than in previous. This saddens me. In the previous books I always felt as though it was tastefully done few real life cursing situations (saying things like Hoods balls and whatnot is what made this series IMO) and the sex scenes even when they were dispicable (like in RG with Tehols future wife) were done in a manner which was tasteful as well. I can't say for specific instances, it just felt like the over all product was more, and I hate to use this label, low brow than the rest of the series.

That aside though this book rocked my sox and I can't wait for more Kudos SE!


Hurts to say it, it really does but I agree with father light, tiam and others. This has been the worst of all the series for me. Go back to MOI specks SE......Pls.
Its too much now with all the introspection...leave it to Scott Baker. Not that you don't do it well but we come to you not just for character depth but also for fast paced heart rending action. The beginning was great leading up to the reading and the ending was great too but the middle.........I mean I was soo expecting to get a 20page rendition of the moral and existential conundrums of being a cattle dog from Bent's perspective.
The pace in MOI was near perfect and didn't inhibit our empathy for any the characters. In DOD I began to dislike characters not because they were inherently uninteresting but because I couldn't stand reading about each of their existential theories which were essentially the same. I mean imagine how unbearable it would be to listen to people actually 'talk' like that even if we thought they were cool to begin with.
Dude(SE)...I've stuck through all nine and I will get the tenth regardless. And even though you probably have earned the right to indulge yourself intellectually and wax philosophical pls...cool it a little.
Much Love.......Give us a real scorcher in the last book...I want this series really to have been the best ever!!!!!!
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#144 User is offline   ISTN4249 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 04:44 AM

View Postdeth, on Sep 1 2009, 11:39 PM, said:

Hurts to say it, it really does but I agree with father light, tiam and others. This has been the worst of all the series for me. Go back to MOI specks SE......Pls.
Its too much now with all the introspection...leave it to Scott Baker. Not that you don't do it well but we come to you not just for character depth but also for fast paced heart rending action. The beginning was great leading up to the reading and the ending was great too but the middle.........I mean I was soo expecting to get a 20page rendition of the moral and existential conundrums of being a cattle dog from Bent's perspective.
The pace in MOI was near perfect and didn't inhibit our empathy for any the characters. In DOD I began to dislike characters not because they were inherently uninteresting but because I couldn't stand reading about each of their existential theories which were essentially the same. I mean imagine how unbearable it would be to listen to people actually 'talk' like that even if we thought they were cool to begin with.
Dude(SE)...I've stuck through all nine and I will get the tenth regardless. And even though you probably have earned the right to indulge yourself intellectually and wax philosophical pls...cool it a little.
Much Love.......Give us a real scorcher in the last book...I want this series really to have been the best ever!!!!!!

its my understanding that this book was supposed to be less dramatic/fast paced/(and duller if you want to say that) because its the lead up to the big pay off

Dust of Dreams and Crippled God could essentially be considered "the same book/arc" but since its not feasibly to publish an 1800 pg book, he split it in two. now we know GRRM did that with Feast for Crows/Dance with Dragons and look how well thats panned out so far. Feast for Crows got trashed on too. Rather than try and mix and match the important build up he opted to use DoD for a slower build up (with some good action and reveals to keep us interested) and The Crippled God is going to be the balls out, total shitstorm epic finale to this plotline that will make everyone crap themselves with excitement
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#145 User is offline   HoosierDaddy 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 05:06 AM

View Postdeth, on Sep 1 2009, 11:39 PM, said:

View PostPowder, on Aug 29 2009, 09:17 PM, said:

Well her surname is druKORLAT so yea to that point I agree.

To be honest I am terribly disappointed in this book, THERES A TYPO ON PAGE 359! Talks about Ruthan Gudd scratching his BEAD when clearly he should be scratching his BEARD. Tisk tisk!

Further more SE makes a crack about timelines on page 803 'I mean, his timeline makes sense' as said by skanarrow. Now this is totally unprofessional making forum cracks in ones second to last novel of all places! ugh! ok ok /sarcasm off

I loved this book, couldn't put it down in fact. In all seriousness new favorite character MASTER SEARGENT PORES! Guy totally rules and adds some great comic relief to the rest of the work once tehol moves out of the picture. Made me LOL IRL several times.

When Lostra said she was going to shadowdance I felt as though I was going to weep, it seemed so final and so tragic.

YD and YT are quite special people. All this talk of them being 'normal' needs to stop. The Watch and Twilight are a big deal. Could dassem beat up a nameless FA? Could Kallor? Could Dancer while he was alive? These were all 'human' w/o Royal Tiste blood (however dilute) in their systems.

In other news, did anyone pagemark the part where sunrise/twit is talking about the word 'aye' because that was perfectly written and i almost died reading it and it is exactly what that word means.

Draconus' entrance was so epic. He and Ublala will make a great pair.

I do feel this book had a predisposition to talking about the sexual for some reason. Between Shurq, Ublala, the barghast nation, even gesler had a flashback of a woman dragging his hand into her nethers, i dont recall this predispositoin from previous books but this theme did seem pervasive in this one for some reason. Along with that I felt that SE also threw out quite a bit more swearing in this books than in previous. This saddens me. In the previous books I always felt as though it was tastefully done few real life cursing situations (saying things like Hoods balls and whatnot is what made this series IMO) and the sex scenes even when they were dispicable (like in RG with Tehols future wife) were done in a manner which was tasteful as well. I can't say for specific instances, it just felt like the over all product was more, and I hate to use this label, low brow than the rest of the series.

That aside though this book rocked my sox and I can't wait for more Kudos SE!


Hurts to say it, it really does but I agree with father light, tiam and others. This has been the worst of all the series for me. Go back to MOI specks SE......Pls.
Its too much now with all the introspection...leave it to Scott Baker. Not that you don't do it well but we come to you not just for character depth but also for fast paced heart rending action. The beginning was great leading up to the reading and the ending was great too but the middle.........I mean I was soo expecting to get a 20page rendition of the moral and existential conundrums of being a cattle dog from Bent's perspective.
The pace in MOI was near perfect and didn't inhibit our empathy for any the characters. In DOD I began to dislike characters not because they were inherently uninteresting but because I couldn't stand reading about each of their existential theories which were essentially the same. I mean imagine how unbearable it would be to listen to people actually 'talk' like that even if we thought they were cool to begin with.
Dude(SE)...I've stuck through all nine and I will get the tenth regardless. And even though you probably have earned the right to indulge yourself intellectually and wax philosophical pls...cool it a little.
Much Love.......Give us a real scorcher in the last book...I want this series really to have been the best ever!!!!!!


If you think this "introspection" is bad, go read Goodkind.

All the characters have the same "existential thoughts"? Well, it's almost as if they are all hopeless and think they are going to die the next second for no good reason. Oh wait, that's the case isn't it? MoI is good, and so is DG. However, this book highlights SE's ability as an author to write. It's not like we have introspection after existential introspection from Paran, the Mhybe, Toc, and others in Memories of Ice. It's not like Felisin, Duiker, and Heboric were ever existentially introspective in DG. Every Malazan book contains much introspective reflection, because that's how Erikson grows many of his characters. Those who don't have a foil, like Karsa does in first Torvald Nom, then Leoman, and finally Semar Dev. Hell, even Karsa is introspective in HoC. So, to put it mildly, I disagree to the utmost. SE balances character building, world building, and insane action in DoD better than any previous book, in my opinion.

I stand by the statement that this is the best Malazan book to date. Erikson's writing ability is peaking, and the story is coming together in ways most of us here would not have predicted.
Trouble arrives when the opponents to such a system institute its extreme opposite, where individualism becomes godlike and sacrosanct, and no greater service to any other ideal (including community) is possible. In such a system rapacious greed thrives behind the guise of freedom, and the worst aspects of human nature come to the fore....
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#146 User is offline   Optimus Prime 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 06:13 AM

Just finished the book and after a change of pants I'm back!

The KCCM are awesome!!!!!! A book this awesome topped off with battling super lizards?!?!!? AMAZING!

This book tore me up. That scene where Silchas finds out Anomander is dead was just gut wrenching. I can't wait for Olar Ethil to die. It was cool how Rake was a presence even though he was dead, and god damn Draconus is back!!!!!

Hmmm.....Icarium used an eye to make a finnest...and Rake had an eye in his hand when he died....did he somehow store his power for someone else to use later? Yes, I know he's toast but perhaps he knew someone would need his power later. Interesting....

Poor Silchas :p And where the fuck is Osric?!?!?
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#147 User is offline   ISTN4249 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 06:24 AM

osserc is coming back now that mother dark is returned. at least thats what makes sense
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#148 User is offline   Optimus Prime 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 06:25 AM

Father Light is coming back......we really don't know what that means.
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#149 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 06:38 AM

View PostOptimus Prime, on Sep 2 2009, 02:13 AM, said:

I can't wait for Olar Ethil to die.

Technically, she's no longer alive, so... you may have missed that boat by several hundred thousand years.
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#150 User is offline   fafner 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 09:48 PM

is edgewalker the first price of the shake? we do know that he sees KE as his realm also that the shake are the first rulers of shadow. and he is death/undeath like most of the shake of that time.
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#151 User is offline   deth 

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 09:54 PM

View PostHoosierDaddy, on Sep 2 2009, 05:06 AM, said:

View Postdeth, on Sep 1 2009, 11:39 PM, said:

View PostPowder, on Aug 29 2009, 09:17 PM, said:

Well her surname is druKORLAT so yea to that point I agree.

To be honest I am terribly disappointed in this book, THERES A TYPO ON PAGE 359! Talks about Ruthan Gudd scratching his BEAD when clearly he should be scratching his BEARD. Tisk tisk!

Further more SE makes a crack about timelines on page 803 'I mean, his timeline makes sense' as said by skanarrow. Now this is totally unprofessional making forum cracks in ones second to last novel of all places! ugh! ok ok /sarcasm off

I loved this book, couldn't put it down in fact. In all seriousness new favorite character MASTER SEARGENT PORES! Guy totally rules and adds some great comic relief to the rest of the work once tehol moves out of the picture. Made me LOL IRL several times.

When Lostra said she was going to shadowdance I felt as though I was going to weep, it seemed so final and so tragic.

YD and YT are quite special people. All this talk of them being 'normal' needs to stop. The Watch and Twilight are a big deal. Could dassem beat up a nameless FA? Could Kallor? Could Dancer while he was alive? These were all 'human' w/o Royal Tiste blood (however dilute) in their systems.

In other news, did anyone pagemark the part where sunrise/twit is talking about the word 'aye' because that was perfectly written and i almost died reading it and it is exactly what that word means.

Draconus' entrance was so epic. He and Ublala will make a great pair.

I do feel this book had a predisposition to talking about the sexual for some reason. Between Shurq, Ublala, the barghast nation, even gesler had a flashback of a woman dragging his hand into her nethers, i dont recall this predispositoin from previous books but this theme did seem pervasive in this one for some reason. Along with that I felt that SE also threw out quite a bit more swearing in this books than in previous. This saddens me. In the previous books I always felt as though it was tastefully done few real life cursing situations (saying things like Hoods balls and whatnot is what made this series IMO) and the sex scenes even when they were dispicable (like in RG with Tehols future wife) were done in a manner which was tasteful as well. I can't say for specific instances, it just felt like the over all product was more, and I hate to use this label, low brow than the rest of the series.

That aside though this book rocked my sox and I can't wait for more Kudos SE!


Hurts to say it, it really does but I agree with father light, tiam and others. This has been the worst of all the series for me. Go back to MOI specks SE......Pls.
Its too much now with all the introspection...leave it to Scott Baker. Not that you don't do it well but we come to you not just for character depth but also for fast paced heart rending action. The beginning was great leading up to the reading and the ending was great too but the middle.........I mean I was soo expecting to get a 20page rendition of the moral and existential conundrums of being a cattle dog from Bent's perspective.
The pace in MOI was near perfect and didn't inhibit our empathy for any the characters. In DOD I began to dislike characters not because they were inherently uninteresting but because I couldn't stand reading about each of their existential theories which were essentially the same. I mean imagine how unbearable it would be to listen to people actually 'talk' like that even if we thought they were cool to begin with.
Dude(SE)...I've stuck through all nine and I will get the tenth regardless. And even though you probably have earned the right to indulge yourself intellectually and wax philosophical pls...cool it a little.
Much Love.......Give us a real scorcher in the last book...I want this series really to have been the best ever!!!!!!


If you think this "introspection" is bad, go read Goodkind.

All the characters have the same "existential thoughts"? Well, it's almost as if they are all hopeless and think they are going to die the next second for no good reason. Oh wait, that's the case isn't it? MoI is good, and so is DG. However, this book highlights SE's ability as an author to write. It's not like we have introspection after existential introspection from Paran, the Mhybe, Toc, and others in Memories of Ice. It's not like Felisin, Duiker, and Heboric were ever existentially introspective in DG. Every Malazan book contains much introspective reflection, because that's how Erikson grows many of his characters. Those who don't have a foil, like Karsa does in first Torvald Nom, then Leoman, and finally Semar Dev. Hell, even Karsa is introspective in HoC. So, to put it mildly, I disagree to the utmost. SE balances character building, world building, and insane action in DoD better than any previous book, in my opinion.

I stand by the statement that this is the best Malazan book to date. Erikson's writing ability is peaking, and the story is coming together in ways most of us here would not have predicted.


Well........
First: I never mention Goodkind and Erikson in the same sentence as a point of principle-there is very little comparison.

Second: The whole point of different characters is for different perspectives so your point of the we 're all goin to die anyway as an excuse for the repetition adds very little
in terms of plot building.

Third: All the characters you mentioned above of having thier own viewpoints (Paran, Felisin, Mhybe, e.t.c) in the previous book were absolutley CENTRAL to the plot and varied in thier perspective.

Fourth: I believe that when a series is coming to an end it should resolve existing arcs as opposed to creating new ones. This book strikes me as trying to be too clever......don't get me wrong I'm all for subtlety but flinging in a whole new arc with a mini-chain of dogs and semi-tough FA is a bit disingenous IMNSHO not too mention this complex new interest in another pseudo-andii people- the shake. I mean we're coming to the end here!!! There should be more of a consolidation than this spiralling out of new threads! It hurts me poor head mate!

SE is a great writer thats not in question but I fear that now he may find he is pandering to a way too sophisticated crowd (NOT a good thing). By the end of MOI I would have recommended him to any of my pals and I did. Now when asked I find myself hesitating and saying there is this guy........Joe Abercrombie.
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#152 User is offline   Whiskeycrack 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 12:19 AM

It seems that it is possible that Bottle has become something like a Divers but with the exception that he could become any type of creature due to his unique abilities in controlling animals
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#153 User is offline   Blacksox 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 02:17 AM

View PostOptimus Prime, on Sep 2 2009, 06:13 AM, said:

Just finished the book and after a change of pants I'm back!

The KCCM are awesome!!!!!! A book this awesome topped off with battling super lizards?!?!!? AMAZING!

This book tore me up. That scene where Silchas finds out Anomander is dead was just gut wrenching. I can't wait for Olar Ethil to die. It was cool how Rake was a presence even though he was dead, and god damn Draconus is back!!!!!

Hmmm.....Icarium used an eye to make a finnest...and Rake had an eye in his hand when he died....did he somehow store his power for someone else to use later? Yes, I know he's toast but perhaps he knew someone would need his power later. Interesting....

Poor Silchas :p And where the fuck is Osric?!?!?


I feel really sorry for Silchas Ruin. Seems like a really sad and tragic fated character. I also feel sorry for Hedge, since he has came back QB and Fiddler have really treated him like crap.
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#154 User is offline   Veilside 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 09:31 AM

View PostWhiskeycrack, on Sep 3 2009, 01:19 AM, said:

It seems that it is possible that Bottle has become something like a Divers but with the exception that he could become any type of creature due to his unique abilities in controlling animals


That's a bit of a leap, isn't it?
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#155 User is offline   Tapper 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 10:31 AM

View PostWhiskeycrack, on Sep 3 2009, 02:19 AM, said:

It seems that it is possible that Bottle has become something like a Divers but with the exception that he could become any type of creature due to his unique abilities in controlling animals

That is a bit of a stretch, I think. The way I read the scene, he rode minds like he does with rats and insects, only this time, he picked animals to ride that were a few hundred times the bulk of your average sewer rat. The strain on his soul was caused by jumping from one to the next, controlling them, and sending them into the fray, then jumping again.

He is also soooooo not dead. A Deck reading showed how he was more important than QB for the Bonehunters, he still has that promise to fulfill, I think.
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#156 User is offline   limping dog 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 05:15 PM

View PostMappo's Travelling Sack, on Aug 23 2009, 09:34 AM, said:

First of all, is Amaron dead? My memory of ROTCG is admittedly hazy, but I don't remember him dying.


Killed by Ryllandaras at the end of RotCG

'The nearest man was Amaron. Dead, torn open across his vitals.'
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#157 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 06:30 PM

Finished reading it a couple of days ago and have been enjoying reading this thread for most of the afternoon...

I am definitely with the "Flipping 'eck, this book is amazing!" crowd. I lost a lot of sleep the other night because I wanted to finish it... The final chapters are a true homage to Eirkson as a writer, and I nearly wept with the line "What sort of soldiers are these?" that Brys said... My thoughts are similar to many here, so I won't go too deeply into them, but I don't think QB is dead (however he did it), same with Bottle.

I also think that Ruthan Gudd could be Grizzin Farl...
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#158 User is offline   Epiph 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 06:35 PM

View Postdeth, on Sep 2 2009, 04:54 PM, said:

Fourth: I believe that when a series is coming to an end it should resolve existing arcs as opposed to creating new ones. This book strikes me as trying to be too clever......don't get me wrong I'm all for subtlety but flinging in a whole new arc with a mini-chain of dogs and semi-tough FA is a bit disingenous IMNSHO not too mention this complex new interest in another pseudo-andii people- the shake. I mean we're coming to the end here!!! There should be more of a consolidation than this spiralling out of new threads! It hurts me poor head mate!

None of this is new. The Errant's story has been building since MT. Killy and Sechul Lath were foreshadowed as important in RG. The Shake were introduced in RG and clearly tie in to events in TtH, which were clearly tied to the plans and schemes of ST and Hood, which have been in evidence since the beginning. I would wager that the Shake will end up as pivotal players against the FA and, if they are allied, the Liosan--after all, the Shake guard the Shore. The KCCM story line was introduced in RG with Redmask, and the KCCM/KCNR battle has been coming since we saw all the skykeeps in the Imperial Warren in BH. This was important, since the KCCM are now allied with and led by the BH. The wolf girl was likewise a storyline begun in RG, and arguably MoI. And the FA in Kolanse are not so much new, as the unknown battle the BH have been destined for since a) Blistig had that vision about Tavore outside of Y'Ghatan and :p Grub foresaw that Tavore would know what needed to be done after they survived their encounter with the Edur. We all knew something was coming, we just didn't know what. Now we know what it is, and you think it's a NEW story line?

SE said himself at the beginning of the book that nothing would be resolved here (which, it just occurred to me, would imply that Icarium's story is NOT finished). And nothing was, but each thread has been started toward its resolution.

View PostTiste Simeon, on Sep 3 2009, 01:30 PM, said:

I nearly wept with the line "What sort of soldiers are these?" that Brys said

I am unashamed to admit that I DID cry at that.

This post has been edited by Epiph: 03 September 2009 - 06:36 PM

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#159 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 06:45 PM

View Postdeth, on Sep 2 2009, 05:54 PM, said:

Second: The whole point of different characters is for different perspectives so your point of the we 're all goin to die anyway as an excuse for the repetition adds very little
in terms of plot building.

Third: All the characters you mentioned above of having thier own viewpoints (Paran, Felisin, Mhybe, e.t.c) in the previous book were absolutley CENTRAL to the plot and varied in thier perspective.

Fourth: I believe that when a series is coming to an end it should resolve existing arcs as opposed to creating new ones. This book strikes me as trying to be too clever......don't get me wrong I'm all for subtlety but flinging in a whole new arc with a mini-chain of dogs and semi-tough FA is a bit disingenous IMNSHO not too mention this complex new interest in another pseudo-andii people- the shake. I mean we're coming to the end here!!! There should be more of a consolidation than this spiralling out of new threads! It hurts me poor head mate!

SE is a great writer thats not in question but I fear that now he may find he is pandering to a way too sophisticated crowd (NOT a good thing). By the end of MOI I would have recommended him to any of my pals and I did. Now when asked I find myself hesitating and saying there is this guy........Joe Abercrombie.

Perhaps Erikson's intent was to show us that almost all of the characters in all the various different places are sensing or involved in this convergence of all convergences. Almost everyone is aware that in the very near future, something world-changing will occur and the majority of those involved will not make it out alive. I viewed it as a simultaneous narrowing of focus for everyone, with the Unchaining of Kaminsod being like a prism that takes in a lot of light, but splits it into rather finite and distinct colors (possible options post-Unchaining).

I think your criticism of introducing new story lines is a good thought, however, I've wholeheartedly come to trust in Erikson. He's handled this series well and in my opinion, is getting better and better as a writer. "Pandering to a way too sophisticated crowd" is a risk. When done wrong, you end up with masturbatory nonsense. When done right, you get Kind of Blue or Picasso. I think Erikson leans closer to the latter than the former, but you're welcome to express your fears and concerns.
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#160 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 03 September 2009 - 06:55 PM

View PostEpiph, on Sep 3 2009, 07:35 PM, said:

The wolf girl was likewise a storyline begun in RG, and arguably MoI.

Huh? The first we heard from her is in RG when she runs from the Letherii troops and then lives with wolves until they all get killed by the Barghast...
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