[Cable]

Eispeis, on 27 October 2009 - 06:52 PM, said:

The series has brought a stinging to my eyes on several occasions, but I've only shed tears three times:

Itkovian in MoI

Beak in RG

And when Cutter learns from Kruppe that Murillo is dead. Murillo's death in itself was not very emotional or surprising to me, but when Kruppe's face is described as "a mask of raw anguish," I lost it. Anything that can make Kruppe that emotional indicates that the friendship between the Phoenix Inn regulars were even deeper than I imagined. I grieved with Kruppe.

Couldn't agree more about Murillio, the tears were falling when the Phoenix Inn regulars found out and the subsequent drama that followed. Really loved that whole scene, and most of the stuff with Murillio in TtH.

Also agree with Beak's scene, that was great.

I wasn't particularly emotional when Itkovian died. Some of the scenes that I should be emotional in, I'm not, but some of the ones that there's not much reason to be sad, I am. I'm weird like that. With that said, when Barathol pulled Chaur out of the sea in TbH, I was definitely crying, and I thought that was the most emotional scene in the series, I loved it.

I'm sure there were more, but I can't think of them at the moment. Those three are the big ones I think, for me at least, anyways.

[Hops]

First time read in TTH it was Rake's death, second time round it was Murillio's death, and Kruppe, Cutter's, Cole's, Meese's anguish.

Then Cutter wiped Gorlas, which was quite possibly my favourite part of the book, which made me gleeful. Couldn't wait for it the second time round, also the fact that it had nothing to with Challice was great, didn't like her much and hated that fucker Vidikas.

I think on the second read, (I reread books before I start on next of the series) I wasn't so emotional about Rakes death as I had more understanding of it.... Initially I guess I was a little over invested in Rake's pure awesomeness.

There has been plenty of other emotional moments in the series, most mentioned previously, Beak, Whiskejack, a few of the bridgeburners, Coltaine, but hell there's been some absolutley brillaint pieces of writing that have made me laugh my head off.
Of course my wife then turns and looks at me funny.

[TheImperial]

I'm not a guy who tears up much, and up until these novels, I've never cried in reading a book.

Itkovian's death is MOI hit me like a freight train. I guess the build up of the guy having his god sundered and losing his faith but ending it all in a profound and beautiful way. That made me shed more than a few tears.

I almost cried at Beak's death, but was moreso just out and out sad and feeling pitiful for the character.

Coltain made me sad and pissed all at the same time, and Whiskeyjack just infuriated me like you wouldn't believe. Even though looking back I saw all the foreshadowing about the leg, but regardless I was pissed.

Itkovian has stuck with me though.

[Abyss]

There's a scene in GotM, when Silana and the four draconic andii fly in formation, down, up over a hill, and unload starvald demelain on Raest... the visual, the description, it's just so perfectly the moment when i realized oh yeah, this series was going to rock.

Coltaine's death. The whole scene, from Duiker viewing the last of the 7th from the tower to Nil and Nether's reaction to everything with Squint. Blew me away.

Itkovian's death was clearly foreshadowed, but the raising of the cairn really got to me.

HoC... when the veteran's turn the bone-omen and later when Tavore realizes it.

I can't say i had quite as emotional a reaction to Brys' death in MT, but even so i felt it.

TB... the last bit of the escape from YGhatan. The relief was palpable. And Trull stepping up against Icarium, twice... something about that scene... Iccy has just wiped out an army, a demon queen, a bonecaster, two imass warriors and a high mage, and Trull is STILL not letting him at the kids without going through him ... again... "Yes, me again." is one of my absolute favourite lines in the series.

RG... the Edur freaking out at the dark skinned malazans... just one of those moments when i know SE is a cut above. Also, "fucking dragon!" made me cheer.

TtH... "Turn it around!"... and "Come and get him." ruled, tho i agree with everything upthread written about Murillio.


- Abyss, emo. ok, not really but still...

[Nefarious Bredd]

Having recently finished TTH the events in it stick out fresh, and for some reason the scene where Karsa's daughters and dog emerge to help him with the hound really stuck me, as did Harllo's return to face Stonny, Kallor finding Spinnock waiting for him... the entire last part of the book was just incredibly well done in general.

As for some older ones, Beak's sacrifice, Whiskeyjack's death, Bugg/Mael's reaction to Tehol's beating/possible death...

[luap]

The whole story behind the two jaghut children in MOI. One caught in the rent in morn for all those years, suffering all those years. That was bad.

[Kanubis]

So hard to narrow it down. I just finished a re-read of Bonehunters so that gets the treatment today...

One bit that gets me every time but doesn't necessarily stick in the memory long term, is when Fid, Gesler, Stormy and Tooth make the list of names that they're gonna sing for. There's a scene in DoD which I won' talk about too much since this is the TTH forum, but it's where Fid talks about dealing with people who died. That scene annoyed me at first, but when I got back to this part of TB I understood it much better.

Also, when Barathol manages to revive Chaur on the ship. In a big way. In the same scene, something about Cutter being told that he got Heboric close enough gets me as well.

I love the bit when it Tavore, Kalam and T'amber have just left Mock's hold and it becomes clear that she will give up everything rather than sacrifice the Wickans. Same with Koryk on the docks. Something about people willing to die to honour the Wickans while everyone else is betraying them is really touching.

[mayhem]

For me it wasn't so much the avalanche of senseless slaughter that lead to Coltaine and his men outside Aren, which left me feeling numb inside, but rather the brief epilogue back on the wickan plains.

The pregnant girl stands on a hillstop preparing to abort her child, and looks out at the approaching storm, which seems a metaphor for all that was wrong in the world.
And then the midwife gasps and knocks the poison out of her hand and you realise the dark clouds are made of crows...

It was such a powerful image, and provided such a clash of feeling compared with the relentless futility and waste of the preceeding pages.

Between the buildup of how powerful Sormo Enath was that seven crows came to take his soul, and the explosion of crows into the sky as coltaine gets hit by the arrow, well ...

yeah.

[Excellence]

All good points, above. I'm not going to repeat them. So here's an emotional moment that stood out for me.

The Bonehunters.

Tavore.

Cut loose from Laseen. She gave her family up to serve her. Now discarded and her moralities laughed at. That scene in the room, between Kalam and T'amby. Where she quietly begs Kalam to protect them to the ship. She doesn't show any emotion; you know her. For her to almost beg him like that...

Kalam, knowing what waits out there, the heat rushing his face, heart pounding, the resigned death he's sending himself to...

That touched me.

But these are but passing emotions. When he takes out nine Kalams and lifts that last one up and slam down head first, emotions have changed to grinning and grinning borad.

This post has been edited by Excellence: 06 February 2010 - 12:20 PM

[Master_of_the_Deck]

There are so many moments in SE's books that are emotional, but for me, TTH was the MOST emotional of them all. Murillio's death was heartbreaking, for me the tears kicked in when the scene went back to Irilta, who walks to her room, sits on her bed and slashes her wrists. Such pain, such emotion. I felt like my heart had been ripped out. Harllo's reunion with Stonny was poignant as well. But while most people seem to brush over it, the most heart rending death for me was Rake. Ever my favourite character, even though his part in the books was modest, this death took something from me. It was sad in a completely different way. Not because he died, but because of the sacrifice he made, not for himself, but for his entire people. He died, so that they would not continue to die. It was beautiful, it was heart-breaking, and once again it left me in complete awe of Erikson's writing. The tragedy is so fierce in every book, but it is like a drug. You know you will be pulled in my these characters, only to potentially have them all ripped away! It is torture, but it is writing at it's best. Such is life, nothing is absolute, and all of us may, at any given time, die.
As for the rest of the books, seeing as I have been reading nothing else for the last few weeks, I think I can remember them all!!

Other deaths that had me in tears were Coltaine, Itkovian, Beak, Whiskeyjack and of course let us not forget Trull Sengar, one of the hardest deaths of the series to take.

[Furion]

There have been many moments where my eyes watered up a little and my chest hurt a bit. Itkovian, Tool, Rake in Dragnipur, Murillio, but none of them got to me like Beak.
Beak's death had the most powerful impact for me. The imagery of that scene was incredibly beautiful and powerful. And the image of beak, in a fetal position as he burned away, sacrificing himself for his friends, is permanently imprinted into my mind. And then we see him at Hood's gates, reunited with his brother. I was so happy noone could possibly witness what happened as I was reading that scene in my room, alone, at 2 am. Because I broke down and cried like I never have before. And maybe never will again. Even thinking about his death makes my throat tighten a little.

[UmbraPhoenix]

There have been to many moments for me to list, but for me the most soul wrenching one was rakes death and what happened after. I think, in addition to him being my favorite character, it is the weight of everything that led up to that moment that really came upon me at once. After 300000 years Rake, defying gods and fellow ascendants, succeeded in doing what no one else could have done. Made mother dark turn back to her children, freed the gate of darkness from the grip of dragnipur, and then arranged to have dragnipur destroyed. All that it took to accomplish this was his own death. The vast scope of his accomplishment, and the simple profoundness of his statement to Dassem before the fight, touched me deeply. I dont think that any other character who is that old and powerful in the series comports them self with the same strange combination of total self assurance and deep compassion. Rake is a character singular in his virtues, and his passing was hard for me to bear.

[haroos]

considering the atrocities being commited in nearly every 3 pages, it's hard not to see a pattern.
the minor characters are the ones being punished, while the major characters are carrying on.
i'm not saying this as a vice, just that if you look at it like this, maybe the question should be who deserves pity the most.
and the list is long.
MoI which i am reading again right now keeps delivering new names, even the chained god, who is offered forgiveness from itkovian, but refuses it, i'm not sure why, maybe he thinks
it won't work ?
but felisin to me is the saddest character, she was an innocent who was heaped with injustice after injustice, and every time her survival meant taking a bad solution ...
and in the end being left alone against her older sister.
it wasn't al that emotional, i realy don't understand all this gushing, but it was a sad one.

[ergault]

Amaunet, on 14 October 2009 - 10:09 PM, said:

The death of Coltaine made me the angriest, but the death of Beak is the only time I've wept during the entire series.

4 me.....pearls treachery....how can this little puke take out the biggest brawliest totally meanest mofo in the whole story frm behind....PUSSY

[pemulis]

maybe it's because I have kids, but the acknowledgement of Harllo by Stonny at the end of TtH was a real tear-jerker

[Sinisdar Toste]

pemulis, on 26 May 2010 - 08:23 AM, said:

maybe it's because I have kids, but the acknowledgement of Harllo by Stonny at the end of TtH was a real tear-jerker

gets me every time

[hmqb]

Kruppe and Pust fighting... no but it would have to be the Whiskeyjack and the other bridgeburners dying and other people responces, like Dujek, Rake and QB.

[Konratax]

Well i just finished TtH (too late I know) and Rake's death left me with a big hole inside : (

[Kanubis]

Sinisdar Toste, on 26 May 2010 - 07:17 PM, said:

pemulis, on 26 May 2010 - 08:23 AM, said:

maybe it's because I have kids, but the acknowledgement of Harllo by Stonny at the end of TtH was a real tear-jerker

gets me every time  

It's not just the the event itself, it's also that Erikson really managed to write that scene beautifully. 

[AlanH]

Apart from the one's mentioned in the previous comments I have another two to add. The first is in MoI when Picker/BB talk with Rake at the end of the battle in Coral, the whole passage and specifically when Rake says he'd be proud to walk out with his allies one last time. The other is the final segment in TtH where it goes back to the prologue after Kruppe has told the story. Just beautifully written I thought. Oh yeah, and in TtH Kallor/Spinnock scene was a tear-jerker for me as well.