[stender]

Let me start by saying this is my first post, and this has probably been stated before. I also want to say that I love this series; DG is in the top 3 for my favorite book ever which is in there with a lot of other books. I do have a few things about the series though... here it goes...

Okay, I have never like the K'Chain Che'Malle. They have always struck me as what a 9-year old and his best friend would come up with and draw in their spiral notebooks when they should be doing homework.

I mean lets be completely realistic... these are a race of super-intelligent...velociraptors...from outer-space...with swords for arms.... I mean how the hell are they supposed to work the handle on the steel kitchen door to get in and kill the kids when they have swords for arms?(Did anyone get that reference?) Every time they come up I picture this from Calvin and Hobbes:



Add to this (quick spoiler coming up):

Spoiler

that at the end of DoD they come in with the Ghosbuster ghost-busting ray guns (DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS!) and all I can picture is the old Dino-Riders cartoons and toys (if any of you have any idea what I'm talking about).

It almost embarrasses me at how juvenile the whole idea of them seems at times. Don't get me wrong, they are written well and the whole Matron thing and every other aspect of the race's characters are great. But the whole premise of the race itself is just... just... I don't know... Anyone else feel the same way?

As to Icarium in DoD:

Spoiler

I really liked the flawed aspect of Icarium, he was probably my favorite character. Basically I have taken him to be the single most dangerous entity around in the Malazan books, if angered. But to me him crashing the Skykeep at the end of DoD into the warren turned him into Randy Quaid from Independence day. All he needed was to be yelling "Tell Mappo I love him! I'm about to lose time FOR REAL! YEEEEEEEEHA!!! " I haven't read the next one yet but if he died in this pursuit I will be sorely disappointed.

If I have somehow misread any of the parts please let me know, as I would be happy to have this not be the case. Ok, that's all I have to say. Let the flaming of the forum noob commence. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies in a civil/intelligent manner.

[SpectreofEschaton]

Spoiler

 toottoot1.jpg (185K)
Number of downloads: 73

That is all. (Without end, that is all. )

[Sinisdar Toste]

i'll admit i had the same reaction when i first heard of the k'chain. velociraptors with swords for hands? yeah, that's like a geeks wet dream or something, but i got over that

after all, the k'ell are only one particular breed of che'malle. Hoods Balls, some che'malle have tentacle hands! like many of SE's concepts, the k'chain seem ludicrous on the surface, but there is a great depth of thought and consideration put into them.

ask yourself, how would dinosaurs have evolved if they hadn't been wiped out? i assume that's just what SE did.

as for Icarium,

Spoiler

he isn't killed in his efforts.

RAFO.

[Mentalist]

well, they were called "The Firstborn of Dragons". So, it's possible they were actually native to SD.

also, once you can get past the "they are in here just for the cool factor", KCCM are actually one of the more interesting races. because they are the most technologically advanced race in the world, involved in gene manipulation, their sorcery is reputedly based on sound, and, it's possible they were the ones who set Chaos to chase Order, thus ensuring the universe is finite.

there's much more to them that super-dinos with swords. although the KCNR in DoD were actually a bit flat. but that's because we never go a PoV from them.

[Studlock]

I may be a bit of a fanboy here but I think KCCM were well done, and better than all of the stereotypical "lizard-men" type people that pop up every now and then. From the specific castes to the way they talked (if you could call it that) to each other, I found it all interesting. I always wondered what dinosaurs would look like if the kept on evolving and it was cool to see that idea brought to life. I am pretty sure they're native to Wu and if not they're defintly not from outer-space, perhaps from a warren. As the swords-on-hands, that was only for the K'ell Hunters which I assume (wrongly even) made it easier to hunt and just generally kill things.

[Sinisdar Toste]

Studlock, on 11 April 2011 - 04:23 AM, said:

I may be a bit of a fanboy here but I think KCCM were well done, and better than all of the stereotypical "lizard-men" type people that pop up every now and then. From the specific castes to the way they talked (if you could call it that) to each other, I found it all interesting. I always wondered what dinosaurs would look like if the kept on evolving and it was cool to see that idea brought to life. I am pretty sure they're native to Wu and if not they're defintly not from outer-space, perhaps from a warren. As the swords-on-hands, that was only for the K'ell Hunters which I assume (wrongly even) made it easier to hunt and just generally kill things.

better than other lizard-men creations becoz they weren't anthropomorphized at all. i'm also fairly certain that we do indeed get hints in DoD and tCG that the k'chain were invaders of Wu themselves. from warren or wherever it was

[worry]

But dinosaurs did keep on evolving:

[Aptorian]

Now imagine that chicken has a proton pack on its back and a raygun in its miniature hands.

[King Bear]

Evolved? pfft! Spare me your rational arguments. Evolution is a lie, as this picture clearly proves:

 creation-590x472.jpg (80.63K)
Number of downloads: 41

[Isa]

I was a skeptic at first, especially concerning the K'ell but I think he managed to justify their existence... I did like them better before they had POVs though, shrouded in mystery as they were.

SpectreofEschaton, on 11 April 2011 - 02:19 AM, said:

Spoiler

toottoot1.jpg

That is all. (Without end, that is all. )

That picture always makes me ridiculously happy, it's pure comic (if somewhat esoteric) genius.

[Studlock]

worrywort, on 11 April 2011 - 06:03 AM, said:

But dinosaurs did keep on evolving:

No one wants to think how a t-rex turned into a chicken, thus I just ignore it.

[Gothos]

Here's a modern rendition of a T-Rex. Your childhood has now been ruined.

[Cyphon]

Let's get real on a subject matter in speculative fiction?

My head hurts.

[King Bear]

Studlock, on 11 April 2011 - 06:53 AM, said:

No one wants to think how a t-rex turned into a chicken, thus I just ignore it.

Though if you're Goodkind what the t-rex has become is still the most badass, most EVIL, creature on the planet.

This post has been edited by Bombur: 11 April 2011 - 09:52 AM

[Illuyankas]

Gothos, on 11 April 2011 - 07:04 AM, said:

Here's a modern rendition of a T-Rex. Your childhood has now been ruined.

If I wasn't happy with my current avatar this would totally be worthy.

[D'iversify]

Jurassic Park would have been significantly less scary if those velociraptors had been properly represented (as mildly menacing turkeys). And don't even start on the T-rex:

Jack Horner on the jeep chase scene - if "the Jeep had crashed and Ellie and Ian had died, the tyrannosaur might have sniffed out the site, but only after their bodies had been rotting long enough to broadcast a telltale odor. In any event, the dinosaur would not have pursued the Jeep as it sped away"

Posture's also all wrong in the film; popular depiction of T rex is based on an erroneously reconstructed 'upright' skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History (now corrected).

[Ceda Cicero]

Battle Plaptypus, on 11 April 2011 - 06:31 AM, said:

Now imagine that chicken has a proton pack on its back and a raygun in its miniature hands.

That sounds like an evil chicken to me. A chicken that sounds like a chicken, but isn't.

I look at that picture and completely understand the concept of a chicken that is not a chicken. A chicken that is evil manifest.

[stender]

You all have it wrong, the Super Mario Bros. movie (which was a documentary, filmed in real time) showed us what would have happened if dinosaurs were allowed to evolve. And it is not KCCM.

BTW, I just parenthetically referenced a TV show¹ that in said reference is in the act of referencing a movie², all while referencing a completely different movie³...


For anyone wondering:

1- ATHF
2- Highlander
3- Super Mario Bros.

[Pig Iron]

Unrealistic? Unrealistic?

Sorry I have to write that again unrealistic?

I mean unrealistic?

Fucking KCCM almost extinct and you call them unrealistic? How insensitive can one be?

[SpectreofEschaton]

Pig Iron, on 12 April 2011 - 02:16 AM, said:

Unrealistic? Unrealistic?

Sorry I have to write that again unrealistic?

I mean unrealistic?

Fucking KCCM almost extinct and you call them unrealistic? How insensitive can one be?

I wonder what K'chain tears smell like.

In all seriousness, though, I agree with everything that's been said above, I thought the concept of evolved dinosaurs was interesting and found their characterization in the novels completely believable. They fit into the Malazan world just fine, in my opinion.