[Mcflury]

So, as the title says: I just finished reading this book. Am going to start reading the Crippled God soon, so please no spoilers from that here
Obviously, since I already finished reading Stonewielder, and I want some proper questions answered: there will be spoilers about stonewielder below, so please don't read on if that's not your cup of thee



That being said, here comes my first impression of the book:
The crippled god is a girl... heheheheheh (no offence to girls, but I always imagined the crippled god as a sickly old man, not some rotting weird giant-lady. I do realise those gods can probably look like whatever they want to whoever they want, but still, I found it funny to think of the crippled god as a girl)

Then some questions...
First one... Devaleth... I don't get it... why isn't she dead? I thought she was, at the beginning of the book, always afraid to use her Warran because the other Ruse-witches would notice her and punish her for her betrayal. Ofcourse, she was also afraid of the Lady, but even after the Lady went down, and she made herself known to these Ruse-witches, they still didn't seem to punish her. I thought for a moment, after she saved the fleet from the giant tsunami thingy, that they were punishing her. It said something like her thinking that in the effort she had let her guard down and she had the deep-water sickness or something. She was seeing pink and stuff, I thought she was dying then and their, as punishment from these other witches for her betrayal. But then later on she's just interrogating people on the Malazan fleet heading back home, so I was wondering: what happened? Anyone know?

Also... Tayschrenn... Was he then not the centre of that whorl? Or was he, and did the Tiste Liosan finish him off? Did Kiska truely fail in saving Tay? I wished I'd see Tayschrenn again... I loved that guy. Very wise... very powerfull...

Then Kyle going to the Assail lands... what was again in these Assail lands? Were it those big creatures with incredibly lots of limbs, like the one Karsa and his friend saved from the 'stoning' and in reward knocked the one guy senseless? Or where there other creatures in these Assail things? I just know Assail is supposed to ring a bell, but I can't think of it.

These questions aside I did love the book. Sometimes I thought Suth to be a bit dense, but then again he's a heavy so we really can't expect too much from him. Also Warran had me going... I thought for a fact he was Iskaral Pust, seemed he was someone completely else. Took me quite by surprise Who were the Ravens though come to think of it?
Kyle was indeed a lot cooler than in previous book, but even now I still mostly had the feeling he was just going with the flow, not really thinking on his own. But I guess with great powerful swords does not come great skill of thinking
Stonewielder himself I was sort of let down by... Earlier when we saw him he was lots stronger. Now he just seemed like a grudging old man throughout half the book. And even when he took down the wall, it didn't really get my blood racing. It was just like 'okay, he put his sword into the wall... it collapses... he drowns... okay, not very slick move, but it had to be done apparantly'. I just had imagined a lot more epic fighting from Stonewielder, him rushing through the Chosen lines, slaying one after the other... But that again might have been too predictable and single minded.

Anyway, I'd be very happy with any and all input you have on my insights and questions.

[Sinisdar Toste]

when wondering why devaleth wasn't 'punished' by the ruse mages, you have to remember that the blue moranth shattered mare, forcing them to sue for peace, those mages were probably decimated. the 'depth-sickness' is probably just something that results from drawing to heavily on the warren of ruse. like any warren, if you lose control, you'll be affected in some way.

that wasn't tayschrenn in the whorl, it was Yathengar, the 7C priest.

Assail lands may be named after the Forkrul Assail, but whether or not FA are present there is unknown. but per MoI, we know that a human tyrant is making t'lan imass into chopsticks...

as for greymane, i also wish that we had seen more of him, but what can you do? except write angry letters?

This post has been edited by Sinisdar Toste: 27 May 2011 - 06:06 PM

[Mcflury]

Sinisdar Toste, on 27 May 2011 - 06:05 PM, said:

that wasn't tayschrenn in the whorl, it was Yathengar, the 7C priest.

Ah, I thought perhaps both Tay and Yathengar were in there, together. But if Tay was not in that whorl... then why did the queen send Kiska and Leoman there? Was she truly trying just to trap Kiska? Leoman of course was happy there, but still...

Also, personally I couldn't remember Yathengar from earlier stories But that's not too uncommen for me... one of the things I find hardest about Erikson and Esslemont's books is the vast amount of characters. I really can't keep them all apart, and so I forget many the instant I finished a chapter I suppose he did play a rather important role in the whol Sha'ik line of stories? Or did the guy just come out of nowhere basically in this story?

[Abyss]

Mcflury, on 27 May 2011 - 05:31 PM, said:

...Stonewielder himself I was sort of let down by... Earlier when we saw him he was lots stronger. Now he just seemed like a grudging old man throughout half the book. And even when he took down the wall, it didn't really get my blood racing. It was just like 'okay, he put his sword into the wall... it collapses... he drowns... okay, not very slick move, but it had to be done apparantly'. I just had imagined a lot more epic fighting from Stonewielder, him rushing through the Chosen lines, slaying one after the other... But that again might have been too predictable and single minded....

Sinisdar Toste, on 27 May 2011 - 06:05 PM, said:

...
as for greymane, i also wish that we had seen more of him, but what can you do? except write angry letters?

Go to this thread to feel better... http://forum.malazan...showtopic=10474

[Sinisdar Toste]

Mcflury, on 27 May 2011 - 06:25 PM, said:

Sinisdar Toste, on 27 May 2011 - 06:05 PM, said:

that wasn't tayschrenn in the whorl, it was Yathengar, the 7C priest.

Ah, I thought perhaps both Tay and Yathengar were in there, together. But if Tay was not in that whorl... then why did the queen send Kiska and Leoman there? Was she truly trying just to trap Kiska? Leoman of course was happy there, but still...

Also, personally I couldn't remember Yathengar from earlier stories But that's not too uncommen for me... one of the things I find hardest about Erikson and Esslemont's books is the vast amount of characters. I really can't keep them all apart, and so I forget many the instant I finished a chapter I suppose he did play a rather important role in the whol Sha'ik line of stories? Or did the guy just come out of nowhere basically in this story?

yath was a prisoner of the otataral mines. we meet him in RotCG along with Hothalar and Su. my feeling is that tays has gone much farther into and through chaos than yath did, as he is much more powerful. i really hope we get to see tayschrenn in the resolution of the assail issue, otherwise i see no reason for keeping such a powerful trump card in your pocket for so long.

[Mcflury]

Aye, especially since truely the whole Leoman and Kiska storyline had nothing to do with the Lady matter as far as I can see. So those parts seem to just have been inserted into the book just to make us remember these people are indeed still wandering around somewhere, and that Tay is indeed still alive (because else the Queen of Dreams surely would not have set Kiska on the way she's going...)

[Kim Bookreader]

For me it felt like the kiska story was a prelude for something to come, and I really hope more comes from that story.