[Ceda Cicero]

kcf, on 16 July 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

pat5150, on 16 July 2012 - 10:37 PM, said:

kcf, on 16 July 2012 - 08:39 PM, said:

Spoiler

BTW, has anyone ever wondered, who (or perhaps more importantly, what) is Caladan Brood?

OK, now I'm just getting mean

Yes, you are!

But that was a "fuck me" moment, to be sure!

Patrick

Edit the spoiler tag into your post, or people will get really mad

Get a room.

[pat5150]

Okay, about 250 pages down and I'm still enjoying everything about the book! One would think that FoD answers a lot of nagging questions we've been pondering for years, right? NO!!! Freak that he is, SE doesn't want to make it too easy for us! Hence, as things stand, FoD raises a panoply of questions that are often thought-provoking...

I haven't perceived any difference in style and tone, but it does feel that SE writes with a tighter focus. That said, the plot is as epic and convoluted as anything in TMBotF.

Too early to tell, but perusing the dramatis personae, there seems to be a glaring timeline error in FoD. Can't say for sure, but I did check the Malazan wiki to see if I was wrong, and I'm not. Will have to wait and see, as this might be addressed later on in the book...

A few bones to whet your appetites:

Spoiler

I'm loving the fact that we are introduced to many future powerplayers, but at a much younger age.

- Anomander, Andarist, and Silchas Ruin as young men.

- Osserc as a teenager.

- Orfantal as a young kid.

- Spinnock Durav as a young man eager to prove himself.

- Sandalath Drukorlat as a young woman facing a second stint as a noble hostage.

- Scara Bandaris as a young and friendly Legion officer.

Learning more about the mysterious Draconus, the new Consort of Mother Dark, is thus far very interesting. There is a lot more to him than we thought and I'm loving every chapter he appears in. Oh, and one little detail we didn't know: Spite and Envy have another sister. . .

The POV protagonists are a disparate group of men and women, which makes for a page-turning narrative. Reading FoD is a different experience from TMBotF, for we know how it will all end. A bit like the second Star Wars trilogy, we're sort of along for the ride to discover just how Anakin will turn to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader. Hence, even though we know who the principal players will be when the shit goes down, it is fascinating to follow what transpires at the end of the era during which the Tiste were one people.

As is usually SE's wont, the pace is a bit slow at the beginning. Time will tell if the proverbial shit will hit the fan in the last book of FoD. The novel is split into 4 books, by the way.

Good stuff so far!

Patrick

[Kanese S's]

Aggghhhhhhh, Pat, you're killing me! Can hardly wait until I can get this.

[pat5150]

By the way, as you wait for Forge of Darkness, my review of The Wurms of Blearmouth is up on the Hotlist!

Follow this link to read it...

Patrick

[Sanctume]

Spoiler

If that's the case for MD, I say let's call the bluff and wake up Burn

[Seiko]

Bah, wish I had more self control. Sounds very interesting, can't wait to sink my teeth into this.

[Abyss]

[pat5150]

Done with Book 2 and the plot thickens...

Patrick

[Abalieno]

I can imagine a possible criticism will be that the book won't have enough closure...

But from the feedback it seems a good book that seems to have dodged the risk of being too gloomy and meandering. I wasn't exactly convinced that a book (and prequels in general) with a focus on Tiste Andii was a good idea.

[pat5150]

There is no such thing as the Tiste Andii at the moment, at least not the way you guys mean...

It's a book about the Tiste people...

Patrick

[Kanese S's]

Dude, spoilers.

[Asharak]

"There is no such thing as the Tiste Andii at the moment, at least not the way you guys mean..."



Mind blown completely by understanding, based on this and previous comments.



Wow

[tiam]

Asharak, on 18 July 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:

"There is no such thing as the Tiste Andii at the moment, at least not the way you guys mean..."



Mind blown completely by understanding, based on this and previous comments.



Wow

you think youve got problems. My phone lets me see the site and post but not access spoiler tags. It is a fresh kind of hell

[pat5150]

About the setting:

Spoiler

This novel is set in a time millennia prior to TMBotF. There is no such thing as the Tiste Andii, Tiste Edur, and Tiste Liosan. Civil war is looming, although the bitter war against that previous incarnation of the Forkrul Assail should have taught them a lesson. But the rise of Mother Dark's cult and her choosing Draconus as a Consort don't sit well with many people. Still, at least in the first half of this first volume, the Tiste people, for all of their factions and dissension, are a united people.

How far back in time? Before the Elder Gods. Before the Holds and Warrens. Before the dragons. This story goes WAY BACK. I mean, we learn about the Imass' ancestors and the Imass were part of the Malazan equivalent of the Stone Age...

[tiam]

kcf, on 16 July 2012 - 08:36 PM, said:

Jean-Claude Van tiam, on 16 July 2012 - 08:03 PM, said:

Spoiler

Maybe yes but this seems to be a standard mortal woman ascending via culthood similar to Dassem rather than a God entity. The lack of existence of the EG also seems somewhat out there. If the the Andii have just finished fighting an early version of the FA why isnt Kily there as mother of the FA. Unless ofcourse she came from this early race. In fact I would even hazard a guess that the EG are similar to normal gods and simply thrown up by their respective peoples. Theres a similar in one of the main arc books (BH I think) about the champions of certain peoples embodying them and their warren as they were draconic, so wouldnt be surprised if this is what happened.

what makes you think that

Spoiler

Killy isn't around in this book?

Spoiler

Mainly the fact that Pat said the EG dont exist. Ofcourse given Draconus inclusion in this book, as an EG, that seems an odd comment. I can only assume he meant in the guise of EG in which case it strikes me that EG are nothing more than the elemental manifestation of races. Thus Hood is the EG of the Jaghut, MD is the EG of the Andii etc. Simply martial champions similar to the ancestor worship we see among the Letherii continent Edur. However surely EG as elemental forces can be killed so other than getting all the pieces of TCG together and killing him I dont see what makes him so difficult to kill. I am looking forward to this book but I know its going to be riddled with timeline inconsistencies and, much more annoying to me, I reckon we may have to ignore all the little tidbits of info weve received in the series so far. Rather than going into yet ill just hold out and wait. Thank you for the tidbits.

EDIT- RE pats spoiler ^

Spoiler

I thought you said dragons were legend? What I mean is either it was before dragons were around or dragons preceded the Andiian civilisation, which makes sense? I dont want to give the impression of me moaning about the timeline already but im just trying to get a clear view of it before I start so I dont have a MT is way before the main arc- style thought while im reading.

This post has been edited by Jean-Claude Van tiam: 18 July 2012 - 01:43 PM

[pat5150]

. . .

Spoiler

At this point, it is unclear whether or not dragons preceded the Tiste civilization (for fuck's sake, you guys need to stop thinking about Andii, Edur, and Liosan!) or if they existed on another plane of existence or something like that. But as the tale begins, dragons are legends...

Also, just to clarify things: the concept of Elder Gods doesn't exist yet.

[Ceda Cicero]

pat5150, on 18 July 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

. . .

Spoiler

Also, just to clarify things: the concept of Elder Gods doesn't exist yet.

This makes total sense, for a lot of reasons. Foremost among them?

Spoiler

They aren't fucking old yet.

[Malaclypse]

Hey, don't get too excited peeps! Elder Gods do exist, people just don't know they're Elder Gods

[champ]

This thread is evil... but delicious!

Have faith in SE peeps - especially when you haven't even read the book yet!

[Malaclypse]

and Grizzin Farl is in it ;p