[Holy D'ivers]

I really liked The Healthy Dead (it's hilarious), but I felt that the portrayal of demons was inconsistent with the rest of the series (at least through The Bonehunters, which I recently finished). In the main series, demons are residents of the warrens who are occasionally bound and brought into Wu. The demons in The Healthy Dead are portrayed as typical "Christian¹" demons, with each demon being associated with a particular vice. Ineb Cough and Co. "got off on" and became more powerful when people engaged in their associated vice. While this is just a minor discrepancy in one of the novellas, it still bugged me.

¹(http://en.wikipedia....ation_of_demons)

[Coco with marshmallows]

not if you look at them as being gods instead of demons.

becoming more powerful when people engaged in their associated vice = becoming more powerful as people worship them.

gaining power through worship is a standard thing in Wu.

[Holy D'ivers]

That is an interesting point, but it does raise a few questions.

1) If they are gods, why are they referred to as demons? In the main series, Erikson seems to have a clear definition of what a demon is, so why would he refer to a god as a demon? Is this just a inconsistency on his part?
2) Also, as far as I now, there are no examples of a God being bound like a demon ( As I said, I've only read as far as The Bonehunters), so why does Ineb Cough mention that Bauchelain could bind them "and not raise a single bead of sweat in the efforts" (pg 312 in the my version of the text, the 3 in 1 edition).
3) If they are gods, why are they limited to the the goings-on in Quaint? Why can't they draw power from people engaging in vices elsewhere? Are they just regional gods?
4) If they are regional gods, who are the interregional gods of vice? With the amount of "unethical" behavior going on in Wu, wouldn't there be interregional gods of vice? And wouldn't they be major players?

This post has been edited by Holy D'ivers: 22 May 2014 - 06:38 AM

[Defiance]

Concerning gods of vice in the main series, RAFO.

[Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai]

Holy D, on 21 May 2014 - 10:02 PM, said:

I really liked The Healthy Dead (it's hilarious), but I felt that the portrayal of demons was inconsistent with the rest of the series (at least through The Bonehunters, which I recently finished). In the main series, demons are residents of the warrens who are occasionally bound and brought into Wu. The demons in The Healthy Dead are portrayed as typical "Christian¹" demons, with each demon being associated with a particular vice. Ineb Cough and Co. "got off on" and became more powerful when people engaged in their associated vice. While this is just a minor discrepancy in one of the novellas, it still bugged me.

¹(http://en.wikipedia....ation_of_demons)

First of all, your username is amazing, if it is a reference to the Late, Great, Ronnie James Dio.

Second, how much of the series have you read? This has a bearing on replies to your questions. The demons though, may have started out as simple demons but drawn on the worship to become 'something more'. There are not really strict boundaries in these books for ascended beings, gods, demons etc in some ways. Karsa becomes a warren unto himself, look and Dassem, Anomander Rake, the Bridgeburners. There is a lot of power to be had, and a lot of ways the power can be got. By only staying regional they also reduce the amount of power they have, and therefore reduce the power the rest of the world of Wu sees. There are many examples of Gods hiding to keep their power hidden. Even ascendants try to keep their power hidden.

Maybe Erikson was using some artistic license given that the Bauchelain/Korbal Broach stories are an off shoot story line as well.

[worry]

Erikson does have a clear definition of "demon" in the series: it's whatever someone's prejudices lead them to call a demon.

[Holy D'ivers]

Tarthenal, my username is a Dio reference.

And good points all around. Worry, I initially thought that your answer seemed to be a bit of a cop out, but after some thought, it seems that people do tend to call unknown/intimidating species demons.