[Tayschren]

Hi, I haven't been around in a LONG while. There is only one thing that REALLY grates me about SE's work.

Now Stonny, Blend and Picker, as well as most of the female Bharghast, are all lesbians, or have tendancies, which I suppose gets red blooded men (and women) into a lather, but why are there no gay men? I would have thought that the idea of 2 men in a relationship wouldn't be too hard to swallow. Though Bauchelain and Korbal Broach come quite close in their REALLY distirbing relationship, however there are no real relationships described. It would be, to my mind (and I haven't yet read through the whole of this thread), a good side story, to go along with all the others.

Lots of love

Tay

[Dark Mac]

There have been pedophiles who take boys as lovers, but I can't think of any other gay men, other than perhaps some Falah'd or another.

[flea]

Doesn't the Errant go both ways?

[polishgenius]

The Errant does, but it's been noted before, there's no actual gay bloke's relationships. Lots of close friendships - we're almost flooded by a sea of double acts - but unless Shadowthrone and Cottilion are hiding something, nothing more than that.
Which, like Tayschren says, is odd given the number of lesbians.

[Dolorous Menhir]

Chancellor Triban Gnol was gay, involved with the Errant.

Karsa killed two men in bed together during one of his rampages through a Malazan town in the first book of HoC.

[Silander]

They say write about the things you know about and I think SE does that. It's hard enough to write about other things.
The point with the malazan marines/soldiers is that it is that very quality in them that makes them unique. Compared to other soldiers e.g. the letherii, they just don't cut and run like sane people would.
I do however agree that not every one would has such a massive vocab. but then again if you had a cast that hard wouldn't be hard to remember who had a posh accent and who had a slur or limited vocab over time? I think it would anyways.
A buddy of mine dislikes the way everyone seems to an assassin or a mage or a mage/assassin (bit of an overstatment) but lets face it, its only people with power and influence who are making the wheels go around and I am sick of reading fantasy where the local goatsherd takes on the world. All in all the fresh approach and sheer epic scope is what I love. I'd love to write but in a way his genius is depressing, I just end up shaking my head, saying, 'I could never even touch that'.
Edit/Delete Message

[polishgenius]

Dolorous Menhir;185371 said:

Chancellor Triban Gnol was gay, involved with the Errant.

Karsa killed two men in bed together during one of his rampages through a Malazan town in the first book of HoC.

The second doesn't really bear mention though - it's hardly gay characters, it's a background detail.

Triban Gnol was, but not really in a 'relationship' way.

[Dolorous Menhir]

It's RG info, but not a plotline spoiler in any way - there are references to men who prefer the company of men in the Malazan army in RG.

[Urb]

The whole Mappo Iccarium thing is a little gay... Kind of..

[Katran]

lol, figures that this should be the very first TBH thread I open after finishing the book.

Erikson needs MORE geologic descriptions. Keep 'em coming! His #1 geologic fangirl has much appreciation for those paragraphs, and indeed, it may have been what drew her into the series in the first place.

My main criticism is some of the deus-ex-machina characters that arrive in the end, such as the T'lan Imass who takes Fiddler, Stormy and Gesler out of Malaz City, and....well....there are too many to list here. My other problem is how he handles revelations. For instance, when Fiddler heard about Dunsparrow. I feel like he would benefit from foreshadowing that isn't just a name, or having something from the proplogue be revisited at the end of the book.

I'm a forgiving reader, though. So long as he keeps describing the rocks behind the characters.

[Dolorous Menhir]

Katran;187986 said:

My main criticism is some of the deus-ex-machina characters that arrive in the end, such as the T'lan Imass who takes Fiddler, Stormy and Gesler out of Malaz City, and....well....there are too many to list here. My other problem is how he handles revelations. For instance, when Fiddler heard about Dunsparrow. I feel like he would benefit from foreshadowing that isn't just a name, or having something from the proplogue be revisited at the end of the book.

I'm a forgiving reader, though. So long as he keeps describing the rocks behind the characters.

I think it's unfair to describe Legana Breed (that T'lan Imass) as a deus ex machina. We've known he was coming back to collect his sword from Stormy, at some point, since Deadhouse Gates. It's not like he just appeared suddenly with no prior mention and saved the day.

[polishgenius]

I agree with that. In fact, meeting Leganas Reed was one of the key reasons for them to be in the city in the first place - storywise I mean, not that the characters went to the city to find him, obviously. Fiddler was getting his bow and fiddle, but Gessler and Stormy had no other narrative reason to be out and about that I recall.

[Ezgara (the insect)]

It's not really a criticism per se...but after rereading GotM - MT and then reading TBH, I find it hard to adapt to another style of writing and I seem to enjoy other books less...they seem so short and uncomplicated...how can you ever properly tell a story in 500 pages?

[polishgenius]

That's why when I'm recommending people fantasy I give them Magician and Gemmell before aSoIaF and Malazan. The first are good, but they seem rather slight once you've read the latter.

[Legatus Principus]

As much as I love SE's writings, I don't believe he knows where all this is gonna end up. With that whole bunch of characters, there are so many plot lines, how can he manage to resolve all those things in those poor little books that are still to come.

[caladanbrood]

Because he's been planning this for a very very long time;)

[Legatus Principus]

Certainly!
But it's the way it is presented to us that makes it hard to follow sometimes.

And that is the reason that makes it so interesting.
Guess I see a pattern now.

[Kulp]

I have a problem with a certain individual called Karsa Orlong. He's spoiling the otherwise awesome books, where he features. He doesn't seem all that skilled of a fighter (if compared to the likes of Corporal Blues, Brys Beddict, Dassem Ultor, etc.), yet he keeps slaying everything that comes down his path by being invincible. Keeps reminding me of playing an FPS with a godmode cheat.

So to begin with, Karsa slays the 2 Hounds of Darkness with relative ease. Then we learn from Osric that the Deragoth kept the KCCM from settling on the Seven Cities continent for however long a period was necessary. Now is this to say that Karsa alone could've taken out skykeeps full of KCCM to keep the continent from their hands?

SE explains the slaying of the Hounds in the Q&A thread by Karsa being too stubborn to die. Does that mean that he could walk into a room full of Elder gods (they seem the most powerful beings around), engage them in combat and end up chopping all their heads off without risking any lethal injuries, simply because he refuses to accept defeat?

Then does he have to keep meeting all these powerful things to kill? I mean, we got the point long ago already, he's a machine. These passages are rather boring to read, since we know Karsa will prevail anyway and everyone who oppose him will end up dead. I guess there could be some big plot hints planted in the scenes where Karsa goes to slay Bhederin, KCNR, etc., but that'd just be plain evil.

/rant off

Just had to get it off my chest.

[wintermute]

Karsa did irritate me for a while, but eventually I just accepted that he would just be over the top and tried to enjoy it (kind of like 300). As for other things that irritate me, the first is the continued use of the word "lass". One or two characters using it, and it's a speech pattern, but everyone seems to be using it nowadays. I also dislike how powerful some minor characters seem to be. For example, that random heavy who took out a trol'baral despite it being some crazy ascendant that was worth unleashing the deragoth for.