[Quick Ryan]

Hi everybody. Been lurking for a few months now and just finished HoC. Loving the series so far. A couple random thoughts on Hoc: (beware spoilers)


1. Karsa is kind of a dick. I almost gave up on this book in the first portion because Karsa is such an asshole. I hope he eventually gets humbled.

2. Heboric flying through space seeing Jade statues etc - that whole scene is freaking EPIC.

3. CRUCIFIED OTATERAL DRAGON!!!

4. I expected more direct influence from the crippled god in a book named for his house of chains

5. Tavore was disappointing. I guess the bar is set pretty high with military commanders like Whiskeyjack and Coltaine, but most of her scenes were just underwhelming.

6. As much as I hated Karsa, it was still very satisfying when he eventually wrecks shop at the oasis.

[Abyss]

Quick Ryan, on 15 January 2015 - 03:42 AM, said:

Hi everybody. Been lurking for a few months now and just finished HoC. Loving the series so far.

Welcome. I envy you for what you are going to read for the first time in the following books.

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A couple random thoughts on Hoc: (beware spoilers)


1. Karsa is kind of a dick. I almost gave up on this book in the first portion because Karsa is such an asshole. I hope he eventually gets humbled.

Karsa is, initially, totally a dick.

He does get humbled tho... by Calm, by the slavers, by the Ashok marines, by the Lighthouse keeper, by Mappo... put a different way, could you see Karsa at the start of the book having the kind of big brother relationship he did with Felisin Younger by the end?

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2. Heboric flying through space seeing Jade statues etc - that whole scene is freaking EPIC.

I've always loved that scene... it's barely two pages and just throws the whole scope of the series wide open.

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3. CRUCIFIED OTATERAL DRAGON!!!

I KNOW!!!!!

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4. I expected more direct influence from the crippled god in a book named for his house of chains

He was behind Karsa's whole start, the Rockfaces worked for him, and at the end he tried to seize the Whirlwind warren. No exactly sitting around smoking in a tent.

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5. Tavore was disappointing. I guess the bar is set pretty high with military commanders like Whiskeyjack and Coltaine, but most of her scenes were just underwhelming.

Yah, Tavore doesn't really get to shine all that much in this book. RAFO on that.

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6. As much as I hated Karsa, it was still very satisfying when he eventually wrecks shop at the oasis.

I particularly enjoyed his treatment of Bidithal and Febryl. They had it coming.

[D'rek]

Abyss, on 15 January 2015 - 04:17 AM, said:

Quote

A couple random thoughts on Hoc: (beware spoilers)


1. Karsa is kind of a dick. I almost gave up on this book in the first portion because Karsa is such an asshole. I hope he eventually gets humbled.

Karsa is, initially, totally a dick.

He does get humbled tho... by Calm, by the slavers, by the Ashok marines, by the Lighthouse keeper, by Mappo... put a different way, could you see Karsa at the start of the book having the kind of big brother relationship he did with Felisin Younger by the end?

Plus he weeped from opening the whirlwind book in DG... and then got disarmed and thrown 50 feet by a guy with no hands... even more humbling!

[nacht]

D, on 15 January 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

Abyss, on 15 January 2015 - 04:17 AM, said:

Quote

A couple random thoughts on Hoc: (beware spoilers)


1. Karsa is kind of a dick. I almost gave up on this book in the first portion because Karsa is such an asshole. I hope he eventually gets humbled.

Karsa is, initially, totally a dick.

He does get humbled tho... by Calm, by the slavers, by the Ashok marines, by the Lighthouse keeper, by Mappo... put a different way, could you see Karsa at the start of the book having the kind of big brother relationship he did with Felisin Younger by the end?

Plus he weeped from opening the whirlwind book in DG... and then got disarmed and thrown 50 feet by a guy with no hands... even more humbling!

On this point, I never understood his devotion to the Old Shaik, the book and the later Shaik. Seems out of character.

[theocean]

nacht, on 15 January 2015 - 06:22 PM, said:

D, on 15 January 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

Abyss, on 15 January 2015 - 04:17 AM, said:

Quote

A couple random thoughts on Hoc: (beware spoilers)


1. Karsa is kind of a dick. I almost gave up on this book in the first portion because Karsa is such an asshole. I hope he eventually gets humbled.

Karsa is, initially, totally a dick.

He does get humbled tho... by Calm, by the slavers, by the Ashok marines, by the Lighthouse keeper, by Mappo... put a different way, could you see Karsa at the start of the book having the kind of big brother relationship he did with Felisin Younger by the end?

Plus he weeped from opening the whirlwind book in DG... and then got disarmed and thrown 50 feet by a guy with no hands... even more humbling!

On this point, I never understood his devotion to the Old Shaik, the book and the later Shaik. Seems out of character.

I think it was more his devotion to Leoman at first. Then he feels pressure to protect someone he kind of pressured into a situation that chained her, thus further chaining him. Everything with karsa is about chains. The souls chained to him. The friends/oaths/duties he has for himself. The missions and goals he has, everything is a chain in some way with Karsa.

[Quick Ryan]

He does get humbled tho... by Calm, by the slavers, by the Ashok marines, by the Lighthouse keeper, by Mappo... put a different way, could you see Karsa at the start of the book having the kind of big brother relationship he did with Felisin Younger


Yeah Karsa does get beaten in combat by a few characters, but what I want to see is something that changes his perspective of "I'm Karsa Orlong so I will kill you if I feel like it". Not just a defeat on the field of battle but an attitude adjustment.

[Puck]

Though, I wonder, would such a total change still be character development or already character derailment? His attitude is part of what makes him Karsa. Personally, I think a change in how he acts upon that attitude of his is more interesting than him losing said attitude.

[Quick Ryan]

Puck, on 15 January 2015 - 08:34 PM, said:

Though, I wonder, would such a total change still be character development or already character derailment? His attitude is part of what makes him Karsa. Personally, I think a change in how he acts upon that attitude of his is more interesting than him losing said attitude.

Very true. I guess I just wanna see somebody kick the crap out of him lol

[Andorion]

Quick Ryan, on 15 January 2015 - 07:53 PM, said:

He does get humbled tho... by Calm, by the slavers, by the Ashok marines, by the Lighthouse keeper, by Mappo... put a different way, could you see Karsa at the start of the book having the kind of big brother relationship he did with Felisin Younger


Yeah Karsa does get beaten in combat by a few characters, but what I want to see is something that changes his perspective of "I'm Karsa Orlong so I will kill you if I feel like it". Not just a defeat on the field of battle but an attitude adjustment.

Puck, on 15 January 2015 - 08:34 PM, said:

Though, I wonder, would such a total change still be character development or already character derailment? His attitude is part of what makes him Karsa. Personally, I think a change in how he acts upon that attitude of his is more interesting than him losing said attitude.

Quick Ryan, on 16 January 2015 - 12:58 AM, said:

Puck, on 15 January 2015 - 08:34 PM, said:

Though, I wonder, would such a total change still be character development or already character derailment? His attitude is part of what makes him Karsa. Personally, I think a change in how he acts upon that attitude of his is more interesting than him losing said attitude.

Very true. I guess I just wanna see somebody kick the crap out of him lol

Checks name of book forum....House of Chains....crap......stifles comments about to be typed out....

Umm...RAFO?

[Gorefest]

Yeah, massive massive RAFO is all you can say really.