[Gorefest]

Not seldom do I come across sentences or paragraphs that look intriguingly phrased, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why they are there. We all know that at least Erikson is very meticulous about his choice of words and phrasing. Hardly anything goes into his writing without deliberate intent. However, where sometimes deliberate intent can be veiled hints at later occurances, some choices of phrasing are probably there purely for poignancy or style. Which leaves me pondering on a regular basis: what did SE actually mean by this bit?


So I thought I'd launch a topic to address all those little bits of text that you come across in the books and think: "This looks relevant in some way", but you have no clue why, in the hope that someone else here may be able to elucidate.




The direct cause for this thread idea arose during a HoC reread, when I came upon a section early in the book where Karsa and Delum have discovered a cave wall covered in writings from a Toblakai ancestor. Apart from the text being intriguing in its own right and talking about 'Spirit Wars' which I assume was the Toblakai name for the Imass-Jaghut genocide, the bit that struck me was at the very end of that section (HoC, Chapter 2):


"Both warriors turned and strode back to the cave mouth. Behind them, Gnaw stood beside the cairn a moment longer. The sun had left the wall, filling the cave with shadows. In the darkness, the dog's eyes flickered."



So yeah. shadow, darkness, flickering dog eyes. Is this just a stylistic choice, e.g. is SE trying to portray a sense of foreboding, a sense of threat? Or is it a hint that other powers are taking notice, such as the house of Shadow?

Any thoughts? Or do you have little bits of seemingly throwaway text that keep niggling at you as well?

[worry]

I don't know if it has any attachment to particular entities paying attention. It's probably thematically linked to the roles that Hounds of Shadow and Hounds of Darkness play in the story. It's also a sign that if a dog recognizes something of import here, then Karsa's bluster and denial are totally wrong-headed (as usual). There's also the fact that Icarium had a major role in the shaping of the Teblor, and also a role in wounding Emurhlahn (of which the Raraku warren is one shard).

[Khazduk]

Before starting GotM (I was getting it due to the blurb from Stephen Donaldson on the cover) I read on a forum somewhere something along the lines of "if you're gonna read this, you gotta pay attention to detail or it will just be a waste of time". Which led to each page taking like 3-4 minutes, and each feeling like a chore... for the first 200 pages or so, after which I gave up and took the opposite approach, "stream of consciousness" or whatever you like to call it. Impressionist, maybe. And I never looked back since.

This leads to "little bits of seemingly throwaway text that keep niggling at you" all the time, even on my 4th full reread which started a month ago... but I wouldn't have it any other way.




Edit: spleling

This post has been edited by Khazduk: 03 June 2015 - 09:01 AM

[Gnaw]

Gorefest, on 02 June 2015 - 09:41 AM, said:

"Both warriors turned and strode back to the cave mouth. Behind them, Gnaw stood beside the cairn a moment longer. The sun had left the wall, filling the cave with shadows. In the darkness, the dog's eyes flickered."


Any thoughts? Or do you have little bits of seemingly throwaway text that keep niggling at you as well?

It's just one of those things. Everybody seems to comment on my eyes flickering. I think it has to do with the cigarette smoke but *shrug*