[Herrick The Younger]

Unfortunately I had great difficulty getting through this book. It took me 6 weeks to finish which is a very long time Quick synopsis. I started this series last year but ended up quitting only a hundred or so pages into Toll The Hounds.

So I started the series over and finally finished this book but it was a huge slog to get through. I really had problems grasping what the three characters in the thread title were trying to accomplish. All those discussions they had, all the parts with the Tiste Andii Priestess, and all the internal monologue resulted in my zoning out and mechanically reading through so I could get back to the characters who interested me.

What was the point of it all? It became so bad that when Hood & Rake were killed, I felt nothing. I didn't even *blink*. I just *shrugged* and continued on. Murillio & Bainisk's deaths had much more an impact. I kind of understood what Rake wanted to do at the end but did all the other parts with him, Spinnock, & Endest hint at what was going to happen? Were we not supposed to know their motives and ultimate game plan until it happened or did I just miss all the details?

Randon Complaint: the blind Tiste Andii must be the most annoying insufferable MBF character I've come across so far so far so far so far yes yes yes yes!!

This post has been edited by Herrick: 03 October 2016 - 08:48 PM

[worry]

The point of it all was Rake preparing the TA for his death and, hopefully, the return of Mother Dark. What Rake feared most, so to speak, was that his death would push his people over the brink, so he did his best to eliminate potentially interfering variables in his leap of faith.

[Kruppe of Darujhistan]

 Herrick, on 03 October 2016 - 08:47 PM, said:

Randon Complaint: the blind Tiste Andii must be the most annoying insufferable MBF character I've come across so far so far so far so far yes yes yes yes!!

You might feel differently if you knew the circumstances behind his blindness and who blinded him. To me, Kadaspala is a tragic figure, and my question is, who sent him into Dragnipur - Rake or Draconus - and why?

[Herrick The Younger]

 worry, on 03 October 2016 - 08:58 PM, said:

The point of it all was Rake preparing the TA for his death and, hopefully, the return of Mother Dark. What Rake feared most, so to speak, was that his death would push his people over the brink, so he did his best to eliminate potentially interfering variables in his leap of faith.

Did you see that coming through all the scenes with the three main Tiste Andii? That's the main problem I had and I'm not saying it's a failure on Erikson's part. I know it's my own lack of interest and attention to detail. What I'm really wondering is if I missed all the information or was it all meant to revealed in the last section of the book? I really couldn't make out what the hell these Tist Andii were talking about throughout much of the book.

[worry]

It's been a long time since my first read, but I think I got that much the first time (and I loved this book in general, to be frank). I wasn't super clear on MD's actual return, what happens to Endest, Clip, Nimander & the Scooby Gang, etc. on my first try though, but I did get the stuff between these three guys before that. Maybe I'm just super into melancholy, nostalgic old men pensively staring at the ocean from a tower window.

[Kruppe of Darujhistan]

And how can you say Kadaspala is the most annoying and insufferable character in the MBotF when the very same volume prominently features the ultimate in annoying and insufferable characters? Clip.

[Herrick The Younger]

 Kruppe of Darujhistan, on 03 October 2016 - 10:09 PM, said:

And how can you say Kadaspala is the most annoying and insufferable character in the MBotF when the very same volume prominently features the ultimate in annoying and insufferable characters? Clip.

I didn't mind Clip.

[Abyss]

Endest sacrificed everything for Rake at Coral, and despite that was prepared to stand against the Dying God in Rake's place. His various monologues and scenes explain this and lead to him being willing to die on Rake's request. Knowing Rake is willing to die for the Andii, Endest cannot do any less, even tho no one expects it of him or thinks he's capable... Except Rake. Endest does what Rake cannot do because he has more important things to do.

Spin is similar but different. He does what Rake could do so Rake doesn't have to. He's loyal to Rake (as opposed to the Andii) to he point that without hesitation he takes on dangerous tasks because Rake asks him to, and survives. Spins scenes show him starting towards building a life outside his service to Rake, which was what Rake wanted for all the

Rake trusts Endest to be prepared to die, but he trusts Spin to live.

[Battalion]

I agree with you Herrick - for me, this was the book where the tone of the series changed. The deaths of some of my favorite people had zero effect on me. And on a whole, most characters on Wu turned into bleating emos and it made me begin to hate them.
I still hate them ...

[Adhara]

But for me it has been the book when I recovered my love for the series, lost at Bonehunters. I´m not trying to say that was a bad book, simply it didn´t touched me. And there were a lot of pages for not finding emotional investment! Funny that the OP has no interest in Anomander and the andii, who are the very reason I´ve come back! I think one of the good things books with multiple plots have is how they attract diversity of lectors and diversity of opinions.

[Andorion]

 Morgan Lefay, on 15 August 2017 - 04:16 PM, said:

But for me it has been the book when I recovered my love for the series, lost at Bonehunters. I´m not trying to say that was a bad book, simply it didn´t touched me. And there were a lot of pages for not finding emotional investment! Funny that the OP has no interest in Anomander and the andii, who are the very reason I´ve come back! I think one of the good things books with multiple plots have is how they attract diversity of lectors and diversity of opinions.

One of the great things about Malazan is that due to the sheer vastness of the story people will find something they like somewhere. Its a very all-encompassing world.

This book has some of my favourite moments -

Hood and the city guard

the tale of the ox

Harlo and his friend who wanted a mother

Karsa stepping back in awe from Rake and Dassem

Draconus being astounded by the boldness of Rake's plan

"turn it around!"

"Oh, Anomander!"

[Adhara]

Awwww, Harllo! I´m glad SE let he live and find his mother loving him! If SE had killed that little boy, I would have hunted him and have a few words with him even he is one of my favourite authors!

And don´t you see a parallelism between Harllo finally finding his mother love and the very same Anomander and Mother Dark at the end of Toll?

[Abyss]

Harllo, for me, was one of the unexpected high points of the books. Once i got past his age the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important i was surprisingly engaged by his perspective on his crap adoptive family, and Murillo' sefforts to help him and Stonny, but especially by his journey underground and meeting the miner Imass, finding the legbones for him, ... one of those glorious Malazan bits where the bigger history of the world is so nicely captured by a small aside moment in the bigger story not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important wait it says the Seige of Capustan was a year ago but Harllo is five wtf the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important the timeline is not important....