[Cyphon]

Aptorian, on 22 March 2020 - 07:37 AM, said:

Finished the tale. Had a couple of good cries towards the end mixed with heartfelt laughter. Even knowing every event that was to take place it still rocked me with every loss. The culmination is an incredible achievement of dozens of stories coming together in the most satisfying way.

I must be dead inside, I dont get the same emotional reaction.

[Aptorian]

Every scene related to Itkovian and Whiskeyjack the last 50 pages had me acting like a blubbering mess.

[Macros]

I'm with Cyph, I mean tough in places yah, and a few wet eye bits but no blubbering.
DG had far more gut punches on the CoD

[Keysi]

I get that everyone loves Whiskyjack and that we're all conditioned to want the "goodies" to win by disney and Hollywood but seriously, Kallor is just a far more interesting fu&*$ng character.

[Traveller]

I read Gotm and DG in a matter of days, thought I was way ahead. Stalled somewhat on MoI.

About 70% now, siege is over and that meeting between Gruntle and Paran is great. QB in the estate always, always makes me smile. Cocky, smug ol' Hammer Horror bad guy Bauchelain getting blown through a wall into the garden. It's so good! Reminds me of Palpatine being all smug and then Yoda blasts him ass over tit into a wall with his legs in the air and his cloak over his head in RotS.

The extent to which Gruntle is taken and used is more apparent this time. His want of retribution for what happened to Stonny is basically used as a way to possess him by fuelling his anger and increasing his strength and abilities; it's only in the calm moments after that he realises what has happened. He is quite brutally used as a tool though, against his will and without permission.

[champ]

So I am currently rereading MoI and have come across this innocent looking quote…


This is from Quick Ben after he has just arranged the Trygalle Trade Guild for Fid…

Quote

‘No. The situation in Seven Cities couldn’t be more desperate. Anyway, I’ve done what I could. As to its effectiveness, we’ll see.’
‘You’re a remarkable man, Quick Ben.’
‘No, I’m not. Now, best keep all this as private an affair as possible. Hedge will keep his trap shut, and so will Whiskeyjack—’

Now something didn’t sit right with me with this quote, this isn’t the Quick Ben we know…


He’s an egomaniac, we all know that…


Typical example…

Quote

The four mages scrambled to his side and all were babbling. ‘A dozen sorcerors!’ ‘Drawing from the same warren!’ ‘And it’s clean and ugly!’ ‘They’re weaving, Quick!’ ‘Working togeth—’ ‘Be quiet, all of you!’ ‘We’re all going to die!’ ‘Dammit, Toes, shut up!’ He glared until the four men settled, surveyed the bleak expressions for a moment, then grinned. ‘Twelve of the bastards, right? And who is this, standing here before you? Quick Ben. Right? Ben Adaephon Delat. Now, if any of you has already filled his breeches, go change…

And

Quote

Paran smiled to himself at the recollection. The ego of gods was as nothing to Quick Ben’s.

So coming back to the quote…

Quote

‘No. The situation in Seven Cities couldn’t be more desperate. Anyway, I’ve done what I could. As to its effectiveness, we’ll see.’
‘You’re a remarkable man, Quick Ben.’
‘No, I’m not. Now, best keep all this as private an affair as possible. Hedge will keep his trap shut, and so will Whiskeyjack—’

Why is he suddenly acting all reserved denying that he is a remarkable man…


Maybe because he isn’t denying that he is remarkable… he is denying that he is a man at that time and one of the other female souls within him is leading there shifting between souls…


Also comes back to the whole speculation around his "lead soul" and further proof he could well be Korya Delath… just one of those hidden lines SE loves to throw out there… or I could be overthinking it haha…

This post has been edited by champ: 17 August 2021 - 09:31 PM

[James Hutton]

champ, on 17 August 2021 - 02:54 PM, said:

So I am currently rereading MoI and have come across this innocent looking quote…


This is from Quick Ben after he has just arranged the Trygalle Trade Guild for Fid…

Quote

'No. The situation in Seven Cities couldn't be more desperate. Anyway, I've done what I could. As to its effectiveness, we'll see.'
'You're a remarkable man, Quick Ben.'
'No, I'm not. Now, best keep all this as private an affair as possible. Hedge will keep his trap shut, and so will Whiskeyjack—'

Now something didn't sit right with me with this quote, this isn't the Quick Ben we know…


He's an egomaniac, we all know that…


Typical example…

Quote

The four mages scrambled to his side and all were babbling. 'A dozen sorcerors!' 'Drawing from the same warren!' 'And it's clean and ugly!' 'They're weaving, Quick!' 'Working togeth—' 'Be quiet, all of you!' 'We're all going to die!' 'Dammit, Toes, shut up!' He glared until the four men settled, surveyed the bleak expressions for a moment, then grinned. 'Twelve of the bastards, right? And who is this, standing here before you? Quick Ben. Right? Ben Adaephon Delat. Now, if any of you has already filled his breeches, go change…

And

Quote

Paran smiled to himself at the recollection. The ego of gods was as nothing to Quick Ben's.

So coming back to the quote…

Quote

'No. The situation in Seven Cities couldn't be more desperate. Anyway, I've done what I could. As to its effectiveness, we'll see.'
'You're a remarkable man, Quick Ben.'
'No, I'm not. Now, best keep all this as private an affair as possible. Hedge will keep his trap shut, and so will Whiskeyjack—'

Why is he suddenly acting all reserved denying that he is a remarkable man…


Maybe because he isn't denying that he is remarkable… he is denying that he is a man…


Which comes back to the whole speculation around his "lead soul" and further proof he could well be Korya Delath… just one of those hidden lines SE loves to throw out there… or I could be overthinking it haha…

That would be brilliant if that's the case!I was also thinking it could be one of the other souls at the forefront at that moment, the soul of a person who didn't think themselves to be remarkable.

Last theory: the greek word adelphon means "brother", so if adaephon comes from adelphon, Ben Adeaphon Delat means Ben the brother of (Korya) Delat(h).

[champ]

I like that theory. I love wordplay like that...


Even now after so long and so many rereads I still find new pieces of information I missed previously, just a part of what makes this series so great...


And fuck man, fuck Kallor. SE really beats you over the head so, oh so many times with WJ leading up... Korlat, love, happiness, retirement, the gift of new friendships with Rake... contentment, a real future away... every time you read it, it's a gut punch knowing what's coming... God dammit SE...

[Fid]

No idea how many times I have re-read the series but finished MoI again this afternoon and totally broken - again.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

I really wish I had read this book after GotM, as the first time round I chose to read the books in published order per Erikson's suggestion, and I nearly quit, because in addition to not liking DG at at all, I spent the entire time wondering what was going on in Genabackis.

I was a lot more engaged with this book than I was with DG, and although it wasn't as enjoyable as GotM, it most definitely was a step-up from DG.

I must say my favourite character in MoI is Hetan. I really enjoyed being introduced to this sexually liberated woman who's basically a man-eater in addition to a fierce warrior and a cunning leader, and I am also angry at Erikson for reducing Hetan to a passive housewife in later books. The Barghast learning about their past as a seafaring people was pretty neat as well. The introduction of the undead K'Chain Ch'Malle was fucking awesome.

This book also introduces us to Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, perhaps the most evil characters in the world of Malaz, but what I like the most about how they are handled is that they they're not out to rule the world or any other typical bad guy agenda, they're just a couple of necromancers who are totally untethered from any morality exploring the world. In my mind I always hear Bauchelain speaking with a vaguely French accent in a raspy voice, and Korbal Broach would have a voice similar to that of Mickey Mouse, which would add to the unsettling effect.

Based on how her voice is described, I always imagine Lady Envy as speaking with an Irish accent, and I physically I imagine her looking like Monica Bellucci.

What I didn't like about the book was the Mhybe. God did the passages concerning her bore the shit out of me. I also didn't like Itkovian's story due to its Christian vibes, which was a major turn off for me.

One final thing that bothers me is that the Assail plot, which is set up here, isn't addressed until thirteen books later, which as we all know, turned out to be a whole lot of nothing.

[worry]

If we all knew that already, you wouldn’t be much of a contrarian. Unforced rhetorical error, 5 post penalty.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

Renewed For 2 More Seasons, on 28 August 2022 - 12:21 AM, said:

If we all knew that already, you wouldn’t be much of a contrarian. Unforced rhetorical error, 5 post penalty.

I'm sorry, I don't follow.

If we knew what, exactly?