[Aptorian]

I assume Karsa pops up in the next one??? I don't know. It's crazy that he won't catter to Karsa's fanbase.

[Macros]

Traveller, on 15 May 2020 - 04:57 PM, said:

I'm still working through.

I was wondering during MoI how Kilava was still young and healthy and alive, after rejecting the ritual.

I've just reached a bit with Onrack in HoCs, who says to Trull that by trapping her in time (painting her) he made her immortal. Is that how it happened? How did painting her likeness make her immortal?

I took that to be why she was made immortal, without partaking of the ritual.

[Macros]

Aptorian, on 18 May 2020 - 07:27 PM, said:

I assume Karsa pops up in the next one??? I don't know. It's crazy that he won't catter to Karsa's fanbase.

Given the last few books and the first two of the Andii trilo I don't think we should be surprised on Erikson not catering to his fanbase....

[Keysi]

Macros, on 28 May 2020 - 07:06 PM, said:

Traveller, on 15 May 2020 - 04:57 PM, said:

I'm still working through.

I was wondering during MoI how Kilava was still young and healthy and alive, after rejecting the ritual.

I've just reached a bit with Onrack in HoCs, who says to Trull that by trapping her in time (painting her) he made her immortal. Is that how it happened? How did painting her likeness make her immortal?

I took that to be why she was made immortal, without partaking of the ritual.

It always thought that becoming a Soletaken itself granted the immortality/ eternal youth. It's described as an 'alternative to ascension' at some point. I always took that to be the way Silchas Ruin ascended, for instance.



Just got to the part where Kalam is tripping his balls off and becomes a future ghost as an army that fought the First Empire marches by and he talks to the original Tanno Spiritwalker. It made me remember I so so so want books set at the time of the First Empire. It may be sacrilge but I'm actually far more interested in books about the First Empire and Dessimbelackis than I am about the founding of the Malazan empire and Shadow throne. ..

And that's before we factor in that Kallor had an (one of his many over the years, supposedly) empire contemporary. Throw some Kallor action in and I am hooked.

But what are the chances we will ever get that?

[Aptorian]

I could see Esslemont doing it.

I'd love a first empire series. I think far too much fantasy is written in a post golden age era setting. I want to read about an advanced civilization with tons of knowledge of magic and technology.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

This book is a mixed bag for me.

The prologue introduces us to Trull Sengar being shorn by his people, the Tiste Edur, and my reaction was "Who the the fuck are these people? What's the context of all this?"

We are then reintroduced to Trull when he's rescued by Onrack, and he spends the rest of the book teasing about his backstory, and I expected Trull's story to be told in a few chapters within HoC, only to find out much to my chagrin that Midnight Tides IS Trull's story.

Book One, which covers Karsa Orlong's origins, was IMO the most boring part of HoC. Seriously, I didn't care about Karsa's exploits alongside his companions.

Fortunately the book picks up once I was done reading Karsa Orlong's origin story, but Karsa himself is perhaps the most OP character in the entire series, singlehandedly taking down K'Chain Naruhk, Deragoth and other kinds of creatures with relative ease.

Here we are introduced to Tavore proper after being teased about her in GotM, and frankly I find it hard to believe that someone as emotionally closed off as her ever managed to find herself a girlfriend.

Overall I find HoC to be an OK read dragged down by Karsa's origin story.