[WhiskeyJackDaniels]

Abyss, on 03 August 2021 - 05:26 AM, said:

Garak, on 02 August 2021 - 07:39 PM, said:

Midnight Tides. I don't recall any Marines in that one. Which makes sense considering the POV characters and the location.

Arguably Iron Bars' squad fills that role.

From Stonewielder, two Stormguard soldiers discussing the current champion Iron Bars

-He accomplished some amazing feats.
-True. 'Cept he laughs like a lunatic every time we call him Malazan.

[WhiskeyJackDaniels]

Just going to add what may have been my favorite quote from this book as it hasn't been mentioned yet. The epigraph for Chapter 21, the Malazan Imperial Magistrate's resolution to the land dispute in one of the provinces where they order both parties lands burned to the ground and salted, and all the people involved banished from the province.

Quote

The world is full of petty small-minded bastards and in this case it was simply unfortunate that they happened to live next to each other. Now they don't.

That kind of perfectly sums up Malazan justice to me, and I love that it continued through to the reign of Mallick Rel.

[Limper]

Loved it.
Stillwater was awesome.
Was SE trying to draw parallels to modern day climate change and evolving military technology? (kind of hard to doubt it)
Can't wait for Rant to meet daddy.
Didn't understand Gruff, didn't care enough I guess. Need to pay more attention to him on the re-read.
Spectral companions sure carry a lot of weight in this book!
Kind of wanted to see Teblor hounds meet Hounds of Shadow (preferably without getting brutally massacred). Maybe that's in a future book.
A minor concern - this introduces a new series, but I'm not sure a new reader could appreciate it by half, without having read MBOTF. Without knowing Karsa, and knowing Malazans, I would probably be kind of confused and far less interested.

This post has been edited by Limper: 23 November 2021 - 09:18 AM

[Limper]

WhiskeyJackDaniels, on 23 November 2021 - 01:00 AM, said:

Just going to add what may have been my favorite quote from this book as it hasn't been mentioned yet. The epigraph for Chapter 21, the Malazan Imperial Magistrate's resolution to the land dispute in one of the provinces where they order both parties lands burned to the ground and salted, and all the people involved banished from the province.

Quote

The world is full of petty small-minded bastards and in this case it was simply unfortunate that they happened to live next to each other. Now they don't.

That kind of perfectly sums up Malazan justice to me, and I love that it continued through to the reign of Mallick Rel.

Note the magistrate's name: Ilgish the Torcher. Distant relative of Sinn's? Fire solves everything.

This post has been edited by Limper: 24 November 2021 - 06:48 AM

[Limper]

Wonder where Mael was during all this? He must be aware when water, even meltwater floods substantial areas of land. Should he take an active role or sit back, eat popcorn, and enjoy the show?

This post has been edited by Limper: 24 November 2021 - 06:39 AM

[Abyss]

Limper, on 24 November 2021 - 06:22 AM, said:

Wonder where Mael was during all this? He must be aware when water, even meltwater floods substantial areas of land. Should he take an active role or sit back, eat popcorn, and enjoy the show?

He is a god of oceans, not 'water'.
Also his relationship to Emperor Rel is problematic. I could see him feeling the Jaghut rituals fading, shrugging, and going back to keeping Tehol alive.

[worry]

He's not the Elder God of La Croix?

[Abyss]

Bubly.

[worry]

NOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo

[Tsundoku]

Don't you mean Buble?

And no, I don't know how to do that funny apostrophe above the e thing. Because English, dammit.

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This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 25 November 2021 - 05:50 AM

[Abyss]

ééééééééééééééééééééééééééééé

[Avernite]

Late to the party, but eh

I loved how Rant's vision of Teblor society contrasted with Karsa's. At one point in the MBOTF Karsa remarks that the whole world should be villages (like the Teblor), so noone would die alone. In this book, Rant remarks that Teblor society, where crooked warleaders reign because, is lousy and at least in Silver Lake people didn't engage in Klingon Promotion.

SE philosophy, but now in straight-talking Teblor warrior heroes rather than effete Tiste ramblers.

[Abyss]

Just accidentally reread this thread and now i NEED book 2 dammit.

....ah well, maybe a selective reread is in order....

[sigpig]

Abyss, on 28 February 2023 - 02:58 PM, said:

Just accidentally reread this thread and now i NEED book 2 dammit.

....ah well, maybe a selective reread is in order....

@Abyss, thank you for recommending the "earbook" version - I actually subscribed to Audible due to this. You are indeed correct, she is a VERY good voice actor.

[QuickTidal]

I'm finally getting around to reading this...and um....4 chapters in and this is FAR too bleak for me. Karsa's rape causing trauma to a human woman that she passes onto their son, born of rape, she then rapes him....and then they talk about drakes raping ducks....WHAT THE FUCK AM I READING?

This is awful.


Spindle is great, but we've missed whatever happened to take him from comic relief in the MbotF, to the Fiddler insert. The marines are mostly fine, but there is far too much pointless banter going nowhere.


I'm going to put this down for now....either I'm too old to stomach how dark some of this is, or I'm not vibing with it....ugh.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 13 November 2023 - 01:04 PM

[Abyss]

 Abyss, on 28 February 2023 - 02:58 PM, said:

Just accidentally reread this thread and now i NEED book 2 dammit.
...

GODDAMMIT I DID IT AGAIN
sigh

[Skywalker]

Finished this yesterday despite having pre-ordered it back when it came out. life happens. Also I think I was a bit bummed when I heard it didn't have any onscreen Karsa in it. That said, absolutely one of the top ten Malazan books for me. SE firing on all cylinders. Exciting stuff.

Also my thanks to Abyss as always - these threads of yours are a great way to think through all the feelings after finishing the book. Sort of like cuddling a hairshirt after the climax. Of the book of course.

[Abyss]

champ, on 21 October 2025 - 01:10 PM, said:

Abyss, on 20 October 2025 - 07:18 PM, said:

champ, on 20 October 2025 - 06:34 PM, said:

Rereading The God is Not Willing in preparation...

How did I forget how glorious of a character Stillwater is!!!!

SAME

....and also Spindle, Capt Gruff, Damisk, and I have a whole new appreciation for Rant.

I remember struggling with the heavy start of Rant's story last time but not this time, I am straight into it and loving it.

Every time I read Spindle I just get the feels having read about the Bridgeburners for nigh 20 years now. Pure nostalgia.

On ch 11, a few things that have jumped out on the reread...

1. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to reread Malazan ahead of a new book!

2. SE really doubled down on the secretly wise philosophical heavies here. The amazing part is that he doesn't loose the massive supposedly dull headed lunks elements either!

3. Also interesting is how much time Damisk spends not excusing but expanding on Karsa's attack on Silverlake and rape of Rant's mother. It's easy to forget just how much is going on in that sequence way back in HoC but in a couple of pages Damisk reminds the reader that the Teblors - one of whom thought he was a dog, all completely caught by surprise at the town's size and residents' fighting back - had just ridden in and attacked, two were down, Karsa was wounded and on the run and had exposed himself to bloodoil and - paraphrasing - would have raped a cow if he had found one. He never lets Karsa off the hook for being a murderer and rapist, but adds the slaver situation, the conflict between Teblor and settler, and the influence of the bloodoil, to Rant's background that are easily forgotten.

4. Spindle... it's actually amazing to me how much development SE gave this character over time. By this book he's effectively settled into the role of wise old sargeant, and the way his squad talks about him and Capt Gruff defers to him are really great vs the borderline comic relief he was back in MoI.

5. Capt Gruff... still the bestest Malzan Captain EVER. Fight me if you have to, i don't care. The first exchange between him and Spindle that ends, paraphrasing, with...
"If it had been me with my knife to his throat Sargeant, I would have sawed his godsddammned head off."
"Got your hands wet like that often, Captain?"
"Oh darling Sargeant, yes, many many times!"
...and then he goes back to finishing his makeup.

6. I've probably reread Spindle's chat w Monkrat about the Bridgeburners, ascension, the new warrens and the runts, a dozen times, and i still relistened to it three times last night.

7. Damisk and the Six-Armed-Forest-God-Thing throwing down on the Kchain Che'malle is pretty awesome.

8. And this reminded m those were clearly Che'malle, NOT Nah'ruk. I don't care how cuddly the KC in DoD/TCG were feeling, the set Damisk encounters are absolutely assholes.

9. I love how Stillwater basically fell by accident into a knife fight with a tribal warlock who is essentially the tribe's champion, kills him (w a little help from a Hound), wanders off to brag about it, no one in the squad takes her seriously, and meanwhile Balk and Arra absolutely lose their minds and freak out over the unknown powerhouse one of the malazans has to be.

10. Rant's fight w Glower (the Jheck black wolf d'ivers) is pretty damn wild, the way he takes out the wolves screams no style just savage and strong. Actually Rant's whole sequence once Damisk leaves him is one long low level convergence... Karhivi undead witch, Imass, Jheck alpha, Shi'gal ghost, another Jheck...

Loving this, SO psyched for NO LIFE.

[Abyss]

CH 12...

I had forgotten it was the Silver Lake garrison Regulars who first explained the entire concept of the Marine Legion. The 'rise of the Marine Legion' chapter opener follows for Ch 13. It's a delightful hint/fact drop SE works in there, compounded by the scene when a then unnamed Marine steps in to save the Regulars from Balk's three murder-sergeants, then doubled down when Balk is cussing out the soldiers, then follows up w Arra and they assume the marine was one of the identified deadly ones... Stillwater, Benger, Oames.... and cut to Gruff and Spindle revealing it was Claypate, 'just' one of the other 'normal' Marines, who had casually told three veterans he was going to massacre them without even drawing his sword.


...honesty, i think that i had also forgotten how much i enjoy rereading Malazan books.

[Abyss]

CH 15... Benger is trying to break the bloodoil curse....

"I'm a Malazan marine. Fuck 'impossible'."


YYEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

.... and then Stillwater (and her scarf) and Annyx trashing the spirits hunting Rake.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.