[stuwi]

Hello everyone, with the God is not willing being out i was wondering if there is going to be a group read for the novel



MODGOD NOTICE OF THREAD RETASKING - since peoples are discussing the book here i've retitled stuwi's thread to reflect that people are discussing the book here to facilitate people discussing the book here thus you may proceed with discussing the book here

This post has been edited by Abyss: 23 July 2021 - 02:56 PM

[champ]

It's normally a bit of a free for all and then we come together to dicuss if someone not lazy makes a discussion thread... plus there is the thread by Abyss but don't discuss further than where Abyss currently is in the book.

[Aptorian]

Any thread can be a group read if you're brave enough.

[Abyss]

stuwi, on 03 July 2021 - 09:43 AM, said:

Hello everyone, with the God is not willing being out i was wondering if there is going to be a group read for the novel

Per upthread nothing formal, but you can start your own or jump into one that's already going, mine by example but not exclusively.

As people finish the book the discussion picks up.

[Tsundoku]

I think I found a typo.

Damisk is apparently wandering around the Godswalk Mountains (according to the maps and the Wiki they are near the old Pannion Domin down in southern Genebackis) when the caribou migration starts and then he meets Rant. Who I'm fairly sure was in Silver Lake, waaaaaaay up north.

[Werthead]

Tsundoku, on 08 July 2021 - 08:56 AM, said:

I think I found a typo.

Damisk is apparently wandering around the Godswalk Mountains (according to the maps and the Wiki they are near the old Pannion Domin down in southern Genebackis) when the caribou migration starts and then he meets Rant. Who I'm fairly sure was in Silver Lake, waaaaaaay up north.

I think this was noted on Erikson's Facebook way back. Apparently the Teblor and some local people refer to the Eastern Malyn Range as the Godswalk Mountains in their language. It's not related to the Godswalk Mountains of southern Genabackis.

[Tsundoku]

Sounds like a halfarsed attempted retcon to me.

[Tsundoku]

Really enjoying Nilghan, although when I've met people like his in real life they've rapidly pissed me off so I quickly learn to ration my time with them.

I guess it works in a book because I can do something similar by reading when I feel like it, and the POV changes give me a break as well. He does have a most entertaining turn of phrase though.

His back-and-forth with Gower and even Rant is gold.

Just came to a bit that makes me think of the house of chains - no, not the actual novel, but the group and it's premise.

Spoiler

60% in, Rant among the Teblor and Seamdhi etc. The way Delas Fana describes Elade Thoros is as if he would be a typical member of the House of Chains, and not much later in the same passage Rant tells her ‘You have chained me, Delas Fana. You and the others – you have all chained me.’ in reference to her describing how her and his other sisters, the Jheck and the hounds will die defending him if he seeks to help Damisk, thus "chaining" him by his own conscience. Not exactly the SOP of the actual house of chains, but an interesting choice of phrasing at that particular point in time in that passge IMHO.
Then again, it could be a coincidence.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 18 July 2021 - 08:23 AM

[worry]

Spoiler

I don't think it's a coincidence at all, given his father's relationship to that particular House. And beyond that, his broader view of chains, both literal and figurative.

[Tsundoku]

LOVE the "memoirs of Magistrate Ilgish the Torcher" at the start of Chapter 21!

[Abyss]

MODGOD NOTICE OF THREAD RETASKING - since peoples are
discussing the book here i've
retitled stuwi's thread to reflect that people are discussing the book here to
facilitate people
discussing the book here thus
you may proceed with discussing the book here




ALL SPOILERS ARE OK FOR THE GOOD IS NOT WILLING AND EARLIER MALAZAN BOOKS

[Abyss]

Tsundoku, on 22 July 2021 - 11:45 AM, said:

LOVE the "memoirs of Magistrate Ilgish the Torcher" at the start of Chapter 21!

The chapter openers generally were pretty great in this book. Nice combo of info-hints (THE RISE OF THE MARINE LEGION!), on point poetry (Make my ending a whisper, let yours be a shout - Fisher kel Tath), and humour (almost everything from the Library of New Morn).

[worry]

Lol yah. I forget the exact quote but that one guy in New Morn who is too lazy to research his own supposition.

[Tsundoku]

Well, wasn't that quite the finish! Thoroughly enjoyed. I'd put it on par with TBH, which means it's his best since HOC IMHO.

My two favourites: Definitely Nilghan and Gruff. The interaction between the various Marines - especially the heavies and Benger - was fun to read.
Nice to see Spindle get a lot more screen time and depth after he was underserved in books 1-3, although that was simply because it was a much bigger cast of POVs back then.
The leaner, more closely focussed story I think brought out the best in SE's writing.

Has SE delivered the next book to the publishers yet? If not, why not?

[StillwaterRunsDeep]

Loved TGINW! One of my favorites in the series so far.




I'm terrible with comprehension (esp w Malazan books) so some questions; hopefully they're not dumb ones.

• What was the secret Elade and the other Teblor agreed to keep, in the prologue?
• Why are there so many mages amongst the marines now? (seems like collective power creep). Was it just part of the misdirection (like the munitions) directed at Balk & co?
• Did I misunderstand, or did Rant literally time-travel at the end to help War-Bitch divert the flood?
• What was that weird warren with all the sky-keeps? And who was that crazy powerful chained god who (presumably) massacred the K'Chain?

[Garak]

- The secret Elade and the others with kept was that the ice was cracking and the sea was going to wash them all away. Probably kept secret to prevent a panic and only revealed at the right time (I'm guesing when the various alliances were made, which was off screen).
-It looked to me like the Marine Legion is simply made to be mage heavy.
-Yes, Rant time travelled.
-No clue.

[Abyss]

- In restrospect that was a horribly kept secret, but it seemed like they only did that to assemble the armies.

- It's not clear whether talents and mages were directed to the Marines or just happened to end up there.

- Yes he did and it's interesting that Three was able to make this happen and i'm wondering whether she's more dragon than assassin of dragons.

- That was the Beast Hold, i think. War Bitch mentioned it when she met Damisk.

[polishgenius]

I don't think Three knew that was gonna happen. She thought they were going to witness a memory type thing and then Rant unexpectedly intervened because he didn't know it was impossible.



The realm Damisk was in - I thought of the Nascent, but I think it was just the sea Damisk first sees that got me thinking that. That whole section was odd - the rest of the book all ties together without too many Malazan style asides-for-the-future, but that was very definitely one, and suggests the final aim of this trilogy will be Malazans vs returning K'Chain (though not these of course). Who the god was, no idea.



Anyway that was superb. I'll have to skim through it again coz some things I'm still not clear on. Is Oams a damn claw or not, and what the hell was Tangle-Witch? Like, a fetish Eres, I get that, but beyond that?

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 26 July 2021 - 06:43 PM

[champ]

I thought Oams was a Talon by the end of it.


Re the Marines, it is by design... there is this section with Spindle and Bliss Rolly...

Quote

They were silent for a time, and then Bliss Rolly spoke again. ‘That captain of yours, Gruff. He’s …’ She shook her head. ‘Aye,’ agreed Spindle. ‘That.’ ‘This whole thing with Marine Legions now,’ she resumed, ‘did it come from the Emperor or one of his cronies?’ ‘The Emperor.’ She edged round to face him. Seeing her face, the flushed round cheeks, the deep brown eyes, Spindle felt a flutter in his chest. ‘Are the rumours true?’ she asked. He shrugged. ‘Probably.’ He wasn’t prepared to add to that at the moment, as he was too busy chastising himself. He was too old to be thinking – feeling – this stuff.Holding her gaze, as she searched his eyes, wasn’t easy. ‘No worries about Gruff then?’ ‘None at all.’

Plus...

Quote

‘That’s beside the point,’ Lope said. ‘It used to be that the legions or even the armies had just a handful of mages. High mages. Scary as shit. Oh, there were always a few others in among the squads, but they were low-grades. Little bits of this and that. Now that’s all changed. No more High Mages – the Emperor knows he can’t trust them. So he took the marines and packed them full of low-grades and some a little bit nastier, too. Magic fucking everywhere.’

[worry]

The chained god was just an errant M.U.S.C.L.E. figure. Cross promotion.