kmmontandon said:
Well, I guess I'll put my questions here, but I'll also drop them at the blog.
* How old is Fiddler? This might be a Gardens of the Moon inconsistency, but he ages rather dramatically from when in Malaz City with Whiskeyjack - where Paran is a boy, to later books where he's persistently described as being ... older. I believe the jump between first-scene GotM and Deadhouse Gates should only be nine years (ten, by House of Chains). Paran notes that Fiddler seems only a few years older than himself, at Mock's Hold.
That is one of the Gotmism, Where as in Which some mistakes
were made in Gardens of the Moon by the author which he admitted to. Gardens was written something like 7 years before the next one.
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* How old are the Old Guard? Can we get firm ages, and a solution to the inconsistencies between Admiral Nok's narrative in House of Chains, and the ages given for Dujek, Duiker, et al., later on? Again, seems to be a matter of Gardens of the Moon issues. As well, Dujek's age is given by a third party (Tattersail), so maybe that's just his _official_ age. And it would be nice to know how old Whiskeyjack and some of the Bridgeburners are/were, just for the sake of completion.
My guess they are all at least 70+..Read Noks acount of the people who started the empire and read how old the empire is..
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* Actually, I guess just a firm timeline for the Malazan Empire would be nice, aside from a chronology for the world as a whole. I don't really see the point of keeping certain dates from us - i.e., the date of the battle between the Tiste Edur and the K'Chaine Che'malle, when we get so many other time-related details (an exact date for the 33rd Jaghut War, for example).
But I'd be happy with, say a resolution to how old the Empire is, from the Emperor's first conquest of Malaz City on, perhaps.
That as far as we can tell is the only mistake made in books after Gardens of the Moon. The dates in the books. The general consensus of the Sites is that stuff happened before stuff is happening now.. Dont get too concerned with the dates
For how old the Empire is I believe it does state correct dates for those at the begining of the first chapters in some of the books I think.
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* Where are all the mages? In Gardens of the Moon, it seems as though each army should have a cadre of High Mages, but by House of Chains, they're a scarcity. Dujek's Host was cut down to Tayschrenn after Tattersail's death, but Tattersail & Calot's earlier conversations implied the presence of more High - and presumably low - Mages. A minor point, but the Malazan Empire seems rather shorthanded in the powerful sorceror department, and I'm curious as to why.
Good question actually..
Laseen Made a silly decision which was made note of in the intro of Gardens. That Mages who werent in the sevice of the empire's military were outlawed.
Many mages were killed I think. And so that meant that mages in the borders of the empire were culled somewhat due to the wars they were in and that cull.
Though I still wouldnt mind seeing this question asked. Cause I think its a little unusually low.
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* So, does the Malazan Empire really have a hundred legions? What's their military manpower situation like, and why was the Fourteenth primarily recruits? Whatever happened to those reinforcements sent to Genabackis, especially the legion of Wickan lancers? The Empire seems strangely weak, especially compared to the Roman Empire it's patterned after (the recent events - Aren, Pale, Coral - paralleling, roughly, the single day losses of Rome at Cannae).
possibly a Gotism..meaning a mistake stating that number of legions.. Though there isnt a strong case for that being wrong..
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* Was Tellan created by the Ritual, as surmised by IIRC Paran, in Memories of Ice? Or did it exist prior?
Yeh it was created by the ritual
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* Is Kallor really as old as the Imass, or was that an exaggeration in Memories of Ice ("I've walked this world when the T'lan Imass were but children"); which it would seem to be, if humans were created by the Imass.
kallor had his empire at around the same time as the First human Empire I think. So they T'lan Imass probly werent unead for too long a time at that point. Probly a slight exageration.
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* Did Karsa's journey really begin in 1159, or is that date incorrect? The Ashok Regiment soldiers talk about the Enfilade at Pale, which is four years later, only a few months after Karsa sets out on his raid. It would seem appropriate for him to have spent a few years in the desert between the end of his initial story and his introduction in Deadhouse Gates, rather than the less than a year that seems to be the case. As well, the issue of his age in Deadhouse Gates should probably be fixed in subsequent reprints (he's eighty+, not seventeen).
See above, That house of Chains date is incorrect.
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* Did K'rull really _create_ the warrens, or did he just make the basic magic available to mortals? It seems as though the Jaghut and the K'Chain Che'malle pre-date the Elder Gods, and they had their warrens to draw upon already. As well, the Letheri sorcerors utilized Holds, rather than Warrens. Perhaps a little illumination is in order there, assuming it's not a plot point to be unveiled later.
A good question, the later part I think. I dont think K'rul created the warrens but somewhere along the way (very early) he made the warrends run through his blood. Whether or not if the Hold sorcery the letheri use magic from K'rul is a good question.
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* Is the Crippled God from our world? I don't really expect an answer to the Chained God's background from Erikson, but, hell, may as well try.
He was from another realm. Im pretty sure that was the description. So that could mean an alien warren, universe or just world.
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* Was the infection of the warrens physically limited to Genabackis? It got stronger the closer the allied armies drew, so it would seem that it probably wouldn't be an effect at all in, say, Letheras, Quon Tali, or the Seven Cities.
I think you just answered your own question.
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* Which warren was shattered by the Soletaken Ritual of the First Empire? And how was it repaired? This seems a separate event from the shattering of Kurald Emurlahn, although tied in. So I suspect Kurald Galain was shattered at some point, weaking the Warren of Shadow, leaving it vulnerable. Where Icarium figures in, I'm not sure, and I suspect Erikson won't tell us right now.
Im fairly certain Scabandari Bloodey was the cause of the shattering of Kuruld emurlhan. What warren the Soletaken ritual destroyed I dont know.
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* Are some Holds warrens, and some warrens Holds? That is, is the Hold of Ice essentially different from Omtose Phellack? Which warren does the Empty Hold of Letheris represent?
At Some point Holds became Houses. The relationship between Holds and warrens may be different to the relationship between warrens and Houses.
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* Can we get a map of the world for someone to scan and stick online? I fail to see how hiding the layout of the known continents furthers the story for the benefit of the reader.
Dont worry One will arrive in Due time.
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* How long ago was the Bridgeburner's ride through Raraku? Of the surviving Bridgeburners, how many were of the original 80 or so? Picker, Fiddler, Quick Ben, and Kalam are the only we know of for sure. I don't expect Erikson to come up with eighty names ... but that'd be nice, too.
* Can we get an even general outline of the currency of Letheris, i.e, how man docks to a level or levels to a dock, etc.? Not really important, but ...
There is actually and appendice or something in the book that explains what a Dock is to Peak.
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* Any difference between the various forms of Toblakai we've seen in different parts of the world?
* Is Brys Beddict the ultimate swordsman known to us, thus far? Based purely on skill, that is, not accounting for preserving sorcery such as that which keeps Iron Bars moving when hurt. I would suspect "yes," simply based on his fate. This is kind of fan-boyish wankery, but, well, so is the whole questions mess, right?
* Would Erikson consider an isolated re-write of just the Chain of Dogs storlyine? That is, as a separate work? It gets broken up a bit, in Deadhouse Gates, by the jumping around between stories. Clean it up, add some filler, and it would make a superb standalone novel, or at least novella - perhaps with references to outside events toned down or excised altogether, so as to make the story more accessible to outsiders.
Well, I'm drunk and it's late, so I'll cut this short (no, really, I could go on, and on, and on...).
Some Good questions there I think..
Some could have been answered decently in the forums though.
Though it does Help a LOT to get some answers like these directly from the man himself.
Help
Lucky me, I know!
