[ContrarianMalazanReader]

One thing that really bothers me from a narrative standpoint is how Erikson handles Ganoes's story after the Bonehunters. He is promoted High Fist and is now in charge of the Host but, with the exception of a brief magical interaction with Picker in TtH, we know absolutely nothing about what Ganoes and Co are up to for the rest of the series until TCG. I expected there to be some kind of mention of the Host in RotCG but nothing, which I think is strange considering their reputation and the fact that they are under the command of the Master of the Deck. It's almost as if the authors are pretending they don't exist.

I found their reintroduction in TCG to be very frustrating, as we're given absolutely no hint as to what they've been doing since we last saw them in TBH, no context of where they are exactly (had to look up the Wiki to find out they are in Kolanse). IIRC Ganoes mentions something about being summoned by Malick Rel but he has deliberately ignored his requests. Ganoes simply re-enters the narrative without any explanation.

Is the Malazan Empire really so extensive that they can't keep track of such an important regiment?

[sigpig]

IIRC, they were in 7C dying of the Bluetongue Plague. I'm sure they were busy policing their section of the sub-continent after the rebellion was crushed.Paran transported the Host to Kolanse via Warren, I believe.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

So no thoughts on how Ganoes and the Hosts are handled after TBH?

[Abyss]

I liked how that was done. Ganoes goes off and has his own adventure, then re-enters the story in time for the finale. It was a nice reminder there's a whole world around the story that hasn't stopped just because the most important events are the ones we're reading.

[worry]

In my imagination, the whole time they were off screen was spent doing like pushups and muddy obstacle courses, your typical military training montage stuff.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

Abyss, on 14 February 2023 - 03:54 AM, said:

I liked how that was done. Ganoes goes off and has his own adventure, then re-enters the story in time for the finale. It was a nice reminder there's a whole world around the story that hasn't stopped just because the most important events are the ones we're reading.

I would have liked it if they'd mentioned what exactly he's been up to between TBH and TCG. I didn't like how he merely re-enters the story out of the blue.