[polishgenius]

Abyss, on Apr 7 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

i don't think they were ever meant to be anything other than an advanced race of humans from another dimension

Or from the future. At least I got the impression that that was a possibility, though I can't now remember why...

[Abyss]

I didn't get any time-travel vibe from this book. Any recall why you thought so?

- Abyss, back from the future...

[Aptorian]

Probably that whole "creatures of extreme evolution" thing Ringill and Spaceelf were discussing on their trip. Sounded like people could evolve to be like the Spaceelves.

[Abyss]

Which might link back to Ringil's hinted at power-up in the epilogue, altho i took that to be an effect of all the time he spent in elfspace frolicking with the Dwenda leader (i'm going to assume that had more to do with the time in lightning elfspace than the sex...).



- Abyss, always knew elfsex was a bad idea...

[Aptorian]

Abyss, on Apr 20 2009, 05:01 PM, said:

Which might link back to Ringil's hinted at power-up in the epilogue, altho i took that to be an effect of all the time he spent in elfspace frolicking with the Dwenda leader (i'm going to assume that had more to do with the time in lightning elfspace than the sex...).

- Abyss, always knew elfsex was a bad idea...

I'm guessing in the future other Dwenda gods are going to be using him.

Like that girl servant dwenda that watching him, or that leather clad one on the steppes of the Barbarian guy.

[Abyss]

Aptorian, on Apr 20 2009, 12:17 PM, said:

...
Like that girl servant dwenda that watching him, or that leather clad one on the steppes of the Barbarian guy.

Weren't those 'gods', not dwenda?


- Abyss, divine.

[Aptorian]

Or were they. I think they were... but were they? Dun dun duuuun!

I think they were more than just your common variety spaceelf, or at least far more dangerous. In the sense that while most of the dwenda, or at least one group of them, was exiled for thousands of years, these powerfull creatures remained on Earth, becoming worshipped and learning the ways of man.

The "God posessing the whore" dwenda and the Leather Clad Hunting God dwenda certainly displayed far greater capabilities that the ones that were slaughtered in the marsh.

[caladanbrood]

I'll be honest, I did not like this book at all. It was very very average. If you discount the "oh my, did he really do that" factor from the main character being gay and the over-excessive sex scenes stemming from that, I saw really nothing special about it. Decent world history hinted at, but the story was mostly pointless and had too much unresolved stuff.

Overhyped and under-delivered, and it took me pretty close to 4 months to finish. As far as I can tell he should stick to his sci-fi, which is spectacular. Anyone fancy persuading me otherwise?

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on Apr 17 2009, 07:37 PM, said:

I didn't get any time-travel vibe from this book. Any recall why you thought so?

- Abyss, back from the future...

I think it was one of Archeth's bits, possibly recalling an old conversation with someone, but I'm really not sure.

I'll have to do a reread of it soon, I'll see if I catch the same thought again...

Boot on other other foot, I got no hint that the 'gods' were supposed to be Dwenda - any pointers to where you picked that up, Apt?

[Aptorian]

It's been too long since I read the book for me to have a clue. Basically I think it was probably something they said themselves, or maybe it was some connection made between worship of gods and the old swenda of lore.

[masan's saddle]

Finished this a few weeks ago and forgot to post my thoughts on it, which I suppose says something.

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book and I thought the characterisations were excellent. The 3 main "leads" were well put together and the accompanying cast, particularly the emperor, were well filled out. This shouldn't be a surprise really considering what Morgan did with Kovacs. ( Ok i've only read Altered Carbon, but I really enjoyed it and thought the layers Morgan puts in his characters are one of the strong points about his style).

That said however there was something missing from this book that I can't quite put my finger on. The much talked about homosexual content wasn't really an issue for me although the one scene with Ringil and Seethclaw when they are travelling through the timeless dwenda misty thing, seemed tacked on for effect and a bit like overkill. There was no real need to further highlight the apparent bond developing between the 2 that would be so brutally severed at the end of the book. Granted it was probably intended to eventually illustrate what a total loony badass Ringil is,( "....'I've had better than you drunk in a Yhelteth back alley,' he said coldly, and chopped Seethclaw's head and face open with the Ravensfriend.........'Who's fucking next?' he screamed. " ) but it just seemed a bit like filler.

So, the characters were great,the humour was fantastic with some classic one liners and the fight scenes were well done. There was however very little world building and physical description, I couldn't really get a feel for the place these events were unfolding in. I got a good image of Egar's homeland, particularly the scene at his father's grave, and also Gil's family home but very little else stuck in my mind. This may be a result of Morgan's technoir, character driven style but it was a negative for me. The convergence of characters at the end was quite well done and everything was building nicely for the next book, which I will get.

I see i'm not doing a very good job of pointing out what was wrong with the book ! Suffice to say it didn't flow, was a bit stop start and could have been a lot better. Still, it was one of the more enjoyable books i've read lately.

Did anyone else spot TAKEshi KoVACS = Takavach ?

Similar character traits too.