[Jorram]

We all are, indeed

Btw, I might be paranoid on Elder Gods again but this passage:

Quote

The newcomer answered in a deep voice, "… pushing into the cracks, there to abide.’”
And the Elder God sighed.

could mean that the newcomer is an Elder God.

Ok, it IS far-fetched...

p.s. Can't someone just find it in DG whether Duiker has a deep voice or not? I realize he's the most obvious choice by Ocam's reasoning, but the voice thing could certainly rule him out if it doesn't match.

(ok, on the other hand inconsistencies in appearance are not a precedent, i mean there is the Dassem/Traveller's eyes..)

[Aptorian]

That quote, with what Kruppe asked, sound to me like a password.

[Jorram]

Well, I agree it could be, but that doesn't prevent what I said, it's orthogonal of sorts

[Aptorian]

Stop talking gibberish!

[Jorram]

We'll see who laughs last at the end!

[Sindriss]

How long was it before RG arrived after we got that prologue?

Interested in when we will have the book!!

[Aptorian]

We got the prologue for RG several months earlier than we got this one, but TtH has also been delayed for personal reasons.

[Dancer+]

Sindriss;269792 said:

How long was it before RG arrived after we got that prologue?

Interested in when we will have the book!!

Well, the scheduled date is June the 30th so expect it then.

[polishgenius]

On the grey-haired arrival to Kruppe's fire, I don't know if this has been mentioned yet since I haven't read the entire thread, but the line Kruppe calls out is one he's trying to remember at the start of the passage that a "grey-haired bard" sang. Which suggests that the arrival is this bard himself, and Duiker's not a bard. Or he wasn't last we saw...
I think possibly a new character.

[Urb]

It is obviously Toc the Elder. Or failing that, it is none other than (or maybe they are the same?) Fisher Kel Tath... :eek:

Sentimental old fart that he is, he is bound to look grey-haired and sorrowful. Urb has solved the mystery for you. Rejoice one and all, soon we will get to read about this mysterious character


I have not read this entire thread. If someone already, brilliantly, pointed this out, I applaud you sir/madam

[Jorram]

Hah, thats a great idea

[cerveza_fiesta]

That was a wonderful prologue.

cheers to SE

and goddamn my time zone for not letting me post before there were 250 posts to read. I have nothing intelligent to add as yet,

other than profound thanks.

[Ammanas]

After rereading the prologue for Nth time, I've come up with some new delusions and questions on this particular section.

1) What is Edge "mitigating" A deal between ST and Hood? Hood should be careful---the last person we saw ST talking to was Menandore and look how she ended up. Maybe thats it--Hood is reaping the powerful souls from ST's schemes as he sets up ascendant after ascendant.

2) Why do they need to meet in a "village of the discarded and yes, useless."

3) The woman asks the dead priest, "Why aren't you with your God?" He doesn't know--its a great question. Is his God dead so the priest has become useless? Or maybe he was a priest of Mael, for instance, who doesn't want followers and so has been discarded?

[Quick~]

As I started re-reading HoC I noticed 2 things

1) Torvald Nom was a really fun character

2) he had a great offhand quote regarding Darujhistan

"The Gods not only look down on Darujhistan with a protective eye, they probably drink in its taverns."

--

in the TtH prologue we get the nice little bit about Kruppe where he says he's

"content with his place in the glorious city he had saved more than once"

and Kruppe is obviously a regular at some of the cities taverns >_>

--

Although I do sit in the Kruppe is exactly as he seems camp I thought it was interesting enough to mention.

[Jason]

... I gotta say the two points directly above are right on the money. The third guy at the fire IS the bard who sang earlier.

Secondly, the "our kind" comment suggests that all three of them are gods.

[Nequam]

Maybe he just meant, you know, geniouses (I know, I probably spelled that wrd wrong ) or something...

[Quick~]

HoC seems to be a veritable goldmine of potential foreshadowing >_>

I just read this passage between Cot and Cutter

"'Necessities,' the god said quietly. 'Games are played, and what may appear precipitous might well be little more than a feint. Or perhaps it was the city itself, Darujhistan, that would serve our purposes better if it remained free, independant. There are layers of meaning behind every gesture, every gambit.

With ST making an appearance in the prologue and with yet another scheme appearing to have been hatched, and then knowing that part of the book will be in Darujhistan, it seems possible we'll see just what ST and Cot wanted the city to be free for this book.

[Abyss]

I figured that was so Darujhistan would pay for the Host's campaign against the Pannion Domin and allow Malazan forces to ally with Rake/Brood's without conceding the chunks of Genabackis the Empire had already seized.

The key question in this, however, is whether Laseen and/or Tayschrenn were in on the plan. Various discussions between WJack and Dujek in MoI show there WAS a master plan but are unclear just whose plan it was. It's suggested that Tayshrenn was in on it but fundamentally a moron at these sort of games so he screwed up and people got killed. Also suggested that Laseen was in on it but so paranoid she also had her own game going.

It would seem that with Black Coral apparently at peace with the Malazans per the ambassadotr arriving at the end of MoI, Darujhistan is the richest (i can't say most powerful because they don't have an army) City-State around close to the Empire that isn't part of the Empire.

Which also means Cot and ST can work through it.

- Abyss, hmmm....

[Abyss]

Jason;271614 said:

... the "our kind" comment suggests that all three of them are gods.

Or Ascendents.

- Abyss, waits for it...

[amphibian]

Abyss;271948 said:

The key question in this, however, is whether Laseen and/or Tayschrenn were in on the plan. Various discussions between WJack and Dujek in MoI show there WAS a master plan but are unclear just whose plan it was. It's suggested that Tayshrenn was in on it but fundamentally a moron at these sort of games so he screwed up and people got killed. Also suggested that Laseen was in on it but so paranoid she also had her own game going.

This is all my opinion:

It is undoubtedly Kellanved and Dancer's plan. The "attempt" on Laseen came off as a feint designed to fool the watching gods into believing that the House of Shadow was a minor player with its eyes off the real game.

I don't view Tayschrenn as a moron. It seems like he just wasn't sure of who was going to tip which way and made a few mistakes when forced to anticipate. His biggest problem seems to be a lack of communication with Shadowthrone and thus he's got an informational disadvantage.

Laseen does seem to have her own game going, but in fairness, she's been forced to run it because she doesn't have the loyal core of Fists, High Mages needed to govern effectively. All she's got is a possibly disloyal/incompetent assassin cadre, an angry mob, Tavore and the Bonehunters, Korbolo Dom and Mallick Rel.