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I'm like 40ish pages into TCG, and I'm super confused. Did I miss something huge, or not read a sidestory or something? Because the last time I'd heard from Ganoes Paran, he was in the 7 Cities, and he had killed Poliel and become High Fist. Now he's in some rando city with caves saving the refugee children from DOD?
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Sep 23, 2012 09:37
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Dannywilson posted:I'm like 40ish pages into TCG, and I'm super confused. Did I miss something huge, or not read a sidestory or something? Because the last time I'd heard from Ganoes Paran, he was in the 7 Cities, and he had killed Poliel and become High Fist. Now he's in some rando city with caves saving the refugee children from DOD? You're kinda supposed to be confused (just like everything else with this series). Read on
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Sep 23, 2012 15:14
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I finished up the first four books pretty quickly, but now I'm sitting at Midnight Tides having trouble picking it up. I thought the Tiste Edur storyline from House of Chains was pretty uninteresting compared to everything else, and now faced with the prospect of 1000 pages pretty much all dedicated to it makes it seem more like a chore before I pick back up where the main story left off. How does it this book stand in comparison to the first four? I realize that House of Chains started the Edur story without much information and this explains will probably explain a lot of it, but I still can't help but drag my feet a bit. Am I being silly?
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Sep 23, 2012 22:55
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Tehol and Bugg, arguably the best characters in the series, are introduced in Midnight Tides
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Sep 23, 2012 23:05
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Robot Danger posted:
Midnight Tides is my favorite book out of the whole Malazan series. I had the same problem as you the first time I started reading it but I got pulled into the story once I got used to the new setting and characters and it just started flying by after that. If it helps, just think of it as a stand alone fantasy novel that happens to be set in the Malazan universe and worry about how it fits into the larger picture later on.
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Sep 24, 2012 00:17
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Robot Danger posted:Am I being silly? Having just finished MT, I can safely say yes. Everything gets interesting really quickly, and Tehol and Bugg are amazing as stated. Just dive in, and you'll more than likely enjoy it just as much, if not more, than the first 4.
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Sep 24, 2012 02:20
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Toll the Hounds: "Yo! Check out this Ox holmes!"
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Sep 24, 2012 09:41
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zzttaozia posted:One question though, are the excavations that Karos Invactad is doing important to the story in anyway? I find myself just glancing over them whenever they've come up, just wondering if I should pay a bit more attention or not. Kind of. (RG partial spoiler)They're important to Icarium's backstory.
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Sep 24, 2012 12:55
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I just finished Toll the Hounds and I only really have one question: what caused the moon to explode near the end? I was up pretty late reading and it was all, oh and then the moon blew up it was rad. I feel like I missed something important 
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Sep 24, 2012 22:20
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xwonderboyx posted:I just finished Toll the Hounds and I only really have one question: what caused the moon to explode near the end? I was up pretty late reading and it was all, oh and then the moon blew up it was rad. I feel like I missed something important I cannot remember this at all, or of it being mentioned at all later in any way of major significance, so let it be and go with the flow. Which is good advice for many questions in this series.
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Sep 25, 2012 03:51
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xwonderboyx posted:I just finished Toll the Hounds and I only really have one question: what caused the moon to explode near the end? I was up pretty late reading and it was all, oh and then the moon blew up it was rad. I feel like I missed something important Basically, remember those jade giants? Specifically the ones Heboric saw coming through space towards a giant rift back in House of Chains while on a tea bender? Best guess is that it was the next wave after the ones you see in The Bonehunters exploding through the moon. It'll get a bit clearer in the next couple of books.
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Sep 25, 2012 05:27
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Are there any good wikis for the series? I'm currently reading Forge of Darkness; I recognise so many names but in a vague way. I've tried the wiki at Malazan Empire but I don't like it; just passages more so than story summaries.
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Sep 26, 2012 14:54
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Robot Danger posted:I finished up the first four books pretty quickly, but now I'm sitting at Midnight Tides having trouble picking it up. I thought the Tiste Edur storyline from House of Chains was pretty uninteresting compared to everything else, and now faced with the prospect of 1000 pages pretty much all dedicated to it makes it seem more like a chore before I pick back up where the main story left off. I'm in the exact same boat as you - I really like the Tehol and Bugg parts though, they're pretty awesome. Running around the city and all their schemes are so entertaining. The edur part, I'm still kind of "eh" about. Could someone give me a primer over the Silchain / scabarandi /Mael dragon stuff works? It's confusing the poo poo out of me. I'm assuming, based on previous interactions, that it'll all come back up and i dont want to get too lost. I suck with lore.
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Sep 27, 2012 21:47
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Praesil posted:Could someone give me a primer over the Silchain / scabarandi /Mael dragon stuff works? It's confusing the poo poo out of me. I'm assuming, based on previous interactions, that it'll all come back up and i dont want to get too lost. I suck with lore. I'm not sure specifically what you're asking here about "dragon stuff," but here is a non-spoiler summary of who they are relating to dragons. Silchas Ruin is Anomander Rake's brother. According to the main Malazan series, Silchas Ruin is Tiste Andii like his brother (but an albino), both children of Mother Dark, and they can turn into dragons because they drank the blood of Tiam, the first/mother dragon. The third brother, Andarist, didn't drink of Tiam and has no dragon blood. Scabandari Bloodeye is Tiste Edur, of Shadow, the child of Mother Dark and Father Light. I think sometimes he is called Father Shadow. Anyways, he has dragon blood in him as well from probably the same way. Mael has nothing to do with dragons. He is the Elder God of the Seas. And all this Tiste stuff is probably being changed around in Erikson's prequel trilogy, but I haven't read the only book that's out, but what I wrote here are the basics from the original series. Midnight Tides was tough for me as well with all the changes, but it does all connect later and it is a pretty good book. The timeline for it is that it happens around book 2/3, and there are neat connections large and small with Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice and Karsa Orlong's story in House of Chains.
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Sep 28, 2012 00:35
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adamarama posted:Are there any good wikis for the series? I'm currently reading Forge of Darkness; I recognise so many names but in a vague way. I've tried the wiki at Malazan Empire but I don't like it; just passages more so than story summaries. I use this one and it is pretty well maintained http://malazan.wikia.com/wiki/Malazan_Wiki
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Sep 28, 2012 00:51
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Finished TCG last week. I thought the battle at the tower was epic as all get out (especially Gesler and Hood), but the final battle was pretty lackluster. I really liked the part where Ganoes finally met Travore though, it seemed like a perfect end for those characters, and Travore apologizing for losing Felsin after having basically just saved the world felt really true to her character. Tool's ending was also pretty much perfect. Was nice to see Apsalar and Crokus finally get together, but it did feel a bit tacked on after all the build up to that point (Pretty much the main romance in the series). Can anyone give me a summary of what Whiskeyjack says to Paran at the start of GotM? I'm sure it relates to what Fiddler tells the boy who he talks to at the end, but I borrowed GotM from the library and I can't easily access the book.
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Sep 28, 2012 16:24
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MaterialConceptual posted:Can anyone give me a summary of what Whiskeyjack says to Paran at the start of GotM? The foreshadowing is just crazy. Every time I go back through this series I see stuff I completely missed before. Like, say, Quick Ben telling everyone about the Tiste Edur and Kurald Emurlahn pretty early on, even though it's a complete loving shock to everyone in a few books. So, in addition to the audiobooks, I'm reading through Stonewielder. Slowly. Goddamn, this is the third time I've tried to read it. This time I'm distracted because I'm running a new Realms of Cthulhu game, and it's more interesting to prep for that. RotCG was pretty solid on re-read, and I want to give a poo poo about Stonewielder but I just can't. Is Orb, Sceptre, Throne any better?
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Oct 3, 2012 05:55
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dwarf74 posted:So, in addition to the audiobooks, I'm reading through Stonewielder. Dunno, it's interesting to read more about the Sequleh and Moranth, but I've started having serious issues with Esslemont. Sometimes it seems his mission is to kill off most characters that Eriksson created as well as having cataclysmic final battles (well Erikson do that too, but better). I'm sort of hoping it won't be Esslemont that writes about Assail and what happens there (Silverfox and so on), although odds are against it.
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Oct 3, 2012 08:41
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dwarf74 posted:I'm listening to GotM on audiobook right now. Mind blown, I just checked Amazon and there is indeed an audiobook version now! What's the quality like, is the reader good? Do you know if there are any other books on audio yet?
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Oct 3, 2012 11:18
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I don't know about anyone else here, but for Tehol and Bugg I kind of get a strong Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry vibe from both of them, the way they act and talk.
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Oct 3, 2012 14:15
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I thought Orb, Scepter Throne was much better than Stonewielder and probably Esslemont's best side novel to date. Stonewielder was a step down from Return of the Crimson Guard, so you're not alone. I'm making my way through the prequel book Forge of Darkness right now, and it's odd. One thing I really liked about the Malazan series was the sense of history and mythology to the world, but this prequel book peels back that mythology and brings it down to a more mundane level. Didn't like it much as first, but I'm about 50% through and it is growing on me and is definitely picking up. Erikson is always good about end-book payoff so I know it will make my jaw drop a few times, but still, I can safely say to never read it before the main series. I think the main series would lose a bit of its magic and charm. PlushCow fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Oct 3, 2012 |
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Oct 3, 2012 14:42
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Leospeare posted:Mind blown, I just checked Amazon and there is indeed an audiobook version now! What's the quality like, is the reader good? Do you know if there are any other books on audio yet? The one I have is a pretty lousy, muddy rip with a fairly good reader. I sadly know nothing about the Amazon/Audible version that's up there now... I don't know if it's the same one or not. I would expect the audio quality would be far superior, though. I should be able to get back into Stonewielder once I finish this Cthulhu game I've been preparing for. At least, that's the plan...
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Oct 3, 2012 14:59
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Chucullinn posted:I don't know about anyone else here, but for Tehol and Bugg I kind of get a strong Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry vibe from both of them, the way they act and talk. Hah, I was going to comment on this. I'm still working my way through Midnight Tides, but Bugg is totally the butler from Archer for me. It just feels so right, ya know?
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Oct 3, 2012 17:24
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I was listening now to the sample on the audible page: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B009KSQJ3U&qid=1349293797&sr=1-1 He seems doing a drat well job, though I have zero experience with audio books. I just like the voice and the tone he keeps. Seems even better than Roy Dotrice, to me. Anyway, just listen to the sample because toward the end of it he does the old hag voice in GotM chapter 1. It's quite amusing 
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Oct 3, 2012 21:37
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Just finished Bonehunters. I have a question regarding Quick Ben near the end. He's referred to as the Ceda by one POV character, which I previously thought was used exclusively for the main mage to the Letherii King. Was it just a term the POV character used just because it was equivalent to "High Mage" was unknown to them, and if so how did he recognize that Quick was actually a High Mage? Was it simply because he tossed Icarium around a bit? A minor thing, but I feel like I missed something or am thinking too hard about it. Also, why was chaotic magic so devastating to Monok Ochem at the end? He took off running at the sight of Icarium, then some chaotic energy sped down the hallway and literally melted him to the Throne? Wouldn't he be able to defend against that? Overall, another awesome book. Some of my favorite highlights were Apsalar and Kalam loving up some Claw (particularly Apsalar tearing apart Pearl), and Onrack and Trull holding against Icarium was awesome, even if short lived. Just the description of Icarium raging gives me chills, and goddamn is he devastating when unleased. I hope Mappo finds him soon 
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Oct 6, 2012 21:42
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Yarrbossa posted:Just finished Bonehunters. I can't remember exactly how much he showed them of his power but he definitely said that word because it was the closest thing he knew to describe it. It kinda seems that since unlike the Malazan Empire they don't have whole schools of mages anyone with an appreciable level of power would basically be a Ceda, their word for sorcerer.
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Oct 6, 2012 23:21
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Bonehunters: Quick was also referred to as a ceda in a previous book where he conjured the illusion spell with Bottle on the boat and got help from the Eres'al. The Edur on the other ships were fooles by the Warren of Mockra into thinking QB was a Ceda. I believe that took place in another book, but i may be mis-remembering.
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Oct 7, 2012 08:37
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pakman posted:Bonehunters: Quick was also referred to as a ceda in a previous book where he conjured the illusion spell with Bottle on the boat and got help from the Eres'al. The Edur on the other ships were fooles by the Warren of Mockra into thinking QB was a Ceda. You're thinking of the same scene in the same book.
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Oct 7, 2012 17:19
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Illuyankas posted:You're thinking of the same scene in the same book. 
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Oct 7, 2012 17:42
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I'm a little more than halfway into deadhouse gates and I'm confused about characterization. Heboric: When, exactly, did he go blind? He could see when he was telling felsin that she was going to have pockmarks from the stinging fly larvae, and then suddenly he's whining about being blind, and even later than that he says "now I am blind in truth" suggesting he got EVEN MORE blind. The historian Duiker: Does he or does he not only have one arm? Because he was introduced as having only one arm, but then someone took something "out of his hands" plural. There was a battle and he had at different times both a sword and shield? Did they tie the shield to his stump? I'm really confused by this because in one scene he says "I don't have a shield, short swords are terrible without one!" but in the other he caught a blow on his shield when they were riding the super charged horses into battle. They were two different things and I know that aspalar's dad regrew an arm I just wanted to make sure that duiker didn't also get a new arm. These spoilers might as well be asking about their hair color I just am confused by the descriptions of these characters at various points in the book.
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Oct 8, 2012 02:14
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Illuyankas posted:You're thinking of the same scene in the same book. They actually are different scenes, the one with Eres'al and the giant illusion with Bottle was somewhere in the middle, and the part I was referring to was at the very end of the book in the fight with Icarium. Thanks for clearing it up, I had forgotten about the previous events in the book the Edur might have seen him. Now I have to wait to get paid until I can get the next one. What a drag. As for ^^ Pretty sure Duiker has both arms. I don't ever remember him being introduced with one arm, but High Fist One-Arm Dujek only has one arm. Maybe you're thinking of him?
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Oct 8, 2012 02:22
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I thought coltaine was the fist? Coltaine, his man Bult, and some priest who gets thrown the gently caress out of the meeting are all there, and duiker is introduced. Bult says "hey I know you, you were a soldier, lost a dang arm, and then you were given a new job as historian." But then bult keeps calling dujek uncle and I'm so goddamn confused. Wasn't dujek the fist who got outlawed? is fighting in dejeberistan I am miserable at names but the central location of the previous book gardens of the moon. e: okay I flipped back and about 6% into the book I guess I didn't understand this anecdote at all but yes bult is talking about dujek, for apparently no reason, even though he looked at the historian before he did it and in response to the historian. I didn't know his name well back then and assumed they were talking about how he knew the historian and not how he knew the outlawed fist. e2: new question from several chapters later: Why are two hounds of shadow still dead? captain paran called Oponn, held him up like a toreador cape, and got the dead chained up hounds to fly through a portal of shadow back into the realm of shadow and out of the sword of anomander rake. He freed their souls. Why are they still dead? The rest showed up and they specifically mentioned their status of being dead. Krinkle fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Oct 8, 2012 |
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Oct 8, 2012 02:28
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Krinkle posted:e: okay I flipped back and about 6% into the book I guess I didn't understand this anecdote at all but yes bult is talking about dujek, for apparently no reason, even though he looked at the historian before he did it and in response to the historian. I didn't know his name well back then and assumed they were talking about how he knew the historian and not how he knew the outlawed fist. I went back and read the scene. It's not quite so out of nowhere. They fought each other at that battle, and Bult had stabbed the unarmed historian Duiker with his lance, which almost killed him. Dujek answered that attack and scarred Bult's face, but also would end up losing his arm because he was bitten by Bult's horse. Neither Bult and Duiker knew about their personal connection in that battle until it's pointed out by Coltain.
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Oct 8, 2012 14:18
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Haha, when I reread it the second time instead of turning all dujeks in my mind into Duikers I turned the Duikers into Dujeks. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Oct 8, 2012 19:55
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I was also really confused about Heboric's blindness. Especially in the next book when his vision comes back? Or goes away again? Then he's just nearsighted?
Vertigus fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Oct 9, 2012 |
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Oct 9, 2012 00:36
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Vertigus posted:I was also really confused about Heboric's blindness. Especially in the next book when his vision comes back? Or goes away again? Then he's just nearsighted? It's from the sandstorm they have to walk through, it fucks up his eyes somehow. It comes back when he becomes the
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Oct 9, 2012 02:37
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^^^I love being able to text search a book on my Kindle- A quote from right after they get into the cave for shelter from the sandstorm of the Whirlwind: "Heboric's eyes were blistered shut, weeping grit-filled tears" I remember them getting crusted shut and then him being able to "see," which was just preternatural vision given to him by being blind and a high priest. Krinkle posted:
Well, he freed them from the sword but not from death. I don't remember if Paran follows their path in that book or another, but the doggies go to a realm of death that's older than Hood's realm if I'm remembering correctly. PlushCow fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Oct 9, 2012 |
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Oct 9, 2012 03:08
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adamarama posted:Are there any good wikis for the series? I'm currently reading Forge of Darkness; I recognise so many names but in a vague way. I've tried the wiki at Malazan Empire but I don't like it; just passages more so than story summaries. Not any good ones that I'm aware of. These are the two that I've used: http://malazan.wikia.com/wiki/Malazan_Wiki http://encyclopediamalazica.pbworks.com/w/page/18881599/FrontPage I just finished reading Forge of Darkness and felt the same - lots of names on the tip of my remembering. Some of them clarify eventually, others you'll be left thinking "Hmm...that sounds really, really familiar..." In other news, Forge of Darkness was AWESOME. Really enjoyed the whole story, and it cast light on a lot of mysteries in the main series. There are definitely times where random peasants or unimportant characters start waxing poetic about philosophy of life, but those can be power-skimmed over without losing much content. Lots of lore is explained. Still plenty of questions (and new ones added) but it helps the whole thing feel more solid. Also, Gothos is awesome I'm going to have to read the whole series again now polyfractal fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Oct 9, 2012 |
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Oct 9, 2012 16:34
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I also got done reading Forge of Darkness. For the most part it felt like a setup novel to when the truly crazy bits are going to happen, but it was no less enjoyable for it, and had the usual cast of great Erikson characters. I'm definitely looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy. Is Korya Delath supposed to be Quick Ben? Her name is very similar to his (Delath -> Delat) and they both have an affinity for dolls.
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Oct 11, 2012 01:42
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The Ninth Layer posted:I also got done reading Forge of Darkness. For the most part it felt like a setup novel to when the truly crazy bits are going to happen, but it was no less enjoyable for it, and had the usual cast of great Erikson characters. I'm definitely looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy. I was curious about that too. She is also a maybhe, which is similar to how Quick Ben can hold a bunch of soulshifted souls. That said, transforming from a woman to a man seems a bit odd. My personal theory is that Quick Ben is the son of Korya + Arathan, and somehow inherited Korya's ability to hold souls.
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Oct 11, 2012 02:03
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