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Levitate posted:I got the impression they pretty much orchestrated the vast majority of the actions that led to the freeing and, uh, disposal of the Crippled God. They saw what was all going to happen and set all of this in motion with subtle behind the scenes manipulations. Of course, I'm sure they have other plans as well... Right. I got that. But did they free him with the knife? Absorb his power? What was their actual endgame here?
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Mar 7, 2014 22:14
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nucleicmaxid posted:Right. I got that. But did they free him with the knife? Absorb his power? What was their actual endgame here? Nobody knows! Its great!
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Mar 7, 2014 22:56
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Actually the title of the series shows that we do know what happened.
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Mar 8, 2014 00:58
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The Malazan Book of the Fallen: Get used to spoiler tags I seriously think I'm going to re-read this thread when I finally get through Book 10. Too many words, indeed. I do appreciate that many characters don't resort to brute force at the first opportunity, though these same characters are often quite tragic.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:35
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Ynglaur posted:The Malazan Book of the Fallen: Get used to spoiler tags I just started mine. Already picking up new things I missed. Also, not skimming anything at all. This series has become my favorite and there is so much still left to be explained/wrtiten about!
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Mar 8, 2014 07:23
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nucleicmaxid posted:Right. I got that. But did they free him with the knife? Absorb his power? What was their actual endgame here? The former. I thought it was explained in the book.
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Mar 8, 2014 07:42
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Habibi posted:The former. I thought it was explained in the book. Nothing is ever explained
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Mar 8, 2014 08:09
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Habibi posted:The former. I thought it was explained in the book. I'd love to see some quotes that explain this. Because I really don't think it was.
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Mar 8, 2014 09:15
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This came up a few pages ago but it is implied in a few places that the Crippled God is supposed to be (at least an analog for) our world's Jehovah, dragged to Wu by Kallor's bullshit. There are various references to this and it fits in with his later, restored character. If you choose to read it this way, then it is clear that Cotillion was freeing him because like Ethiser noted, the Crippled God was the one who promised to write The Malazan Book of the Fallen in the text of the series. I might be overinterpreting what Erikson was going for here but I think it fits a theme that Tolkien and Jordan both used in linking their fantasies directly to our world in some way rather than having them be completely alien.
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Mar 8, 2014 17:11
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I keep wondering about the tech levels in the books. How advanced are the Malazan and Letherii compared to each other? I know the K'chain Che'malle and the First Empire had some pretty crazy magitech equipment at their command.
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Mar 12, 2014 04:25
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amuayse posted:I keep wondering about the tech levels in the books. How advanced are the Malazan and Letherii compared to each other? I know the K'chain Che'malle and the First Empire had some pretty crazy magitech equipment at their command. The most complicated piece of nonmagical technology developed or used by either empire seems to be either the crossbow or Moranth munitions, or maybe the gas grid in Darujhistan, unless I'm misremembering something. The Letherii have a fairly advanced economic system, and both sides (e: especially the Letherii) have some pretty crazy good forging technology, but I don't think steam power or electricity are anything more than mad alchemists' dreams. Neither the Malazans or the Letherii have much in terms of "magitech", at least not in the same sense as the lizard wizards. The biggest differences between the two, at least militarily, are the training philosophy and tactical prowess of the Malazan soldiers and the more refined warrens of magic as opposed to the Letherii holds. CaptainJuan fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Mar 12, 2014 |
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Mar 12, 2014 06:47
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Icarium seemed to have tech and building knowledge that was much higher than the current civilizations of the books.
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Mar 12, 2014 09:06
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savinhill posted:Icarium seemed to have tech and building knowledge that was much higher than the current civilizations of the books. Icarium is basically Leonardo da Vinci + The Hulk.
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Mar 12, 2014 10:54
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savinhill posted:Icarium seemed to have tech and building knowledge that was much higher than the current civilizations of the books. Sure, he learned it from the lizards.
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Mar 12, 2014 15:15
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So I'm coming to the end of Reaper's Gale. Am I correct that Tool and Onrack are brothers-in-law? Also, I found Toc the Younger's story arc a bit of a letdown in the end. Am I missing something, or is an overriding theme here futility?
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Mar 12, 2014 19:40
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Ynglaur posted:So I'm coming to the end of Reaper's Gale. Am I correct that Tool and Onrack are brothers-in-law? Also, I found Toc the Younger's story arc a bit of a letdown in the end. Am I missing something, or is an overriding theme here futility? Toc: Toc gave his life to successfully save a group of children from being murdered. That isn't really a futile moment.
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Mar 12, 2014 19:46
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Ynglaur posted:Am I missing something, or is an overriding theme here futility? No, only Tool thinks about futility. 
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Mar 12, 2014 20:19
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Toc's arc isn't completely over either
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Mar 13, 2014 00:57
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Ynglaur posted:Am I missing something, or is an overriding theme here futility? yes and yes also i think tool and onrack are more like eskimo brothers
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Mar 13, 2014 01:10
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They're as brother-in-laws as it can get without marriage being a thing. Kilava is Tool's sister.
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Mar 13, 2014 01:54
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Talk about an uncomfortable vegas shotgun wedding
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Mar 13, 2014 04:02
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Wasn't Onrack married to the Whirlwind Goddess? What drove her insane was him cheating on her with Kilava. (Crippled God, sorta spoiler) I can't remember if they end up together at the end. If so, then they're brothers-in-law at that point, but not before.
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Mar 13, 2014 19:50
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The last few chapters of The Crippled God are just too much. This is the first expansive series I've seen through to the end and man, some of the stuff that's happening is just brutal. Can't wait to wrap it up though, I have no doubts about Erikson's ability to end it well.
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Mar 13, 2014 22:36
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edit: unnecessary
Opal fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Mar 14, 2014 |
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Mar 14, 2014 10:46
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amuayse posted:I keep wondering about the tech levels in the books. How advanced are the Malazan and Letherii compared to each other? I know the K'chain Che'malle and the First Empire had some pretty crazy magitech equipment at their command. The Malazans are in the process of conquering every continent on the planet with precise explosives and political brilliance and by managing an army of insect aeroplanes. The Letherii haven't worked out how to ride horses properly. I always thought of them as vaguely equivalent until the scene in Reaper's Gale where the two ships meet, where iirc a single Malazan mage annihilates a cadre of Letherii mages like it's nothing. I found it hilarious because I was building up to this big superpower showdown in my head and they just get swatted down like loving flies. It was kind of like that misdirect in House of Chains where based on the previous books you're expecting it to build up to this complex web of betrayals and murders where there are ten sides to the story, and instead Karsa reappears and murders everybody on every side of every conflict and all the other subplots just end prematurely because Karsa.
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Mar 15, 2014 11:08
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Well, he did have a list to tend to 
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Mar 15, 2014 15:49
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drat, I just realized something. The Crippled God's plan of creating as much suffering as possible actually sort of makes sense now considering he wanted to create the mother of all convergences. Ascendants are usually created in an environment of extreme strife and suffering, so he just wanted to accelerate that process greatly.
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Mar 19, 2014 20:34
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02-6611-0142-1 posted:I always thought of them as vaguely equivalent until the scene in Reaper's Gale where the two ships meet, where iirc a single Malazan mage annihilates a cadre of Letherii mages like it's nothing. I found it hilarious because I was building up to this big superpower showdown in my head and they just get swatted down like loving flies. Bonehunters. Quick Ben(with some help) versus the Tiste Edur warlocks, and I don't think he annihilates them as much as he just shows them precisely how much poo poo they just got themselves into. Khizan fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Mar 19, 2014 |
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Mar 19, 2014 20:55
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It was an illusion, he was hosed if they pressed the attack and he even admits it.
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Mar 19, 2014 21:24
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I was under the impression that it started out as an illusion until Bottle and his friend 'helped' Ben with it, at which point it became rather more than an illusion.
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Mar 19, 2014 21:26
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Bottle helped make it look more real, but it was still an illusion. Quick Ben says: 'That was a Hood-damned illusion. Thank the gods cowering in their outhouses right now that the idiots swallowed the hook – but listen, it wasn't just that. I had help. And then I had help!' And Bottle had to go clean up because the Eres'al or whatever made him cream himself and it was her that was helping I think. Edit: Rereading it seems to say that it started as an illusion, but then became something extra when he got the 2nd helper. He never goes on about what because he has to talk to the Adjunct. Spermy Smurf fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Mar 19, 2014 |
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Mar 19, 2014 21:30
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Okay finally finished, great series. But what the heck happened?
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Mar 19, 2014 22:23
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amuayse posted:drat, I just realized something. The Crippled God's plan of creating as much suffering as possible actually sort of makes sense now considering he wanted to create the mother of all convergences. Ascendants are usually created in an environment of extreme strife and suffering, so he just wanted to accelerate that process greatly. I don't know if that's the case. He was broken up into pieces, of which some retained individual awareness, that didn't necessarily work together or toward similar goals (eg: the Lady on Korel). We're told over and over that because he suffers, he wants to make others suffer, but nothing I recall suggests his intent to torment convergences. More than anything, the mother of all convergences appears to have been the brainchild of ST/Cotillion. And in fact, there is an exchange in TCG (though, presumably takes place shortly after the plan is formulated) where ST lays out to TCG their plan and intent to free him, so I get the impression that he was more a passenger with regard to that convergence than anything else. e: spoilers added
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Mar 20, 2014 00:55
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Yeah the Crippled God really ends up being a pawn in the whole thing more than orchestrating poo poo. Specifically mentioned in Dust of Dreams how there were several plans by ascendants to usurp his power, blah blah blah. He causes some poo poo but doesn't end up being the big baddy in the whole story e: Cotillion and Shadow Throne's whole plan I believe was to prevent other ascendants and gods from following through on their plans of taking the Crippled Gods power and upsetting the balance of power, blah blah. At least that's how I remember it Levitate fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Mar 20, 2014 |
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Mar 20, 2014 01:50
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Is the first book really supposed to suck this much or what's happening here?
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Mar 20, 2014 04:09
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It's written 10 years before the second book and is the weakest because of it. I still enjoyed though, it's a YMMV thing.
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Mar 20, 2014 04:13
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The first book is pretty meh, but #2 and #3 are pretty much completely loving awesome.
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Mar 20, 2014 04:35
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Outpulse posted:Is the first book really supposed to suck this much or what's happening here? No. It must be you.
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Mar 20, 2014 06:28
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If you don't like GotM you probably suck, but you might enjoy the rest of the series anyway! FWIW I had trouble getting into Deadhouse Gates because of how different it was from GotM which I really enjoyed. Most people (they suck) are the opposite though.
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Mar 20, 2014 07:32
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Months later, I am still enjoying the Caladan Brood album and I am still ashamed of it.
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Mar 20, 2014 12:30
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