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the periodic fable posted:i disagree, i honestly think he's a pretty bad author by any standard. i gave RotCG an honest shot but 400 pages in and he still hasn't made me care one whit about anything. i'm going to spoil myself on the highlights of the rest of his books unless somebody comes along and says that a given book is actually on par with the rest of the series. Ah, but it takes ICE a very, very long time to get going. Too long, really, as most of the comments on RotCG indicate. The convergence at the end is something else, though. Another great Fid moment from TCG: Whiskeyjack tells Fid he's "always been the best of us." Sorry, I think there's something in my eye.
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Mar 17, 2011 00:54
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Juaguocio posted:Ah, but it takes ICE a very, very long time to get going. Too long, really, as most of the comments on RotCG indicate. The convergence at the end is something else, though. Yeah that's the one I was talking about...Got it kind of messed up.
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Mar 17, 2011 02:20
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Those are actually two distinct moments if I'm not mistaken. Fiddler is not present in the one you mentioned.
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Mar 17, 2011 03:51
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Juaguocio posted:Those are actually two distinct moments if I'm not mistaken. Fiddler is not present in the one you mentioned. yeah, the one where Fid isn't there is a conversation between Quick and Kalam.
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Mar 17, 2011 17:29
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Finished TCG recently. Very good ending to an amazing series. Although I do feel like it was a little bit too much of a happy ending, especially with Hetan coming back to life without explanation. Also what the hell was with Karsa knowing to kill Fener? Badass and all but I hope it at least gets explained in the Karsa trilogy.
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Mar 18, 2011 23:23
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Picker told him to do it remember? At the end of the eighth book. And what a ball grab it was when it turns out the god he was suppose to kill wasn't the Crippled God, well done Erikson. 
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Mar 18, 2011 23:49
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I totally don't remember that and when I read it I was probably just like Duh of course Karsa will kill a god.
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Mar 19, 2011 02:19
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Yeah, Picker went on a weird spirit quest after getting hurt by the assassins who attacked K'rul's Bar. Apparently the torcs she wore in MoI marked her as chosen by the gods of war, because they gave her the message to give to Karsa. Which raises the question of whether or not Fener willingly allowed himself to be sacrificed...
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Mar 19, 2011 03:23
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Juaguocio posted:Yeah, Picker went on a weird spirit quest after getting hurt by the assassins who attacked K'rul's Bar. Apparently the torcs she wore in MoI marked her as chosen by the gods of war, because they gave her the message to give to Karsa. Which raises the question of whether or not Fener willingly allowed himself to be sacrificed... I dunno, but he was chilling with the Errant in MT or RG, so that's probably where his alliances were....
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Mar 19, 2011 05:36
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LtSmash posted:Finished TCG recently. Very good ending to an amazing series. Although I do feel like it was a little bit too much of a happy ending, especially with Hetan coming back to life without explanation. It was a bit too sweet, but it wasn't without explanation or setup (since DoD actually). Also, next to Toc Tool was the one most poo poo upon in the series, he deserves a bit of happiness.
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Mar 19, 2011 08:40
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Just finished The Crippled God, and while its ending comes full circle what with Shadowthrone and Cotillion again briefly contemplating letting the Hounds loose to create mayhem just like they did at the beginning of GoTM, and with retired Fiddler in Malaz City talking to some little kid about being a soldier and going out to change the world, just like he remembered doing the same when he was little there are still a hell of a lot of unresolved plot-threads that I wish he didn't obviously setup for Esslemont, because it gives you a drat case of blueballs. It should be a more...self-contained. Examples: 1. The return of the Tyrant that was alluded to in Toll the Hounds, it goes loving nowhere. 2. Crokus/Cutter was headed to Seven Cities with Spite the last time we left them in Toll the Hounds, and while his reunion with Apasalar in the epilogue was touching I get the feeling we missed an adventure or two between here and there. 3. The Cult of the Fallen lead by Felesin Younger that Ganoes Paran left alone in The Bonehunters, another plot-thread that went nowhere. 4. Sandalath Drukorlat's last mention of her in The Crippled God is where she succumbs to the despair of her memories and subsequent insanity, she is only forced off the throne by Phaed's ghost. In addition to all that mention of unresolved family drama between her, Korlat, and Orfantal that blindsides you. 5. Errstas, for now, gets away scott free even after Draconus hunts down and kills Sechul Lath and Kilmandaros for freeing the Otaaral Dragon. 6. Telorast and Curdle, with all their scheming about being the ones on top when all is said and done, also another thread going nowhere
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Mar 19, 2011 15:02
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Most of them aren't really valid. 1. Yes, there's a planned Daru novel in the future with all the tyrant and alchemist stuff. 2. Maybe, or maybe not. I don't think we'll see anything here though. 3. It's hinted that she and the cult will destroy itself by its own virtues. 4. Yes, there's supposed to be a planned series of book about the Tiste Andiis that Erikson is going to write himself. 5. I think we can infer that he's screwed with both Draconus and Oponn hunting him. They both easily found the location of Kil and Knuckles and Draconus easily killed both of them. 6. I think they're joke/non serious characters/small fishes in a big pond. Complaining about them not accomplishing anything would be like complaining about how all the scheming of the Raruku players fell apart because Karsa kicked over their sandcastles. I'm surprised you haven't complained about the biggest missing plot thread in the series, the one about Karsa's destiny since he's such a major character in the series. But don't worry I guess since Erikson plans on writing a series of books on the Toblakai also.
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Mar 19, 2011 15:12
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Vanilla Mint Ice posted:Most of them aren't really valid. The problem is that there are a lot of "open" plot threads. What I mean by "open" is that there's no resolution. Karsa's alluded destiny and the resolution of the Wickan plotline in The Bonehunters are situations resolved to satisfaction but left an optional plot-hook that doesn't necessarily need to be picked up. In The Crippled God and previous books, there's a lot of poo poo that's not even resolved.
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Mar 19, 2011 15:35
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Telorast and Curdle: TCG spoilers I'm fairly sure that they died/were destroyed during Silchas Ruin's attack on the dragons attacking the otataral dragon. I can't recall precisely, but I think they became bound to Ruin's hust sword like the other 3 dragons from Kurald Emurlan when they veered. It's mentioned near the end of the book that only 3 dragons are left. While I don't remember if any names were mentioned, I suspect Telorast and Curdle weren't among the "survivors"
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Mar 19, 2011 17:01
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Scorvi posted:Telorast and Curdle: TCG spoilers I'm fairly sure that they died/were destroyed during Silchas Ruin's attack on the dragons attacking the otataral dragon. I can't recall precisely, but I think they became bound to Ruin's hust sword like the other 3 dragons from Kurald Emurlan when they veered. It's mentioned near the end of the book that only 3 dragons are left. While I don't remember if any names were mentioned, I suspect Telorast and Curdle weren't among the "survivors" I never got what the hell they were supposed to be anyway. Can't even remember where they came from.
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Mar 19, 2011 20:37
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Sil posted:I never got what the hell they were supposed to be anyway. Can't even remember where they came from. They were twin (I think) dragons who made a play at one point for the throne of shadow, failed and were bound somehow to a fragment of the warren. Their spirits somehow became mobile and followed Apsalar around when she passed through the warren in book 6. Then they possessed those small lizard skeletons that Urko had excavated. They could veer for a short time in the real world, but if they stayed too long, they'd get sucked back to their bodies which were still bound in the shadow warren. The details are kinda sketchy to me at this point, but I think thats the gist of their origins.
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Mar 19, 2011 22:28
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I think it was mentioned that they were Tiste Andii at some point, but I could be mistaken.
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Mar 19, 2011 22:38
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TheBeardedCrazy posted:I think it was mentioned that they were Tiste Andii at some point, but I could be mistaken. Dessimbelackis, the first emperor, found them and helped them escape their prison by letting them possess a single Tiste Andii female.
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Mar 19, 2011 22:57
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Other open plot thread [Moi] silverfox and the imass on Assail?
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Mar 20, 2011 00:04
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Another novel later on.
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Mar 20, 2011 01:14
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Boogle posted:
TMBotF is probably the last series where I would expect a "happily ever after"-ending for everything to be honest. There are hundreds of characters, dozens of plots - putting a neat cap on all of them is nearly impossible, and wouldn't really fit the style. And I'm sure Erikson plans to write a few more books in the coming decades besides the two trilogies he already announced.
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Mar 20, 2011 07:52
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Juaguocio posted:Yeah, Picker went on a weird spirit quest after getting hurt by the assassins who attacked K'rul's Bar. Apparently the torcs she wore in MoI marked her as chosen by the gods of war, because they gave her the message to give to Karsa. Which raises the question of whether or not Fener willingly allowed himself to be sacrificed... I can't remember exactly where but someone in TCG mentions that it was a willing sacrifice.
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Mar 20, 2011 09:00
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Wallet posted:I can't remember exactly where but someone in TCG mentions that it was a willing sacrifice. I wonder if they had a big roast...
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Mar 20, 2011 13:13
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There is a big gap between my reading of Dust of Dreams and now when I'm trying to read Crippled God, which has made it pretty frustrating. Admittedly part of this is my fault for my poor retention, but goddamn it's lazy writing by Erikson with the 150 or so dramatis personae and a million plot threads. So far in Crippled God I spend most of my time struggling to remember who people are, what the hell they are doing, and where they are. That whole getting lost in a new world deal is part of the appeal of fantasy and scifi but not when there are 12 races, three pantheons of gods, who knows how many different worlds/planes of existence whatever, characters who are getting resurrected all the time, jeez. I feel committed to finish the drat thing considering I've read 8000 or whatever pages leading up to this.
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Mar 20, 2011 18:52
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I'm surprised you've made it this far if your retention is as bad as you say. It's not THAT much more plot threads in the tenth book than in the ninth. It's just the stuff from ninth and plus a few from eighth.
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Mar 20, 2011 18:54
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Vanilla Mint Ice posted:I'm surprised you've made it this far if your retention is as bad as you say. It's not THAT much more plot threads in the tenth book than in the ninth. It's just the stuff from ninth and plus a few from eighth. Consider Book 9 and 10 to be one book.
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Mar 20, 2011 20:02
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Then it's still mostly threads from the seventh and a bit from the eighth book. Don't get me wrong the tenth book definitely has the most going on but I don't think to the degree that you can't handle it if you have read the other nine books. Maybe you just need to get used to Erikson's style again and how he demands you pay attention to a character that shows up once every other chapter or whatever.
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Mar 20, 2011 21:25
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I read most of the other books in fairly rapid succession, wasn't a year+ gap working against me. Generally I get pissed off at trying to figure stuff out but his crazy convergence tons of poo poo happening endings and Tehol/Bugg kept me going.
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Mar 20, 2011 23:25
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I can't stand all these TCG spoilers, I'm going to lock myself in a room tomorrow and finish it (halfway through). edit: Though seeing (early TCG) Ruthan Gudd still alive made me fistpump irl. Although in my copy he was "Rudd" for one page. HUMAN FISH fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Mar 21, 2011 |
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Mar 21, 2011 21:25
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This thread has me re-interested. I picked up reapers gale while in Germany thinking a nice thick book would keep me occupied. Good god was I lost - I couldn't even piece together what was occurring just in the one book. The author must really tie the plot lines throughout the series but he doesn't really explain occurrences of what's happened in the previous books. Anyway going to start at book 1. Was only 1/4 the way through Reaper's Gale before putting it down in confusion.
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Mar 22, 2011 05:28
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Square Pair posted:Anyway going to start at book 1. Was only 1/4 the way through Reaper's Gale before putting it down in confusion. This is definitely not a series you can understand jumping in at the middle. Hell, it's hard enough at the beginning.
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Mar 22, 2011 05:56
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HUMAN FISH posted:edit: Though seeing (early TCG) Ruthan Gudd still alive made me fistpump irl. Although in my copy he was "Rudd" for one page. are you sure that wasn't Rudd Elalle, Udinaas' son?
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Mar 22, 2011 09:12
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the periodic fable posted:are you sure that wasn't Rudd Elalle, Udinaas' son? No, there were a few odd typos. Brys turned into Boys at an inopportune moment.
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Mar 22, 2011 17:50
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Incidentally, and speaking of unresolved storylines - are we going to see what happens to Chaur in the Darujistan novels? Last we saw, his brain was rerouting the primary power couplings through auxiliary channels or something and turning him into some sort of Rainman-esque genius. Or something.
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Mar 22, 2011 22:12
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the periodic fable posted:are you sure that wasn't Rudd Elalle, Udinaas' son? Also, i'm only about 1/3 to 1/2 through TCG, but don't they refer to him as Ryadd Eleiss throughout the book? I was confused about that at first, but then realized that its his eleint name, or something.
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Mar 22, 2011 22:17
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Cervixalot posted:Also, i'm only about 1/3 to 1/2 through TCG, but don't they refer to him as Ryadd Eleiss throughout the book? I was confused about that at first, but then realized that its his eleint name, or something. Silchas gave him that name in DoD.
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Mar 22, 2011 22:20
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Square Pair posted:he doesn't really explain occurrences of what's happened in the previous books.  (It's actually what makes this series so greatly re-readable.)
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Mar 22, 2011 23:41
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(BIG SPOILERS) I just realized something about Grub... He is titled the First Sword of the Last Empire in the future, could this be a possible reference to the upcoming future when Karsa Orlong sets off to fulfill his destiny? And being the Last Empire does this basically mean that Karsa in some way wins and destroys civilization? Now the question is then if this true what the 'last empire' would be, maybe the remnants of the Malazan Empire merged with the Letherii Empire? Since Mael basically has influence over both them and Letherii military will be following the Malazan way of combat since the only veterans will the ones with Brys. Or maybe not, since Mael and Tehol supported Ublala when he told them what Karsa planned to do. Or maybe Letherii IS last empire and Tehol will also make good on his promise to destroy civilization and the last empire is just the fact that after getting rid of everyone else Tehol dismantled his own empire. Karsa DID also promised to not kill the Malazans.
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Mar 23, 2011 00:32
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Vanilla Mint Ice posted:(BIG SPOILERS) I just realized something about Grub... He is titled the First Sword of the Last Empire in the future, could this be a possible reference to the upcoming future when Karsa Orlong sets off to fulfill his destiny? And being the Last Empire does this basically mean that Karsa in some way wins and destroys civilization? Now the question is then if this true what the 'last empire' would be, maybe the remnants of the Malazan Empire merged with the Letherii Empire? Since Mael basically has influence over both them and Letherii military will be following the Malazan way of combat since the only veterans will the ones with Brys. Or maybe not, since Mael and Tehol supported Ublala when he told them what Karsa planned to do. Or maybe Letherii IS last empire and Tehol will also make good on his promise to destroy civilization and the last empire is just the fact that after getting rid of everyone else Tehol dismantled his own empire. Karsa DID also promised to not kill the Malazans. He's specifically referred to as the First Sword of the Malazan Empire's Late Empire Period in one of the biographical chapter headings
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Mar 23, 2011 00:38
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Was it Late Empire instead? Aww
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Mar 23, 2011 01:15
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