Karsa Orlong and why Erikson is a great writer

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Leoman -- well, I certainly thought he was a jerk by the end of it. I didn't that vibe from him to start with, tho.

Yeah, I really liked Leoman.

--A

[Khazduk]

Karsa is great from page 1, imo.

For some reason I get strong Robin Hobb-like vibes from him (at least until about where he hooks up with Torvald, another great character). One part of it is probably about the process of growing up, something of the recurrent theme in all Hobb's books. And something about the villages of the Teblor and the faces in the rock... just the general feel of it, when it's from the Teblor's PoV.

(And on my personal "greatest fantasy" list, there are only 2 names above Hobb. Acronymically speaking, they'd be JRRT and SRD. SE is working his way up there too, but I'll need at least one full reread of MBotF before he'll make a full impact, I guess. )

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I didn't like him at first. Thought he was crude and 1 dimensional. Annoyed me. But he became one of the best characters.

--A

[Mr. Broken]

I recall not liking Karsa at first, but that soon changed. In fact I felt the same way about Kallor , and he ended up being one of my favorites as well. I can even imagine the two of them getting along, perhaps sharing an adventure, or two. Now that would be a worthy tale, bloody, but worthy.

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I wouldn't mind seeing that. I didn't dislike Kallor as a character at first, just as a "person" if you know what I mean. But I always thought he was a good character. Long back-story.

--A

[dANdeLION]

I don't think I paid too much attention to Karsa originally; he seemed like a bit player. When I started reading his back story, I'm not sure I even realized at first that he was an existing character. I kept thinking 'boy, this guy is in for a rude awakening. He has totally unrealistic expectations of himself'. But the further I read, the less I thought that. Now I never think that.

Face it, Karsa delivers.

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Hahaha, yep.

I didn't connect him with Sheik Elder's bodyguard either. Apart from anything else, Erikson got his age wrong in DHG. But he was too insignificant a character at that point.

--A