Reaper's Gale [Spoilers]

[Spiral Jacobs]

Just finished it. The last 200 pages were ass-kickin' but frankly the 700 pages leading up to those were in places pretty tiresome. Sooo many names, so much dialogue that is deliberately vague and circumspect. I constantly had the feeling that SE is throwing out a thread in a piece of dialogue, only to put a post-it on his laptop to do something with that in the next 3000 pages.

And people just walk.
Hedge and Quick Ben, they walk.
Silchas, Udinaas, Seren et al.? They walk.
The marines? They walk (and talk about sex).
Icarium. Didn't even walk, just that one step off the boat.

For 700 pages.

Maybe I'm getting retarded, but I don't think I picked up a single thing from any of the dialogue and/or inner monologue in the whole thread about the group with Silchas Ruin. They were walking, saying threatening things to each other and understanding a lot of things, apparently. Then suddenly Wither tries to strangle Udinaas and Clip tries to kill Udinaas and I still haven't a clue why.

The dialogue between Rud Ellale and Menandore, on the hill when they see QB and Hedge coming? No idea.

And on the Second Maiden island, when the Malazans are talking to Yan Tovis, there's a bit where a soldier named Deadsmell suddenly whips out something about the Shake's origins, but it is so damn unclear what he is saying. Are they what, descendants of K'Chain Che'Malle?

Maybe I'm whining (probably) but that kinda spoiled it for me. Gimme more sappers against dragons, I'm simple like that

[aliantha]

Sappers v. dragons *rock*.

See, SJ, this is why I'm re-reading the whole bloody series. I'm in "Midnight Tides" right now, and I think I can 'splain a little about the group with Silchas Ruin.

Spoiler

In the MT prologue, Scabandari Bloodeye and his Tiste Edur followers have joined together with Silchas Ruin and his Tiste Andii followers, and together they have just defeated the K'Chain Che'Malle (who, I realized this time through , the Edur call the Kaschan). The Andii have suffered huge losses in the fight -- and now Scabandari turns on Silchas Ruin and incapacitates him, as the Edur annihilate what's left of the Andii. Mael and others, including Kilmandaros, kill Scabandari.

The present-day Edur understand only that their god is dead -- but somehow, the circumstances have become twisted in their legends. Either the story has been skewed as it's passed down orally, or (more likely, I think) Scabandari told them, before his death, that he was betrayed. And so a lot of the underlying tension on that walk is due to whichever-Sengar-it-is believing that Silchas Ruin, the "Betrayer", is going to betray them again.

Hey Murrin -- about Feather Witch:

Spoiler

At the start of MT, Feather Witch is described as the first seer to come to the Letherii slaves have had in some time; in fact, they had to dig up the Hold tiles that were buried with the last one so that Feather Witch could use them. She is a natural...but she's untrained and unguided by any mortal teacher. Granted, having older and wiser advisors is no guarantee of gaining wisdom -- look at Rhulad! -- but it might have kept her on a more even keel.

Or am I being too kind and understanding?

[I'm Murrin]

Yeah, it's what makes her the way she is. She taught herself, and was revered by the slaves because of it: even in MT you see this when she disdains Udinaas' attentions because he is beneath her. The fact that she was the only one is the cause of her arrogance and inability to accept that others might be as clever or skilled as she is. She's as much a product of her circumstances as anyone else is.

[Spiral Jacobs]

aliantha,

Yeah I realise I might have been better off rereading some of the old stuff (I just did some browsing now but picked up the main stuff, like the whole Scabandari/Silchas issue). I guess I'm starting to get really confused when it gets to who is related to who, especially in that damn draconean family tree.

On a more positive note: as I said the final 200 pages kick ass. Beak? OMG.
QB slamming 3 dragons into the ground?

But one more thing: Erikson, you do not, I repeat do not kill the hero of three books in such an off-handed way. I know that's intended to shock me and it worked, damn you.

(But given what happened to one of my favourite characters from MT in this book, he'll probably return. I damn well hope so or you're in trouble.)

[aliantha]

I can't keep the Eleint family tree straight, either....

I know what you mean about characters returning.

Spoiler

(I keep waiting for the return of WhiskeyJack. I mean, if the Bridgeburners Ascended, doesn't that mean they're gods now? Wow...)

[Holsety]

Spoiler

(I keep waiting for the return of WhiskeyJack. I mean, if the Bridgeburners Ascended, doesn't that mean they're gods now? Wow...)

I don't think god necessarily equals ascendant (though I guess it could, I don't really know). Paran, for instance - is he actually a god? Is anyone who's a card in the deck of dragons an ascendant - cuz if so, Iskaral Pust is a god, and that doesn't make much sense to me. There are probably some other questions too.

Spoiler

Actually, Toc's death pissed me off way more than Trull's. Trull, I felt some closure with, but not with Toc it was like "hey he's ba-oh nevermind he's gone." Ya, hood greets him, but it seems like he's just being taken to a nice place, not getting "saved up" for later. Whatever, though, I can always hope we'll see more of him.

EDIT-And the last scene with Silchas Ruin made me happy. "buzz off" pretty much sums it up.

[lucimay]

EDIT-And the last scene with Silchas Ruin made me happy. "buzz off" pretty much sums it up.

yuh huh. *bobs head up and down vigorously*

i dug the hell outa that.

[stonemaybe]

Have I missed something important?

Spoiler

When the take Redmask's mask off they see he's a Letherii, is there any indication who he was?

[I'm Murrin]

There was nothing to indicate his original identity. It was hinted through the book that his (Awl) family treated him differently, for some reason or other--that unmasking is simply revealing why: he was an adopted Letherii. He knew it, hiding his face with the mask (probably ashamed, since he had learned to hate the Letherii), and because he'd been gone so long and his tribe were all killed, noone else knew the truth (except, IIRC, that one old man who was killed by Redmask for knowing).
Poignance in his story is gained from his ruthlessness in fighting the Letherii, when it is revealed that he would be dead himself if his Awl family had not shown some mercy to the race of their enemies.

[stonemaybe]

Makes sense, thanks Murrin!

I hate it when something like this happens - but because I have FR (unread) sitting on my book shelf, it was just a relief to get this book over with. And it deserves more than that!

[dANdeLION]

Heh, I can't read any of this yet, as I haven't got the book yet, but I wanted to post to say that Barnes & Noble will have both hardback and paperbacks of reaper's gale in stock on Feb. 19, which is when I'll get my copy.

[aliantha]

Yay! Thank goodness the US publishers are catching up! Maybe soon I can quit shopping for the new releases at Amazon.uk....

[dANdeLION]

Two weeks.....two more weeks till I get my Erikson fix. Man, the DT's are killing me! Of course, it's nothing compared to my Martin DT's.....

[lucimay]

ironically i thought i was reading Martin while waiting for Erikson.
now i'm reading Erikson waiting for Martin.

[dANdeLION]

Yeah, we need a support group, like all those sad THOOLAH individuals who read books about a person they hate. I'd offer you a FOOLAH membership, but if you ever found out what FOOLAH stands for, you'd fly right on over and slap me in the face....okay, you'd slap me twice.

[[Syl]]

Just wanted to write down this brilliant bit in the beginning.

'Tanal Yathvanar, our greatest enemies are those without certainty. The ones with questions, the ones who regard our tidy answers with unquenchable scepticism. Those questions assail us, undermine us. They... agitate. Understand, these dangerous citizens understand that nothing is simple; their stance is the very opposite of naivety. They are humbled by the ambivalence to which they are witness, and they defy our simple, comforting assertions of clarity, of a black and white world. Tathvanar, when you wish to deliver the gravest insult to such a citzen, call them naive. You will leave them incensed, indeed, virtually speechless... until you watch their minds backtracking, revealed by a cascade of expressions, as they ask themselves who is it that would call me naive? Well, comes the answer, clearly a person possessing certainty, with all the arrogance and pretension that position entails; a confidence, then, that permits the offhand judgment, the derisive dismissal uttered from a most lofty height. And from this, into your victim's eyes will come the light of recognition - in you he faces his enemy, his truest enemy...'

[Fist and Faith]

Wow, I saw RG on the shelf at B&N just now and bought it. Still have to reread HoC, then on to first reading of MT, BH, and RG. Anyway, just thought I'd say I bought it.

[Waddley]

Hey, I just finished Reaper's Gale and I may have missed a part in Bonehunters or RG, or maybe he didn't mention it at all... but what ever happened to the kids that the 'hunters picked up in their under-city crawl? Did they end up on the ships? I don't remember when they would have had a chance to drop them off and I'm pretty sure they weren't mentioned in RG.

[Waddley]

So... no one knows? Erikson simply didn't mention it??

Poop.

[Onos T'oolan]

Well, as usual, the Prologue is awesome!!! Kilmandaros and Rake! Gothos making the Finnest! Such power in so few pages! Erikson's amazing!

(I know. I gotta get over my fear of using exclamation points...)