* Runniks tale/Tulls tale - it's impossible for me to split these two chapters.
This section of TIW reads like a horror-story, as I have said before.
The Sarangrave is one of my favourite parts of the Land, I love SRD's descriptive passages, the marshes and swamps, the man-shy animals, the iridescent birds, I think there were yipping hyena-like creatures at one point.
Hyrim and Shetra are a great pair of characters, the way their contrasting personalities and temprements inform their attitudes and decisions on this part of the journey illustrates the trepidation they feel superbly.
The encounter with Hoerkin/ahamkara is creepy and unsettling.
I love Shetra's exclamation of 'Hyrim, we are baited !' it was one of those exciting SRD moments like 'Nom' - you just knew shit was about to go down.
The loss of Shetra and Hyrims subsequent despondency and illness raised the stakes still higher.
Hyrim's efforts to rouse himself and impell the raft through mud using his staff has a motor/rudder was a stoic effort, he would be one of my fave characters in all the chronicles.
Of course things go from bad to worse once Hyrim and the Bloodguard
reach coerci.
The slow reveal of the Giants gruesome fate is expertly written.
Then the confrontation with Kinslaughterer - this is one of my favourite, most epic scenes in all the chrons.
turiya is a bad mofo, stamping around in Giant-blood like a complete nutter, rending heads left, right and centre. He disses Hyrim's pronunciation of the seven words, mocks the loss of Shetra and then kills his host's daddy, before incapacitating the company and marching off to the piers to raise a tidal-wave with his badass chant.
Hyrim's brave intervention and horrible death, is avenged by a stirring beat-down from the Bloodguard, they kick the hell out of turiya and the tidal wave subsides.
Of course the three remaining Bloodguard conceit themselves that they can withstand the evil of the Illearth Stone (well, a fragment of it), ending the tales of Runnik and Tull on an appropriately bleak note.
* the Celebration of Spring - the magnificence of the Land and Andelain is exquisitely described in this chapter. The dance of the wraiths is vividly written, I can see it clearly in my mind's eye.
I loved the profound effect the wraiths had on the Unbeliever ..
And of course this chapter marks the first appearance of the ur-viles ...
* Descent to Earthroot - I love the whole Power of Command section of TIW, but if forced to choose one chapter I'd pick Descent to Earthroot. Just.
Melenkurion Skyweirs eerie caverns, silent waterfalls and strange ripple-less water is superbly described by SRD. With he way the story is so delicately poised at this point, the sense of anticipation and wonder is at fever-pitch.
that's leaving out sooo much that I love ; all of the 'real world' stuff, particularly in TIW and TPTP.
All the waiting at Revelstone in TIW before Foul's movements are confirmed; TC's confrontations with Hile Troy and the first chapter from Mhoram's perspective (seer and oracle ?) are great.
Foamfollower and TC's final journey to Foul's creche has many memorable highlights too.
Damn I love them first chronicles !!!
