House of Chains [Spoilers]

[Onos T'oolan]

Who called you crazy?

At first glance, yeah, that ending is a let down. No big powers being thrown around. No bloody, drawn out duel.

On second thought, it might be the most brutal thing in the eight books! Two sisters. One knowing they're sisters, and hating the other. Confused, manipulated, having lived through some horrifying things. Blaming it all on the other.

And the other, unaware. Sent a couple of agents out to find the very girl she's now approaching. She knows the horrors her sister must have experienced, and that she, herself, sent her sister to them. But she loves her sister. She's crap about expressing that love, but that's a shortcoming lots of people have, eh? Out of love, she sent her sister to those horrors, because there was no other way to preserve her life. And with the agents mere moments away, approaching to tell her who's in front of her, she shoves a sword through her sister's body. Christ...

You think she won't find out? You think her finding out won't lead to disaster? And what if their brother finds out?

Hell, even if nobody finds out, that's the saddest thing I've ever heard.

[Farm Ur-Ted]

Personally, I can't believe that no one is bothered by the fact that 2,000 pages of buildup to the Apocolypse Whirlwind Battle of all Battles, ended that way? Yeesh. And you call me crazy.

I kind of liked the ending, particularly the scene with the dead general who thought he was still alive. That was pretty awesome. But I understand how you feel. Different series, but I felt exactly that way when I read the 3d book of the Prince of Nothing series. I was totally let-down, and there is no way in the world I'll ever get suckered into reading anything by Bakker again.

[lucimay]

agreed regarding bakker. he's a nice fella and all but...dude...i bought the 3rd book in the series and never read it. *shrug* i know a lot of people love it tho.

[Farm Ur-Ted]

agreed regarding bakker. he's a nice fella and all but...dude...i bought the 3rd book in the series and never read it. *shrug* i know a lot of people love it tho.

I just felt like I fell for the old bait-and-switch with that trilogy. I was promised a complete story at the start, or at least something approximating a finished product, and then I got to the end of the third book, which wasn't remotely an ending point for the story, and then found out that there were going to be at least four more books that were going to take a decade or so to be written. Oh, and he's writing a sci-fi book on a dare from his girl-friend, so he won't be getting back to working on delivering the 2nd apocalypse until he's finished with it. I'm still pissed, cuz I really liked the first two books. At least with Erikson, you know it's a 10 book series when you start off, and that it doesn't follow directly from one book to the next.

[Demondime-a-dozen-spawn]

Finished the book and I wasn't crazy about the ending either.

After the intensity of the first part concerning Karsa that ends with finding out the mindblowing fact that he is the Toblokai we were introduced to way back in Deadhouse Gates, the story ends on a cliffhanger concerning Onrack, Trull and the renegade Imass, and the non-apocalyptic battle of Ruraku.

I do appreciate that Erikson has prolonged Tavore's ignorance concerning the true fate of her sister, but it just seems way too unlikely that Tavore wouldn't want to look upon the face of Sha'ik immediately after she killed her.

EDIT: I have also come to the conclusion that, as individuals, I tend to like and admire the T'lan Imass, but collectively, I can't stand them. To be blunt, they're out-of-control genocidal maniacs.

[lucimay]

so what happened is, i was halfway through my second read of toll the hounds after my second read of return of the crimson guard after my second reads of bonehunters and reapers gale when i accidentally left my copy of toll the hounds at a pome group meeting, whereupon my pome friend josh rescued the book and then kept forgetting to bring it back to me.
thusly i ended up going all the way back to memories of ice (dudes, i totally cried over whiskeyjack again) and reading that for the second time.
then, when i finished, we had another pome meeting and josh brung my toll the hounds back so i am finishing that before going on to my second read of house of chains.

so i think deadhouse gates, house of chains and midnight tides are the only books i haven't read twice or three times.

and so...ddressing demondimhead's above post.....

WHAT TOBLOKAI in deadhouse gates??? i've totally forgotten that too! yeesh.

[I'm Murrin]

The big one in the seashell vest with the stone sword and tattooed face acting as Shaik's bodyguard when she is killed, and afterward accompanying (along with Leoman) Felisin, Heboric, and company into Raraku. He starts his enmity with Heboric then and along the way acquires his bear-skin cloak (which he's wearing in the later parts of HoC).

[lucimay]

oh yeah, okay. i knew that. heh. i actually remembered that when leoman pulls his crap later.

[Demondime-a-dozen-spawn]

Another part of the storyline that concerns one of the minor characters kinda irritated me too.

Can't recall his name off hand, but Leoman's Lieutenant first survives a sharper in the lap by thrusting a handily discarded helmet over it at the last second before it blows up, later survives two arrows that miraculously lodge in the lance strapped to his back instead of in his back, and has an unlikely escape from yet a third brush with death that I can't recall the details of at the moment.

All well and good. If not the Luck of Oppon, then just Dumb Luck was with him. The problem is, I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO COME BACK AND HAUNT ME in some future book, when Leoman's Lieutenant does something to some character I respect and admire - most likely, kill him or her.

[I'm Murrin]

He's a great character, and apparently blessed by Oponn, though there's never a real confirmation of that. Far too lucky for it to be coincidence, though, which is why people keep him around.
I, too, have forgotten his long, unwieldy name.

[lucimay]

The problem is, I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO COME BACK AND HAUNT ME in some future book, when Leoman's Lieutenant does something to some character I respect and admire - most likely, kill him or her.

NOT NECESSARILY!!


(assuming you're both referring to Corab Bhilan Thenu'alas)

[I'm Murrin]

Indeed.

[Demondime-a-dozen-spawn]

Yeah, that's the guy. The one with the long unweildy name.

Almost as unweildy as SRD's "ak Haru Kenaustin Ardenol."

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And lucimay, your "NOT NECESSARILY." is very heartening to read!

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I'm also looking forward to any comment from Onos T'oolan about my disparaging remark about the T'lan Imass... :paranoid:

[lucimay]

just to give you something to look forward to without being too spoilerish, yes demondime a dozen spawnishness, you are correct,

corab appears in bonehunters in a signifcant and surprising (i think) role.

[StevieG]

Just finished House of Chains.

One thing that I have enjoyed reading this series so far is that you're often rootin' for characters on both sides of a battle etc. and the distinction between who is the "team" to barrack for is majorly blurred!

Karsa Orlong is one of my favourite characters, and Iskaral Pust one of my least favourite. I can't really explain why, but whenever there's a passage about Karsa, I get enthused, and whenever the story moves to Iskaral and his abode, I can't wait for it to end!

Tavore and Felisin's final scene has to be one of the most tragic moments of all books to date.

Now, I've just rung every bookstore in my town, and no-one has Midnight Tides, so I've had to order it - a week or so away. I can transfer it from the Library which has a copy in another part of the state, but from experience that takes up to 2 weeks, so - frustrated!

[Onos T'oolan]

One thing that I have enjoyed reading this series so far is that you're often rootin' for characters on both sides of a battle etc. and the distinction between who is the "team" to barrack for is majorly blurred!

I felt exactly the same with this book.

[Avatar]

I like Prusk...the contrast between his spoken thoughts and his conversations is always amusing to me.

--A

[StevieG]

I like Prusk...the contrast between his spoken thoughts and his conversations is always amusing to me.

--A

Is that Pust you're talking about (or maybe a character out of a future book??). I find his conversations interesting, but generally annoying, but I can understand why one would like it. Looks like they're going on a journey somewhere (Cutter/Crokus, Pust, Felisin, Scillara, Heboric etc), so I guess there'll be more "fun" to come...

[Avatar]

Bah, minor typo. Nothing to do with being too lazy to check back for the spelling.

Anyway, yeah, I love it when, for example, he tells everybody "Oh, everything is fine," and then in the next breath tells himself (aloud) "We're all going to die."

--A

[Onos T'oolan]

Yeah, I love when Iskaral Pust is on stage!!! He freakin' kills me!!