GOTM - End of Book Discussion

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Great to have you back Chaz, that is an excellent description. Glad to have you in the group JL, crack onto the next book in the series. We are still very strict on spoilers, so you'll be able to read the chapter threads freely without worry.

[Pepster50]

Am I the only one who was genuinely upset about Lorn's death? I thought she was an interesting character and was sad to see her go. There is also so many questions regarding her that were never answered:

How did she become Laseens second in command at such a young age?

How was she able to identify where people were in D'stan? She clearly isn't a sorceress, and I doub't any magic was involved with that because she was carrying an Otataral sword. Maybe it had something to do with her Claw training.

I just wish we got to know a little more about her.

[Rob, Quick Ben]

I wasn't upset, but it's not like I was cheering either. I guess that makes me indifferent?

[David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow]

Pepster50 wrote: "How was she able to identify where people were in D'stan? "

According to Paran in ch18

'She'll have no trouble finding you. She has a talent in that area.

So this is some innate ability that isn't affected by the Otataral. Not all magic is.

[Lori]

I was sad about her missed opportunity, of turning her back on humanitarian feelings, her heart, it was tragic. But she made her choice.

[Silvio]

I thought Lorn was good as the voice of pessimism for the book. I felt sorry for her death but it was dramatically appropriate. At that point, I don't think it mattered so much even to her whether she lived or died.

[Dara]

Finally finished. After starting it in June...

Good book though the learning curve was steep. Definitely would like to read the rest of the series but maybe not for a while :-)

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Dara the rest of the series gets better and better. It still reamins a steep learning curve, but very rewarding :)

[Dara]

I will continue with the series at some point but I think I need a break! Been reading a lot of the "grimdark" stuff between this and Abercombie.

[Mpauli]

Dara wrote: "I will continue with the series at some point but I think I need a break! Been reading a lot of the "grimdark" stuff between this and Abercombie."

I know the feeling. I bought The Unnaturalists yesterday as a compensational fun read in between the more serious and darker books I'm reading at the moment.

[Rob, Quick Ben]

I found The Curse of Chalion a nice break from grimdark. All set for more Abercrombie.

[Dara]

Need a bit of lighter fare between this dark stuff. Maybe something without possessions and swords that trap your soul and deathly scary hounds...

[Mpauli]

Rob wrote: "I found The Curse of Chalion a nice break from grimdark. All set for more Abercrombie."

That's good to know. I wanted to read it this month as well for the S&L pick.
But with it, First Law 3, 2x Steven Erikson, Black Sun Rising and Robin Hobb, I'm doing a lot of fantasy again, which I love, but I also wanted to get a bit of SF, Steampunk, Urban Fantasy and Flintlock Fantasy done this year to keep the mix fresh.

[Rob, Quick Ben]

Well it's more historical fiction/politics than fantasy really.

[Becky]

Dara wrote: "I will continue with the series at some point but I think I need a break! Been reading a lot of the "grimdark" stuff between this and Abercombie."

Abercrombie is about as dark as I could take. Those books really had an effect me, but they left me still wanting more... Just not right away.

I'm just finishing Deadhouse, and I'd be afraid to take a break. I'd forget too much and have to start over.

[Logan]

I have not completed this book yet, so maybe this comment is more appropriate for another section. I would just like to echo the sentiments of many other forums and comments. I was extremely skeptical of this series for the first 300 pages. I have been a long time fantasy reader but never have I encountered a book on this scale. And again I havent even finished the first book. I would compare the first 300 pages of this book to reading a historical fiction novel, with absolutely no knowledge of the history in question. Erickson gives you practically nothing to start with. And I found myself on several occasions looking at reference pages and websites trying to figure out what was happening. I say all this to say, it is worth it. I am now about 450 pages in, and the last several pages have been great. Many of the terms are begging to be second nature, and all of the seemingly random plot points have begun to come together. So from a malazan convert, I say STICK WITH IT.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Logan, you are right, sticking with the book opens up a huge story. We are finishing book eight at the moment and if I told you who was running around in this story in Daru, you'd understand how much of this story was planned. This series is challenging, but it is immensely rewarding too.


Glad to have you on board. As you read through, use the threads, there are many discussions on each chapter. If you have a question, you'll probably find the answer there. If not, post anyway, there are a few of us who check the earlier threads to answer questions of new readers.

[Logan]

Thank you Lee! I appreciate the challenge of this book, it has always been my opinion that reading a book is synonmys with working out and staying fit. Only instead of your muscles and heart, you are working out your brain. It is obvious in Ericksons writing that he has an archeological background. Which contributes to the extreme detail and his thorough writing style. I look forward to connected "threads" throughout the series.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

LOL you are certainly going to work your brain in this series. You'll often see in the threads "Erikson doesn't waste words". So we jump to conclusions all the time and try to second guess everything that is said.

[Silvio]

Glad to hear your enthusiasm, Logan, and I'm sure the rest of the series won't disappoint you. Complicated terms finally making sense, random plot threads finally coming together, archaeological details - it all just gets better, especially in the first few books. I've just been reading The Road to Middle-Earth and it's made me realize that Erikson and Tolkien may not have much in common, but they're more alike than anyone in what they got out of their academic backgrounds. They both understand so well that everything has a history.

[The_brein]

What exactly did Ducheck do to be branded an outlaw?

Didn't particularly enjoy hairlock. I really didn't understand what was going on with him.

Also didn't enjoy tattersail. For being head of her group of mages, she sure was insignificant.

My favorite character was anomander Rake. Whenever he's in a scene, you know something big is happening!

First time posting. Just finished book. I understood/retained about 80% of the book. I enjoyed it. Give it a 8.9 rating. I have no desire to go back and re read. I'll move on to second book.

[Dara]

I think Dujek was too close to the former Emperor, Kellaved. Laseen saw him as a threat.

[Robson]

Hello there,

I have just finished the GOTM and, since the chapter five, have followed the forum comments and I could not wait for the end of every chapter to find out what you guys were discussing here...not need to mention that it helped me a lot to get through the whole book ( which I read in less than two weeks).I cant hardly wait to get DG started and join the forum discussions over each chapter...see you guys at DG forum

[Rob, Quick Ben]

Glad to see people still finding them useful.

[Aaron]

I've finished GOTM today and while I enjoyed it, I never got emotionally involved as I have other books. I think it stems from trying to over-analyze everything and sometimes reading too fast and not catching things. And of course I still have questions.

Several times in one of the last chapters it mentioned specifically how Moon's Spawn was directly over the city, not much higher than the tree tops. What was the significance?

I'm quite lost on the Azath. Was this thing mentioned in another chapter? I kinda get the feeling it came because of Raest, power seeking power kind of thing. Why did it show up, was it summoned or came on its own? How did Capt Paran get pulled into the Warren to fight the Finnest/defend the Azath? Is there a Warren version and a real life version of the Azath?

The plan for the Rebels was to have the Assassins Guild murder the top mages, who were running things behind-the-scenes. Blow up the streets, causing all sorts of havoc. Then have High Fist Dujek come in and act like a Saving Grace, then start the rebellion against the Empire. Is this correct? Seems like a pretty heartless plan to get what you want. Should I get used to this in the world of Malazan?

And last but not least what was Oponn's play in all this? Just havoc? Why did they bring back Paran? What was the significance of giving Crokus the coin?

Maybe I didn't understand anything in the book. At least that how it feels now writing all the questions.

[Luiz Fernando]

Hello guys,

I found this group just after finishing reading the book, I wish I had found it earlier, it would have been very helpful.

It's my first time reading this series, so I got a bunch of questions! If someone could enlight me about a couple of doubts:

- In chapter 4 we see Hairlock trying to absorb the soul of a Hound, and then Tattersail stops him. What was happening here? I had the impression that they were like "friends", but after this Hairlock wants to kill her and Paran. Why?

- Then in another chapter we find out that Tayschrenn wanted Tattersail dead too. What exactly is his motivation for this?

- Am I supposed to understand why does Laseen wants the Bridgeburners to be killed, or will this be explained in further books? Also the whole thing about Dujek rebealing at the end...

I know those questions might sound fool but I just want to make sure I understood the whole thing before going on with the second book (I think it's too early to read the first book again).

Thank you guys!

[Bobby]

Luiz wrote: "Hello guys,

I found this group just after finishing reading the book, I wish I had found it earlier, it would be very helpful.

It's my first time reading this searies, so I got a bunch of questio..."

Hi Luiz, I joined well after the group reading was done, but I have been re-reading the series because I haven't read the last book yet.

Hairlock was unstable and getting crazier all the time. So they were at the very least colleagues if not friends before the book starts, but now he is playing with chaos and it has corrupted him. So in his crazy state I think the fact that Tattersail stopped him was enough to make him want to kill her. The only reason he didn't is because he saw what Paran did to the Hound, and was intimidated.

Tattersail was technically deserting when she left Pale in that other chapter. That's why Taysschrenn sent Bellurdan to stop her. He didn't want her dead, he just wanted her back with the army, but he couldn't let her disobey orders.

The reason we are given that Laseen wants the Bridgeburners dead is because they are part of the "old guard" that was loyal to the previous emperor. This and the part about Dujek rebelling are explained more in depth later on.

If you go back to the group discussion on each chapter you will find some good discussion and analysis of the book.