"Deadhouse Gates" Part 2--March 22-28: Book Two (Chapters 6-10)

[Shelley]

Julie wrote: "Can someone please help me figure out when this happened, because it is driving me nuts? Since I'm not sure when it happened I'll put it as a spoiler. [When did Heboric...."

Hey Julie, I'm answering your question here under Deadhouse Gates instead of Gardens. :)

There was a series of mishaps that afflicted Heboric and Felisin, and I believe after they went thru the realm on Tallan he lost his sight, a final stripping if you will....

[Julie]

Oops, I meant to put it on Deadhouse Gates, sorry for the confusion.

[Margot]

In Part 2, I begin to see why people have difficulty getting through Felisin's sections. She's not only spiritually broken but now paranoid and bitter to the point of fantasizing about murdering all her companions. I keep wondering what it would take to bring her back from the dark side. Is it even possible at this point?

I also want to give a little shout out to SE's writing skills. I love when writers are able to meld internal monologue with the narrative voice. SE does this perfectly in Chapter 9 when Felisin is sitting on the newly-discovered dromon boat feeling, as usual, hopeless: "If demons rose out of the waters around them right now she would feel no shock, only a wonder that they had taken so long to appear and could you be swift in ending it all, now? Please." Love it.

Regarding the discussion around the reactions (or lack of reactions) toward the horrors and carnage of war, I agree that this issue had crossed my mind as well. I marvelled at these soldiers' ability to immediately move on from the trauma of what they were witnessing. But, as someone else already mentioned, they are veterans of war and already much soul-hardened. I think Duiker really hints at, too, the toll they will all pay for what they have witnessed and done. It's like how you often get sick on vacation because you've previously been too busy to get sick. But now you finally have time to relax and your guard is let down. These guys don't have time to react or mourn. Every moment, they still face the threat of imminent death. Thus, they put off the mental and emotional price they'll pay until later - once they've survived. I think Jason also made a great point that they're non-reactions are legitimate reactions.

[Sandra]

I agree that Duiker makes that point, finally, in the battle scene, which is one of the reasons I liked that part. I also agree that for soldiers, non-reactions are legitimate. But many of the people we see are not soldiers.

[Margot]

It would be a nice balance if we did see a person or two lose it. The only non-battle-experience POV character is Felisin. And I feel lime we are seeing a bundle of psychological trauma there. The other non-soldier main characters I can think of are Crokus and Apsalar, seen through Fiddler's des. They were definitely greatly disturbed by the horse-biting-off-face incident. But I agree that we probably could have benefitted from seeing more reaction from them when they rode through that city...was it New Velar?

[Sandra]

I agree Felisin's reactions are psychological trauma, but not enough attention is paid to this to make it real for me. And we have too little information about what she was like before this. Apsalar's reactions are complicated by her possession by - was it Shadowthrone? She was a simple fisherman's daughter, trying to get material to make nets, when we first meet her. Then she becomes someone else who turns her into a deadly assassin and who finally, mercifully, leaves her. Now the memories of what she did are emerging but she has no reaction to that? I find this unbelievable and totally can't relate to it. Of course, the whole world is so crazy with very little beauty or grace to begin with that it's hard to imagine how any human being can live in it.

Cormack McCarthy's The Road takes place in our world after some kind of apocalypse that has created endless ash and rain and totally blocks out the sun. A man is on a journey to try to find safety with his young son. We see horror after horror with them, and yet their essential humanity shows. I don't yet have this sense in this series. Perhaps it will come.

[[deleted user]]

Okay, still slugging my way along. Really enjoyed this section, but it was a little hard keeping everyone separate. Chapter 10, with the big battle scene, I kept having to stop and remember who was who, all the clans fighting and the different armies coming together, but the scene when the crossed the river, wow, that was crazy. I am enjoying all the story lines so far. Felisin's is certainly troubling, her story is pretty rough, but interesting none-the-less. Ready to get on to the Chain.

[Ben]

Okay, since I am a full 10 months behind in this group read I have refrained from posting so far but I have a question!

Can someone explain what is going on with the warrens?! It seems like they are able to time travel somewhat, or at least access times that are in the past. This happens in Gardens right? When the Jaghut is released, because they go back to a time when there is ice over his barrow. Several times now in DhG we also seem to access the past, whether it be the scene with Sormo at the oasis, or the scene where the warlock go back to deal with the Semk god, or the scene where Heboric et al get on the Silanda... Is there something that you can tell me without spoiling the series that will help me understand or are you just going to say "Read And Find Out" (that is acceptable I guess)?

Help!?

[Shelley]

Ben wrote: "Okay, since I am a full 10 months behind in this group read I have refrained from posting so far but I have a question!

Can someone explain what is going on with the warrens?! It seems like they a..."

Hi Ben!! You got the right of it, to a point! It more depends on which type of "magic" is being employed, Sormo was using a older form of magic (before the warrens) and so was able to pull the past to the present, for a moment.

Also the warrens are the phyical plain of the magic being weilded, so you can walk that warren, traveling from one point to another quicker then in the real world.

Hope this helps! :)

Shells:)

[Ben]

Thanks Shelley! That was very helpful.

[Shelley]

Ben wrote: "Thanks Shelley! That was very helpful."

No prob! Ask any time, Maggie and I are still around!! :)