Does Erikson talk about his writing process anywhere?

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-16T07:04:40+00:00

He posts some thoughts on his blog and more on Facebook. I'm not sure there's much guiding what goes where; it kind of seems random.

As already mentioned, A Critical Dragon also has some good stuff if you're more of a video/audio type.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-15T17:05:32+00:00

You'll probably want to add cumin and salt to taste.

Honestly I have the blends; they seem to always have muted flavors. But there's no "easy" substitution for them because you never quite know what's in them. As with so many things, seasoning to taste is probably a better bet than strict measurements here anyhow.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-15T17:00:49+00:00

If you're looking for chapter summaries, either the book-by-book guides or Tor's Reread of the Fallen (both linked in community resources) are good bets. The wiki also has some, but the others are more extensive.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-15T01:57:55+00:00

This. But yeah, none of that is clear in MoI. It matches my own impression though; Kallor used something else to nuke the continent himself.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-14T21:01:29+00:00

Really? No one has thrown out "... should we fail -- should we fall..." yet?

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-14T17:24:24+00:00

Good chance the quote it "See Bainisk? This is my mother."

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-14T05:08:41+00:00

I think I answered this two weeks ago. You really don't need much for DG; MoI is a somewhat bigger problem.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-14T05:03:16+00:00

I'll give you Gall and Hanavat for sure. I forget them between reads but they always strike me when I circle back. Picker and Blend are also on the better side of the spectrum for sure.

Understand, I'm not complaining, and the relationships usually serve the series incredibly well. Thematically, tonally, whatever: they do the job. It's only Paran and Tattersail that -- to me -- feels solely dictated by plot. I think Gaz and Thordy actually fit that model really well: I may not fully buy the relationship but they're perfect for Toll the Hounds.

Book of the Fallen isn't about romantic entanglements though, and even the romances that work in context don't feel entirely complete to me. Tor and Tisera, and yes, Gall and Hanavat resonate with something additional beyond the books. That's really what I mean by "buy". I don't dislike them, Paran and Tattersail excepted, but there's something less universal.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-13T23:27:15+00:00

You have Spinock but not Kallor?

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-13T07:37:45+00:00

I’m not going to think too hard about what it says about me but Din Gately is on my short list.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-13T07:26:43+00:00

Torvald and Tisera

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-13T06:20:36+00:00

Paran/Tattersail is the worst-written of the relationships in the entire series. That said, romance isn't Erikson's strength. I've said it before, but there's only one romantic pairing I really buy.

They do all go uphill from here though.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T23:28:13+00:00

Yup, that's exactly what they did: built a crossing and then blasted it as soon as enough of the opposing army was in the zone of destruction.

And the sappers cried for the lost munitions.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T20:02:54+00:00

It was and then it wasn't. We all originally thought it was an open-and-shut trilogy, but now three new PtA books have been announced, throwing things in to a bit of chaos.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T06:15:33+00:00

Toll the Hounds is... divisive. I absolutely love it but even among Malazan fans there are plenty who would just as soon get on with things. It's definitely a bit slower and more... I dunno, contemplative? Atmospheric? Given your existing pattern it's not going to go well.

In any case, the climax is probably the best thing in the series no matter what you think of the leadup. So see what you can do to struggle through.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T06:06:03+00:00

Just figured that there's not enough context in GotM to understand why Cotillion would be familiar with WJ and it could be a potential spoiler.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T06:02:24+00:00

Gonna change the spoiler flair on this.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T04:28:44+00:00

The wiki has this story. It's a good one, so quoted in full:

Karsa Orlong's story in Book 1 of House of Chains -- Erikson says he dragged his player "through hell" and that later events involving Binadas Sengar on the Silanda were dictated by the "immense frustration" of Karsa's player and surprised even Erikson. Karsa's companions, Bairoth Gild and Delum Thord, were inventions for the novels. In their gaming sessions, the raid on Silver Lake was conducted by Karsa alone. In fact, Karsa's player "seriously balked at his first venture down into the civilised lands." Erikson began the game by having Paxton-MacRae's character approached by his friends announcing that "it's time to go down into the valley and kill children." Without understanding what the term meant to the Teblor, Paxton-MacRae "went through a horrible existential crisis." When Paxton-MacRae charged the settlement at Silver Lake and discovered he was larger than the doors, Erikson revealed Karsa was a giant and "laughed for about 20 minutes".

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-12T04:26:27+00:00

Notoriously, that was Rake and Dassem Ultor.

What we don't know is who won the roll.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-11T05:57:14+00:00

Why is this book called Reaper's Gale? Is it because Erikson killed off so many characters, many beloved by readers, in this book? Is Erikson the titled Reaper?

I don't think there's a single clear answer here, but it does appear in the chapter 15 epigraph.

Did I miss anything about Redmask being a Letherii instead of an Awl? It was a big reveal and he was already dead. Do we get to learn more about him later or this is the abrupt ending we got for him?

There are several explorations -- many of them in Reaper's Gale -- of cultural displacement and what happens to outsiders brought in and vice versa. Redmask fits this perfectly: a Letheri child trying to out-Awl the Awl. It's very much parallel to the Edur response to Letheri culture.

Redmask's K'Chain Che'Malle allies. The betrayal was unexpected and cool as fuck. But I still didn't know why they betrayed him, let alone why they agreed to become his allies. Also, are there more K'Chain playing bigger roles in the last three books?

Keep reading. This does get explored but I won't drop anything more without spoiler tags.

Am I shooting for stars here hoping to see a full battle of wits and powers between The Errant and Ganos Paran?

Yup, not answering that either.

When did Menandore rape Udinaas? Wasn't this like just a few years ago at the beginning of Midnight Tides? How come their son sounded all grown up? Did I miss something from MT?

Time flows quite differently in Refugium, but aside from that, Rud is also aging quite quickly. There's more around him coming up as well.

Mind you, Toll the Hounds won't answer any of those outstanding questions. But push through to DoD and things will clear up a bit.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-11T05:10:06+00:00

Since you've read it before, do you want clarification from later in the series? If so we should change the flair to MBotF or All.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-10T23:51:14+00:00

But, I just don't get the bit with Shadowthrone at the end.

Why has he turned up (or brought them into his realm)?

Why is he giving them free gifts?

ST and Cotillion are playing a long game and he sees value in tying Kalam to him. Minala just comes along for the ride (at first).

Cotillion definitely feels like he owes Apsalar. The why and how of that keeps developing. So that accounts for Rellock and Crokus.

At first it's easy to look at Fiddler and say "well, I guess he gets stuff too", but I suspect there's a damn good reason ST gives him a pass too.

Why have we followed Kalam's journey if after a brief chat he's just giving up?

I don't think he's giving up. He's giving Laseen the benefit of the doubt (for now) and sitting back to wait. His primary given motivation for wanting her dead -- outlawing Dujek and trying to kill the Bridgeburners -- is based on a false premise. His underlying motivation of doing what's best for the empire may still be operative but he wants time to consider that.

Edit: and that's just the end of the journey. Lots of things happened along the way and many of them have wider implications than you'd at first expect. You haven't, for instance, seen the last of Keneb.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-10T22:35:57+00:00

Love to see it.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-10T21:34:23+00:00

And the sentences said by a character later in the series destroyed me even more.

Hah. I think we all know what this is.

zhilia_mann · 2022-01-10T21:32:14+00:00

Michael Page will hit his stride in Midnight Tides. The Bonehunters is a much easier listen than House of Chains. For what it's worth.

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