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Ccs posted:I just have a hard time caring about any of the characters. This is definitely something that bothered me too. Even the 'cool' characters aren't, well... characters. If you had to describe Fiddler's personality without mentioning that he's a sapper, what do you say? Or talk about Kalam except for the bit how he's an assassin with all these awesome assassin abilities. There's nothing else. Everyone drinks and spits and has mutually affirming relationships with women but there's precious little personality to go round. Book 3 spoiler -I think this is a huge part of why Whiskeyjack's death was so personally underwhelming. I didn't know the guy. I've spent hundreds of pages reading about him and know lots of things he has done and people who think he's awesome but he's still just this distant Thing That Acts. And shags a Tiste Andii in what appears to be a cheap attempt to get me to care about him (edit: oh, and talks about how he's going to retire and live a life of peace in a log cabin in the hills with his kids and some deer in an enormous I AM GOING TO DIE! KALLOR IS GOING TO KILL ME! I WILL DIE! speech). I can't describe his character or predict what he'd do in any given situation other than Be Generally Respected. He tried to blow up a town full of people in the first book and by the third he's philosophising about innocence? Kill the guy, I don't know him. suburban virgin fucked around with this message at 00:51 on Jul 4, 2011 |
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Jul 4, 2011 00:49
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Fargo Fukes posted:This is definitely something that bothered me too. Even the 'cool' characters aren't, well... characters. If you had to describe Fiddler's personality without mentioning that he's a sapper, what do you say? It's the other way. It's the fictional characters that are usually easy to narrow down in a pattern. Fiction = simplification and reduction to a recognizable/familiar type. Fiddler has no "perceivable" personality in GotM because he appears in an handful of pages and never as PoV, he gets plenty of personality in DG. What I mean is that what you describe isn't something relative to good or bad writing, but relative to writing styles. Most fiction has a spotlight on a character. You get to know who they are, their previous life, aspirations, fears and so on. Once you get a full grasp on the character then the plot starts to move. Erikson instead writes no "slice of life" scenes. There's almost nothing resembling a traditional form of narration. What you get is scenes and fragments, and only from what you see in those scenes you can gleam facets of a character. Without a full spotlight, characters only develop proportionally to the scenes they are in, and progressively as you put together the pieces.
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Jul 4, 2011 02:04
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Fargo Fukes posted:This is definitely something that bothered me too. Even the 'cool' characters aren't, well... characters. If you had to describe Fiddler's personality without mentioning that he's a sapper, what do you say? Fargo Fukes posted:Or talk about Kalam except for the bit how he's an assassin with all these awesome assassin abilities. There's nothing else. There's nothing flat about either of those characters.
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Jul 4, 2011 02:17
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WeWereSchizo posted:There's nothing flat about either of those characters. Nothing except Kalam's abs.
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Jul 4, 2011 02:19
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Junk Science posted:Nothing except Kalam's abs.
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Jul 4, 2011 02:23
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WeWereSchizo posted:Rippling. Definitely rippling. I never pictured kalam as the six pack type, considering that he's always described as "bear like" and "hulking." He's one of those dudes whose big in every way without seeming fat at all.
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Jul 4, 2011 05:20
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A Nice Boy posted:I never pictured kalam as the six pack type, considering that he's always described as "bear like" and "hulking." He's one of those dudes whose big in every way without seeming fat at all. In my mind he has always been Lebron James.
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Jul 4, 2011 05:53
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Juaguocio posted:It is pretty odd that the short form of his name is "Ben," since his full name, Adaephon Ben Delat, seems to suggest a Hebrew or Arabic type of patronymic system. If that were the case, his name would mean something like "Adaephon, son of Delat," but since he uses different parts of that name as aliases throughout the series I don't know if that's what Erikson intended. Isn't his full name Ben Adaephon Delat? Thats how it's listed in both wikipedia and the malazan wiki. Does anyone happen to remember how his sister refers to him during the bit of their childhood we see? On a similar subject I find Quick Ben suspicious during the forging of the bridgeburners. Whiskeyjack and one company of soldiers (who aren't yet the legendary bridgeburners) pursue 13 high mages across a wasteland and into Raraku. Despite the having knowledge of the land and probably the best assassin in their country as an infiltrator in the bridgeburners the mages never even try a confrontation. There's no mention of the bridgeburners having any mages with enough power to withstand a serious attack by the likes of Quick Ben (already noted to be a candidate for the Magi of High House Shadow). Even if there were a few who died before GotM Kalam would have been right next to them at the start of an ambush. Even if they expected heavy casualties it still seems like a better deal then all being soul shifted into Quick Ben. What did Quick Ben say or do to make them go along with it?
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Jul 4, 2011 06:36
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LtSmash posted:Isn't his full name Ben Adaephon Delat? Thats how it's listed in both wikipedia and the malazan wiki. Does anyone happen to remember how his sister refers to him during the bit of their childhood we see? From Memories of Ice: “ Whiskeyjack said nothing. He angled his mount past the assassin, approached the wizard. ‘One question,’ the wizard asked, his voice barely a whisper yet carrying clearly across the amphitheatre. ‘What?’ ‘Who in Hood’s name are you?’ Whiskeyjack raised a brow. ‘Does it matter?’ ‘We have crossed Raraku entire.’ the wizard said. ‘Other side of these cliffs is the trail leading down to G’danisban. You chased me across the Holy Desert…gods, no man is worth that, not even me!’ ‘There were eleven others in your company, wizard.’ Adaephon Delat shrugged ‘I was the youngest – the healthiest – by far. Yet now, finally, even my body has given up. I can go no further.’ His dark eyes reached past Whiskeyjack ‘Commander, your soldiers…’ ‘What of them?’ ‘They are more…and less. No longer what they once were. Raraku, sir, has burned the bridges of their pasts, one and all – it’s all gone.’ He met Whiskeyjack’s eyes in wonder. ‘And they are yours. Heart and soul. They are yours.’ … ‘…The game we played Whiskeyjack? Only one of survival. At first. We didn’t think you’d make it, to be perfectly honest. We thought Raraku would come to claim you – I suppose she did, in a way, though not in a way I would have anticipated. What you and your soldiers have become…’ He shook his head. ‘What we have become,’ Whiskeyjack said ‘you have shared. You and Kalam...’ …Grimacing, Whiskeyjack twisted further to survey his soldiers. The array of faces could have been carved from stone. A company, culled from the army’s cast-offs, now a bright, hard core. ‘Gods,’ he whispered under his breath, ‘what have we made here?’ The first blood-letting engagement of the Bridgeburners was the retaking of G’danisban – a mage, an assassin, and seventy soldiers who swept into a rebel stronghold of four hundred desert warriors and crushed them in a single night.” I think the mages were afraid of them, and opted to run than fight.
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Jul 4, 2011 06:48
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Electronico6 posted:I think the mages were afraid of them, and opted to run than fight. But why were they afraid of them? 70 soldiers from the dregs of the army vs 12 high mages + kalam. I figure Quick Ben tricked them so he would come out on top but how did he pull that off? The other 11 should have been able to tell that they outgunned their pursuers even if they didn't know about Kalam. And how did Quick Ben get them to agree to go into Raraku when they would all know they were too old and decrepit to make it out the other side?
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Jul 4, 2011 07:01
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quote:I think the mages were afraid of them, and opted to run than fight. Not really, their plan was obviously to let the desert gently caress them over but WJ won't go down so easily. Probably by the point that the mages realized they got a heck of a hound on their tail they were already so weak that it became a game of chicken. The scary Bridgeburners didn't exist before the desert. quote:LtSmash IIRC Ben was the youngest and weakest of the high mages and I don't think he anticipated that he'll get their souls. IIRC the other mages gave it to him when they saw no chances of themself getting out of the desert alive. The mages were originally planning to run away from the dying Seven Cities so they probably hoped to only be in the desert long enough to weaken their pursuers which then they'll swoop down and finish them quickly and leave the continent with no one chasing them. Vanilla Mint Ice fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Jul 4, 2011 |
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Jul 4, 2011 07:02
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Is this the series of books that literally has a main character named "Darkblade" or am I mistaken
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Jul 4, 2011 07:11
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Blade. Darkblade.
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Jul 4, 2011 07:12
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Meme Emulator posted:Is this the series of books that literally has a main character named "Darkblade" or am I mistaken You are mistaken and I think that's Warhammer.
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Jul 4, 2011 07:12
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Fargo Fukes posted:This is definitely something that bothered me too. Even the 'cool' characters aren't, well... characters. If you had to describe Fiddler's personality without mentioning that he's a sapper, what do you say? Or talk about Kalam except for the bit how he's an assassin with all these awesome assassin abilities. There's nothing else. Everyone drinks and spits and has mutually affirming relationships with women but there's precious little personality to go round. Everyone speaks with the same voice. Every character feels the same but with a different backstory, and none of them feel developed. You can describe nearly every single character with a five word sentence fragment. The story and setting are wonderful, and it feels like they're the primary characters. The actual characters exist merely to drive the plot in Erikson's voice. All of them feel rather unfortunately like narrators and not characters, which leads to an emotional disattachment. I think the entire series may have been best written from the first-person perspective of a nameless philosophizing soldier, the type of guy Erikson wants every character to be. Erikson has a fantastic knack for story and world, but his characters are unfortunately lifeless. Also I think forums poster Abalieno might be Steven Erikson. He registered back in April and only seems to post in this thread to answer its critics. HeroOfTheRevolution fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Jul 4, 2011 |
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Jul 4, 2011 07:31
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Also I think forums poster Abalieno might be Steven Erikson. He registered back in April and only seems to post in this thread to answer its critics. Pretty sure it's just a goon who likes fantasy fiction and anime. Lost (-2) Vs Malazan (It's turtles all the way down)
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Jul 4, 2011 07:51
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Everyone speaks with the same voice. Every character feels the same but with a different backstory, and none of them feel developed. You can describe nearly every single character with a five word sentence fragment. Kruppe, Tehol, Pust, Whiskeyjack, Fiddler and Rake all speak with the same voice? o.O They have one hell of a vocal range then.
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Jul 4, 2011 08:28
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Masonity posted:Kruppe, Tehol, Pust, Whiskeyjack, Fiddler and Rake all speak with the same voice? o.O They have one hell of a vocal range then. Not to mention Karsa, Rhulad, Stormy and Gesler, Corabb, etc etc
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Jul 4, 2011 08:38
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Masonity posted:Kruppe, Tehol, Pust, Whiskeyjack, Fiddler and Rake all speak with the same voice? o.O They have one hell of a vocal range then. There are very good characters that I found both distinctive and engaging. But there are also characters that were pretty flat and you wouldn't notice much if they were shuffled around except for the names. It kinda comes with the territory of a vast story and world that you see from so many points of view. I think Erikson is a great writer and I love his work, but he wasn't quite good enough to pull off so many points of view distinctly. He probably would have done better if he cut the lesser points of view and focused on developing the weaker remaining ones more. This would have also cut the sprawl that popped up in the latter books which would have made it tighter overall.
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Jul 4, 2011 08:58
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LtSmash posted:There are very good characters that I found both distinctive and engaging. But there are also characters that were pretty flat and you wouldn't notice much if they were shuffled around except for the names. It kinda comes with the territory of a vast story and world that you see from so many points of view. I think Erikson is a great writer and I love his work, but he wasn't quite good enough to pull off so many points of view distinctly. He probably would have done better if he cut the lesser points of view and focused on developing the weaker remaining ones more. This would have also cut the sprawl that popped up in the latter books which would have made it tighter overall. I'm either misunderstanding your claim, or it's totally bogus from my perspective. Are you telling me that Kruppe the character could have delivered Whiskeyjack's lines and led the bridgeburners? That Pust acts and speaks the way that Rake does, and would have been fine as the leader of the Andii rather than high magi / priest of shadow? Ganoes Paran couldn't have led the bonehunters. Tavore would have been totally out of place in Whiskeyjack's place in book 3. No-one but Coltaine could have played out the Chain of Dogs storyline. None of the major characters could have been shuffled. Some of the minor ones may have worked in different roles, but the stars of the series were distinct. The only swap I could see working would have been Pust and Shadowthrone.
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Jul 4, 2011 10:12
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Masonity posted:I'm either misunderstanding your claim, or it's totally bogus from my perspective. I think by same voice he means, that the characters are all "saying" the same thing. They are all created from the same philosophical thought or theme that Erikson is writing about. After awhile some characters do feel the same, cause in a level they are the same. Not that Wiskeyjack could say the lines of Kruppe, or that Pust acts the same way as Rake, but that most of them are based on the same idea. An example and probably the one that stands out the most: The soldiers in the series are identical. You can say that Smiles and Bottle have a different characterization, but their cores are the same and they are there to just repeat what an already existing character was saying. This gets tiring after awhile cause there are so many, and Erikson wants you to like every single one and have some emotional response to them when they die or survive, but for most readers they find themselves in trouble to care about, as they can't distinguish them. Being a Malazan fan, I will agree that characters are Erikson's biggest weakness. Most of them feel like clones and a lot are walking philosophical ramblings.(Especially characters introduced later on) In many occasions I have the impression that Erikson is more worried in creating a concept and developing an idea than real characters. For example in Toll the Hounds. I forgot the child's name, but it's the kid that gets lost in the mines. The reason that this child character exists is purely on allegory levels. His story mimics the story of Anomander Rake and his brothers, and on a whole, the story of the Tiste Andii.
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Jul 4, 2011 10:34
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just fyi you guys but LtSmash wasn't the one who said they all speak with the same voice, he just quoted the guy who responded to herooftherevolution who said it originally
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Jul 4, 2011 14:27
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Masonity posted:The only swap I could see working would have been Pust and Shadowthrone. Just because they talk funny doesn't make them swappable. And they even talk funny in completely different ways.
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Jul 4, 2011 20:34
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Vanilla Mint Ice posted:Not really, their plan was obviously to let the desert gently caress them over but WJ won't go down so easily. Probably by the point that the mages realized they got a heck of a hound on their tail they were already so weak that it became a game of chicken. The scary Bridgeburners didn't exist before the desert.
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Jul 4, 2011 21:45
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Masonity posted:The only swap I could see working would have been Pust and Shadowthrone.
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Jul 4, 2011 22:05
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Abalieno posted:Just because they talk funny doesn't make them swappable. And they even talk funny in completely different ways. They also think funny. I'm not entirely convinced that Pust isn't a stretching of Shadowthrone, just like that priest of shadow in Stonewielder.
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Jul 4, 2011 22:06
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Electronico6 posted:Being a Malazan fan, I will agree that characters are Erikson's biggest weakness. Most of them feel like clones and a lot are walking philosophical ramblings.(Especially characters introduced later on) In many occasions I have the impression that Erikson is more worried in creating a concept and developing an idea than real characters. For example in Toll the Hounds. Ugh, Harllo. His story was basically one big red herring. He meets the busted-up T'lan Imass miner and it seems like something interesting is going to happen, and then the Imass gets eaten by the Azath without us even seeing it occur. The allegorical aspect of the Harllo plotline hadn't occurred to me, because it seems completely pointless. The Tiste Andii story has enough metaphorical depth on its own that I don't understand why Erikson felt the need to complicate it further with goofy connections like that. I suppose Harllo does tie in with Murillio's storyline, but I'm ambivalent about that whole part as well. It provides some heartwrenching moments, certainly, but I also feel that it could have been completely excised without harming TtH at all.
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Jul 5, 2011 00:37
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I'm cool with Harllo's little side adventure because we get to see some Nom Nom Noms.
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Jul 5, 2011 00:49
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Masonity posted:I'm either misunderstanding your claim, or it's totally bogus from my perspective. Well I'm not the one who said they were all the same, I rather like a lot of the characters. Especially Rake and Kallor after you get to really see them. Erikson really blew my hair back with Rake considering I finished the first book thinking of him as a generic tormented badass dark elf. I do think there are pretty weak characters who blend together. Marines especially tend to suffer from this. They tend to be rather shallow; reluctant soldiers who come to realize they survive by luck as much as by their own skill, fighting for a commander/land/empire that seems resentful of them and only keep going out of respect for their fellow soldiers. Most don't change too much over the series or add deeply to the story, but for some reason they get almost as much screen time as the real gems. Kruppe couldn't have lead the bridgeburners but Coltaine/Rake/Brys Beddict/and maybe Onos T'oolan or a late series Ganoes wouldn't have been too out of place. There are a lot of noble soldiers with unreasonable burdens to carry. There are also a lot of tribal villagers who are faced with a changing world they are helpless to prevent. And considering assassinations don't happen very often there sure are a lot of assassins with hearts of gold. Not to mention exceptionally powerful people hiding in plain sight to escape a troubled past. Fiddler says there were plenty of bridgeburners who were assholes and let the legend go to their heads, but we don't much see them. And where are the soldiers who don't much care about the reason why but just want to kill and plunder. We seen some, but they mostly come off as comical. Why aren't there many commanders who fall somewhere between the pinnacle of human spirit and maliciousness or overwhelming incompetence? I think that part of the reason I love the chain of dogs arc is because it doesn't fall into the traps other parts of the series do but still touches on most of the themes. A big part of this is heavy emphasis on Duiker's point of view. We don't see endless soldiers mulling over why they fight or Coltaine nobly carry his burden for others or lots of philosophy about progress vs tradition or civilization vs nature or the gods trying to play mortals for their own gain. But all of those things are going on. Duiker takes up arms despite being free not too, Coltaine has an impossible burden that he completes, the whole war is a conflict of progress vs tradition. The soldiers don't know why the gently caress the natives are rebelling when the Malazans brought peace, prosperity, and stability to the seven cities. And as much as the anything else in the series its a conflict by the gods for their own ends.
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Jul 5, 2011 01:11
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Juaguocio posted:Ugh, Harllo. His story was basically one big red herring. He meets the busted-up T'lan Imass miner and it seems like something interesting is going to happen, and then the Imass gets eaten by the Azath without us even seeing it occur. The allegorical aspect of the Harllo plotline hadn't occurred to me, because it seems completely pointless. The Tiste Andii story has enough metaphorical depth on its own that I don't understand why Erikson felt the need to complicate it further with goofy connections like that. One big allegory: Harllo abandoned by his mother. The Tiste Andii feel abandoned by Mother Dark. Harllo has to learn to live with his half brother, Snell, in an environment not his own.(His aunts house, if I'm not mistaken) The Andii are forced to adapt to the life in Malazan plane, more specifically they see themselves drawn into conflicts not their own.(The Tiste Edur and the K'Chain Che'Malle. Harllo is "back stabbed" by Snell a person he though he could trust. Silchas Ruin is back stabbed by Scabandari Bloodeye, his Allie. During his stay in mines when he talks to the dumb worker he says wonders about Darujistan, but it's nostalgia, in the end he even tries to tell him that it's not wonderful. Endest(Was it him?) talking to Caladan about the wonders of Kharkanas, though he deep down he knows it's all nostalgia talking and he can't remember the horrible times. Harllo in the end is accepted by his mother. Anomander Rake at the end of Toll the Hounds reunites with Mother Dark and opens the way back to Kharkanas. Both Scabandari and the child whose name I forgot, end up in "Houses. Scabandari in an Azath, the child in the Butcher's House. There are other points in Harllo's story that reinforce this train logic, but I seem to have forgotten a lot about TtH. Toll the Hounds is about family, and a prevailing theme in the series, motherhood. Lot's of the plotlines are mirrors to one another, and most of the characters in it, to some degree feel lost cause they didn't had a family, or a mother as a presence in their life, or they no longer feel part of their old family. Like Cutter no longer being recognized by his old "family", Envy and Spite daddy issues, Nimander and his Tiste Andii and so on. I find Toll the Hounds the most interesting book in the series thematically, but by the heavens, it's very boring, dry and long. The ending is amazing though. Electronico6 fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Jul 5, 2011 |
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Jul 5, 2011 01:59
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Vanilla Mint Ice posted:I'm cool with Harllo's little side adventure because we get to see some Nom Nom Noms. Oh shiiiit...I smell a new thread title.
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Jul 5, 2011 02:41
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Yeah, all the soldiers definitely seem to speak with the same voice. I mean, Stonny's tone is basically the same as Picker which is the same as the two female marines with Silverfox. They all just sound the same. And yeah, I didn't feel much for Whiskeyjack's death because I don't really know him. Erikson is kinda cool in that he's not afraid to kill off characters, but when a character dies if I don't care about them that's a problem. In, say, A Song of Ice and Fire if a really important character of equal importance as Whiskeyjack (*cough*) dies then it's a huge "WTF" moment because you've come to care about that character. In Malazan it's all "well...uh...that sucks I guess." The series was entertaining to sustain me on plot for 3 books and I'd sort of like to see where the plot is going but I think without characters I care about this might be the end of Malazan for me. Ho hum.
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Jul 5, 2011 03:48
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LtSmash posted:There are very good characters that I found both distinctive and engaging. But there are also characters that were pretty flat and you wouldn't notice much if they were shuffled around except for the names. It kinda comes with the territory of a vast story and world that you see from so many points of view. I think Erikson is a great writer and I love his work, but he wasn't quite good enough to pull off so many points of view distinctly. He probably would have done better if he cut the lesser points of view and focused on developing the weaker remaining ones more. This would have also cut the sprawl that popped up in the latter books which would have made it tighter overall. This is how I feel as well. There are a lot of characters that are fleshed out and feel like 'real characters' but there are also a lot that feel similar, especially the soldiers as mentioned. From the beginning dudes like Deadsmell and the other marines are pretty distinct and have unique attributes and quirks, and in certain situations BHlike under Yghatan when they are all hallucinating and we see quick vignettes of their beliefs, and the whole experience ties them together indefinitelyseeing their viewpoints is interesting but as the books go on it becomes as you say sprawling and somewhat unnecessary. I'd rather see it from a couple solid viewpoints like it seems the earlier books were like than literally every guy in the whole army for a couple of paragraphs each. You could make the case that this is part of the whole story he is trying to tell thematically and such but it gets to be a slog at times. There are a lot of plotlines that have similar themes and become redundant after a while, i.e. Barghast, Khundryl, Imass more than a few times, Edur, Awl... I guess you probably just have to read it differently than you would read other fantasy stories.
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Jul 5, 2011 04:51
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Ccs posted:Yeah, all the soldiers definitely seem to speak with the same voice. I mean, Stonny's tone is basically the same as Picker which is the same as the two female marines with Silverfox. They all just sound the same. Stonny's bickering with Gruntle is nowhere Picker and Paran. Not even close beside the fact that both are "disrespectful" and defiant. The two female marines instead play games and deceive through their sense of humor, which isn't for the purpose of being defiant. All three examples have in common the fact that they do not bow to power, but they all do from their own, specific perspective. For the handful of pages they get the characterization is brilliant.
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Jul 5, 2011 05:13
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A Nice Boy posted:Oh shiiiit...I smell a new thread title. I can't see anything topping the current one. It perfectly describes both Erikson's writing and our discussion of his writing, and also happens to be one of the best quotes from one of his best characters. Speaking of his characters, I think they follow the same pattern as his writing as a whole. There are many unique, distinctive, well-written and memorable characters, but there are also a lot of fairly bland ones that retread the same thematic ground, and I think the same can be said of Erikson's battle scenes, philosophical tangents and poetry. Especially the poetry, as most of it is pretty awful.
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Jul 5, 2011 07:41
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Not saying anything is going to TOP the current title, but if we decide to change it at some point I think "Nom Nom Nom" is pretty great.
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Jul 5, 2011 10:22
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quote:I find Toll the Hounds the most interesting book in the series thematically, but by the heavens, it's very boring, dry and long. The ending is amazing though. Agreed. On the surface Toll the Hounds has some interesting concepts and takes the story in a more character level dramatic direction than some of the previous books which by all rights I should enjoy. Unfortunately it's a very poorly executed book that ends up meandering all over the place and comes off quite boring as a result. This is one of three books in the series that really needed his editor to step on him a bit. quote:All three examples have in common the fact that they do not bow to power, but they all do from their own, specific perspective. For the handful of pages they get the characterization is brilliant. It's inconsistent though was the original point. There a lot of characters that come off sounding too similar both in characterization and even dialogue at times. I'm not sure if this is the result of the sprawling size of the project, a failing on his editors part or just simply how he writes. I don't think it detracts too much from the books personally, it only becomes annoying when you're picking things apart due to other issues. I might feel differently about Nimander for example if TtH hadn't practically put me to sleep.
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Jul 5, 2011 15:33
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So far I've found that all the major characters are pretty distinct, but yes the minor characters like the marines are fairly superficial and generally just have something like one quirk that set them apart from another but poo poo they're all still marines doing the same stuff. But since they're minor characters I don't think it's really a problem...if you want every single character in a book to be wholly developed and distinct it's going to be so massive and boring that it'd be retarded. I like having some similar characters this way instead of just glossing over the marines of the Malazan army in general. It gives some personality to these armies and the poo poo that's going on.
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Jul 5, 2011 18:09
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Marines thinking pretty the same thing is Alright in my book because the only difference they have between each other is whether they are veterans or not, and their background. Because of military culture and the influence of big figures in their army like Fiddler they will start thinking and feeling the same thing. And the reason you don't see soldiers with vastly differing motives for being a soldier in the Malazan army is probably because the Malazan military is the best of the best trained by the best and with high and unique standards for being in it. That's what makes them different from the other armies we see like the Seven Cities rebels (along with the fact that they're trained to think for themselves). They may have various reasons for joining, some didn't even really have a choice, but in the end because of influential figures like Dassem and Onearm they all end up with a desire to just do a little good in the world.
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Jul 5, 2011 18:17
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 10:31 |
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The Gunslinger posted:This is one of three books in the series that really needed his editor to step on him a bit. Thankfully writing a book is not a democratic act. And not all editors bow to conventional demands.
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Jul 5, 2011 20:50
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