SFF Readalongs led by Kitty G discussion

Discussion for Chapters 6 & 7 of the book ONLY, no spoilers for any other parts of the book please!

In the process of reading chapter 6 at the moment and does anyone else cringe when they read the words Moon's Spawn? I just wish they would say Rake or Knight of Darkness. Moon's Spawn is so lame sounding. However, Anomander Rake is pretty awesome.

So cool: http://www.elbakin.net/heros/images/h...

Paul wrote: "In the process of reading chapter 6 at the moment and does anyone else cringe when they read the words Moon's Spawn? I just wish they would say Rake or Knight of Darkness. Moon's Spawn is so lame..."

Moon's Spawn is not a name for Rake. It's the name of his floating fortress. Erikson might say: the lord of Moon's Spawn. And trust me, nothing is random in those books, especially names.

Haha Moon's Spawn does sound lame. Whoa Anomander Rake looks very cool in that pic.

I'm going to attempt to rank the characters, so far, in terms of level of power and I'm curious if near the end if I'll be correct:

K'rul - Elder God, old guys are always strong
Hood - King of High House Death
Ammanas/Shadowthrone - King of High House Shadow
Oponn - Twin Jesters of Chance
Anomander Rake/Son of Darkness/Moon's Lord - Knight of High House Dark and a Tiste Andii, has too many names
Cotillion/The Rope - The Assassin of High House Shadow
Dassem Ultor - Knight of High House Death
Caladan Brood - A Tiste Andii, fighting the Malazans
Laseen - Unknown level of power but I assume high since she is empress now she is Beyonce level power
Lorn - Powerful anti-mage
Topper - Commander of the Claw
Tayschrenn - High Mage of the Empress, a dick
The Hunters that tried to kill Crokus
Quick Ben - Bridgeburner Mage, something tells me he is more powerful than he lets on because of what Tattersail said about him
Sorry - She got that boom boom pow from Shadowthrone
Tattersail - Sorceress
Paran - Now that he is super-saiyan, I think he is tough
Hairlock - probably more powerful than Tattersail but he is a puppet now, so he has to be careful of being kindling or lying too much.
Baruk - High Alchemist

Then comes the rest of the Bridgeburners and assassins.

I like making theories about levels of power in fantasy books. It is fun for me. I had a blast keeping track of all the people in Wheel of Time based off of Saidan/Saidar power level.

I want to learn more about the Warrens though because that will determine a lot about power. They seem to be pooping themselves about the shadow warren coming back, so I'm thinking that the Warrens are NOT created equal.

If you like discussing power levels, this is a series for you. There are hundreds of "Who would win in a fight between x and y" discussions around this series.
And as it is based on the roleplaying sessions of Erikson and Esslemont, some of the fights were actually played out by them and decided by dice throws, so the series might have ended differently, if the luck of the dice would have been different.

I never really had a problem with Moon's Spawn, probably because the structure itself is so cool that it overshadows any bad name it might have.

I really like your rankings list, and I'd call it fairly accurate too really. Though there is always an element of interpretation and subjectivity to a list like this.

A couple of points to make. It's speculative how powerful K'rul is, he hasn't been worshipped in a long time, so his power compared to the past is greatly diminished. But he's not gone from the game yet, so that's not insignificant.

Caladan Brood is not a Tiste Andii, he's human, but that makes him no less dangerous.

And the warrens are definitely not created equal. You'll learn more about them as you go. But never in the academic sense like The One Power in Wheel of Time. They will always have an element of mystery about them. But you'll definitely learn enough to make judgements about them.

lol Good list paul a fair assessment I might add. Chapter 6 & 7 gives us some good enter workings of whats going on in Darujhistan. Mostly focusing on politics and the fight over Baruk and his mages. Turban Orr and the proclamation of neutrality, Anomander Rake and Empire Claws. Turban wants to join the Empire peacefully, Rake wants Baruk and his mages and then Ocelot & Vorcan think there guilds opposition are Empire Claws. Guilds where illegal in the Empire and those who seemed worthy joined the Claw and those not where disposed of. Rallick didnt like it. So it seems like it comes down to Baruk and company (Kruppe, Murillio, Rallick, Coll, Crokus) Is the Empire Claws trying to stop them all before they join Rake? Are they gonna join the Empire peacefully under the Turban Orr? But then you have Lady Sitmal and she seems shady and wants Turban too kill Coll her ex husband? Who are these mages that bailed in pale that are in Darujhistan Rake is talking about? What about Circle Breaker? There's alot going on and alot of different ways this can all go and curious to see all your opinions.

Wow, so a LOT happens in these two chapters and it's largely setting up stuff. I got a little stuck in the middle of chap 7 just becuase it was so filled with new people and mysteries, but now I am super excited for what's really going on and to discover more.

The rankings you did Paul sound very cool and interesting and the thought of uneven warrens is equally intriguing. Can't wait to see how we will find out more on that subject.

Overall I think Kruppe is my favourite of the newer characters we meet and I am really excited to see what happens with him, but it's pretty crazy with everyone's storyline as they all seem realistic and interesting in their own right and with the number of characters that's a feat.

As for the Moon Spawn I'm not sure how much of a role they will play as the story goes on (and I think the name is a little cliché but still pretty badass) but it seems like they're trying to sneak a way into the plots too.

Lots to learn about and be mystified by, moving on to the next chapters now :)

I am glad I read other books where a character referred to himself in the third character so that Kruppe didn't get on my nerves.

I always thought Crone was a great character. Old as dirt, and written well enough to carry that age. Irreverant, but servicable to Rake. She has so many great lines. And I think it's really cool to get in the head of a non-humanoid character.

Circle Breaker is introduced, who is another character I quite like, he's just a lowly spy dealing with all of the intrigues of Darujhistan, but he has eyes on alot of interesting events, how the internal power struggles within the city proceed, and how these people plan on dealing with the impending Malazan occupation.

Also mentioned, is Circle Breaker's employer, The Eel, a certainly mysterious figure for sure, who has alot of play in the goings on in the city.

Turban Orr's meeting with Baruk is all to the good and pretty funny with Crone's interjections. But this meeting pales in comparison to Baruk's meeting with Anomander Rake. Rake is distinctly alien in nature (albeit still humanoid) with a strange character and features that make him stand out. I always thought of the Tiste Andii as Erikson's take on Elves, which I have always hated in most forms of media I see them in. Here, Erikson gets them right, otherwordly, elegant, yet troubling. In the course of this conversation, we get a sense of the complexity of Anomander Rake's character. He does not suffer things lightly, and can be terribly brutal, but cares for his people and will go out of his way to destroy demons unleashed even on his enemies. And then there's his sword. What is so terrible about that sword that Baruk would deliver the deserting wizards' heads to Rake instead of letting Rake take them himself with that sword? The answer is a good one, that sword is to be feared.

I just love the interplay between Kruppe, Crokus, Rallick, and Murillio. Erikson has had complaints in the past that many of his characters are the same, interchangable, and difficult to distinguish. I think you need to look no further than these four to see how untrue that is. Not only are all four extremely distinct and unique from eachother, with their own personalities and speaking habits, but they all work together in a strange way that they absolutely shouldn't. In any other book I think, it would be difficult to accept four characters such as these sharing a table in an inn, but Erikson pulls it off.

I love Kruppe's dream with K'rul. Its strangely mystical, just as a dream should be. And Kruppe seems only half surprised to be treating with an elder god. We see here that gods can fall out of favor, and lose power when their worship ceases to be sufficient. K'rul is not what he once was, which hints at an important theme in this series, the transistion of power from one to the next. But K'rul is not out of the game yet. He also grants Kruppe a warning or two, which will come into play later.

Intrigues continue among the mortals in Darujhistan, Rallick and Murillio continue to hone their plan, Crokus tries to make things right with Challice D'Arle, and Kruppe clearly knows more than he lets on, not fooling Baruk however. They understand Oponn's present interference in Darujhistan, and expand some on the nature of the assassin war going on. Lots of things going on in these two chapters.

Not a whole lot to add to what has already been said. I very much enjoyed learning about Darujhistan and its politics. There are a lot of threads that have been started and it will be interesting to see how these threads intersect.

Moon Spawn. When you have a giant floating battle fortress in the sky and the enemy does not you can name it whatever you want.

I never thought about ranking the characters but subconsciously the comparison is happening.

I am a little behind everyone in this book, but I am catching up.

I am curious if I am the only one who is not enjoying this "book" inside of the book? I really like the first book with all of the action and introducing the new magic setup. However once we got to a Darujhistan I have just been bored with the story. I think the main reason I am bored with it is that I was so interested in the story before this "book," that I want to hear what happens there, as opposed to going off on a tangent (granted I know it isn't a tangent and will be important later, it just feels like one now). But either way I see the next "book" is back with the Malazan Empire so hopefully I will get back to enjoying the book.

Rob wrote: "I am a little behind everyone in this book, but I am catching up.

I am curious if I am the only one who is not enjoying this "book" inside of the book? I really like the first book with all of t..."

At first I found the scenes within Darujistan not on par with the Bridgeburner scenes of before, but as it goes on and the stories weave together it gets a lot more exciting, and no worries about being behind, go at your own pace by all means :)