Tales from the Malazan Book of the Fallen

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Humans are T'Lan Imass, the descendants of those who did not go through the ritual.

I actually didnt find Midnight tides very confusing but it may be because I was used to the whole new settings in each book. In Tides it is a *completely* new setting, just read as a book and not as part five of a series.

 

I thought there were only a couple of T'Lan Imass who did not go through the ritual. Don't tell me humans are all descended from one couple.

I also thought T'Lan Imass were supposed to be a bit like Neanderthals. Also, are all those 'barbaric' races descended from T'Lan Imass as well (e.g. Toblokai, Seguleh, Barghast, Moranth etc)?

 

Many of the Imass clans did not make it to the ritual. For example, in Memory of Ice it's explained how the Barghest were decended from Imass who didn't make it on time to the ritual because they were out on the seas hunting the Jaghut, and then the Edur. There is only one know living Imass back from the time of the Ritual and that's Kilava or whatever her name is.

The Barghest and Moranth are both decendents of the Imass who were on the sea. They split apart when the Morath decided to talk to the Edur rather than just eliminate them.

I believe at least that the Seguleh are human, not of another race.

The Toblokai are seperate from the Imass. At least the Barghest say that they had toblokai among them.

 

Weren't the Trell also descendants of the Imass? I'm currently rereading the series and realized that I'd forgotten half of it. Still have House of Chains left then I'm off to the bookstore to buy Midnight Tides. Is it in a completley new setting? Time? Plaze? Any of the old caracters? No spoilers though!

Edit: I meant House of Chains not Deadhouse Gates.

[ March 23, 2005, 12:51: Message edited by: Kerlun ]

 

It is on a new continent far away from the continents in the other books and as far I can guess it takes place about at the same time as Gardens of the Moon.

 

I'm about 20% of the way through Midnight Tides and I still have no idea what is going on. Tehol Beddict seems to the main character but I can't work out who he is or what he is doing. Plus all the gods seems to be completely different, although I'm not sure how this is possible (aren't gods omnipresent?)

 

Not in this world they arent, the continent MT takes place in has been "forgotten" or something for a long long time. Letherii was a colony of the first empire, the one who went under in the shapeshifter ritual gone awry and the Imass subsequent cleansing. They use the old hold system instead of the house system.

I reckon this is no spoiler but I always saw the main characters as the two sets of brothers, the Sengars and the Beddicts.

 

Tehol and Bugg remind me of Arkwright and Granville from that old British comedy, Open All Hours (even though I know the characters are the wrong ages).

Now halfway through the book and not at all clear on where the story is going. The whole book so far seems to be purely a build up to something.

 

I know The Seven Cities in NW of Quon Tali, but where is Grenabackis in relation to these? And where do the Wickans come from?

 

Does anyone else think that these books are sometimes thinly veiled comments on aspects of modern society? Surely the Letherii are like extreme capitalists who care more about money than anything, where the common man spends most of his life in debt? Sound familiar (I won't say any more or else this thread will get moved to the AoLS......)

 

When it comes to the Letherii it isnt veiled at all, the Letherii are the Americans, period. Colony from a distant empire? Check. Independent from said empire? Check. Conquering native tribal societies and calling it destiny? Check. Staunch belief the market fixing everything? Check.

The Letherii is a carbon copy of the US, especially the things many view as the less appealing aspects of American society.

It is almost so crude that I felt tempted to draw comparisons to Goodkind's cariactures of socialism in his books. Thankfully Erikson is ten times the writer that Goodkind is and he doesnt let his comments on society take the upper hand over the story.

Sticker, not sure where the wickans come from but I think it is from one of the smaller not-quite continents where the Malazans started their conquests. That part of the world is mighty fuzzy but it appear to be somekind of archiepelago with quite big islands.

 

Joacquin - it is fairly blatant, isn't it? Lucky that Erikson wasn't posting in the Alley otherwise he'd get slammed. There are some interesting passages in the book talking about the Letherii policies about how they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. There are also some interesting points about how the Letherii impacts are not really intentional, just the logical outcomes of individuals making decisions under a capitalist free market system.

Next question: What exactly is the Malazan Book of the Fallen? If it is a book about Malazans then how did the Midnight Tides story get there, if it takes place on a distant continent?

 

I think it is the story about the Fallen/Crippled God. Everything seems to tie back to him in some way and he appears to be behind every nasty thing in the world. I just think the name is a name and doesnt impact the story. I think, like with everything you really have no clue but can only guess.

 

Here's a link to the pologue of Bonehunters (book 6). Something involving a city infested with Paralt Spiders (the poison) and the Nameless Ones and vampires aand stuff. He shure knows how to make your head spinn.

Edit: The release date (amazon) for the hardcover is August 23, 2005.

 

You guys are way ahead of me on these books. I can order Memories of Ice, if I want to pay way too much for a mass market paperback UK edition. But the release date here for Memories of Ice is November 1. I may just wait till then.

 

Still don't understand why the USA is so far behind on these books. It is a very odd situation.

Vampires? Cool.