There were many great parts of TtH. Just verbose. I do particularly love the philosophy...it really does set this work apart in the genre. And great characters...Karsa, Samar Dev, Daseem and Kallor...what an amazingly written character...so evil sometimes, so cold, so selfish and then glimpses of someone else in there.... Nice to see Kruppe, Murillio :-(, Stonny, the BB's..more :-(, the Noms, Cutter and Challice. Lots of tragedy.

Thanks Kah-thurak....that really helped clarify a few points....it got pretty murky in there. The reread is so fun because I'm finding all sorts of references in MoI to TtH! And if/when I get to TtH again, things should be crystal...LOL ;-) And the dying god...bellurdan?....argh. I thought the wandering of Nimander and his group with Clip was a total waste/distraction. I guess we agree on that one! Thanks again.

So much philosophy in TtH. There was definitely some preachyness....but he's a smart guy and it's all well written. The book as a whole just seemed overwrought. A bit of editing could've sped things up considerably. Losing Rake was just so sad. I'm still digesting what actually happened in Dragnipur with the "net" and the gate, etc. It appeared that Mother Dark had already reappeared in the form of Ananada before Rake sacrificed himself??? If you can fill me in, that'd be great! I'm missing something there. But Rake is an amazing character. And I enjoy Brood. I do wonder why there are these convergences that drive all our main characters to certain places...just part of Malazan I guess ;-)

It was really the obvious politics that turned me off in MT. The Letherii seem to embody all the worst traits of a capitalist society taken to the extreme and I had to fight not to be insulted. The Edur story line off in the forest seemed a bit plodding, but I do like Trull...gotta love a skeptic! Sad to hear you thought Toll the Hounds was a plod too. Sigh. So far, Reaper's Gale has me interested. I understand the 14th appears towards the end and I'm looking forward to that! So far, DG and MoI are really the standout books for me...love those characters, and the cultures seem more complete somehow. But SE is an amazing writer, even when on his soapbox. Which were your favorites?

Hi Gerd. Well...I found MT a bit "politicized" for my taste. The first 450 pages or so with the Edur in the mountains were kind of a snore for me. I know there was a lot of good info there, but also a lot of reprehensible characters. Thank god for Brys, Tehol and Bugg! I read the Bonehunters before MT, so now I'm into Reaper's Gale...only Ch.4 Loved Bonehunters and RG is going well so far. What did you think of MT?

Thanks Gerd. I appreciate the update!

I guess we'll have to RAFO....but I do think there's something hinky going on between Rel and Laseen. He is a snake!

Of course you have much more knowledge of the future books than I do ;-) And I look forward to learning more about why Laseen is so powerful. Why was she under Rel's thumb so badly in Bonehunters? That was hard to watch. Anyway, Ruse being of the Sea....isn't Rel a jhistal priest of Mael...god of the Sea? I thought it had some mind bending properties too....and doesn't Mael get rid of Rel for some transgressions on down the line? Thanks for your thoughts! Keep 'em coming.

This is the kind of stuff I wish we could discuss openly on the thread....spoilers be damned. I'd love everyone's input on this and other theories!

Hi Gerd! So here's my little theory....Fiddler thinks I"m off base, but I'd love to hear your thoughts..... It's been 9 years since Surly overthrew Kel....somewhere in there, it is quite likely that Laseen has met with Rel, as she seems to give Coltaine the heads up regarding him. Rel is in a position of power as Pormqual's advisor, and has pretty much usurpted that power. In Bonehunters, Rel is sitting at Laseen's side, advising her, to his own ends, even tho he arrived there in chains, and she seems to be his puppet. We know he uses Ruse to confuse/control people, as he does to the masses at the end of BH. My theory is that he's used Ruse on her in the past, thus getting into his position of power with Pormqual and possibly causing many of her stupid future decisions. None of this is spelled out, of course. But the end of BH, made me think, upon the DG reread, that Rel might have gotten to her a lot earlier. Thoughts?