Karen, Thank you as well for your nice compliment about my posts. I always enjoy seeing people's differing points of view on subjects. To go a step farther, I love it when people expain "why" they feel a certain way. For example, if someone says, "I think the answer is YES" then I can think, well, I think the answer is no, so I guess we disagree about that. However, if someone says "I think the answer is YES because of x, y, and z" then I can see why they think the answer is YES. When I can see their reasons, it always make me think about their reasons and causes me to re-evaluate my own answer. Sometimes, I after thinking about it, I may change my answer to YES, sometimes, I may stick with NO, but the important part of the process for me is the thinking about it. As a result, when I post, I try to show "WHY" I feel the way I do. Then people can agree, disagree, or be indifferent, as they see fit, but at least they can see my "WHY." Sometimes, this is hard on me, like right now with the Felisin/Baudin relationship. Since I try not to spoil for the newbies, right now I am trapped into giving my reasons why I don't like Felisin but am unable to say why I DO like Baudin. Believe me, this is very, very hard on me. LOL

I'm going to look stupid here now, but your post message accurately and THOROUGHLY pretty much states my knowledge of the "Jade Giants". The only thing that you didn't mention is that I have a "feeling" that they are somehow connected to the Crippled God and his entry into this realm. By "feeling" I mean exactly that. It is based on absolutely nothing that I can think of as having been revealed in any of the books. I just have an inkling of a feeling that they may be somehow connected to the CG. As if, when he got ripped from his world into the Malazan world, it somehow left a trail that allowed a Jade Giant or two to follow him in and land in this realm. I know, it sounds stupid even to me. Especially, since it is based on absolutely nothing. LOL I am hoping that The Crippled God will clear it all up, or, in the alternative, give us something more substantive to Of course, it may be all spelled out in later books and I have just completely missed it, but I don't think so. It will be interesting to see everyone's theories once we get that far in the books!

Karen, My theory on Heboric’s ability to pull down Fener, is actually based on a three-fold “convergence” of events that aligned to result in Fener being pulled into the mortal world. First, I believe it is somewhere here in DG that we are told that Heboric is not just a “priest of Fener” but was actually something way more than that. I forget the term used but he is something “special” or something “sacred” or something like that. (This might be when he meets the T’lan Imas on the Salinda. Perhaps the Bonecaster says it, I just don’t remember?) Anyway, I see this very rare, “special” bond between Heboric and Fener as a basic requirement. I don’t believe a normal priest would ever have the ability to do this, under any circumstances. Second, Heboric’s contact with the Jade Giant strengthened this bond/power between him and Fener. Third, although we do not know it here in DG, in MoI we know that Treach and Fener are in a power struggle and, if I recall correctly, we are specifically told at some point in MoI that Fener retreats to the edge of his realm. As you know, the events of MoI are overlapping the same time period and events in DG. It is my theory that at the point in time when Baudin is trying to save Heboric’s life, Fener is already hiding at the edge of his realm. Thus, if you will, he is already vulnerable….vulnerable enough to be pulled into the mortal world when all three points converge. (His special/sacred bond with Heboric, Heboric’s increase in power as a result of contact with the Jade Giant, and Fener’s vulnerability as he hides at the very edge of his realm). Of course, take this (as with any of my theories) with a grain of salt as I could be so far off base that the base isn’t even in sight! LOL

The GRRM HBO series (I think it is actually called “Throne of Swords” but I’m not sure) is slated for April, 2011. I usually have my TV on for background noise while I read as total silence tends to drive me crazy. When actually watching TV, I usually watch the true crime channels (Discovery I.D. & TrueTV) and/or the History channel. Starz channel did an 8-episode mini-series on Pillars of the Earth. I loved it. After watching it, I wanted to read the book. I am really enjoying it. I was not an English major. I actually never went to “real” college. I went to a Junior College and work as a paralegal. I have worked in both law offices and in the Big Corporate World. I enjoyed both, but moved back home to West Virginia and am currently working back in a law office. However, my big loves in life have always been History followed in a close second by Literature. I grew up on a farm in southwestern PA. My mom read all the time and she enjoyed the classics and literature so by the time I was 12 I had read them all. By 12, I was in love with the epic poems such as the Iliad, Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, etc., and had read all of Shakespeare’ works. One of my childhood dreams was to learn to read Latin so I could read Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as a lot of works written in the middle-ages drew from his writing. I always thought that I could enjoy reading even more if I could read Ovid’s work in Latin. (I know I’m strange. LOL) Alas, I have not learned to read Latin….YET. ? Erikson is absolutely, hands down, my favorite modern writer. Have you ever read any of the books by Michael & Kathleen Gear? They are a husband/wife writing team, and both archeologists. Their “People of…” series (I think it is actually called “First Americans” or something like that) hooked me many years ago. Michael is originally from Colorado. Their books are similar to Erikson’s in that you can feel the archaeology background in their writing. The “People of…” books all deal with Native Americans tribes prior to European contact. Each book deals with a particular geographical area and tells a story based on a Paleo-Indian group. I love them. They have started a new series with “Coming of the Storm” which deals with the early contact between the North American Indians and early Europeans. The first book, “Coming of the Storm” deals with Hernando de Soto’s contact with tribes in the southeast. I better stop writing as I have probably bored you to death and really didn’t discuss anything to do with DG’s. LOL Have a great Christmas!

Just another note about Martin's series...I'm sure your probably already know about it but just in case you don't, HBO is doin a series based on these books. Last I heard it is supposed to begin in March 2011. I haven't check on it lately so I don't know how filming is progressing or whether it ist still slated for a 3/11 start date or not, but at least something for us to look forward to.

I really enjoy Martin's books but am very aggrevated that it has been almost 6 years since "A Feast for Crows" and "Dance with Dragons" is still nowhere near finished. I've pretty much given up hope that he will ever finish that series. Jordan's Wheel of Time series lost me around book 5 or 6 but they are so popular that I will probably give them another try at some point in the future. Sounds like you read the same way I do. LOL I am currently reading the 2 chaps each week with the re-read, along with a re-read of Reapers Gale, "Coming of the Storm" by Michael & Kathleen Gear, "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, and the epic poem "Lady in the Lake" by Walter Scott. BTW, I'm going to have to buy a new copy of Deadhouse Gates because my copy is literally falling apart. Right now, I have about 100 pages that are completely loose from the book. I too have tried to talk my friends into reading these books but few of my friends even read fantasy. The one who does never started it when I loaned him GotM and then this re-read started so I took the book back. Like you, I often wish I had someone to bounce things off of. I guess that's why they provide these Shoutboxes! Feel free to discuss anything you want on here with me if you ever want to. There is absolutely nothing in the series off limits as I have read the series numerous times so I'm definitely not worried about spoilers. LOL I always enjoy seeing different people's theories and thoughts on the things in these books. Like I said, every time I read them, I find more things I missed, or more connections I never made, and definitely more foreshadowing that I never noticed before. That's why I love ot so much!. Have a happy Holiday and stay safe!

Sorry I didn't check my Shoutbox sooner. I've hardly had time to log on this week and that is definitely not like me! Whew, I'll be glad when the holidays are over. LOL I have a Facebook "friend" who lives in England (we met in the Malazan group actually) and we share a huge love of history. Each week I send him information on American history (currently doing some Native American info) and then on the weekends he sends me British Isles history (currently he is covering Scottish history). It is so much fun for both of us but this past week, I didn't even send him any posts! That is really bad! :-( Yes, that is exactly what I meant by the "honey dreams." I really enjoyed the background info we gained on Smiles. I had assumed maybe that she had been raped in the past because of the way she acts toward the men around her, so I was surprised to see that instead it was the result of the priests sacrificing of her sister(twin?). And to see into Koryk was a half-blood Seti (shunned by both worlds, just like Native Americans were in this country) was born and raised in a brothel and see how all of that shaped him and how he deals with people now. Oh I loved it! Every time I read one of these books I find something that I missed before, and I am a careful reader. I never skim, I never skip anything, I always read every word. Just in this week's chapters, I noticed the reference by Fiddler to the Emperor's fighting Treach and Ryllandaras outside Li Heng. I never noticed this reference before, but that battle has significance way down the road in Cam's Return of the Crimson Guard. I just recently finished a re-read of RotCG so that's probably why I caught it this time.

The "ShoutBox" here is nice for when you want to post a message to someone specific and don't really want to put it on the main board. I don't use it very often but on occasion it is the best way to go. Since I wanted to post to you specifically about Bonehunters, I figured this was the best way to do it. What I meant by the "honey dreams" occurred when Bottle was following the rat underneath the burning city of Y'Ghatan and trying to find a way out. At one point, they find their way into a room full of jars of special honey. You may recall that it healed everyone's burns, etc. However, there was an "opiate-like" effect to the honey that caused them to dream and some specific characters' dreams are shared with us readers. Smiles and Koryk, for example, both dream about their life prior to joining the Malazan military. I loved getting that glimpse into their past! I love all of Erikson’s characters but two of my favorites are Fiddler and Paran, both have a lot of “face time” in Bonehunters. I’ve read most of these books at least 5 times and STILL find something new on each new re-read. Gotta love it! If I don’t catch you in ShoutBox before then, have a great holiday season!

Hi tere! Since you said you are 80% through the book, I figured it was safe to post this to your ShoutBox. Did you enjoy the "honey dreams"????? I absolutely loved them for the little glimpse of backstory that we get on some of the characters. Especially Smiles and Koryk. The Bonehunters is also my favorite book of all to date. My second favorite it House of Chains. I actually felt tingles when the Tavore's Army marched out the gates of Aren, and the tingles stayed with me pretty much the entire route to Raraku. Ahh, so emotional for me...that reverse retracing of Coltain's march. Any way, enjoy the rest of the series and glad to have you posting.