CHAPTER TWO Setting: Pale, on the continent of Genabackis, two years later SCENE 1 Two mages, Tattersail and Hairlock, have just survived a spectacularly destructive magic battle with Moon’s Spawn, a floating mountain/sky keep that is home to a large population of Tiste Andii and their lord Anomander Rake. Moon’s Spawn had been protecting Pale, but is now retreating, leaving the city open to the depredations of the Malazan army’s allies, the Moranth. Hairlock is missing the lower half of his body, and as Tattersail wonders at his strange cheer, four Bridgeburners show up (Whiskeyjack, Sorry, Quick Ben, and Kalam). Tattersail learns almost all the Bridgeburners were killed during the attack, buried while tunneling under Pale. SCENE 2 Tattersail flashes back to an earlier planning session that reveals tension and suspicion between the Empress and the Bridgeburners under the command of Dujek Onearm. We learn more about the campaign in Genabackis: the Tiste Andii and the mercenary company the Crimson Guard, under the command of Caladan Brood, have fought the Malazan 5th Army to a standstill in the north, while here at Pale, the High Mage Tayschrenn has arrived to lead an attack on Moon’s Spawn and drive it off. As Tattersail recalls the battle, she realizes Hairlock and her lover Calot (another mage) weren’t killed by Rake but someone else; she suspects Tayschrenn. Two other High Mages were killed: Nightchill was torn limb from limb by a Ken’Ryllah demon (her lover Bellurdan collects the remains) and A’Karonys was crushed by ethereal wings of ice. Moon’s Spawn retreats from the battle, moving south. SCENE 3 Back to present time, Tattersail watches as Quick Ben performs a soul-shifting ritual that puts Hairlock’s mind into a wooden puppet, which they give to her. She agrees to be part of their plans if it means vengeance on Tayschrenn. SCENE 4 The Bridgeburners discuss that the Empress is deliberately killing off all the old guard that served the Emperor. SCENE 5 Tattersail does a reading of the Deck of Dragons while Hairlock observes, and she draws the Knight of Darkness and Oponn, the two-faced Jester of chance. She sees a spinning coin on Oponn’s card, and afterward also hears the sound of a spinning coin. CHAPTER THREE Setting: Genabaris, Pale, on the continent of Genabackis SCENE 1 Sailing to Genabackis, Paran is informed by Topper that he is to take command of Whiskeyjack’s squad (where Sorry—his quarry—is) and take them to the city of Darujhistan, the next on the Empire’s list of conquests. Topper also tells Paran that Sorry has “corrupted” the Bridgeburners and possibly Dujek’s entire army. In the port city of Genabaris, Paran finds out he is to be transported to Pale by the Moranth and their flying Quorls. SCENE 2 Tattersail, in Pale, meets Bellurdan, who is mourning Nightchill and says he plans to raise her barrow on the Rhivi Plain. Meanwhile, Whiskeyjack, Kalam and Quick Ben think that Laseen is trying to eliminate the Bridgeburners, speculate again about who Sorry is, wonder if she was involved in the garroting of an officer, and discuss a plan to “turn the game,” involving Hairlock. Tattersail does a Reading of the Deck of Dragons for Tayshrenn, and sends a message to Whiskeyjack. SCENE 3 In Pale, Paran meets with Toc The Younger, a Claw member, who warns him that both Whiskeyjack and Dujek are hugely popular among the soldiers and hints that the soldiers’ loyalty to the Empress shouldn’t be tested. He also tells him that his Claw Master was assassinated. SCENE 4 Paran meets several of the Bridgeburners, then is killed by Sorry/Cotillion on his way to the barracks. Shadowthrone and Cotillion discuss their ongoing vengeance scheme with Laseen and that something has entered their Shadow warren. The opening scene of Chapter Two, with Tattersail looking over the devastation of Pale, is a pretty good jolt for those expecting the same old same old lead-in to a big battle scene- is where Erikson starts to earn his reputation for throwing us into the middle of things without worrying overmuch about whether we know what’s going on. The obvious plot example, of course, is beginning after the siege, but that will get explained relatively soon in Tattersail’s flashback. Worse is the sudden deluge of unfamiliar and unexplained vocabulary, some of which Amanda has already wondered about: Tiste Andii, Archmage (as a category—“an” archmage—rather than a title), Mother Dark and Mother Dark’s Children, Kurald Galain, the Holy Falah’d, Elder, T’lan Imass, Jhag Odhan, a slew of warrens, and the Deck of Dragons. Combine that with the other place names that get tossed around, references to previous and obviously important events such as the past legendary actions of the Bridgeburners, or Dancer and Kellanved killing Mock (hmm, must be of Mock’s Hold from the Prologue, so we think we’re okay and then wait, what, he was Tattersail’s lover?) and it’s enough to set the brain a-whirling. Which I actually kind of enjoyed my first time around, preferring it to the clunky exposition we see too often where characters suddenly drop into a nicely chronological reminiscence of whatever the author needs to fill us in on, or when characters ask to have “it” explained to them yet again: “Yes, yes, the famed lord of Golgerland of whom we’ve all heard. But tell me about him one more time.” This is also the chapter where we get that Erikson sense of scale that boggles the mind, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. We’ve got an entire floating mountain hanging over the city, Rake throwing down waves of sorcery that are wiping out legions of troops (all from a nice little balcony on Moon’s Spawn—think he has some lovely potted plants there? A shrubbery?), A’Karonys sending bolts of fire up into the sky so Moon’s Spawn itself looks like it’s aflame—this is some serious fighting going on! I admit to lapping this one up, but as I moved through the book/series I found the sense of scale a bit bewildering at times in terms of power levels. If A could beat up B and B could beat up C how come C just kicked A’s ass? Or why doesn’t A just waltz in and...? Also I loved the use of cards to try divining the future. Those Deck readings are indeed a good foreshadowing tool, though, big surprise, quite often a murky one. First, of course, you have to keep track of who is who at any given point: who is the Virgin, who is the Mason, etc. (Good luck on that!) And, just as you point out with regard to newly risen Shadow, who is who is in flux. I thoroughly love the idea of a world whose powers are in major chaos: new ones constantly rising, old fights being fought, sides shifting, new alliances and/or betrayals, etc. Then, of course, you have the readings that are wrongly interpreted, or contradictory. No easy road map to the future here! Nerd on!!
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 01:13:48 +0000
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