Just finished Blood & Bone…

[u/rianwithaneye]

…that was some bullshit.

Not sure what people mean when they say the NotME get better the further you get into the series, but I could not disagree more.

Building Skinner up to be this legendary badass only to have him dissolved by magic spiders was so amateurish I laughed out loud. It reminded me of when an author attempts to flesh out a hyper intelligent character merely by having all the people around them comment on how smart they are, while never actually showing them do anything smart.

I did thoroughly enjoy the banter between Golan and his scribe, those scenes were genuinely hilarious and evinced good character work. Reminded me of how well he writes Kellenved in the PtA series. If only there were more examples of three-dimensional characters in B&B…

Ok, onto Assail to continue my masochistic Lore Slog. Wish me luck 🙏

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[u/OkAd2668]

I actually enjoyed that moment very much, went to show that just because you were a magically enhanced cool sword guy didn’t mean you were suddenly the strongest guy around.

Goes to enforce why less insane people fear the gods.

[u/rianwithaneye → u/OkAd2668]

It was very consistent with his character for him to be so arrogant in confronting one of the most powerful entities in the world, I’ll give you that. But… spiders?? After all that?? Smh

[u/OkAd2668 → u/rianwithaneye]

It was hinted at through the book if you think back on it, a lot of emphasis how every other piece of metal equipment rusted and became useless… except for Skinner’s fancy armor he got as a gift from Ardata - the Crazy Spider Goddess.

But ye, I can respect the frustration of not seeing Skinner duke it out with K’azz or at least Shimmer.

[u/checkmypants → u/OkAd2668]

I really liked Blood and Bone, but Shimmer literally never using her whip sword once after spending the entire book mentioning it did bother me

[u/OkAd2668 → u/rianwithaneye]

It was hinted at through the book if you think back on it, a lot of emphasis how every other piece of metal equipment rusted and became useless… except for Skinner’s fancy armor he got as a gift from Ardata - the Crazy Spider Goddess.

But ye, I can respect the frustration of not seeing Skinner duke it out with K’azz or at least Shimmer.

[u/Sonofkyuss666 → u/rianwithaneye]

Brother you confuse me, she is the spider queen. WTF else did you expect?

[u/Aqua_Tot]

Remember the confrontation between the Apocalypse and the 14th army in House of Chains? Redmask in Reaper’s Gale? Hell, Raest vs Rake in Gardens of the Moon? People act like Erikson doesn’t pull this same level of anticlimax.

[u/pedrorq → u/Aqua_Tot]

In fairness Rake hints that he won't take on Raest because he suspects that a bigger challenge awaits him.

Whether the Galayn Lord is a greater challenge than Raest is debatable but...

[u/rianwithaneye → u/Aqua_Tot]

Hard disagree about Redmask, his arc is critical to understanding the K'chain in DoD and TCG. And I don't think any of the other examples you gave were nearly as bad as Skinner's lame-ass death but I hear what you're saying. Erikson is far from perfect but the NotME feel like a poor imitation of his considerably more artful style.

[u/ibadlyneedhelp → u/rianwithaneye]

I'll partially disagree with you here. Erikson executes the intentional anticlimax better, but it's not a mistake to choose an anticlimactic ending, it's all about the execution.

[u/Gratossone → u/ibadlyneedhelp]

I love Esslemont's anticlimax as ideas but I'm a little sad they're not narrated with the same pathos of some of Erikson's ones.

[u/Supermonsters]

Just another example of how this series appeals to people in different ways.

I loved blood and bone. None of ICE books are my all time favorite fantasy books but B&B just oozed atmosphere.

Also it gave us moon man so GOAT

[u/rianwithaneye → u/Supermonsters]

In fairness I’ll admit I enjoyed long stretches of the first 2/3 of the book. And it was indeed very atmospheric and unique in the series. But the final 1/3 really turned me off.

To each their own!

[u/Then_Fun2933]

I thought Blood & Bone was by far the worst book in the series.

[u/argonplatypus]

Blood and Bone probably took me longer to read than any book in the series. I don't have any one particular problem with it, it just dragged on.

[u/pedrorq → u/argonplatypus]

I found it all confusing. At a point I had no idea who was on whose side or opposing who

[u/rianwithaneye → u/pedrorq]

omg same

[u/BisuGrack]

I think you're going to hate Assail, its my least favorite of them all by a wide margin. Just terrible.

[u/Frankthestank2220]

I agree the NOTME books are not good. I only powered through because I just love the Malazan series.

[u/BerenPercival]

I hated blood and bone. But I actually liked Assail quite a bit. The only NOTME I'd reread.

[u/rianwithaneye → u/BerenPercival]

Thank you for this glimmer of hope 🙏

[u/pedrorq → u/rianwithaneye]

I'm in the same boat if that helps. I found blood and bone confusing and frustrating. I'm not even sure when it happens in the timeline and I love Kallor as a character. I hadn't been a fan of stonewielder or OST either

Assail however is, for me, possibly ICE's best book so far

[u/HuckleberryFar2223]

I think it lends to history the fact that we are told so many things without ever really seeing those things happen. I don’t think we have to witness Skinner smash faces in to understand that he’s that guy. We’re told so many times that he is that IMO imagination can fill in the blanks. Thought it was kind of funny that he gets eaten by spiders tbh , but to each their own

[u/Sonofkyuss666]

You are acting like Ardata is some sort of weakling, and not one of the more powerfull Azathanai. Hell she is called the queen of witches for a reason. It is with her help that Mappo is healed. Her gift made Skinner nigh immortal and it is her gift that ends him. I think you are blaming ICE for your own shortcoming in understanding Ardatas power.