#iskaral pust

[malazanquotes]

Iskaral Pust's love was pure and perfect, except that his wife kept getting in the way

Toll The Hounds, pg 463

[chloristoflora]

And crouched at the base of those stairs was a familiar figure, teeth gleaming in a wide smile.

"Iskaral Pust!"

"Missed me, didn't you, lad?" He edged forward like a crab, then cocked his head. "I should soothe him now - both of them, yes. Welcoming words, a wide embrace, old friends, yes, reunited in a great cause once more. Never mind the extremity of what will be demanded of us in the days and nights to come. As if I need help - Iskaral Pust requires the assistance of no-one. Oh, she might be useful, but she hardly looks inclined, does she? Miserable with knowledge, is my dear lass." He straightened, managing something between an upright stance and a crouch. His smile suddenly broadened. "Welcome! My friends!"

Cutter advanced on him. "I've no time for any of this, you damned weasel-"

"No time? Of course you have, lad! There's much to be done, and much time in which to do it! Doesn't that make for a change? Rush about? Not us. No, we can dawdle ! Isn't that wonderful!"

"What does Cotillion want of us?" Cutter demanded, forcing his fists to unclench.

"You are asking me what Cotillion wants of you? How should I know?" He ducked down. "Does he believe me?"

"No."

"No what? Have you lost your mind, lad? You won't find it here! Although my wife might - she's ever cleaning and clearing up - at least, I think she is. Though she refuses to touch the offerings - my little bhok'arala children leave them everywhere I go, of course. I've become used to the smell. Now, where was I? Oh yes, dearest Apsalar - should you and I flirt? Won't that make the witch spit and hiss! Hee hee!"

House of Chains, by Steven Erikson (Malazan Book of the Fallen #4)

[fallowhearth]

Rereading Malazan Book of the Fallen for probably the fifth time...

"This city was dead long before the sea dried up," Fiddler said, resuming his climb.

Crokus called up after him, "How do you know?"

"Because everything's water-worn, lad. Waves crumbled this sea wall. Century after century of waves. I grew up in a port city, remember. I've seen what water can do. The Emperor had Malaz Bay dredged before the Imperial piers were built-revealed old sea walls and the like." Reaching the top, he paused to catch his breath. "Showed everyone that Malaz City's older than anybody'd realized."

"And that the sea levels have risen since," Mappo observed.

Fascinating to see how a major plot-point of Witness (the new series) was being casually built up as early as book 2 of MBotF - the melting of the Jaghut ice. And perfect of course, that it is Mappo who brings it up: of the group, he's the only one who would have been in a position to know this.

One thing I truly love about this series is the extent to which the world feels lived in. People have lived in the lands for hundreds of thousands of years, and not as static occupiers, but have endured climate change, environmental collapse, invasions, migrations, cultural movements, and political upheavals. Nobody does longue durée quite like Steven Erickson.

He's also an author who cares about subsistence strategies and the way geography shapes human patterns. The major cities emerge in places where water transport and farmland intersect. Plains nomads have pastoral animals apart from horses, plus working dogs, women play key roles in subsistence, and they have distinct material culture in dress and decoration. (As opposed to certain other authors, cf. Bret Devereaux's Dothraki write up). Environmental changes and human movement force new strategies; pretty much every group in the Malazan world is in some kind of flux or process of change outside of the actual plot, and have diverse responses to these pressures in terms of culture and values.

For all that these books can be very dense, I also appreciate Erikson's loving indulgence toward the reader. Yes, it would be funny if a small spoilt lapdog joined a pack of war dogs: so we will have a series of vignettes describing this in the background of real events. Yes, it is very funny to picture a bunch of capering monkeys mocking the High Priest of Shadow and his broom nonsense, so we will get a series of slapstick set pieces again in the background. Characters like Kruppe and Iskaral Pust get to chew the scenery, etc.

[litcityblues]

'Deadhouse Gates' --A Review

Okay, I'm two books into Malazan and will have to take a breather. Not because I don't want to read more of the series-- I do, it's just that these books are a lot. Two books and they've both been incredibly dense. The climaxes of both books have been shatteringly good. But they're also so good that you have to put them down and walk away once you're done with them just to catch your breath a bit. It's an entirely different beast from Sanderson or Robert Jordan-- if you're reading Stormlight, you know what to expect. (Many, many, many pages until the Sanderlanche begins. Plus Kaladin is inevitably being put through the wringer somehow.) If you're reading Robert Jordan, you know it's going to be a lot, (see, 'The Slog' a.k.a. Volumes 7-10) but Malazan is just different. I've never had a fantasy series that just sticks in my craw the way these have so far.

So, Deadhouse Gates:

I already knew coming in that this one wasn't going to be a direct sequel to Gardens of the Moon-- so introducing still more characters and an entirely new setting wasn't nearly as jarring as I found it to be in the previous book. Instead, we get interesting new characters right off the bat: Felisin Paran, the youngest sister of Ganoes Paran (now an outlaw with Dujek and the other Bridgeburners after the events of the previous books) who is caught up in a cull of the nobility ordered by the Empress Laseen and carried out by her other sister, the new Adjunct Tavore Paran. She makes friends with two fellow prisoners- Heboric, a behanded and disgraced High Priest of the God Fener and Baudin, a thug. They're sent to an otataral mine where Felisin offers her body to the self-appointed leader of the slaves, Beneth to keep them safe.

In the deserts of Raraku, Icarium, a half-Jaghut whose past has been wiped from his memory for the safety of the world, travels in the company of Mappo- a Trell warrior who knows the truth about Icarium and why his memories were taken. They make their way through a battle between shapeshifters of Soletaken and D'ivers to try and follow the Path of Hands to Tremorlor, an Azath House deep in the desert that might offer Ascendancy and even godhood. Escaping the battle, they find shelter with Iskaral Pust, a high priest of the Shadow who is insane (probably).

As rebellion flares across the Seven Cities, the Wickan Warleader Coltaine takes command of the Malazan 7th Army and when the High Fist Pormqual refuses to evacuate them by sea, staying in the capitol city of Aren, hundreds of leagues away, Coltaine makes the decision to evacuate overland. The Imperial Historian Duiker meets up with them and accompanies them.

Our only characters from the previous book, Fiddler, Kalam, Crokus, and Apsalar (formerly Sorry) land in one of the Seven Cities. Their original notion was to return Apsalar to her home village, but Kalam and Fiddler have a new plan: to kill the Empress. Eventually, Kalam leaves the group to take a mission deep into the desert to deliver the Holy Book to the resistance leader, Sha'ik. It's believed that once the book is opened, an apocalyptic Whirlwind will begin, announcing the start of the rebellion. As the others make their way through Raraku, Apsalar's recovered memories gradually reveal that Rope, the patron god of assassins who possessed her in the previous book was the previous Emperor's Assassin, Dancer- leading them to believe that both the old Emperor Kellenvad and Dancer escaped Laseen's assassination efforts by ascending to godhood.

The separate journeys of all these characters gradually begin to intertwine. Felisin, Heboric and Baudin escape (with some assistance from Duiker) from the mine and make their way back to the mainland-- Baudin dying in the process-- but not before revealing that he's an assassin sent by Felisin's sister to protect her. Heboric acquires more powers and unseen, magic hands and they arrive in deep in Raraku where Felisin, bent on revenge, agrees to open the Holy Book and become Sha'ik reborn, leader of the Rebellion against the Malazan Empire-- she reaches an accommodation with the Goddess to not fully be subsumed and adopts an orphan child whom she names Felisin.

Coltaine is successful in his trek across the continent-- the trip soon passes into legend as The Chain of Dogs and the High Fist refuse to save the remnants of the 7th Army who die in sight of the city of Aren, Coltaine amongst them. The High Fist is betrayed and eventually, all ten thousand soldiers are crucified along the Aren Way-- including Duiker, who is rescued and (seems to be) bound for a resurrection of some kind.

Mappo, Trell, Fiddler, Crokus, and Apsalar- along with Iskaral Pust and- as it turns out, Apsalar's father, join forces to enter Tremolor with the idea of using the Deadhouse to travel to the Deadhouse in Malaz City to unite with Kalam to complete their mission of killing the Empress only to find that Dujek's betrayal might have been planned and is seemingly false- a ploy to gain more allies to deal with a greater threat. The group eventually separates: Apsalar, Crokus and her father ask to go home. Kalam finds himself in a relationship (a situationship?) and living in the Shadow Warren with his demon guardian and 1300 crucified children he's been assigned to take care of. Fiddler, surprising everyone-- including himself, re-enlists.

Felisin/Sha'ik reborn approaches Aren with Heboric and her armies, only to find that the city has not been taken. Seeing that, she orders a retreat deeper into the desert to await the arrival of her sister Tavore, and her army.

Overall: Like I said, these books are a lot- but in a good way. Duiker's plot line and the Chain of Dogs becomes instantly epic to me. Put it right up there with Dumai's Wells from The Wheel of Time or Lake Town from The Hobbit-- Coltaine's last stand in front of the city? Just brutal. Just amazing writing- especially the arc of Coltaine over the course of the march. He starts out as a mercenary/outsider type but by the end, when he's offered help by Dujek, he stays loyal to the Malazan Empire and turns into a symbol of the immense achievement of the trek- even if it doesn't end well for him.

Speaking of which: I need more pieces of this puzzle filled in, because Dujek's betrayal was false? To face a greater threat? Is Malazan bad? I'm confused--- I don't know how to feel about this, but I expect more of the series will help clarify what the heck is going on.

While it's not a direct sequel to Gardens of the Moon (there's apparently a lot of overlap with Memories of Ice- the next volume in the series) I love the connective tissue between the two. We see more of Paran's sisters and the conflict between Felisin and Tavore is going to be delicious to watch, even if it inevitably sends whole armies to their deaths. I loved the redemption arc for Heboric and Felisin-- though how much of a 'redemption' arc it actually is has yet to be determined.

If there is one bone I have to pick with this novel it might be the fact that Apsalar ever so conveniently is reunited with her father apropos of pretty much nothing (apparently he was saved from the Shadowhound attack and brought to the temple in the desert via warren?)

This volume was nowhere near as hard to crack as the first volume and it wasn't as jarring either when the plot shifted from one group of characters to the next. This series is dense. It's involved. It's epic in every sense of the word and it can be a bit intimidating, but I'm all in. You should be too. My Grade: **** out of ****

[ae-neon]

Attempting to sum up my feelings and thoughts on Deadhouse Gates

4.5/5

Non-Spoilers.

What a sequel. I thought Gardens of the Moon was probably the best thing I'd ever read but somehow Deadhouse Gates was better?? Like objectively speaking the writing leveled up but also the feel of the novel was more cohesive too.

I never quite understood what people meant when they said "the setting was its own character" but from Hissar to Raraku, Seven Cities feels so real and is ever relevant to the story. It colours the pages and actions and plot in its own hue. And Erikson's layers of history and culture add a visceral and powerful weight that deepens the stories set there.

I honestly don't think I can say I read this book. I experienced it, and what an experience it was. As the fans say, I have walked the Chain of Dogs.

Once again, there is no shortage of wonder (from a ghost ship operated by the dead to a city of people turned to stone) the fantasy is as high as ever - but Erikson forced me, again and again, down to earth with the best parts of this story being the study of humanity.

Any book this grim and especially in the current political climate could come off as unpleasant or flimsy if not downright distasteful, but Erikson has left me in awe, heartbroken and shaking my head at futility but somehow never feeling hopeless. He is not trying to be dark for the sake of being dark. He is showing you humanity in all its shades.

It is not lightly that I say this book shows the actual nuance of conflict, the only way it can be: through the individual human lens. It confronts these characters with their own bias, with hypocrisy, with betrayal, with being wrong and with the humanity of their enemies and the futility of their actions.

And the characters?? Good lord, I don't understand how Erikson can have such huge but distinct characters. Even the animals have personality! Moby, Apt, the Ghral horse and of course the Wickan dogs! Felisin, Coltaine and Icarium were the standouts for me though it would be unfair not to give Erikson props for the insanity that is Iskaral Pust.

Once again, my biggest gripe boil to Erikson not being good at developing romance.

All in all, Deadhouse Gates - from it's insane prologue to the very end is a once in a lifetime experience and even if I never picked up another Malazan book (literally reading MoI rn) I would still be happy I got this far. If GoTM were not needed for context and a general understanding of Erikson's style, I would recommend Deadhouse Gates even to those who have no interest in Malazan.

Spoilers

Coltaine, Kulp and Lorn. Erikson has me 3 for 3 on killing my favourite characters. At least my Coastal Marines seem to be fine.

How so many can read this book and hate Felisin has me disappointed but not surprised. Not only was she completely valid in her feelings, but she was also hilarious in her jabs. It's so sad that one of the first memories transmitted to Felisin from Sha'ik is the implied sexual assualt at the hands of the man who raised her. And there's something so bittersweet about Sha'ik Reborn giving the name Felisin to her daughter in hopes that the girl she was and the girl she has will fair better than Felisin Paran did.

The Chain of Dogs will stay with me always. As a person who lives in the Global South/Third World and was born only 3 years into my country's independence, fear of civil unrest, war and general collapse of law and order have been very real fears in my life. I tend to stray away from documentaries and movies centered around these topics because of the anxiety it creates in me.

But Erikson never took things too far, he was blunt and honest in his portrayals - though I will say I wish we had seen more of Seven Cities natives who objected to violence and sexual assault especially as tools of war. I know that these things often happen but the same is true of objection, of restraint, of a want to see justice play out in a more lawful way.

Again, I am saying this as someone who was born into a newly independent country, so much of the immediate aftermath was trials in which families got lawful justice and acknowledgement of the wrong done to them and their loved ones under the former regime.

I am glad we got the nuance of Duiker and Kalam being natives who align more with the Empire - their reasoning is well done, nuanced and even more amazing when, in Kalam's case, he must face the possibility of viewing the Empire in a gold haze or rose-tinted glasses.

On the topic of Kalam, I will be honest and say my like of Kalam and Ben as a duo might have skewed my initial reading of Kalam and Minala's interactions, but I have never and will never be the type of person who villainizes or dislikes a female character for "coming in between" the relationship of two male characters.

I want to make it clear that I don't dislike Minala at all. However, Erikson has failed, once again, to make me believe in this romance. I don't buy Minala leaving her sister in the middle of life-changing rebellion to follow a man she barely communicated and connected with. Especially so soon after escaping her abusive husband's grasp which she only endured because it benefitted her sister.

Pearl had better chemistry with Lostara, hell, he had better chemistry with Kalam as Salk Elan than Kalam and Minala had. It would have been more believable to have Kalam stay and raise Shadowthrone's child army as a sort of repayment to Apt and Panek.

Speaking of, I always knew Kellanved/Shadowthrone was a bit...off...just from the stories he's heard but it's another thing entire to see Cotillion have doubts. VERY INTERESTING.

The Wickans piqued my interest from the moment they stopped the Red Blades at the docks but Coltaine and Bult speaking up in favour of Laseen had me instantly on their side as I never appreciated the nostalgic, boys club view that so many of our veterans had of the Laseen v Kellanved story. I always believed she would at least be fleshed out. And when Erikson had Chalice dash Crokus' idealised dreams and Murillio see the hollowness in his victory and the humanity in Simtal at the end of GotM, I knew he wasn't going to be the type of author to give us hollow, one note female characters.

Fid, Crokus and Apsalar - my darling family, also verrrry interesting that Fiddler returned to Seven Cities instead of Genabackis

Seeing as the title of the next book is Memories of Ice, I was immediately entrigued by the glimpses of Jaghut and Imass history we got. I LOVED Lorn and Tool in GotM so getting more on the T'lan Imass but especially on otataral was such a treat.

I was, in some ways, mentally prepared for Coltaine to die as part of him being this larger-than-life figure and inevitable tragic hero BUT I will never forgive Erikson for Kulp WHYYY

I cried through Mappo's confession to Icarium but I was already bawling at Duiker leaving the remains of the 7th behind to see the refugees to Aren. I took a ten minute break from reading after the gates closed, thinking that was the end of it. But Erikson had more in store for me and I was almost as wrecked by grief as Nil and Nether at end of chapter 21 and I set the book down for a day and half, once again foolishly thinking that was the end.

Malazan fans say "you walked the Chain of Dogs" but, tbh, it dog-walked me, I was wrecked.

PS

I love how everyone in the book and even me in this rambling review, completely brush past Heboric pulling Fener onto the mortal plain. I found otataral interesting just from Lorn's sword but this has brought me a million questions

[malazan-read-through]

Please these rotcg antics are suggesting that shadowthrone looked at iskaral pust and was like 'wow dassem would hate him' and immediately decided to make him his high priest

[spindlephysalia]

Not just because it's good although Chain of Dogs baybeeee but like

concepts in malazan bleed into each other (try and explain a warren to someone who hasn't read any malazan) and dhg does such a good job of quietly explaining that to you. Soletaken and D'ivers don't shift they veer (or semble back into a human form, which tells you so much), warrens are both a place you can travel and a source of power sufficient to gather an army of shapechangers. Both of those help you internalise that sense that things don't translate easily, that nothing has a neat taxonomy, all things are complex and messy especially where power is concerned. Iskaral Pust is there.

never not thinking about deadhouse gates tbh

[ajcope12]

After finishing book 2 of the malazan series I just have to ask: what’s with Erickson’s love for crazy babble? a la Kruppe/Iskaral Pust

Deadhouse gates was EPIC btw and containe was(is?) everything

[tyrillina]

Iskaral Pust rode like a madman. Unfortunately, the mule beneath him had decided that a plodding walk would suffice, making the two of them a most incongruous pair. The High Priest flung himself back and forth, pitched from side to side. His feet kicked high, toes skyward, then lashed back down. Heels pounded insensate flanks in a thumping drum-roll entirely devoid of rhythm. Reins flailed about but the mule had chewed through the bit and so the reins were attached to nothing but two mangled stumps that seemed determined to batter Pust senseless.

He tossed about as if riding a goaded bull. Spraying sweat, lips pulled back in a savage grimace, the whites visible round his bugged-out eyes.

The mule, why, the mule walked. Clump clump (pause) clump (pause) clump clump. And so on.

Swirling just above Iskaral Pust’s head, and acrobatically avoiding the bit-ends, flapped the squall of bhokarala. Like oversized gnats, and how that mule’s tail whipped back and forth! She sought to swat them away, but in the spirit of gnat-hood the bhokarala did not relent, so eager were they to claim the very next plop of dung wending its way out beneath that tail. Over which they’d fight tooth, talon and claw.

Swarming in mule and rider’s wake was a river of spiders, flowing glittering black over the cobbles.

At one point three white Hounds tramped across the street not twenty paces distant. A trio of immensely ugly heads swung to regard mule and rider. And to show that it meant business, the mule propped up its ears. Clump clump (pause) clump clump clump.

The Hounds moved on.

It does no good to molest a mule.

- Toll The Hounds, Malazan Book of the Fallen 8

[malazanquotes]

I trust you are killing every spider you spy. You had better be, for it is the path to wisdom.

Iskaral Pust, Deadhouse Gates, pg 176

[gheritarish4]

I’ve been reading Malazan for months. I love it. I love the depth of the world, the plot and all its foreshadowings, the way it is written… I never felt as taken in a book as I was when reading some chapters of Malazan (looking at you, chapter 7 of the Bonehunters). And the characters? So diverse, amazing in so many ways (Kruppe, Iskaral Pust, but also Fiddler, Icarium, Karsa, Tavore, Quick Ben…). There are characters I despise with all my being, but they are to be hated (I think). I’ve rarely felt so moved by what happens to characters in a book.

But at the same time, it’s so HARD to read. So many names, places, events… and Erikson doesn’t care whether you follow or not, he goes on and on, and you have to join the ride by yourself, ‘cause the train won’t stop. The siege of Pale in the first chapters is the best example. Not even the characters understood precisely what happened, how are we supposed to?

All of this doesn’t even touch the subjects present in these books. The world is not nice. Sometimes, you feel there is little to no justice. But at other times, justice arrives through an unexpected character, and that’s satisfying. Like I said, those subjects are hard, and I don’t think they are for everyone.

So to your question, OP, I answer: the depth of the plot and the characters.

Non ironic question : can someone explain to me what they like about the Malazan book of the fallen? I'm a third of the way through Garden of the Moon and according to the author's preface I'm supposed to either love it or hate it by now (lol) but i just feel kinda lukewarm and I'm trying to decide if it's worth continuing

[chloristoflora]

Crokus bolted forward, pushing his way between Shan and Gear as if they were no more than a pair of mules. "Moby?"

The familiar raced towards the Daru and leapt at the last moment to land in the lad's arms. Where it clung tenaciously, wings twitching. Crokus's head snapped back. "Ugh, you stink like the Abyss!"

Moby, that damned familiar... Fiddler's gaze flicked to Mappo. The Trell was frowning.

"Bhok'aral!" The word came from Iskaral Pust as a curse. "A pet? A pet? Madness!"

"My uncle's familiar," Crokus said, approaching.

The Hounds shrank from his path.

Oh, lad, much more than that, it seems.

"An ally, then," Mappo said.

Crokus nodded, though with obvious uncertainty. "Hood knows how he found us. How he survived..."

"Dissembler!" Pust accused, creeping towards the Daru. "A familiar! Shall we ask the opinion of that dead shapeshifter back there! Oh no, we can't, can we? It's been torn to pieces!"

Deadhouse Gates, by Steven Erikson (Malazan Book of the Fallen #2)

[abitoflit]

A Beginner’s Guide to Malazan Characters

First published within Tor's online newsletter, this guide, written by Laura M. Hughes, outlines each of the major players within Erikson's world. While this guide is intended for the second book in the series, Deadhouse Gates, some of the characters from the first novel appear and made it into this guide. I am posting excerpts from Hughes' guide in order to help my readers who are interested in this series and because I appreciated Hughes' sarcastic and snarky method of describing the "major players" within this series.

Kalam:

Splitting off from his squad as well as his Bridgeburner BFF Quick Ben, former Claw Kalam Mekhar has one goal in mind: to assassinate the Empress. Well, I say “one goal”; he may or may not get distracted by a book at some point, but we’ve all been there…right, guys?

Fiddler:

Accompanying Kalam is fellow Bridgeburner Fiddler, who’s left his own BFF (Hedge) behind on Genabackis. Like Kalam, ol’ Fid’s big beardy face is set towards righting an old wrong. He’s not the only one.

Sorry/Apsalar:

Remember Sorry? The sweet lil’ fishergirl possessed by the Patron of Assassins, then slipped into the Bridgeburners as their creepy-arsed new recruit? If so, you’ll probably recall that she’s pretty pissed off with a lot of people right now. You’ll also remember that she changed her name to Apsalar, after her buddy Crokus Younghand’s patron goddess (though I suspect he would’ve ended up worshipping her even if she’d named herself Bollockface).

Crokus Younghand:

Ironically, Crokus soon decides to change his profession from thief to—you guessed it!—assassin. You know, just like Sorry, who’s now named Apsalar, a.k.a. the Goddess of Thieves. Come on, Crokus. Aren’t relationships complicated enough already?

Icarium:

Half human, half jaghut; with his greenish skin, protruding tusks and tall, muscled, Hulk-like physique, you’d likely shit yourself if you bumped into Icarium in a dark alley. As fantasy fiction is so fond of reminding us, however, appearances can be deceiving; if something glitters, it could be gold or it could just as easily be a turd rolled in glitter, and not all that is green is a Hulk. Yes, in spite of his fierce exterior, Icarium is polite, considerate, and well-educated, a gentle giant with a deep philosophical streak and an earnest desire to explore history’s layers during his never-ending quest to recover his own memories.

Just…don’t make him angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.

Mappo:

On a centuries-long mission to wrap Icarium in proverbial cotton wool (and—rather tragically—to keep him from recovering the memories he so desperately seeks) is his BFF Mappo. Theirs is a bromance to rival even Rake/Brood, and Mappo in particular is a real cutie. Sure, he’s a bit rough ‘round the edges physical—with his bristled back and his tusks and his overall solid MASSIVENESS, he’s not quite as pretty as his verdant mate Icarium. However, he is arguably even more tragic: caught up in a centuries-long internal conflict between friendship and duty, Mappo is the most philosophical, empathetic henchman you’ll ever meet.

Mappo and Icarium’s quest also sets them upon the Path of Hands, whereupon they (handily) cross paths with Crokus and Co. Less handy is the fact that hundreds of others are following the Path, too . . .

D’ivers:

Gardens of the Moon introduced us to the concept of the Soletaken when Anomander Rake veered into his draconian form. Surely nothing could be more terrifying than facing an opponent with the power to transform at will into something truly monstrous. Right?

Meet the D’ivers! If the name doesn’t immediately give it away, let me clue you in: you know how Voldemort turned his snake, Nagini, into a Horcrux (a living repository for a piece of his own soul)? Now imagine if he’d been able to a) split himself into multiple animagus forms, and b) use those forms as living Horcruxes.

He couldn’t, of course. But these guys can.

Gryllen / Messremb / Ryllandaras

Some bright spark has spread the word about Tremorlor. This same bright spark (or is it shifting shadow?) has also given out directions to the House, essentially sending an open invitation to any Soletaken and D’ivers who happen to be in the area. Of these, there are some—like Ryllandaras the man-jackal and Messremb the bear—whose veered forms are few, but incredibly strong. But as a D’ivers’ power grows, so too does its numbers. When veered into his D’ivers form, big bad Gryllen becomes hundreds of rats that cover the ground like a carpet, overwhelming his enemies by sheer force of numbers and devouring them in mere minutes. As you can imagine, the subsequent clashes on the Path of Hands between Soletaken and D’ivers (and our poor heroes caught in the middle!) are fraught and unpredictable. Who would win in a fight between three bears and five hundred bees? A hundred rats and a thousand ticks? Twelve dogs and a sea monster?

Which is more powerful: an old Shadow priest, or a million spiders?

Mogora:

One of our heroes’ more fortuitous encounters (or less fortuitous, depending on your perspective) sees Crokus and company taking a break from the punishing desert in a long-forgotten temple of Shadow. The temple—built into a cliff and inaccessible but for a rope lowered, Rapunzel-style, by its inhabitants—is home to an elderly couple. Mogora and Iskaral Pust show about as much affection for one another as Ian McKellan’s Freddie and Derek Jacobi’s Stuart in the sitcom Vicious, while their bizarre plots and ceaseless bickering are reminiscent of cartoon nemeses Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, Dick Dastardly and that smug bastard pigeon, and—of course—Tom and Jerry. The scenes between Pust and Mogora lend the story an air of slapstick comedy which is, quite frankly, delightful – though our heroes don’t see it that way. Especially when they’re woken in the night by Iskaral Pust standing astride them, brandishing his ever-present sweeping brush in a quest to rid the monastery of its eight-legged denizens (a.k.a. his wife).

Iskaral Pust:

His wife might be a literal nest of spiders, but she’s certainly not the only one spinning webs. He’s no D’ivers, but High Priest of Shadow Iskaral Pust is much craftier than his ostensible role as comic relief leads us to believe. Much like Kruppe in Gardens of the Moon, Pust is all about misdirection, using his constant disingenuous monologues to maintain a façade of madness whilst subtly plucking at everyone’s threads in service to his master, Shadowthrone.

You’re probably thinking that this all sounds very impressive. In which case, the less said about the small, monkey-like bhoka’rala who worship and harangue Pust, the better.

Cotillion:

From webs to Ropes: for the Assassin of High House Shadow, Cotillion takes a surprisingly hands-on role in guiding his reluctant protégée, Apsalar, and her companions. Perhaps feeling slightly guilty about abducting her, then possessing her, then forcing her to commit brutal acts of murder in Gardens of the Moon, the Patron of Assassins now appears to have taken on the role of kindly uncle to the knife-artist formerly known as Sorry.

What a nice guy.

Sarcasm aside, Cotillion is a veritable saint compared to this next lot…

Sha’ik:

Possession—or more specifically, possession as a not-so-subtle metaphor for the way religious belief can override an individual’s own better judgement—is a prevalent theme in the first few books of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. We’ve just recalled how Cotillion possessed Apsalar back at the beginning of Book One; now, we have Sha’ik, the mortal incarnation of the Whirlwind goddess Dryjhna. Every time the old Sha’ik gets too, well, old, she’s replaced with a younger girl in an endless cycle of decay and rebirth.

Does the fact that Sha’ik is a willing vessel make her any less of a victim than Sorry? You’ll probably never get the chance to ask her, I’m afraid. She’s protected very fiercely indeed by her two loyal bodyguards: Leoman, and Toblakai.

Leoman of the Flails:

Desert boy. Hardened fighter. Have a guess what kind of weapon he uses.

[fallowhearth]

Pick a fave from my favs

Tagged by @apollo-cackling and @theaudientvoid thanks!

Challenge: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters, and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite

I'm not going to tag anyone. But if you want to do it, do it. I'm nosy.

[ae-neon]

Deadhouse Gates ending predictions as I finally move on from the trauma of ch 21 Chain of Dogs

For some reason it stuck with me that Mallick Rel was described as a Jhistal Priest and that Kalam was told the Apocalypse have a "Jhistal" in Aren

Combine that with Kalam's experience on the Ragstopper and I think Pormqual is being controlled/influenced by Mallick Rel

I think the thing that saves the day, the shaved knuckle if you will, is gonna be that Felisin is now Sha'ik Reborn and has no real want for vengeance against the malazan people

As for Kalam, idk I don't see Laseen dying but even if she did - I think the situation with the empire would become worse given we don't have a clear succession in place (despite Kalam hinting that he and Quick Ben have someone in mind. Most likely Dujeck or Whiskeyjack)

I think Fid, Apsalar and Crockus are gonna split from Icarium and Mappo though idk where the latter will go or what they'll do given that Mappo has decided not to imprison Icarium and given the Azath's lack of reaction as well as the questions brought up around the Nameless Ones - Icarium might be innocent?

I honestly don't care about what happens to Iskaral Pust and Minala, I don't particularly like so...