OK, When trying to decide how to go about the discussions for this, I thought it would be nice to do a recap. There's no short/easy recap. When I look back through, its so hard to know what is important and what isn't at this point. So, I'll show what I did come up with. I'm not sure if I will do this every time or not.
Prologue - Set in Malaz CityA young Ganoes Paran is standing on the wall of Mock’s Hold watching the Mouse Quarter burn. Worth mentioning is the state of the city and empire. The Emperor is missing. The First Sword of the Empire is dead (Dassem Ultor) supposedly because he betrayed a god. A bridgeburner wonders at how this boy three thousand leagues away came across this information. The Bridgeburner (Whiskeyjack) warns Paran to not become a soldier.
“Every decision you make can change the world. The best life is the one the gods don’t notice. You want to live free, boy, live quietly.”
“I want to be a soldier. A hero.”
“You’ll grow out of it.”
Erikson, Steven (2004-06-01). Gardens of the Moon: Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (p. 26). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition.
Paran’s willful disregard of the suggestion makes us
suspectknow he will be a soldier in the story to come.
The Mouse Quarter is being “cleaned” (burned) by the orders of Surly. Surly has evidently named herself Empress and changed her name to Laseen (which Paran recognizes as meaning Thronemaster). She is a Claw (which is described as “acolytes of the cult”). She has put in place laws against sorcery. And she clashes with Whiskeyjack and he warns her that when the Emperor returns, he will put a stop to her.
So, what is Laseen’s (Surly's) motivation for outlawing sorcery?
Book One - Itko TanHere we see an old woman and a fishergirl watching soldiers ride in. The girl seems excited by it, but the woman show hatred for it and talks about losing 3 husbands and 2 sons to war. She has 5 candles to hold their souls. The old woman suddenly grabs her and prophesied that the girl will be the last one to hear her talk and that the old woman would be the last to talk to the girl:
“Across the sea the Empress has driven her knife into virgin soil. The blood now comes in a tide and it’ll sweep you under, child, if you’re not careful. They’ll put a sword in your hand, they’ll give you a fine horse, and they’ll send you across that sea. But a shadow will embrace your soul. Now, listen! Bury this deep! Rigga will preserve you because we are linked, you and I. But it is all I can do, understand? Look to the Lord spawned in Darkness; his is the hand that shall free you, though he’ll know it not—”
Erikson, Steven (2004-06-01). Gardens of the Moon: Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (p. 33). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition.
The old woman is killed. Two men stop to talk to the girl. One’s face was shadowed within his hood. Then there 7 Hounds suddenly appear. (the mens names Ammanas and Cotillion). She hears their names, and now they must use her. Shadows over take her.
--
The Adjunct to the Empress (Lorn) is viewing the decimation in Itko Tan. Soldiers, people, horses were all slaughtered by wolves. She comes across Ganoes Paran who is brutally honest in his description of the way things are. He had recently been assigned to the regiment there, but sh reassigns him to report to her. She sends him to investigate in the neighboring town because she said the massacre was a decoy, that there was a sorcerous event. When he gets there everyone is gone, and the soldiers at the constabulary were all suffocated and surrounded by pigeons.
Sorry enlists and requests to be assigned to Dujek Onearm’s host.
Topper shows up and takes Ganoes though the Imperial Warren to report to the Empress. Topper is surprised to learn this is not the first time that Ganoes has met the Empress.
Chapter 2
Battle in Pale. Dujek has said they will attack Moon’s Spawn. during the Battle, Tayschrenn attacks the other mages. Tattersail survives because Calot sacrifices himself for her. The remnants of the Bridgeburners show up. Turn what’s left of a dying Hairlock into some creepy possessed marionette. When Tattersail reads her cards, she plays the Knight of High House Dark and Openn, the twin jesters of chance. On this card, there is a spinning coin that Hairlock does not see. Something about this coin gives her hope.
Chapter 3
Paran is made Captain to Whiskeyjack’s squad, where the captains don’t last long and often die of a dagger to the back. (since Moons Spawn). Paran is assassinated by Sorry (Cotiliion). Shadowthrone (Ammanas) appears briefly and complains about something entering the Warren of Shadow.
Chapter 4
Tattersail and the other Bridgeburners. We learn that Shadow’s throne had been empty for millennia until the Emperor and Dancer’s deaths. They suspect that Shadowthrone and Cotiliion are the missing Emperor and Dancer.
Paran awakes at deaths door (or rather Hood’s Gate), but the Openn twins interfere and say someone close to Paran will have to die to replace his death.Shadowthrone agrees to let him live to figure out who opposes his plans. Paran awakes, the Bridgeburners are shocked and carry him back to barraks.
Hairlock is being chased by Hounds through the warrens. The bridgeburners and Tattersail agree that Sorry likely was the one who tried to kill Paran The Bridgeburners need to leave, so Tattersail is left with babysitting duty of their new and near dead Captain.
A Hound chases Hairlock out of the warren, and tracks him down to Tattersail’s room. Tattersail tries to hold him off with her magic/shields. Hairlock gets out of his box to try to steal the Hounds soul, but Paran wounds it, and it flees. Paran can also hear Tattersail’s spinning coin.
Overall reaction.
Really enjoying this. Curious to see how Paran fits in with his new crew. Also, love all the intrigue, who’s siding with who? Who is up to what? What are the gods doing in all of this?
What really happened in Itko Tan?
The implication that perhaps Cotillion and Shadowthrone are Dancer and the Emperor, paired with the fishergirl being turned into an agent of Shadowmaster. I had thought she was Cotiliion, but then this made me wonder. Or is she just a puppet? Well, obviously she is a puppet. But if she is Cotillion and they think Dancer is Cotiliion, is that the same thing, or are there varying levels? My current theory is that she is just a puppet of Cotillion's.
I am actually listening to the Name of the Wind while reading this and because of that, I found some minor similarities between the gods in the and the Chandrian in NotW. Nothing major, or anything I would have noticed/thought of if I didn;t have both stories going at the same time, but I did find it interesting.
Anyway, so what are other people thinking at this point? Are you having the same reaction? Do my assumptions make sense to others, or are there other theories/impressions out there?
