Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - mrganondorf

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 133
1
The No-God / Re: What else will the No-God say?
« on: August 06, 2021, 06:04:18 pm »
Yes, a robot remembering he was human reminds me of David Bowen in 2010 Space Odyssey and more remote to the Frank Miller's comic Hard Boiled. A robot confused with it's consciousness, like how can this be if I'm not human. It adds to the terror of the thing, like if you had no control of your body, but you consciously experienced everything your body was doing against your will. Out of nowhere, you're slaughtering your family and friends, you're seeing it, living it, but not willing it.

TaoHorror - you make me think that Mog might try to kill Esmi specifically -- perhaps in some mangled fashion similar to a Nonman trying to recover himself via memory/murder

2
The No-God / Re: What else will the No-God say?
« on: August 06, 2021, 06:02:02 pm »
Also keep in mind that Skafra tells Seswatha:

Quote
Our Lord,” the dragon grated, “hath tasted thy King’s passing, and he saith, ‘It is done.’

Although there is no way to know if Skafra means it literally or figuratively.

NICE ONE H!!!

3
The No-God / What else will the No-God say?
« on: August 05, 2021, 05:45:05 pm »
I find it unlikely that the No-God only repeats the same phrase unendingly.  I think it more likely that Bakker narrowed his lines down thus far for effect.  So, what else might Mog say?  Probably more self-agony stuff.

I'm betting there's at least one scene with Esmi speakin with her son(s), a bakkeresque subversion of those scenes where a character gets a robot to recall that they were once human kind of thing.

4
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2021
« on: March 18, 2021, 01:32:47 am »
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (1)

Brilliant. This book is as fun to read as it is confusing. There's a myriad of timelines, past and present, a narrator who is mad and terribly unreliable. Shifts in POV writing - First, Second, Third, maybe others but I lack the ability to identify them. Tremendous fun, horribly opaque, and a bizarre ending that holds true to form. Tamysn Muir is for me one of the most satisfying authors I've read recently. Though, that's probably a shame for her because I apparently enjoy commercially unsuccessful things with limited mass appeal.

The Locked Tomb series is a resounding must read. I can't wait for more from Muir.

I was wondering about this book--thanks Wilshire!

Finished the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson.  Supposedly the movie Frozen was supposed to be inspired by it.  I only saw Frozen 1 once and don't remember it very well but the Snow Queen did not seem to be related except that there was cold stuff and magic.

The Snow Queen was very fun and short.  Absolutely great bit about a cursed magic mirror.  C.S. Lewis definitely drew from her to get the White Witch.

5
The Unholy Consult / Re: "Kellhus is dead, but not done."
« on: March 18, 2021, 01:29:17 am »
@H - you had me at Deleuzian rhizomes! 

As for Khellus playing all ends, honestly I think: 1) he really did fail, however, 2) he had back up plans.

Failing via ignorance is just so Baker, if Khellus hasn’t, then a greater similar failure is on the way.

The situation Baker set up is so fun—Khellus lies about being a prophet but convinces the world by accidentally dying.  Now Mimara/son really is the propher(s) but their ability to elicit belief from the people is utterly fucked.  If anyone believes her at all, it will be because they think she is some sort of mini-prophet that is part of Khellus’ story.  It will be neat to see if she lies and tells people that Khellus was holy or if that is intolerable and she becomes an outcast at the end of the world.

Maybe that’s the angle Bakker is going for: Mimara will be executed by the mobs she could save if they would only listen to her.  Baker subverts Christ dying on the Cross for our sins in 2 ways: fake Christ (Khellus) dies but not for our sins and Mimara dies even though she could have saved us.

———

Tangent: What about the possibility of performing sorcery in hell?  Sorcery requires two voices, each securing the meaning of the other — Khellus lost his physical mouth but can still sing with 2 voices internally.  Not sure there is anything here, just wondering, it’s my adhd. 

——

As far as Khellus being motivated by love of Serwe, I still don’t think it’s a possibility, but I am reminded of this…when Sutadra dies, Mimara sees “the clear skin of heroism and sacrifice.  The white of devotion.  The GOLD of unconditional love.  The gleam of loyalty and long silence.  The high blue of indomitable strength.”

6
The Unholy Consult / Re: "Kellhus is dead, but not done."
« on: March 18, 2021, 01:06:37 am »
Yeah longer, the less believable ... however, it's a helluva viramsata all the same.  Bakker took 'what is the meaning of a deluded life' and spread it to every corner of Earwa/Eanna.  These people are going to be believe hard now.

It would be the strangest thing if we found out that Khellus (inadvertently) was sacrificed to save the world (if a world united by him posthumously finds a way to overcome mog).  Trying to fool everyone into believing you are Jesus and die and yet succeed.

Also, whatever Khellus' fate, as a liar, he was the Authentic Prophet of Ajokli.  Those gold haloes weren't in lieu of silver ones, they signified an alternative holiness--being blessed by the biggest demon.

What do you think H?

Extraordinary, I don't think this has been explained with such clarity and economy :)

Can't tell if you're messing with me TaoHorror.  It's good to see you here.  And SmilerLoki.  And Madness and Wilshire!

Even though Covid never kept me from the forum, there's been some tough times and I'm glad to communicate with some friendly people.

Hope y'all are hanging in there ok.

7
The Unholy Consult / Re: "Kellhus is dead, but not done."
« on: March 11, 2021, 03:20:36 am »
@TaoHorror - Can’t remember where, but there are passage(s) that talk about the ttt being a living thing.  I’m not sure that Kellhus was deluded, just caught unawares … that skin spy reaches out to him from an unseen corner just like wlw got Maithanet (the unseen corner in every room).  Kellhus failing to pull off the ttt as he intended it but succeeding from the pov that his death causes more belief than his life would be a very Bakker thing to do.

@ H - I think you put you’re finger right on it—Bakker’s pessimism.  All 7 books take us to the Golden Room where we find Science vs Religion.  Humanity is fucked either way.  Science exterminates the possibility of eternity.  Religion means humans are the playthings of greater beings (this is the ugly possibility hiding behind every religion—any promises of paradise are only good of the Speaker is hones and keeps their word and no higher court can compel them to,  Jesus could have come to Earth just to deceive, which makes me want to call and check on my family).  Science beats Religion in the Golden Room, I think, because Earwa is a commentary on this world.  Religion held sway for most of the time but now Science is supplanting a lot of it. 

Wouldn’t it be something if Kellhus orchestrated (successfully but we don’t know his plan yet) the whole thing as a way to get Serwe back?  It’s too sweet for Bakker but it’s a neat possibility that isn’t yet extinguished.  Sometimes Kellhus really did seem inclined to her beyond his Dunyainity.

I get the feeling that the next 3 books tell the story of the unlikely victory over New Mog only to end when a second golden ark lands.

Back to what I said earlier, “humanity is fucked either way,” I think Bakker identifies with Akka, the guy in the middle.  Opposed to the Consult but no friend of the gods who would damn him, a man caught in the middle.  Perhaps things end with Akka musing about how Seswatha’s line, “though you lose your soul you will gain the world” is ultimately just a piece of fabricated bullshit, a necessary bit of propaganda for the catechism to perpetuate an impossible middle way.

@H again - Jesus H…”So, where I want to say it makes sense for Mimara and the Eye to have some major role/impact, that point is trivially easy to be negated where it simply makes no difference at all and that is the real point.”  Damn I love reading your commentary.

Also, it’s neat to think about how the Consult-Dunyain where just playing Kellhus (albeit they were executing a plan they had come up with mere minutes before because Kel could not have been there long).  They must have suspected that Kellhus had an ace up his sleeve even if they didn’t know it was Ajokli because there’s no way he just waltzes into a room full of skin spies armed with chorae without some kind of leverage.  There’s no indication that he could have put up his detritus globe like he did at the end of TTT.  The aspect emperor got straight up played (supposing of course he wasn’t intending on his own salting). 

Also, I assume that all of the Consult-Dunyain that were not sorcerers DID have chorae, but it just didn’t matter when Kellhus came for that one because he was channeling hell—like the way Akka says a single chorae would not have mattered against the shade of Cil-Aujus.

8
Literature / Re: YOU MUST TELL ME ... What else are you reading?
« on: March 04, 2021, 01:41:05 am »
Just finished listening to The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster ready by Rainn Wilson (Dwight from the Office).  It was fucking delightful.  Had a very Alice in Wonderland feel but with an overt didactic slant that didn't drain away the fun.  Recommended.

9
The Unholy Consult / Re: "Kellhus is dead, but not done."
« on: March 04, 2021, 01:36:57 am »
Yeah longer, the less believable ... however, it's a helluva viramsata all the same.  Bakker took 'what is the meaning of a deluded life' and spread it to every corner of Earwa/Eanna.  These people are going to be believe hard now.

It would be the strangest thing if we found out that Khellus (inadvertently) was sacrificed to save the world (if a world united by him posthumously finds a way to overcome mog).  Trying to fool everyone into believing you are Jesus and die and yet succeed.

Also, whatever Khellus' fate, as a liar, he was the Authentic Prophet of Ajokli.  Those gold haloes weren't in lieu of silver ones, they signified an alternative holiness--being blessed by the biggest demon.

What do you think H?

10
The Unholy Consult / Re: "Kellhus is dead, but not done."
« on: February 25, 2021, 01:44:02 am »
Rereading the end of TTT, Kellhus as dead creates a kind of ultimate Viramsata.  If he permanently enhanced the schools' abilities to find and train the few, then in a decade or so, there might be more sorcerers about than the crowd that crossed Earwa...as in sacrifice 1k sorcerers and 280k soldiers in order to produce 10k sorcerers and millions of soldiers.

The sranc have surely grown in the intervening 2000 years (minus 1 hoard) but so should the population of Zeum/3 Seas/Eanna.

11
The Great Ordeal / Re: (TGO SPOILERS) Ishterebinth
« on: January 09, 2021, 06:35:56 pm »
I wonder if the nonmen near the bottom of the well achieved the objective of finding the darkness in between the gods.  The gods come across as eaters of souls (whether heaven or hell) and the nonmen whose souls were reduced to a personality-less fog (not the Tall at the very bottom but the nonmen just before that, the pig-catchers) might just be repugnant enough to avoid consumption.

12
General Misc. / Re: What are you watching?
« on: October 29, 2020, 04:23:48 pm »
Rewatched this Nick Cage triple that feels like a trilogy: Face/Off, The Rock, Con Air.

Holding off on The Good Place season 4 till my kiddo has a chance to catch up.

13
General Misc. / Re: Board Games and Miniatures
« on: October 29, 2020, 04:19:50 pm »
Ha, unfortunately, the price is just a bit too rich for my blood at the moment...

https://hasbropulse.com/products/heroquest-game-system

Just saw the price - oh well, I still have the original.  A bit beat up but I think it's all there.

Looks like TaoHorror is going to join us H!

14
Literature / Re: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
« on: October 29, 2020, 04:16:29 pm »
That is fantastic news. Goldsboro has a limited edition with a fancy bookmark that they just announced, and so I had Piranesi on the mind. I'm glad it turned out well and will probably get a copy of it one way or another.

I just went to the site and my hopes soared when I saw 'signed'

https://www.goldsborobooks.com/product/piranesi

OUT OF STOCK

Oh well.  Someone somewhere is enjoying a lovely copy.

15
General Misc. / Re: Board Games and Miniatures
« on: October 26, 2020, 02:23:48 am »
HeroQuest now out for Crowfunding: https://hasbropulse.com/products/heroquest-game-system

Looks pretty cool, even if just for the nostalgia value.

Hell yeah!  Some day I going to swing by your neck of the woods, H, and we should play!  I love HeroQuest!!

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 133