[TGO SPOILERS] On the Threshold of Revelation: Thoughts on Disembarking the ARC

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rhizome

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« on: June 30, 2016, 12:17:34 am »
I've had a couple of days to check out the forum after finishing TGO on Sunday evening, and it's good to see there's been lots of activity here... there are more people here than I expected!

This is the best book in the series, Bakker's writing is on another level.  Much tighter narrative and better pacing than the previous books.  It'll be interesting to see how he wraps up these threads in TUC; there still seems to be a long way to go before everything comes together.   Loved the appearance of a 'tekne artifact' at last.  That Cnaiur is back is such an expected treat.  I missed the debauched, murderous lunatic.

I think I'd need go through the book a second time before getting into some of the bigger ongoing debates here (and I think that's going to wait for retail copy), I will say that I was sure Serwa was singing Sorcery at the end of the Ishterebinth chapter.  It never occured to me that she wasn't until reading through the forum. 

There are couple of things that I haven't seen discussed:

(1) I had the impression from earlier books that the Judging Eye wasn't always open, that Mimara would only see with it when IT decided to show her something.   Maybe I need to re-read the  But here she seems to be able to control it, or there's just a lot more going on that it seems to think she needs to see.  Or it's the qirri.

(2) I think their defectives is something else the Dunyain were ultimately wrong about, and that there's something important, and ultimately very useful about defective/broken Dunyain with emotions.  Not for the Thousand Thousand Halls, maybe, but certainly out in the world. 

I was also half-convinced the mixed-up timeline wasn't actually a mistake, at least until the last few chapters.  That the Priority Principle is wrong is such a big theme in the book that wasn't sure that... I dunno, maybe the same events could be happening in different times in different places?  Not sure how I feel about that, really.  Earwa is weird, but maybe not that weird.
« Last Edit: July 12, 2016, 04:46:02 pm by Madness »

Madness

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« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2016, 01:13:42 pm »
Welcome to the subforum, rhizome :).
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Wilshire

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« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2016, 07:38:29 pm »
Why does everyone always think they need to read more before discussing lol.
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MSJ

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« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2016, 07:53:04 pm »
Well, for me, is because I read it fast and missed a whole lot I'm sure. I can discuss the main story arc and a few details here and there, but will take me another read to remember the finer details. Old age, Wilshire.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Wilshire

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« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2016, 08:31:00 pm »
I read it in like 4 days over 3 sittings and shipped it off to GJ. I still participated, regardless of my sieve of a memory :)
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MSJ

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« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2016, 08:42:11 pm »
Well, I did too. I just think my participation would increase with another re-read. I'm fuzzy on a lot of details.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

locke

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« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2016, 09:26:52 pm »
our imperfect recollection of the text may in and of itself be very interesting.

rhizome

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« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2016, 11:51:36 pm »
For me, it's mostly about coming late to the discussion -- lots of questions answered in other threads, lots of similar speculation, also.

Triskele

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« Reply #8 on: July 01, 2016, 03:49:05 am »
(2) I think their defectives is something else the Dunyain were ultimately wrong about, and that there's something important, and ultimately very useful about defective/broken Dunyain with emotions.  Not for the Thousand Thousand Halls, maybe, but certainly out in the world. 

"The Trial broke you."

Maybe Kellhus is special precisely because he broke / became "defective."

MSJ

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« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2016, 08:57:00 am »
(2) I think their defectives is something else the Dunyain were ultimately wrong about, and that there's something important, and ultimately very useful about defective/broken Dunyain with emotions.  Not for the Thousand Thousand Halls, maybe, but certainly out in the world. 

"The Trial broke you."

Maybe Kellhus is special precisely because he broke / became "defective."

He is. And, it all ties into my theory that what moves him more and more is human emotion. It all started when he broke on the Circumfix hanging next to Serwe.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

rhizome

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« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2016, 08:02:28 pm »

"The Trial broke you."

Maybe Kellhus is special precisely because he broke / became "defective."

He is. And, it all ties into my theory that what moves him more and more is human emotion. It all started when he broke on the Circumfix hanging next to Serwe.

It's a big part of what makes him "more", IMO.

MSJ

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« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2016, 09:03:28 pm »

"The Trial broke you."

Maybe Kellhus is special precisely because he broke / became "defective."

He is. And, it all ties into my theory that what moves him more and more is human emotion. It all started when he broke on the Circumfix hanging next to Serwe.

It's a big part of what makes him "more", IMO.

Without a doubt, rhizome! As Blackstone puts it, nice to have another Kellhus apologist.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,