Spoiler clearance: Toll the Hounds
The Dying God wants to take control of the
Redeemer in order to usurp Kurald Galain, and then claim the Throne of Darkness.
Simple enough. Now, how do you stop this from happening?
Anomander Rake decided to move the Gate of
Darkness directly to the city of Black Coral. But the Gate is inside Dragnipur,
right? How do you bust it outta that sword?
There is a very precise plan. I just don’t
understand what it is.
If
Hood himself is killed by Dragnipur, then he’s gonna be inside
the sword and he will be able to summon all of the slain from his own realm to
push back the “chaos” that pursue the wandering Gate in the heart of Dragnipur.
Apparently, Hood accepted that plan... But then, at the very last moment, he
says to Rake, “I have reconsidered.” What was that about? But you know Rake: he
cuts him down anyway.
This still doesn’t bring the Gate to Black
Coral and the real world, though.
Rake has to die by his own sword, then?
Inside the sword, he’ll be able to bind the Gate – is that it? Both Hood and
Rake sacrifice themselves to save Kurald Galain? Hefty price! Why not let the
Dying God and “chaos” fight over the Throne of Darkness, and then just whack
the winner of that clash?
And what is Shadowthrone doing in that plot?
He wants the Gate of Darkness to go to Black Coral, not stay in the sword?... What
difference does it make for him? And those Hounds of Shadow – what do they want
exactly? Why did they destroy an entire city? Just for fun?
Dassem wants to kill Hood – and Shadowthrone
knows that and uses it... But poor Dassem arrives too late and Rake has already “killed”
the Lord of Death. So Dassem now wants the sword because Hood is trapped inside
of it – but Rake won’t yield Dragnipur. Dassem has to kill Rake – thus enabling
the “plan” to work out?! Could anyone have known how Rake would be struck by
his own blade? And then, right after that truly epic fight is over, Dassem
doesn’t even try to get his hands on Dragnipur (and Hood)... he is just
helplessly grief-stricken and inconsolable. So, First Sword, you did all of
this... for what?
And what is that “cheat” Karsa is rambling
about? How did Dassem cheat to vanquish Anomander? I don’t see it. As
I’ve already stated elsewhere in this blog, my I.Q. score is much lower
than Karsa Orlong’s. He gets things – and I simply don’t.
Anyway, none of it matters because Mother
Dark finally returned after millennia of absence – and helped save Kurald
Galain.
Lots of expendable and unimportant “generic”
opponents were annihilated: 10 Hounds of Light, countless “soldiers of chaos”,
and the Dying God himself. Good riddance, I guess.
In Toll the Hounds, I didn’t care
about any of the enemies. Hounds of Light? Dying God? Chaos? They’re all a big disappointment.
Because Erikson is at his best when he pits people we’re invested in against
other people we’re invested in – like the good people of Darujhistan against Onearm’s
Host in Gardens of the Moon, or the Tiste Edur against the Letherii in Midnight
Tides.
All the enemies in books 3 and 4 are really ludicrous.
Cannibals. Pedophiles. Psychopaths. Women who rape dead soldiers on
battlefields. Caricatures... It’s definitely not as powerful as seeing real
people fight other real people who just happen to have a different view
of the world. That’s intense. That hurts. You want that. It’s too easy
to just say “chaos” and then depict some vague wave of seething oblivion.
When an author is telling me who I should
hate in such a blatant, obvious way, my first reflex is always to boot myself
loose of that “controlling grip” and root for the guys I was expected to hate.
Love you, Women of the Dead Seed! Rock on, saemankelyk addicts! Yeah... But you
can’t honestly root for “Anal” Yathvanar or nasty little Venaz, can you? So the
author wins, most of the time... But if Malazans square off against Darujhistan,
everybody wins – author and readers. I want more of that!
We still don’t know who wanted the owners of
K’rul’s Bar killed, or why. Who is this Humble Measure? Will we ever know?
Too many people show up after Anomander Rake
falls. 10 Hounds of Light, 5 Hounds of Shadow, 1 bear god, 1 undead dragon, 1
undead Seguleh, the Trygalle, Karsa, Samar Dev, Lady Envy, Sister Spite, Cutter,
Barathol, Antsy, Karsa’s two daughters, and a dog. Jesus! Can’t a Son of
Darkness die in peace?
Challice’s suicide was a sad thing. Endest
Silann’s death was sad, but also awe-inspiring. Chaur almost died, but now he’s safe in
the Azath House – maybe Darujhistan’s next Tyrant? That’d be fucking hilarious!
And Harllo finally returned to Stonny: that was great.
Lots of characters in this book are
irrelevant and add almost nothing to the story: Envy, Spite, Kallor, Clip,
Rallick, Vorcan, Salind, Mappo, Silanah... And those Trygalle folks – what the
heck are they doing? Where are they really trying to go?
No army, and no soldiers. Maybe that’s
what’s missing... Erikson’s best books have soldiers and armies in them.
