The Crippled God discussion

I'm currently reading through tcg, and would like to take a general consensus to see what everybody thinks. I don't know what can compete with hood savagely eating the face of a Forkrul Assail.

Most badass character, huh? In just this book, or the whole series?

If it's just this book, I think Yedan Derryg fighting dudes with a severed head impaled on his sword is a pretty crazy visual. If we're talking the whole series...well, this series is pretty chock-full of badassery, isn't it? Maybe Gruntle filling an entire building full of corpses in Memories Of Ice? Maybe Draconus basically nuking an entire army with his return to the world at the end of Dust Of Dreams?

I have to agree Yedan is pretty awesome. Lets not forget that he took out 4 Forkrul Assail at once, and this was before he posesed the Hust sword.
however if we're talking the entire series I'd go with Karsa.
Thanx for reminding me of corpses piling up in Moi

Benji wrote: "I have to agree Yedan is pretty awesome. Lets not forget that he took out 4 Forkrul Assail at once, and this was before he posesed the Hust sword.
however if we're talking the entire series I'd g..."
I think that Yedan fought against 4 tiste liosans, not against Forkrul Assail. Maybe I'm wrong.
I agree with the building full of corpses. The siege of Capustan is one of my favourite scenes of the series.

He killed one Forkrul Assail and was charged by four Tiste Liosan on horseback who watched the fight.

definitely Karsa Orlong, but I just can't shake the feeling that kilmandaros could be a lot more badass (or at least was)

WITNESS!

There's so much badassery in this series but without a shadow -hehe- of a doubt, it has to be the one and only Karsa Orlong.

If we're talking about the whole series there are a lot of characters who have Chuck Norris-level moments of badassdom:
Gruntle, Karsa, Trull, Korabas, Draconus, Tavore, Ganoes Paran, Whiskeyjack, Hedge, Fiddler, Quick Ben, Kalam, Yedan Derryg, Nimander, Spinnock, Anomandaris, Icarium, Gesler, Stormy, Ruthan Gudd, Hood, Shadowthrone, Cotillion, Dassem, Tool, Onrack, Brood, Mael, Brys, Tehol, Beak, Coltaine, Baudin, Tayschrenn.

Those are the ones I can remember handily, and I likely forgot about somebody.

Anyone who answers anything but Karsa is wrong! Followed very closely by Kallor. Then Hood, Anomander and Icarium.

There are just too many to pick from

Assuming everybody read the series here i want to ask some off-topic questions for which i might have missed the explanation ..

1. What exactly is Icarium? and why is he regarded as an adequate alternative weapon against humanity, when mappo usually knocked him unconscious

2. Why the eresal could travel through time?

3. Apparently Anomander and a few others realized what/who Quick Ben really is, but i missed that

4. Who/what is Edgewalker that everybody fears him

5. Did they release Draconus so he can kill Kilmandaros, or his release is just a side-effect to releasing the Gate of darkness ?

Thanks in advance

On topic .. Kalam, Karsa and Cotillion have really great moments in the series

In this book I think the Hood was the most badass, however in the series as a whole only one person has been consistently the most badass and that Anomandaris Rake.

Martin wrote: "Assuming everybody read the series here i want to ask some off-topic questions for which i might have missed the explanation ..

1. What exactly is Icarium? and why is he regarded as an adequate a..."

i will try and answer you but a lot of your questions dont have answers. at least thats what i took away from the series.

1. Icarium is just a really fucking powerful dude who went insane when he tried to free his father from the azath tree. he didnt exist specifically to be a weapon, the nameless ones just saw an opportunity to use him as a weapon against their enemies. as for mappo controlling him i think mappo himself was just ridiculously powerful. although it was never mentioned i think there is a part of icarium who knows who and what he is and how dangerous he is and he allows his dear friend mappo to over power him every time.

2. i dont know if the eresal could move through time, i always thought it was just a ghost. i thought maybe because it existed and died before hood had waged war on death and taken the throne himself it wasnt bound to hood in death? but i am not sure about the time line. i understood the eresal to be a forerunner of the imass who were forerunners of humans but i am not sure if they predate the jaghut. in forge of darkness the dogrunners aka imass are contemporaries of the jaghut so its possible.

3. quick ben was left purposefully ambiguous i believe. i think he has the souls of the wizards who fled with him across the desert when whiskey jack and kalam were chasing him but i am not sure if thats what everyone refers to when they talk about what he is.

4. i believe edgewalker was a very powerful figure deep, deep in the past. again like quick ben and so many other awesome characters (kallor) his past was left painfully ambiguous. i think his knowledge and attitude show he was a powerhouse in his day but just doesnt give a shit anymore. he has seen it all before again and again.

5. annies sword was broken not to release draconus, but to release the lady of the dark (forgotten her name/title). draconus becoming free was just a by product i think.

Ok, thanks .. It seems i haven't missed a lot. Even with the conclusion of the series a lot of things remained without explanation. Probably will be explained in the future prequels or sequels, or even in the Malazan empire series... I just really wanted to know what Icarium is (why is he so powerful) or which elder god is one od quick ben souls ... :D

Thanks ...

right now, i really love Anomander Rake. Bad ass guy, bad ass attitude, bad ass powers, bad ass sword, bad ass sword skills, bad ass hair! hehe

So many indeed worthy of the title. I feel like Erikson really invested a lot into Karsa that just can't be ignored. I just finished reading tCG and I knew that Karsa had to make some sort of appearance or readers would be disappointed.

I have to mention two more minor names: Skulldeath. He is probably the most badass for the marines in that scene where he saves Smiles and Koryk. Also for all the K'Chain Nah'ruk he killed.
Then Mok, the 3rd Seguleh who beat Tool. I was hoping the first would make an appearance even though I knew Erikson would just tease us with him.

There's also one incident which caught me by surprise and is one of the few in all the series that I've read that really made a character stand out for me: Kallor killing millions of his subjects just to spite the Elder Gods. That is badass in a horrid way.