Bakker's repeated use...of ellipses...and italics to emphasize profundity.
Meta-licious.
But what about all the CAPS? Bakker does those a lot too. Actually I really like those. The best use of it, I think, is from the White Luck Warrior in that brilliantly written confrontation with Wuttea. Reading it -- "IS NOT THE TRUTH INFINITE?" -- really sent a chill down on my spine. I really got a sense of the horrifying majesty of the dragons. Absolutely NOTHING like Daenerys Targaryen.
Yes, those stylistic tics, baroque and even, here and there, rococo. It does feel overdone, and gives me the impression that it's almost a comment on the writing of genre. Underlining meaning by any means necessary? Surely Bakker as a writer must be aware of the use of these tools, therefore I assume a certain comment, distance or even irony in their usage.
On the other hand, while certainly not as present in TGO as in previous volumes, the pattern of using sun/star/fire-light to backlight/halo/contrast/illuminate a character or scene in a significant-iconic-quasi-religious way, became so obvious that it left me wondering how conscious Bakker was of using this device. It stood out and not in a good way. Or Bakker is getting ironic there as well?
While this is not a perfect work, it does possess vitality and passion.
