Fifth reading session. I was hoping to be done in two more sit-downs when I started today but alas.
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Reread, so won't note the aforementioned epigraph quote in my last notes.
There's a nice paragraph evoking memories of the First Holy War's crucible through the Carathay (HC TUC, p208).
Reuniting souls once bound together amounts to the coupling of interlocking wounds, the pressing of scar to scar, scab to scab.
For reals.
I love during Kelmomas' POV where he's whispering to his Father from across the Umbilicus and Kellhus responds, scaring some functionaries.
I can't speak to what others don't notice... if front and center narrative cruxes are glazed over, no doubt much is missed, but I love small moments like Esmenet/Mimara laughing at Achamian:
"And what? ... Leave your pregnant wife to waddle across Shigogli alone?
"He wants Proyas to live ... not to die ... To lure us ... remove us from the Great Ordeal."
Nice
Xanatos Speed Chess there, Kellhus. Really doing your father's memory justice.
Some of these Sorweel passages are brilliant, Bakker embodying his own writing advice regarding seeding and repetition. "Such a lonely flute" is used like "And the Plains pass like a Dream" from WLW to much the same lulling effect.
Such a lonely little song ... a bewildered wail upon the abyss.
Classic one-liner.
Fack, I think Serwa is awesome. The section with her and Kelmomas, yielding to the common purpose precedes the Kellhus/Mutilated conversation nicely - hindsight is 20/20, obviously. Also, the "
fathom our Father" advice. Apt, big sister.
And they all seemed like apes in the shadows, carnival wags, compared to their Holy Aspect-Emperor - even Serwa. All of them groped and thrashed in the black - save Him.
Lmao. Wow, Bakker. Kelmomas witnessing the last Whelming, explicitly in the above quote, showcases the parallels between Kellhus' TTT speech preceding the assault on Shimeh.
The whole section of Kelmomas then "fathoming Father" is great.
Noted that quote about the Ekkinu "waxing bright" for no reason happens right after Kellhus calls Earwa "the Holiest of Worlds" (p227). I suppose we should enlist H to search for instances of Ekkinu in the text across TAE.
Serwa commanding Kelmomas' attention with hands on his shoulder and a palm to the cheek to direct his attention during the ceremony, all sisterly-like.
Kelmomas recognizing that Kellhus plays "the
game of games" (p228). Indeed. Reminds me of one of Omar's mottoes on
The Wire: The game is the game.
"We shall seize our foe by his throat, cast his corpse from the golden heights!"
You don't say, Kellhus. Cheeky bastard.
The boy could swear he heard the collective heart of the congregation slow.
The Symphony of the Dunyain, conducting souls, rather than instruments.
- I must admit that the levitation without Mark move and subsequent speech does seem to precede directly Ajokli God-Mode later as other readers have already noted.
But... I still wonder if Kellhus has just learned to perform sorcery without Marking the Onta.
"Every act was a wager, even those belonging to Father."
Indeed.
It's nice how Bakker slips Sorweel's POV stylistically into the Warrior's POV without italics. Also, I really like the usage of the "moment-once-called-Sorweel" (p233)... that's just great
.
As mentioned, Sorweel sees "The Demon" (p233). I personally think that what Bakker did with this across TAE is quite clever and echoes what's happened with every Orthodox and heathen perspective across the series (Psatma/Meppa/Malowebi). The Gods and their Wairo (sp?) (God-entangled individuals) all talk about or see or name Kellhus as Ciphrang/Demon. I strongly suspect that the Momemn narrative across TAE makes the most sense when we assume that the Gods are hunting Ajokli primarily, not Kellhus for Kellhus.
"directly before the Ciphrang, breathing deep the scent of myrrh."
You don't fucking say, Yatwer-entangled Sorweel... Most interesting. (H, search up instances of "myrrh" over the series
.)
As noted by other readers, MOCS recognized the Decapitant-Malowebi as Zeumi.
Also, as noted by other readers, MOCS sees the Ekkinu like Neo sees the Matrix Code - despite that Bolivar got a resounding "No." to the "Is Earwa a simulation?" question.
I'll admit the first time I read this chapter in the draft, I actually thought MOCS got Kellhus. Had to put the book down and prepare myself for that possibility.
There's an interesting passage on p235/236. It's maybe Yatwer to Sorweel, maybe Sorweel's memory and understanding of his Mom's mental illness, maybe both in Earwa...? Either way, it's a couched description of the necessity of hunting Ajokli.
Why bandy words with a Dunyain?
When Mimara blows by her sister at the Last Whelming. Mimara has recently gone toe-to-toe with the Survivor. How can Serwa even contend.
But the Eye refuses to listen.
And so Mimara does not See Kellhus. You can count me among that minority who does not find this frustrating. Kellhus bolts, not wanting to risk Judgement by the Eye, it seems.
Doze in my holy arms.
This whole passage and chapter is great for the reason that you don't know where things are going to go. Kelmomas taking on MOCS, with such ease even, is great.
Proyas being slung was heartbreaking but it seemed a natural consequence of the narrative. When Sorweel died, I knew no principal was safe.
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"Think of it as a Cant ... Only blood instead of light ... Life instead of ruin."
Beauty quote from Esmenet regarding pregnancy and life!
Solid paragraph on p247 which again evokes this "the Reader is Malowebi's Head" metaphor noted in a post above; translocation in Malowebi's perspective described as pages turning. Most interesting.
Requisite Kelmarmus the Oscillating Soul notation (p248).
I noticed a big nod to profgrape and MG's incessant insistence that spider metaphors appear everywhere: this one when Achamian watches Mimara's pregnant shadow (p249).
You know, kudos to Bakker portraying a pregnancy in a Fantasy novel. I have sisters and friends with wives and friends who are mothers with small children, etc, etc. I'm glad he wrote with diligence to portray Mimara's pregnancy. Does anyone else know a Fantasy narrative that does this? It reminded that I really appreciated Bakker's portrayal of the Skin Eaters succumbing to Qirri across the WLW.
The reunion of Achamian and Kellhus. Amazing. Again, even Achamian chokes on the mundanity and anticlimax of the moment. Because guess what, good fiction imitates life and
life doesn't happen like books!And he, Drusas Achamian, had been the one responsible, the fool who had betrayed the Gnosis to a Dunyain!
Done fucked it all up, didn't you now, Akka
?
Anasurimbor Kellhus had requested it, thus it must be denied.
"Your hatred has not waned."
"Cnaiur's lesson."
Fuck yeah, Achamian. I am interested in why Kellhus was interested in Achamian's Dreams changing. Especially if he had actually Translocated into Achamian's tower and read his notes as Mimara imagined.
Oh, and so Cnaiur
seems right about Achamian in the White-Yaksh in TGO; tied to Kellhus by vengeance, same as Cnaiur himself.
In that slender moment, it seemed, he saw the very sum of all she had lost and endured in the interval between this moment and Shimeh. Ansurimbor Kellhus had been the greatest blight, the most onerous yoke she had ever suffered, and she hated him as she hated no other...
Esmenet sure is a fucking resilient person.
Achamian reminiscing and regretting going to the Sareotic Library, willing anything to take back that exit. Fuck, do I know that feeling. Some moments in life
...
"And what are you, Holy Tutor, but a snarl, a loose thread that I suffer?"
Damn, this actually makes me cry. What tangled webs you weave, Earwans.
Esmenet giving Kelmomas a small file and facilitating the murder of Kellhus parallels his doing the same for Inrilatas and facilitating his brother's attempt to murder Maithanet.
Again, I really don't understand how - Bolivar, looking at you
- so many people glossed over this Skin-Spy Esmenet abducting Kelmomas passage...
it comes directly after the section where Esmenet frees Kelmomas, ffs. Kelmomas severing Migagurit's ankles... just brutal.
The passage ending Ch. 13 is amazing. I love that it bookends the cannibalistic bacchanal of the Ordeal. Compassion, empathy, and "gorgeous
humanity" (p265) fueling the last night before the Ordeal's attempt on Golgotterath.
And I only could make it through a couple chapters this afternoon... even today's session was interrupted intermittently, breaking the spell periodically. Plus, as I and others noted about TGO, each line of TUC is
simply worth more. As I said to Wilshire, Somnambulist, MG, and pretty much anyone who would listen, the way Bakker has built up associations across the five/six preceding books means that he can take a sentence to cue his readers where he required paragraphs or pages in the earlier books in the series.
It makes this conclusion exceeding dense, which is why it probably doesn't reward shallow reading.
Looking forward to my last sessions. Depending on my time allowances over the weekend, once I make it to the Mutilated reveal I'll probably stop and make sure my final reading session is pristine.
I'll probably not continue in this thread for the Glossary, though, I suppose I'll be moving this to the Almanac when I'm done either way.
