Mandatory HoC first read impressions

This book was my favorite in the series so far. The first two books often lacked necessary context to be really enjoyable on the first read. MoI had better overall plot but sometimes dragged on and had PoVs that weren't that interesting (such as Mhybe). With HoC Erikson has finally found the right balance and pacing which made the book so much fun to read.

We had some great PoVs with Fiddler, Crocus, Kalam and I loved the whole intrigue within Shaik's camp. And of course Karsa, who has quickly become my favorite character in the whole series. It was nice to see how quickly he evolved and adapted to the real world outside of his village. Never went in denial, never bargained, never compromised, saw straight through all bullshit and never stopped being a badass. He is clearly being build up to be an absolute monster and I'd be disappointed if he was anything less than a god by the end of the series The only thing that somewhat bothered me was the lack of his physical description. We know that he is huge and has a face tattoo but other than that? A little more detail wouldn't have hurt. I personally pictured him to be a bit like Kaido from OP but that's just a personal guess.

The friendship between Onrack and Trull was intriguing but I still have mixed feelings on Edur. Liosan seemed to be kind of redundant so far but that may change in the future books.

Felisin's death was a bit awkward. After all that she has been through just dying like that? Oh man. She never grew into the role of being Shaik. She never learned how to lead, how to fight, how to command or whom to trust. Should have never pushed Leoman and Karsa away and kept Heboric close. She was just a kid after all and her ending felt a bit unsatisfying. But I still hope that she is gone for good because all that sudden ascendancy or revival after death plot device is getting a bit overused at this point. It was nice to see the bridgeburners ascend but from now on please let dead characters stay dead.

I really enjoyed Leoman's PoV and am wondering where he will end up with the rebellion defeated. Also, Corabb was a surprisingly fun character and it was hilarious to see him escape certain death again and again. I think he had some potential but don't see how he would have survived the last part. I would have loved to see him survive and play a bigger part in future books.

I also have some minor questions.

-If Kellanved's crew was granted longevity and "superpowers" by the azath, why was Dujek not affected? I think it was mentioned he was the youngest but seems to have aged badly.

-When exactly did the chaining happen? I assumed it was supposed to have been hundreds of thousands years ago, but then Cotillion mentioned that he attented it. Dancer was not a mortal after all?

-Did the cavewoman rape Trull? What about the cuts she made to him? I didn't quite get that bit.

-If the real throne of shadow is on the drifting island, then what throne did Kellanved occupy? Also, why send Crocus if Shadowthrone could just as well have protected, hidden or claimed that throne for himself?

Okay, that's it so far. On to the next book.

Edit: Unpopular opinion but I liked Korbolo Dom.