[MaxWilson]

I agree that Coltaine's death was more "real" (less D&D-ish) than the others you name. The fate of a certain Bridgeburner in Reaper's Gale was very... perplexing to me. I don't really understand the metaphysics of death and immortality in the Malazan universe but I hope Erikson is going somewhere interesting with it. Erikson has explicitly said that immortality is one of the ideas that motivated his stories in the first place: what if larger-than-life personalities didn't die but kept turning up again and again in human history? What if Alexander the Great and Napoleon and Hammurabi and Aristotle and Mohammed were all STILL ALIVE? I don't think it's merely a matter of hating to kill off characters.

Note that Duiker is still radically transformed by his experience, crippled even. Silverfox is not the same person she was before, although Nightchill still influences her. Paran is the most direct "resurrection" I can think of aside from [Reaper's Gale spoiler], whose resurrection I don't understand at all yet. And [other RG spoiler] too, actually.

-Max

Edited for spoiler

P.S. Wait a second, Tool? Are you sure you don't mean Toc? If Tool died just because Silverfox released him as First Sword that would just be depressing.