Welcome back Bottle 

By on

‘Kept looking at a card, y’see? Kept looking at it. Welcome back Bottle.  Gods below welcome home.

The Crippled God
A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen 10, Steven Erikson

If you recognise the quote then you already know what an exciting journey this series by Steven Erickson is.  If not then the only thing I really need to say is that you must read the series. 


The Crippled God,
the tenth and final book in the series.
I’m near the end of the series and these books have taken top spot in my favorites list.  So much so that not only am I writing this off-topic post, but it’s my second on the same series.  My previous post was written after finsihing book 4 or so [Lead us, Warleader].

To work out why the series is so good (and being diligent )I have done my research on the author; at least I checked Wikipedia:

Steven Erikson (born October 7, 1959) is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist.

His background in archaeology and anthropology is clearly evident in the books.  Not only that, but I discovered a lot of the story was relevant to my own experiences [which may or may not be perceived as a good thing given what happens in the story].  Reading the story did impacted on my views of our place in the wold and has changed some of my thinking.  I think everyone reading the story will find something that in some small  (or large) way changes previously held concepts.  This is some achievement for a fantasy book. 

The story itself is amazing - completely different from so many fantasy books around.  Each book astounds and when you think it can’t get more climatic, the next book in the series proves that it can.  A cliche - but you can relate to the characters and  each one is unique, brings varying perspectives to the story and continually evolves.  However, the author has no compulsion against killing main characters when needed, bringing a does of reality to the series. 

Now, by this stage you may have noticed I haven't talked about the plot [story] and I don’t intend to.  It’s just too vast to summarise and I could never do it justice.  The only way you can truly understand and appreciate it is to read the books.  Reading the series is a must do activity - immediately add it to your 101 things to do before dying list. 

As a final note (having given so much praise), I will mention two things (both of the Author’s own making) which almost stopped me reading the series in the first place - so you don’t fall into this nasty trap.  In the introduction to series Gardens of the Moon),  the author lets you know the world was originally devised as a setting for a role playing game;  ignore this - there is nothing nerdy about the series, not an elf in sight and the world is way more. 

Second ,in the same introduction, the author warns about the lack of handholding and guiding you gently into the story; saying people either love or hate the books due to this.  Again ignore it.  You do sort of ump in at the deep end, but by the time you get to book 3 everything is starting to make sense - of course it all gets thrown upside down in later books, but that's the joy of the series. 

So there you are - read the books and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.  If you are, you can always come back here and berate me in the comments section.



Steven McFadyen's avatar Steven McFadyen

Steven has over twenty five years experience working on some of the largest construction projects. He has a deep technical understanding of electrical engineering and is keen to share this knowledge. About the author

myElectrical Engineering

comments powered by Disqus

  1. Mullac's avatar Mullac says:
    10/9/2011 3:57 PM

    Excellent books

  2. Steven's avatar Steven says:
    10/20/2011 9:08 AM

    Just finished reading the series. You won’t be let down – the ending is everything you could hope for and more.
    Steven


Comments are closed for this post:
  • have a question or need help, please use our Questions Section
  • spotted an error or have additional info that you think should be in this post, feel free to Contact Us



How to Write an Electrical Note

Electrical notes are a collaborative collection of electrical engineering information and educational material. Any registered user can add content. ...

Motor Insulation

Insulation on a motor prevents interconnection of windings and the winding to earth.  When looking at motors, it is important to understand how the insulation...

Mobile Phones (Brick to Implant)

The mobile phone was born in 1973. They were the size of a brick and weighed a couple of kg, making them difficult to fit into your pocket. At a few thousand...

Welcome back Bottle

‘Kept looking at a card, y’see? Kept looking at it. Welcome back Bottle. Gods below welcome home. The Crippled God A Tale of the Malazan Book of the...

Photovoltaic (PV) - Electrical Calculations

Photovoltaic (PV) cells (sometimes called solar cells) convert solar energy into electrical energy.  Every year more and more PV systems are installed...

How to Size Current Transformers

The correct sizing of current transformers is required to ensure satisfactory operation of measuring instruments and protection relays. Several methods...

Useful Motor Technical Information

Sometimes it’s useful to be able to quickly lookup a piece of technical information.  This note is a collection of information related to motors, and in...

Paternoster Lifts

These lifts were first built in 1884 by J. E. Hall and called a paternoster ("Our Father", the first two words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin) due to its...

Low Voltage Circuit Breakers

Circuit breakers are switching devices whose primary function is to isolate parts of an electrical distribution system in the even of abnormal conditions...

Paths of Flight

GE have put together a time-lapse video shown flight take-off and landings at some airports. An interesting view:

Have some knowledge to share

If you have some expert knowledge or experience, why not consider sharing this with our community.  

By writing an electrical note, you will be educating our users and at the same time promoting your expertise within the engineering community.

To get started and understand our policy, you can read our How to Write an Electrical Note