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



What happened to the cable notes?

If you are wondering what happened to our cable notes, the short answer is that we have moved them to myCableEngineering.com.  The "Knowledge Base" at...

Understanding LV Circuit Breaker Fault Ratings

I think this post is going to be helpful to several of our readers. While the IEC low voltage circuit breaker Standard [IEC 60947-2, Low voltage switchgear...

Understanding Motor Duty Rating

One of the comments on my Motor Starting Series was asking for something on duty cycles. Here it is. As a purchaser of a motor, you have responsibility...

Famous Scientists

Here’s list of some famous scientists. Deliberately short, with the aim to provide a quick memory jog or overview. If your looking for more detailed information...

Power Transformers - An Introduction

One of the fundamental requirements of an alternating current distribution systems it to have the ability to change the magnitude of voltages.  It is more...

Lighting Design - An Introduction

From the earliest times, humans have found ways to create light. Pre-historic peoples used natural materials (moss, grass, etc.) soaked in animal fat and...

Autonomous Vehicle Challenge

Two driverless and solar power vans have departed from Italy on their way to China via the silk road. During the 13,000 kM trip the vans will drive themselves...

Sony Pocket eBook Reader

For the past few years I have reading eBooks on my HTC touch phone. On and off I have debated buying an eReader and recently purchased a Sony PRS-300 ...

Cable Insulation Properties

Cable insulation is used to provide electrical separation between conductors of  a cable.  During the historical development of cables, numerous types...

Hazardous Areas – IEC and NEC/CEC Comparison

Depending where in the world you work, you are likely following one of two standards International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) National...

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