Lead us, Warleader 

By on

Gardens of the MoonDelum, who had watched all in silence, his face empty of expression, now spoke in turn. ' "Lead us, Warleader, into glory."'

House of Chains
A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen 4, Steven Erikson

I've been a bit quiet on the posting front recently. Not that I'm trying to ignore everybody, but I tend go through patches of being keen to do things and then getting bored of doing them . Every now and again I need to take a break from myElectrical, do other things and recharge the batteries. My batteries are about half full now, so expect me back in full force in a couple of more months. In the meantime I will still probably do the odd post.

Being an electrical engineering site, I try to keep most posts on topic. At times when nothing interesting is happening on the electrical front, I have made the odd off topic post on things I'm currently finding interesting. This is one of those posts.

Reading is something I do regularly and at the moment I'm working my way through Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Enjoying the series so much I decided to give it a bit of a plug. Within the pages, you won't find your normal collection of elves, dark elves, dwarfs, etc., nor will you find a story that leads you by the hand and makes everything easy for you. What you do find is well developed characters, realistic story lines written into a well defined plot. In the introduction to the first in the series, Erikson states people either hate or love his books. Obviously I'm not in the hate camp.

The books are not limited in size (nor scope) and you won't get through them quickly. The rewards of reading through this is a truly unique experience. Malazan is a dark [military] epic fantasy and explores a world upon which the Malazan Empire is located. The world is vast in scale, abundant with history and the story spans distances in time. Numerous characters, amazing locations, military campaigns, a strange type of sorcery, violence, humor and a willingness to kill the odd main character result in an imaginative and unpredictable journey. Without detailing the plot, I can only suggest that everyone picks up book one "Gardens of the Moon" and starts reading. Really highly recommended.

List of books

  1. Gardens of the Moon (1999)
  2. Deadhouse Gates (2000)
  3. Memories of Ice (2001)
  4. House of Chains (2002)
  5. Midnight Tides (2004)
  6. The Bonehunters (2006)
  7. Reaper's Gale (2007)
  8. Toll the Hounds (2008)
  9. Dust of Dreams (2009)
  10. The Crippled God (2011)


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



Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Insulation

While there are a vast array of cable insulation materials, these are often divided into two general types; Thermoplastic or Thermosetting. For example...

Software Usage Guidelines

Using software in our  work is essential for most of us and we are becoming even more dependant on it's use.  While software is a great asset, many times...

Post Editing Tips

If you at all familiar with programs like office and outlook, then adding and editing posts is pretty straightforward and intuitive.  However, there are...

Tip – Latitude and Longitude on Large Scale Plans

If you are working on a large plan, get the real coordinates [latitude, longitude] for two or more points and add them to the drawing. That way you can...

Robots - Interesting Videos

The robot folding towels post below was interesting enough at the time to post a link.  Recently I’ve come across a couple of other interesting videos...

Cost Performance and Time

Often us engineers get so bogged down in equations, using software, producing drawings and writing specifications that this becomes the sole focus.   ...

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...

Earth Electrode Resistance

Earthing of electrical systems is essential for the correct functioning and the protecting of life and equipment in the event of faults.  The earth electrode...

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...

Low Voltage Fault Tables

The following tables provide quick order of magnitude fault levels for a a range of typical low voltage situations.

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