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



Frame Leakage Protection

While not as popular as it once was, frame leakage protection does still have some use in some circumstances.  In essence frame leakage is an earth fault...

Star-Delta Motor Starting - Performance

Many questions sent in to the site are in connection with motor starting and in particular star-delta.  For all but the simplest application, there is...

Fault Calculations - Introduction

Fault calculations are one of the most common types of calculation carried out during the design and analysis of electrical systems. These calculations...

Write your best report

Years ago I was told that you should always try to write the best report you can.  Many years later I still think on this as one of the better pieces of...

IEC 61439 - The Switchgear Standard

The new standard IEC 61439 replaces the old 60439. Compared to the old standard, the new 61439 is a more clearly defined and takes into account the assembly...

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...

Equipment Verification (to IEC Standards)

One of the requirements to ensuring that everything works is to have equipment selected, manufactured and verified [tested] to IEC standards. Not all equipment...

Calculating Cable Fault Ratings

When selecting a cable, the performance of the cable under fault conditions is an important consideration. It is important that calculations be carried...

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...

Electric Motors

Collection of links to various places with useful motor information. I’ll try and return to the page every now and again to update it with any motor notes...

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