The Crippled God: Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, Book 10

A great finish to an epic story! Once I was 25% through, every page was rushed through to read the next. The first quarter is great but it’s like being caught in a swiftly flowing river; once the current took off I couldn’t fight it. I had to keep reading. Storylines were woven together and converged in the last 10% or so. Laughter, tears, sadness, love its all in this story.

Concluding this Super-Epic was a tall order, but Erikson pulled off the seemingly impossible. So many storylines all woven together, some not having been visited within the last three books, I worried that the concluding volume would be muddled and confusing. On the contrary, this book was laser focused on the central story arcs. 1) The Bonehunters and the struggle over the Crippled God and 2) the defense of the First Shore and the Shake. Every subplot and story from the entire series plays into these somehow, an incredible fact that I did not realize until reaching nearly the end of this final book. Many favorite characters who’s stories I had considered complete make brief (and important) appearances here, including Karsa Orlong, Mappo Runt, Icarium, and even Trull Sengar. By the end of this book, and thus the entire series, the story feels complete. All of the loose ends are tied up nice and neat and the world is left in a state of calm. I’m not sure whether I’ll pick up any of the spin off series, though the temptation is already there.One thing I’d like to acknowledge is that there was a lot going on here that I did not fully grasp. The intricacies, hidden truths, confusing associations, and sheer immensity of this series exceeds my capacity to remember or even understand some things. Erikson’s style of throwing the reader into a story without much guidance or explanation also contributes to the feeling of confusion many readers experience with these books. You get to explore these worlds organically, and as you start making associations you gradually start to feel more comfortable with the setting and characters. While some find this irritating to the point of not enjoying the books, I maintain that it adds to the experience. You almost feel like a character in the vast epic, gradually learning about the world, realizing things you missed at first, and eventually finding your footing. Truth be told, most people would need to read these books more than once to get the complete picture. But the complete picture is not required to enjoy the experience. Also, there is always the Malazan fandom wiki page if you feel too confused or want to examine the world more fully.I highly recommend the entire series!

Please note - while I try not to give anything away, there may be minimal spoilers in this reviewSo I have always had mixed feelings about the Malazan series. Sometimes, I feel like I am reading some of the best fantasy available. Other times, I can't figure out what the heck I am reading. Some of the characters (Karsa Orlong, Icarium, Anomander Rake) are amongst the most interesting and powerful characters I have ever encountered in fantasy - and I mostly read fantasy. Other characters are annoying and uninteresting - including many of the Malazan regulars.But that is a critique of the series in general, and not necessarily of this book. It too contains these factors, but also serves as the climax of the Malazan series (although I recently read that there will be a considerable number of books still on the way based on the Malazan world - not sure if that is true or not). As a climax, it is pretty powerful. The emotion, the struggles, the power, the misdirection - its all here in The Crippled God. Moreover, though there are twists and turns, I found this book a lot easier to follow than some of the other. Some of the scenes are heart wrenching, and many of those I had come to love were lost. Additionally, many of the questions left over from older books in the series are finally answered. Beyond that, we get a first hand look at all of the ancient races together - the Jaghut, the Imass, the K'chain Che'malle and Forkrul Assail are all heavily represented in this book. Finally, many of our old favorites play major roles in this book - I won't list them all for fear of spoiling too much.That said, the book suffers from some of the weaknesses of the series (at least, the weaknesses I perceive - others may disagree). First of all, many characters that have been built up as being extremely important have minimal roles in this book. One big complaint is that Karsa Orlong barely shows up. Its my understanding that he will play a major role in the upcoming Esslemont book. However, after being such an integral part of this series, I wanted to see him with a major role to play in this book, not 5 pages worth of indirect involvement. Another character complaint is that Draconus does a few things, and effectively disappears the rest of the book. This might just be a complaint from a biased reader (I find those characters to be two of the more interesting in the series), but when an author puts so much time into his readers getting to know a character, it seems a bit unfair to leave us hanging for another series that most of us were unaware was coming.There were some additional dislikes on my part. The scenes between soldiers can be quite tedious - a common complaint throughout the series. Finally, though the climactic battle scenes were huge and brilliantly detailed, the book ends quite abruptly. The scene at the end reminded me of the reunion in the Ewok Village at the end of Return of the Jedi - all our favorite heroes just standing around talking a bit, and cue the music.While that might seem like a lot of complaints, I still see this book as a success. Moreover, I think it made me appreciate this monumental series all the more. So many key pieces clicked into place, while some are still shrouded in mystery. When I first read Gardens of the Moon years ago, I wasn't sure I wanted to read another book in this series. I'm extremely glad I did. Erikson does a fantastic job of capturing the dual nature of humankind, and I was suprised how many times I felt "moved" in reading this book. While some of the more subtle commentary the series offers may have been lost on me, I am extremely glad to have been a "witness" to the last march of the Bonehunters.So four stars for a book that was the perfect ending for an imperfect series...

So, I finally finished this major series. At no point did I feel like giving up, though there were times, particularly in book 9 I think, when the philosophising and navel gazing became a bit tedious. Overall though, Erikson created a world that, via a lot of repetition, you could taste, smell & feel at times.I was confused by a lot of the interactions between the various gods, and it was difficult sometimes to work out just who was and wasn't a deity,(many major characters seemed to die more than once).Erikson COULD have compressed the saga by at least a third, I reckon, but it might have detracted from the effect he was seeking. One area that could have been expanded on however, was the hint at advanced alien races having been on the scene, when describing the complex machinery that appeared now and then. Also, what about the "jade strangers"? I thought they might be some invading force, but they simply seemed to act as a backdrop, rather than key players(unless I missed out somewhere).Overall though, a very entertaining series; it kept me quiet for a long time. Now I need to find something else to get stuck into.

Finally did it read the 10th and last book of Fallen of Malazans. Phew. Excellent but a little convoluted sometimes and why did ARake have to die. Kept thinkinghe would pop up again as lots didbut he didn't. Didn't quite get the plot he made which ended with his demise and thought Draconus would have had much more an impact. Spent 10 years waiting for Robert Jordan to write another book in the Eye of the World series and promised I would never read more than a trilogy and when I found Book 1 of the Malazans in the Library never dreamed it would be 10 books. Wonderful imagination and beautifully written. As a 75 year old sometimes think should be reading Catherine Cookson - ugh -but am hooked on this fantasy writing.

This was my second time around on the Malayan series and I still do not fully comprehend the intricacies of the magic systems or holds and warrens. This was my first read of the Crippled God. The first half of the book was very slow and depressing although very well written. The second half was action packed and many plot loose ends were dealt with. Overall this was a good read and a fitting end to an engaging series. I will miss the bone hunters and Bridgeburners and the richly drawn characters. Brilliant series,

Well, it’s over. It’s taken me almost two years, on and off, to finish this series, and while it’s been a struggle at times, I’m very glad I persevered.The series as a whole is work of flawed genius. The scope of the world-building, the convoluted plotting, the massive cast of characters, and the inventiveness of the magic systems and races mean that this isn’t really comparable to any other series. There are scenes from these books that will stay with me for a long time, and a few characters that I really cared about.On the other hand, there are a lot of characters who are quite two-dimensional, plenty of confusion, a large pinch of filler, and far too much philosophical waffling. Part of me wishes that each book had been ruthlessly edited to make it pacier; another part wishes that each book was split into ten so the sub-plots and characters could really be expanded (note – I haven’t read Ian C Esslemont’s companion books yet, so I hope they shed some light on things!)The Crippled God concludes the series in suitable form. There was no way that Erikson could tie up every loose end in this book, although he makes a fair go at it, with most of the old characters bought back even if just for a cameo role. The ending is therefore as satisfying as could be expected, while simultaneously defying expectations, particularly with regards to the role of the Crippled God himself.One gripe is that the “big bad” of this novel, the Forkrul Assail, have barely been introduced before this book, and seem a little more like a stereotypical evil fantasy race then Erikson’s other creations. Another is that, as the characters march ever closer to almost-certain death, the introspective monologues grow even longer.The battle scenes are some of the best in the whole series, and you really get a sense of the consequences facing the characters, even if sometimes their motivations may seem unlikely. There are also some very touching moments and reunions at the end of the book, which is a nice touch as some of these characters have really been put through hell!I still have about a thousand unanswered questions, and feel though at some points I’ve endured this series rather than enjoyed it, but at best it really is a masterpiece. I do feel that (when I feel up to it!) I will re-read these and a lot more things will become clearer. And of course, this series is really just the start, there are Esslemont’s books to read as well, not to mention Erikson’s new Kharkanas trilogy. A world as detailed as this certainly deserves more books, however I’m going to have a break before I venture back into the Malazan universe.

This series started out unapologetically. It launched straight into bewildering complexity, where the characters and the pace had a wonderful momentum. Then the series became unapologetically self-indulgent. The author had hooked you -- you didn't need to read his books -- and it was his book and he could do what he liked. So there. As a result, there are huge chunks of his last five novels that I just flicked through, scanning for plot or character (I did read some of this -- it's very much more character development of the author than the characters in the novel...). Alas, all the padding took up so much space, it started to erode the plot, which lost its integrity, and the characters, who became increasingly superficial, with bit parts between the rambling.It's a shame as the world invented was so rich, it just sort of whimpered out with some trite random deaths, and equally trite happy reunions.This book itself was probably two stars, but overall you've got to admire the audacity of this creation.