Like many people on this forum I have very much looked forward to the release of The Crippled God to see how this epic series ends and where the twists and turns of the plot will eventually take the characters. I came in search of answers, of explanations, of closure. And for the great majority of the book I got absolutely none of it.
Most of the things I liked about the book were that the Shake storyline was quite well ended and I found myself far more drawn to the characters of Yan Tovis and Yeddan Derryg than in any previous book.
Among the things I hated about this book were:
- The much anticipated meeting between Ganoes and Tavore was pathetically short lasting a mere third of a page.
- Characters such as Karsa, Kruppe, Heboric, Cutter/Crokus and Apsalar were relegated to blink-and-you-miss-it parts, particularly in the case of the last 2.
- Other characters such as Leoman, Felisin Younger, Korbolo Dom and Mallick Rel and many others aren't even in the story at all. In fact the whole Seven Cities and Malaz City stories are simply forgotten. Maybe SE says that they are all finished but it really didn't seem that way to me, and it is an exceedingly disappointing end to so many interesting developments.
- Tavore and Ganoes again. Because Ganoes isn't given nearly enough time in the story. Somehow him and his army manage to magic their way to the other continent (yeah real convenient that) to eventually join with Tavore. But for a major character who's been away so long Ganoes isn't given nearly enough detail in the book and as far as I can make out we have no idea what the heck he's been doing between Bonehunters and The Crippled God.
And Tavore again because she has always been a character that could put the German enigma to shame (along with Quick Ben to some degree). But this is the end of the series I would have been nice to know what exactly was going on in her head instead of just more cryptic hints and clues. And we still don't even know for sure if she knows she killed her sister. Even Hood's not telling when asked he says 'irrelevant'. I felt like dropping a large heavy object on him after reading that.
Other annoying things are when Sinn goes psycho. I have no idea why or how (but maybe I've just missed something). And while I was sad to see Gesler and Stormy die I thought it odd they didn't seem to wonder why she'd gone all fire-crazy and didn't seem to have any qualms about killing her considering how long she'd been with the Bonehunters and was just a kid.
Also Grub's character seemed to fizzle out but end of the book. We hear it's vital that he be protected and not die as he is the hope for the future. But he doesn't really do anything to justify that and we never really find out why he knows all that information that he shouldn't.
I'm not trying to get into some massive argument. Nor do I consider myself a troll. In fact this post will probably be my last words on this forum. I was not an absolutely devoted fan of the series. But I bought and read all of the books after reading books 2 and 3 of the Book of the Fallen, which were 2 of the greatest novels I had ever read at the time. I also very much liked books 1, 5, 6, 7, and 9. But after reading the end of the Crippled God I just feel that the whole series is completely lost to me. And I take no pleasure in that knowledge because it has made me feel I have wasted all the years of my life I have spent reading it.
I curse the day I laid eyes upon the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
And I hope that the rest of you do not feel the same way.
This post has been edited by Kityhawk: 28 February 2011 - 12:49 AM