[Mako2401]

I'm again a bit confused about where this society is technologically. Fiddler in the beginning uses explosive on the tip of the arrow to kill a Soultaken, and we had the Bridgeburners planting bombs in Darujhistan in GotM. Isn't that a step from using guns, cannons , artillery etc? Not to mention things like steam power for ships ( I notice that they still rely on wind power to keep moving. ) . I wonder if the usage of Warrens is somehow arresting their development of technology since they can do the same things with magic. Again, just thinking out loud, I'm about half way through the book, loving it.

[Gorefest]

That is a large part of it. In a society where magic is so wide-spread and accessible, technological development takes a back seat. The munitions are not made by the Malazans either but by the Moranth. And they transport themselves by huge dragonflies so they dont need cars.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 18 May 2018 - 07:37 AM

[Esa1996]

The level of technology is mostly on a normal medieval level with swords and axes but no guns etc. The munitions they use are chemical bombs made by the moranth (Who don't have any guns or cannons either).

[Nevyn]

Mako2401, on 18 May 2018 - 01:32 AM, said:

I'm again a bit confused about where this society is technologically. Fiddler in the beginning uses explosive on the tip of the arrow to kill a Soultaken, and we had the Bridgeburners planting bombs in Darujhistan in GotM. Isn't that a step from using guns, cannons , artillery etc? Not to mention things like steam power for ships ( I notice that they still rely on wind power to keep moving. ) . I wonder if the usage of Warrens is somehow arresting their development of technology since they can do the same things with magic. Again, just thinking out loud, I'm about half way through the book, loving it.

I'm not sure what is revealed where, so not going into much detail.

But they get their explosives from the moranth, and don't know how to make them themselves. And while we don't know what they are, they are not black powder, so not necessarily a technology that could be adapted for firearms.

[Gintokian]

Yes, as they mentioned above the Moranth are the ones who created the munitions, the rest of the world doesn't know how to create them or how they work otherwise they would make their own. That's why they're so special because only the Malazan empire has them since they have a deal with the Moranth. This gives them a big edge because normal people who don't have magic (like Fiddler & Hedge) are able to be major players since they have these munitions that can take down those who do have magic.
Like Esa said, think of it as like a Medieval time with similar technology, only the Malazans have an advantage because of their special chemical bombs from the Moranth. Also keep in mind that in our world fireworks have been around since the 9th century so it isn't that far fetched for them to have chemical bombs in the Malazan world too.

[Mako2401]

Thank you all! Loving the books so much , these clarifications help me a lot , since the TOR reread focuses a lot on the plot and not on details such as these.

[champ]

A lot of the technology is RAFO, the more you read the more you will come across new/different tech.

[Wu ammanas]

These book is so wonderful