[Aptorian]

2020 MALAZAN RE-READ: THE CRIPPLED GOD

Book description for The Crippled God:

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The final, apocalyptic chapter in one of the most original, exciting and acclaimed fantasy series of our time.

The Bonehunters are marching to Kolanse, and to an unknown fate. They are exhausted - an army on the brink of mutiny. But their commander will not relent. If she can hold her forces and their fragile alliances together, Adjunct Tavore Paran means to challenge the gods.

Ranged against Tavore and her allies are the Forkrul Assail. Their desire is to cleanse the world - to eradicate every civilization, to annihilate every human - in order to begin anew .And outside the abandoned city of Kharkanas, thousands have gathered upon the First Shore. Led by Yedan Derryg, they are preparing for the coming of the Tiste Liosan - and a battle they cannot win.It had long been known that there would be a reckoning, but not the true, terrifying scale of what was to come. For the Elder Gods seek to shatter the chains that bind a force of utter devastation and set her free. It seems that, once more, there will be dragons in the world...And so begins the last chapter in Steven Erikson's extraordinary, genre-defining Malazan Book of the Fallen.

January 1st 2020 we began the re-read of the main series of the Malazan books. The plan being to read one book a month. We've now added additional Erikson and Esslemont publications to the schedule, to be read roughly according to the publication order.

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2020
January: Gardens of the Moon
February: Deadhouse Gates
March: Memories of Ice
April: House of Chains
May: Midnight Tides
June Night of Knives & The Bonehunters
July: Return of the Crimson Guard
August: Reaper's Gale
September: Stonewielder
October: Toll the Hounds
November: Orb Sceptre Throne
December: Dust of Dreams

2021
January: The Crippled God
February: Blood and Bone
March: Assail
April: Forge of Darkness
May: Fall of Light

You can read our thoughts from earlier months in these threads:

2020 Malazan Re-read: Gardens of the Moon

2020 Malazan Re-read: Deadhouse Gates

2020 Malazan Re-read: Memories of Ice

2020 Malazan Re-read: House of Chains

2020 Malazan Re-read: Midnight Tides

2020 Malazan Re-read: Night of Knives

2020 Malazan Re-read: Bonehunters

2020 Malazan Re-read: Return of the Crimson Guard

2020 Malazan Re-read: Reaper's Gale

2020 Malazan Re-read: Stonewielder

2020 Malazan Re-read: Toll the Hounds

2020 Malazan Re-read: Orb, Sceptre, Throne

2020 Malazan Re-read: Dust of Dreams

January 1st we begin the re-read of The Crippled God, the 10th and final book in the main Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

There will be spoilers for all published books. So beware. Spoiler blocks are not mandatory but if people want to use boxes for the latest Kharkanas books or the Path to Ascendance books for example, I'd personally appreciate it.

Are you ready? What do you remember about The Crippled God.

I remember feeling underwhelmed by the ending of the book.

There were a lot of plot threads, convergences, confrontations, vengeance and reconings, that either didn't come to pass or had a twist that was more frustrating than surprising.

The Forkrul Assail somehow turned into a mix between red shirts and storm troopers in this book. The feared return of the Nahruk and their space moons was underwhelming (could have been a whole seperate book series instead). Icarium and Karsa never clashed. Karsa never faced the Crippled God. Paran spent the last 6 books doing nothing. Most of the really cool dudes were busy in Darujistan or dead. Generally what I expected to be an apocalyptic war between pantheons never really got anywhere. And all the Kharkanas/Tiste stuff seemed unnecessary and distracting from the final convergence of the series.

As I sit and think on the ending all I really recall liking was the revelation about Tiamat being a sort of gigantic D'ivers cloud of Dragons.

This post has been edited by Incredible Aptorian: 29 November 2020 - 05:33 PM

[Aptorian]

DRAMATIS PERSONAE FOR THE CRIPPLED GOD

https://malazan.fand...amatis_Personae

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The Malazans
Himble Thrup
Sergeant Gaunt-Eye
Corporal Rib
Lap Twirl
Sad
Burnt Rope

The Host
Ganoes Paran, High Fist and Master of the Deck
High Mage Noto Boil
Outrider Hurlochel
Fist Rythe Bude
Captain Sweetcreek
Imperial Artist Ormulogun
Warleader Mathok
Bodyguard T'morol
Gumble

The Khundryl
Widow Jastara
The Snake [ misprint for 'The Shake' ]
Sergeant Cellows
Corporal Nithe
Sharl

The T'lan Imass: The Unbound
Urugal the Woven
Thenik the Shattered
Beroke Soft Voice
Kahlb the Silent Hunter
Halad the Giant

The Tiste Andii
Nimander Golit
Spinnock Durav
Korlat
Skintick
Desra
Dathenar Gowl [ probable misprint for Dathenar Fandoris and Prazek Goul ]
Nemanda [ misprint for Nenanda ]

The Jaghut: The Fourteen
Gathras
Sanad
Varandas
Haut
Suvalas
Aimanan Spoiler safe
Hood

The Forkrul Assail: The Lawful Inquisitors
Reverence
Serenity
Equity
Placid
Diligence
Abide
Aloft
Calm
Belie
Freedom
Grave

The Watered: The Tiers of Lesser Assail
Amiss
Exigent
Hestand
Festian
Kessgan
Trissin
Melest
Haggraf

The Tiste Liosan
Kadagar Fant
Aparal Forge
Iparth Erule
Gaelar Throe
Eldat Pressan

Others
Absi
Spultatha
K'rul
Kaminsod
Munug
Silannah [ misprint for Silanah ]
Apsal'ara
Tulas Shorn
D'rek
Gallimada [ misprint for Gillimada ]
Korabas

[Cyphon]

Starting today. I dont remember much of this bar the big bad being a bit underwhelming and enjoying that Tiam was a D'ivers of all dragons, which works quite nearly as the opposite to the chaotic nature of individual dragons.

At least the cast list above doesn't reveal the outcome of the bonehunters.

I think I will be relieved once this book is done.

[Cyphon]

Chapter one is mainly setting the scene. Good to see Nimander and Ganoes again. Some good little tidbits from the gods with allusions to what they think is happening.

I forgot that Icarium returns as is promptly captured by the FA - you really do feel sorry for him as a character.

There seems to be an implication that everyone is blind to the bone Hunters position, even the gods, which strikes me as unusual.

[Keysi]

So obviously I'm not at this part on my reread yet (actually only just finished midnight tides) but something that confuses me-

Why are K'rul and Mael all nicey nicey with Kaminsod and Kaminsod seems ok with them?

Surely Kam knows that K'rul and Mael have been d!icks to him for milenia? Involved or at least complicit in all the chainings and have a hand in a lot of his suffering? Mael even gives him a beating at the end of MT.

I think its a bit late for Krul and Mael to be all benevolent with Kam. Shoulda done more and earlier you two!!

[Cyphon]

One of the Kundyndryl's wives was a Gill Barghast. That jolted me out a bit as that doesn't make much sense for a seven cities desert tribe...

Onto chapter 4 to see who survived from the bonehunters. Basically it seems anyone who you could actually remember anything about did. RED SHIRTS AHOY. Now to see where this parley goes to.

[JPK]

I've been chewing though this rather quickly and am currently up to chapter 7.

Cyphon has already hit on a few of my thoughts very accurately, but there is one thing that hasn't popped up in commentary yet that is hitting me hard this time around. The complete decimation of pretty much the entire Trygalle group. I'd remembered that neither Gruntle nor Mappo have great ends to their stories, but I forgot just how mangled the rest of them ended up.

[Traveller]

JPK, on 13 January 2021 - 05:43 AM, said:

I've been chewing though this rather quickly and am currently up to chapter 7.

Cyphon has already hit on a few of my thoughts very accurately, but there is one thing that hasn't popped up in commentary yet that is hitting me hard this time around. The complete decimation of pretty much the entire Trygalle group. I'd remembered that neither Gruntle nor Mappo have great ends to their stories, but I forgot just how mangled the rest of them ended up.

Yeah that went sour quickly. When they found the carriage with the remains in it, I was genuinely sad after their wild little adventure side story.

Shit, you just reminded me about Gruntle.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 13 January 2021 - 02:48 PM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Traveller, on 13 January 2021 - 02:48 PM, said:

JPK, on 13 January 2021 - 05:43 AM, said:

I've been chewing though this rather quickly and am currently up to chapter 7.

Cyphon has already hit on a few of my thoughts very accurately, but there is one thing that hasn't popped up in commentary yet that is hitting me hard this time around. The complete decimation of pretty much the entire Trygalle group. I'd remembered that neither Gruntle nor Mappo have great ends to their stories, but I forgot just how mangled the rest of them ended up.

Yeah that went sour quickly. When they found the carriage with the remains in it, I was genuinely sad after their wild little adventure side story.

Shit, you just reminded me about Gruntle.

They had a brutal, unwitnessed end. I'm glad Cartographer didn't have to see it!

[Cyphon]

So the implication is that the Logros made Daseem a god as he took on the mantle of first sword which is what forced him into the role of Desseambrae - i had not known/forgotten that.

Also interesting that it had created a split personality with a god version of Traveller mewling about.

[Cyphon]

So when Mappo goes into the glass desert, that's the shards etc. That attacked the snake. That's got to be a mammoth d'ivers. Maybe not as terrifying as Gryllen at his peak though...

[Aptorian]

I believe it's implied that the shard d'ivers is the broken god of the Forkrul Assail. It was destroyed by... The T'lan Imass I think?

[Cyphon]

Rings bells when you say it and connects different dots I think.

Edit: Rudd says it about 10 pages on. You were spot on Apt.

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 31 January 2021 - 11:20 PM

[Stalker]

It seemed to me that the Forkrul Assail killed their own god? Maybe I read that wrong but remember thinking it was interesting.

I wrapped this up last week and thought it was a great conclusion to the main arc of the series. The First Shore was a badass sequence and as fun as I remembered, plus the final 20-25% of battle after battle exciting to read through. Parts of the middle were a bit of a slog, like the Bonehunters slowly dying in the desert, but overall I had a blast with the reread.

Looking forward to Blood and Bone, which I recall enjoying and will be starting tonight, and to Assail, which I don’t think I ever read.

[Cyphon]

Still working my way through. Although I eerily seem to be of thensame disposition as Stalker.

The Unbound just talked through the members of the House of chains.

Consort is Felisin younger. Knight is Karsa. They say reaver is man and a woman and I can't figure/remember who that is. Leper and Cripple I cant remember either.

[Stalker]

Leper gets called out by Fiddler later in the book. It’s someone with the Bonehunters. I think the Cripple is too.

[Cyphon]

Makes sense.

I did like the bit about how bridging over to suffering is hard and requires compassion, and therefore implied why this is the crippled God's 'army'. Thought that was done well and not over philosophising from Erikson.

[Cyphon]

On the home strait now. In the middle of the climatic battle at the spire. It does feel like the convergence of the series so i think Erikson nails that for me.

It also feels like the league of nations meets NATO. Like everyone unites to save the world through their compassion, through the power of lizards, ogres, mages, trolls and everything else bashing the living hell out of each other.

[Cyphon]

I had forgotten the implication of Fener's death. What an excellent accelerent to the convergence. The return of mortality for the imass into a death trap is ace. Stormy and Gesler and Bent. Torrents redemption. Do think Erikson nails this nicely.

Hood as the comic foil and finishing of the FA is great.

It does still feel a bit league of nations imass and jaghut fighting together.

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 11 February 2021 - 03:29 AM

[Cyphon]

Hetans return though was a bit dispiriting. Feels like fan service with little narrative need. Was her return foreshadowed and I missed it?

Was that brutal end to the barghast then just to stop them being a significant force for this convergence?

I feel a bit like the emotional commitment DoD forces is underlined by her return.

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 11 February 2021 - 03:45 AM