The Crippled God by Steven Erikson

[kcf]

I thought it was time we had a full-blown spoiler thread for The Crippled God. So, I'll start with an excerpt of my review.

While Erikson has been building to this conclusion for 10 books, books 8 and 9 (Toll the Hounds and Dust of Dreams, respectively) really start to lay out the true scope of the series. In Toll the Hounds we start to appreciate the price, the toll that is being paid by the everyman and woman in a tapestry of events designed to force a conclusion. In Dust of Dreams the resulting suffering of the price is so overwhelming that nearly all hope is lost. In my review of Dust of Dreams I said: “I can hardly imagine anything close to a happy ending for this series.” Erikson answers this in The Crippled God – he gives us hope, he gives us sacrifice, he gives us salvation. And yes, for some, he even gives us a happy ending.

Erikson is often criticized for being overly nihilistic in his writing. Yes, things can be dark and yes his characters often come to hard times and wonder if there is a point to it. But to call Erikson’s writing nihilistic is to miss the point entirely. As I so often find with Erikson, quotes from the books say it much better than I could ever.

This exchange sums up so much of what the series is about, and it certainly isn’t nihilism – in fact I think you could say it’s the exact opposite. This really is a tale of doing the right thing, saving the world, and finding meaning in life along the way. Only Erikson doesn’t sugarcoat anything – he makes you take a good, long, hard look at yourself in the mirror and face the ugliness in humanity and civilization. And through all the bad, he still sees something worth saving.

Full Review

[kcf]

Answering a spoiler question in this thread to get it moving.

We gonna use this thread for discussing the book, or make a new one, cuz I just finished it, and I got questions that probably have obvious answers.

i.e. what was the secret realization that Ruthan had about Quick Ben's name?

Actually that's my only question, the book pretty much ties up everything I was curious about, except the stuff that the Esslemont books plan on covering, obviously.

I think the realization is with QB's relationship with the Shadow - once being a priest of shadow and someone who has more or less betrayed Shadowthrone in the past.

[polishgenius]

I thought there was more to it than that- it seemed that QB knew that Rudd would be able to figure him out if he saw him, much like with Rake, and his name was a clue to that.

There's still so much we don't know about Quick - of all the mysteries still unresolved he's probably the greatest one. Heck, now Mother Dark is possibly his actual Mother? Even though he has a sister. Perhaps an Andii is one of his souls.

[kcf]

I thought there was more to it than that- it seemed that QB knew that Rudd would be able to figure him out if he saw him, much like with Rake, and his name was a clue to that.

There's still so much we don't know about Quick - of all the mysteries still unresolved he's probably the greatest one. Heck, now Mother Dark is possibly his actual Mother? Even though he has a sister. Perhaps an Andii is one of his souls.

An Andii is one of his souls.

I've always figured he has elient blood (it's strongly suspected he's soletaken, we just don't know what)

I really wish that we would have gotten more about Rudd. QB not being totally revealed didn't surprise or bother much for some reason.

[polishgenius]

I recall there being an implication that his soletaken form is a snake.

Yeah, I didn't mind not knowing more about Quick, but there wasn't much more to Rudd than his mystery, so not knowing it made him feel a bit pointless.

Does anyone figure who Korlat's father is?

[Lord Baelish]

I'm still convinced Draconus is her father. He raped Sandalath to get revenge on Mother Dark for revenge. Tulas Shorn is a possibility, but I find it unlikely.

As for Quick, there is a definite link to Kharkanas and Mother Dark. Fiddler named him as Magus of Dark, which shakes Quick up. He's annoyed at Fiddler for seeing so true. He also keeps his distance from Rake in MOI and Sandalath in tCG. Quick Ben was a normal human, as we see from his sister's POVs in BH, but two of his souls are unaccounted for. I think one of them is one of the Tiste Andii princes that fought against Rake after Mother Dark turned her back. And his Soletaken form is probably a snake. There are enough hints throughout the series about that.

[nickg]

I recall there being an implication that his soletaken form is a snake.

Yeah, I didn't mind not knowing more about Quick, but there wasn't much more to Rudd than his mystery, so not knowing it made him feel a bit pointless.

Does anyone figure who Korlat's father is?

Draconus or Tulas Shorn are possibilities, and I have seen other people say as much, but I still dot understand why she says she is lowborn, or exactly what she means by it. Possibly because her father was Edur or Liosan.

[The Evil Hat]

Just finished. Overall, I really liked it. I wouldn't rate this as one of my favorite volumes (House of Chains and Toll the Hounds are still unchallenged for that), but it was a fitting ending (if, in a spot or two, a bit too abrupt).Quite a few threads weren't resolved and all, but this is Malazan, and it wouldn't have felt as epic if they were, I don't think. I'm happy there will be more Erikson novels, but, if there weren't, I don't think I'd feel unsatisfied.

My favorite part was, unsurprisingly, Tavore and the desert, as the Malazans have been my favorites from every one of the novels, I think, unless Karsa's involved. Paran, however, was also awesome. Not there for that long, but great when he was present.

I do have a question, though, even if it makes me look stupid. The huge mindblowing reveal Gormenghast was talking about...what was it? I feel like I should know, but I really can't come up with a huge twist. Am I just really oblivious?

[kcf]

I do have a question, though, even if it makes me look stupid. The huge mindblowing reveal Gormenghast was talking about...what was it? I feel like I should know, but I really can't come up with a huge twist. Am I just really oblivious?

In short it's that Shadowthrone and Cotillion engineered the whole thing from the beginning. But what Gormenghast is getting at goes much further into their ulitmate goals, the thematic arc of it all, foreshadowing present in the earlier books, and into some of the 'meta' subversion that Erikson and Esslemont are doing with these books. As I've said earlier, mindblowing is an awefully big word to be using for his 'scheme'.

[The Evil Hat]

In short it's that Shadowthrone and Cotillion engineered the whole thing from the beginning. But what Gormenghast is getting at goes much further into their ulitmate goals, the thematic arc of it all, foreshadowing present in the earlier books, and into some of the 'meta' subversion that Erikson and Esslemont are doing with these books. As I've said earlier, mindblowing is an awefully big word to be using for his 'scheme'.

Huh. I was pretty sure they were behind all of this for quite some time. Suspicions in the beginning (they were pretty central to the plot before their identities were known, etc) and thought it was all but confirmed when characters were wondering about them and their plans and questioning whether their ultimate goal wasn't a world of entirely empty thrones (forgot the book this was in). I guess the empty thrones thing turned out to be somewhat off the mark (though not totally), but I was definitely expecting their big plan to be revealed.

[Sariel]

I would think that the great revelation, if you chose to call it that, was the Malazan Book of the Fallen being written by the Crippled God. That Shadowthrone and Cotillion worked with the CG at least since the end of MoI, but probably long before that.

[Cuchulain]

Finished it today. Great ending to the series. I'm wondering about something though. For those who have read Stonewielder, how does it fit with TCG exactly? I mean, at one point in TCG there's this scene in Hood's boat where Hood tells Shurq Elalle about the adjunct and all her allies (ie all those attempting to free the CG) and among them he names Greymane. Now, in Stonewielder Greymane helps the Stormriders destroy two pieces of the CG, while the CG himself is actively resisting them. How then is Greymane an ally to Tavore, who is working with the CG rather than against him?

Also, one small thing I haven't seen mentioned. Right before Crone sacrifices herself to revive the CG, she tells the K'Chain Chemalle assassin that one last raven is coming to give him something. This isn't explained or followed up. Any ideas?

[The Evil Hat]

I'm not sure about the Greymane connection, but it was confirmed that Skinner had gone rogue, I believe.

Looking back, I think my favorite moment may have been Icarium not remembering Mappo after all he went through. While I wasn't too huge a fan of Mappo's solo chapters, I thought that was a heartbreaking scene. Besides which, I can't see Ublala's guardianship of Icarium going all that well...

[Sariel]

Ublala might just be the very opposite of Mappo in many ways. Perhaps that is what's needed. Someone as innocent as Icarium to watch over him.

[kcf]

I like the theory that Icarium can now get new memories (though he has still lost the old). This should allow him to do some healing.

[Werthead]

New world map, updated with SW and CG info. Still a long way from being finalised (Stratem needs tidying up to match the very rough map SE gave the admins of Malazanempire), but probably the most accurate map yet.

One thing I like about this map is that it highlights the flight-path of the Crippled God: you see where his main body blew up over Korelri, a few bits carry on to hit Jacuruku (the lakes along the northern edge) and then the last few bits bump into the east coast of Lether and fall into the ocean. Sweet :P

[Cable]

I dare not look at any posts for fear of spoilers as I've only had my copy for a couple days now. Not even a fifth through the book, but it's very clear to me so far that Erikson is making sure everyone is on the same page. It is refreshing hearing some of the whys and why-nots of certain people. It just seems to be a bit more reader friendly.

[Gigei]

I just started reading and I had to stop when Quick Ben first appeared. I mean...wtf? That came out of nowhere.

This better be explained later on or I swear I am going to do something juvenile like start a Malazan haters Facebook page.

[Cuchulain]

Looking back, I think my favorite moment may have been Icarium not remembering Mappo after all he went through. While I wasn't too huge a fan of Mappo's solo chapters, I thought that was a heartbreaking scene. Besides which, I can't see Ublala's guardianship of Icarium going all that well...

Regarding this storyline, it surprised me how easily Ublala managed to take out a Pure Forkrull Assail. Even though he did catch her unaware, I still expected a fight.

[Seli]

I just started reading and I had to stop when Quick Ben first appeared. I mean...wtf? That came out of nowhere.

This better be explained later on or I swear I am going to do something juvenile like start a Malazan haters Facebook page.

It has al been explained hinted at before that point, starting in GOTM. :P