The Crippled God

This article is about the Steven Erikson novel. For the character in the Malazan Book of the Fallen, see The Crippled God (character).

The Crippled God is the tenth and final volume of Canadian author Steven Erikson's epic fantasy series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.^[2]

The Crippled God

Author	Steven Erikson
Cover artist	Steve Stone[1]
Language	English
Series	Malazan Book of the Fallen
Genre	High fantasy
Publisher	Bantam (UK & Canada) & Tor Books (USA)
Publication date	15 February 2011
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	944 (UK Hardcover edition)
ISBN	0-593-04635-8
Preceded by	Dust of Dreams

Development

In a 2014 Q&A with Tor, Erikson says he considers Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God to be two halves of a single, concluding book.^[3]

Plot

Immediately following the events of Dust of Dreams, Adjunct Tavore leads the Bonehunters further into the Letherii wastelands.

Critical reception

The Crippled God debuted at #12 on The New York Times best sellers list.^[4]

Bill Capossere described the novel as "the closing chapter of a work that I believe stands as the preeminent fantasy of the past 20 years and belongs high up on the short list of best ever."^[5]

The British Fantasy Society praises the novel, describing it as a "heroic fantasy that’s been dragged through the mud and kicked a few times [...] and it’s all the better for it."^[6]

SFFWorld calls it "action-packed, compelling and full of wonderful scenes for the fans" but is critical of the lack of resolution in some plot threads.^[7]

Fantasy Book Review scored it 10/10, calling it "the perfect finale to one of the greatest literary achievements of the last hundred years."^[8]

Other reviews

• Review by Paul Witcover (2011) in Locus, #610 November 2011
• Review [Dutch] by Lodewijk Verbeek (2012) in Holland-SF 2012, #2

References

1. Speakman, Shawn (20 October 2010). "Cover: The Crippled God by Steven Erikson". Suvudu.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
2. "The Crippled God". Steven Erikson. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
3. "Steven Erikson Answers Your Dust of Dreams Questions!". Tor Books. 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
4. "Paperback Trade Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
5. Capossere, Bill (2011). "More Complicated Than Imagined: A Spoiler-Free Review of The Crippled God by Steven Erikson". Tor. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
6. Stevens, Karen (2011). "The Crippled God by Steven Erikson". The British Fantasy Society. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
7. Jones, Owen (2011). "The Crippled God by Steven Erikson". SFFWorld. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
8. Hill, Joshua S (2011). "The Crippled God by Steven Erikson (A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen: Book 10)". Fantasy Book Review. Retrieved 26 July 2022.