History
The history discussed in the novels to date extends back for over 300,000 years and has not been fully revealed. Erikson has stated that he has kept the history of his world purposefully ambiguous.
At the beginning of the series, the reader is uninformed about the nature of the Malazan world. The history of the world is deeply tied to the many intelligent humanoid races that populate the world. By employing the viewpoints of extremely long-lived characters, and through a few scenes from the ancient past, Steven Erikson reveals details of the world, its history, and its inhabitants.
Read more about this topic: Malazan Book Of The Fallen
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“In history an additional result is commonly produced by human actions beyond that which they aim at and obtain—that which they immediately recognize and desire. They gratify their own interest; but something further is thereby accomplished, latent in the actions in question, though not present to their consciousness, and not included in their design.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)