Malazan Wiki
Malazan Wiki
"I'm not going to sit here and say, "Oh, [the inconsistencies are] all deliberate"--no it's not. But given the conceit that this is a kind of historical compilation of events where there is at least a hint that there is an author behind all this, like in-world author as opposed to me, inaccuracies are just part of the package...I don't sweat that stuff."
Steven Erikson on inconsistencies in the Malazan books[src]
"I know there are a couple missteps...inconsistencies creep in, but well, we're doing our best. We've got lots of balls in the air."
Ian C. Esslemont[src]

A page to document inconsistencies, impossibilities, printing errors, and similar oddities within the Malazan books.

In Gardens of the Moon[]

  • Although published in 1999, Gardens of the Moon was written in 1991–1992, eight years before the rest of the series and a large number of minor inconsistencies can be found between this volume and those following. Fans sometimes refer to these inconsistencies as "GotMisms".
  • Calot being incinerated 'within an hour' of him and Tattersail getting dressed for the command meeting would not have been possible - the command meeting took place in the early morning hours and the army had not yet been mobilized. Later on, the troops were waiting before the battle as 'no wind stirred the midday air'.[1]
  • Calot tosses a handkerchief to Dujek Onearm. It then says the 'High Mage' snagged it. It clearly should read the High Fist as Dujek then proceeds to use it.[2]
  • The T'lan Imass are frequently referred to as just the "T'lan",[3] something that does not occur in other books.
  • Bellurdan notes that the T'lan Imass' "Eldering powers" generate a magical dead space around themselves that devours sorcery.[4] This property of the T'lan Imass is not mentioned again after Gardens of the Moon.
  • A poem called The Conspiracy appears in the epigraph of Chapter 13 and is attributed to Blind Gallan. The epigraph lists Gallan's birth as 1078, but Gallan later appears in the Kharkanas Trilogy, which seems to take place hundreds of thousands of years before Gardens of the Moon.
  • The UK MMPB edition states that leaving 'Mallet's tenement' had been easy for Crokus Younghand and Apsalar. However, as the two had been holed up in Mammot's place it is most likely that Mallet's appearance in the following chapter caused a confusion between Mammot and Mallet - rather than 'Mallet' being a name for the tenement where Mammot resides.[7]
  • Whiskeyjack possesses some kind of K'Chain Che'Malle communication device (sometimes referred to as a "bone phone" by fans) that he says is one of several owned by the inner ring of Malazan military commanders.[8] This device is never used or mentioned again.
  • Orfantal speaks to Korlat and in her response is called 'dear sister', although Orfantal is described as male and named Korlat's brother for the rest of the series. Presumably this is a continuity mistake.[9] This error was corrected in later editions.

In Deadhouse Gates[]

In Memories of Ice[]

In House of Chains[]

In Midnight Tides[]

In Reaper's Gale[]

In Toll the Hounds[]

  • Stonny Menackis' son, Harllo, is nearly six years old, meaning he was conceived almost seven years before the start of the book. But not nearly that amount of time seems to have passed since Memories of Ice, which took place in 1164 BS.
  • Karsa Orlong's daughters, Delas Fana and Tonith Agra, were conceived shortly before his raid on Silver Lake in 1163 BS. This means they are only a year or so older than Harllo. Referred to as "still a year or more from their nights of passage to adulthood",[33] they appear to be much older than seven or eight.
  • In at least one edition of Toll the Hounds, Spinnock Durav refers to Whiskeyjack as "a man in his late forties" as opposed to "a man late in his years" in other editions.[34]

In Dust of Dreams[]

  • Tavore addressed Lostara, who is a Captain the rest of the time, as Lieutenant.[35]

In The Crippled God[]

The Dramatis Personae in this book has a large number of spelling errors.

Errors in the main Dramatis Personae[]

Errors in Appendix:Dramatis Personae[]

  • "Wimble Thrup" is a misprint for Himble Thrup.
  • "Nemanda" is a misprint for Nenanda.
  • "Silk Warchief-Spax" is a misprint for Gilk Warchief Spax.
  • "Prazek Gowl" is a misprint for Prazek Goul.
  • "Aimanan Hood" is a misprint for the entry Aimanan and the separate entry Hood.
  • "THE SHAKE" heading needs to be inserted between the entries "Saddic", a Snake member, and "Yan Tovis", a Shake member, in the (A:DP).
  • "THE HOST" entries Skintick, Desra and Nemanda [sic] should be deleted. The entries "Skintick", "Desra" and "Nenanda" are correctly found in "THE TISTE ANDII" section of the (A:DP) only.
  • "Shadowthrone (Ammeanas)" is a misprint for "Shadowthrone (Ammanas)".

In Orb Sceptre Throne[]

  • Difference between editions in Chapter 11. Topper asks Barathol if he is Kalam's relation/brother (depending on edition).[36] See forum thread for a discussion on the topic.

In Assail[]

  • During the defence of the Lost holding, Kyle remembers a previous instance in which Jethiss had summoned his sorcery. The example given was following Coots' death, an event for which Kyle was not present.[37][38]

In Deadhouse Landing[]

  • During a sea raid upon the Quon Tali city of Cawn by the privateer fleet out of Malaz City led by Mock aboard his man-o-war flagship, the Insufferable, the names of its two flanking men-o-war, the Intolerant and the Intemperate were — in one place only — mistakenly referred to as the Intolerable and the Insolent.[39] Later, in the same sea-action, the two flanking men-o-war were called by their correct names.[40] It was very unlikely that the Malazan fleet had two additional men-o-war never mentioned but this single time.
  • Hawl has a considerably different story in this book than the history presented in House of Chains.

In Kellanved's Reach[]

  • Orjin Samarr takes on the name Greymane for the first time. But in Dancer's Lament Greymane is already a well-known figure.[41]
  • In an apparently inadvertent error, the name — "Fingers" — appeared exactly once in KR. "Fingers" was used to seemingly refer to a major character in the book,[42] who was consistently referred to by a completely different name — "Haraj" — throughout the rest of Kellanved's Reach. It is unclear if this mistake spoils a potential surprise reveal in a later book.

In Forge of the High Mage[]

In Forge of Darkness[]

  • The Jaghut, Varandas, appears to be male despite being female in previous appearances in Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God. Erikson admits that this is an error, but he has decided to incorporate it into the books.[45]

In Fall of Light[]

  • Sergeant Bered is mistakenly called Sergeant Bursa throughout the book.[46]

In The God is Not Willing[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.60/72
  2. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.65
  3. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 9
  4. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 9
  5. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 22
  6. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9
  7. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 18, UK MMPB p.542
  8. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 18
  9. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, UK MMPB p.696
  10. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.171
  11. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.206/207
  12. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 4
  13. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 11, US SFBC p.346
  14. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 2, US HC p.77
  15. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 3
  16. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 6
  17. Memories of Ice, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.141
  18. Memories of Ice, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.574
  19. House of Chains, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.30
  20. House of Chains, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.147
  21. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2
  22. Reaper's Gale, Prologue, US HC p.24
  23. Midnight Tides, Prologue
  24. Memories of Ice, Chapter 1
  25. The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.310
  26. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 12, US HC p.319
  27. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 14, US HC p.378
  28. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 14 - For example
  29. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 17, US HC p.498
  30. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 21, US HC p.644
  31. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 21, US HC p.645
  32. Reaper's Gale, Chapter 22, US HC p.671
  33. Toll the Hounds, Prologue, US SFBC p.26
  34. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.303 - The forties reference appears in the text captured by searchofthefallen.com
  35. Dust of Dreams, Chapter 11, UK HB p.382
  36. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 11, UK MMPB p.447
  37. Assail (novel), Chapter 12
  38. Assail (novel), Chapter 8
  39. Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 10, US TPB p.193-196
  40. Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 11, US TPB p.219
  41. Dancer's Lament, Chapter 12, US HC p.222
  42. Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 11, US TPB p.179
  43. Stonewielder, Chapter 12, UK TPB p.584
  44. Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 3
  45. Green Team of the Legendarium - See 49:15
  46. Fall of Light, Chapter 4, US HC p.102, for example
  47. The God is Not Willing, Chapter 18
List of abbreviationsPaginationsHow to reference an article