Deadhouse Gates: A Tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

If you have read Gardens of The Moon and you're on the fence about continuing what probably seems like a VERY complicated read, or just giving up, and perhaps you are frustrated and confused, trust in me and do two things. NOW. 1. Re-read GOTM even if you just finished. 2. And do it WITH Amanda and Bill's "reread" on TOR. Just Google it. And then use all ten of their rereads as a tool to guide you through this series. I got so much more out of TMBOTF series. Everyone is right, this series is so incredibly epic in scope that it truly boggles my mind. I've read ALL the major and minor fantasy series and this one has my head spinning of how someone can have such detail, history, etc. and without so much fat, and be able to create human tales that cause the reader to reflect. Deadhouse Gates took about 250 pages to REALLY get me interested, and when it finally did, it had me fully engulfed. The Chain of Dogs storyline is one of the most epic I've ever read in all of fantasy. This book is beautifully written. I cried, I laughed. The ending five-seven chapters are completely immersing to the point that you slip out of all reality. It's also tragic. And you'll get a lot of that in Malazan. And when you finish DG, you won't even need motivation to read Memories of Ice- which, funny enough, you realize about halfway through DG why the third book is called Memories of Ice and you have a pretty good idea what the book's concentration will be based off the title, and it's super intriguing.

Here's where the series gets good. Ok, did you read Gardens of the Moon? Did you like it? Then you will like Deadhouse Gates. Erikson's writing is more assured, his characters are better, he has become a more confident skillful writer. He’s also slyly funny. It sneaks up on you because you don’t really expect it in the “grimdark” world he has created. If you didn't like Gardens of the Moon at all, this probably won't change you on the series but if you liked it but found it too confusing or weird, give Deadhouse Gates a try and see if the chain of dogs doesn't bring you on board. Deadhouse Gates takes place after Gardens of the Moon but is not a direct continuation of that story, some of the characters reappear (Fiddler, Kalam) but many are new (Coltaine is an all-time great character, Heboric, Icarium and Mappo Tell and Baudin aren't bad either). DG takes place on the continent of Seven Cities as the Malazan forces are facing revolt and rebellion from the locals know as the Whirlwind and led by a prophet named Sha'ik in the Holy Desert Raraku. There are 3 major plot lines, Felisin Paran (sister of Ganoes Paran from GotM) is sent to a prison mine at the behest of her sister, Kalam and Fiddler, using returning Apsalar to her home as an excuse, plan to kill the Empress and newly promoted Imprerial Fist Coltaine must lead 30,000 refuges across an entire continent steps ahead of a rebellious army. I loved Coltaine's story and kept wanting to get back the to the 7th army and the trail of refugees they were I also started to understand the scope of the series in this one, the hundreds of years of history, the dozens of races, empires that rose and crumbled, Gods of varying power and ascendancy. I believe Erikson has a plan for all of this, something that’s hard to see in just one book, but when you read the second you can see the threads start to emerge. It’s as though each book is a battle in a war that the characters don’t even know they are in yet, the reader doesn’t even know where the battle lines are drawn, but after reading this one, I trust that Erikson does and I’m onboard to find out, even if he only shows hints of the grander stage here and there through the narrative.

I can't get enough of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series! DEADHOUSE GATES delivers more of the same excitement and drama, and doesn't let up on the expansion of the hard-to-grasp setting. His characters are some of the most well-developed and sympathetic I've ever come across, each offering a wholly-unique perspective on the fantasy world they live in. As in Gardens of the Moon , Erikson challenges the reader, revealing snippets of important history and back-story, but leaving his audience somewhat lost feeling. It is hard to keep your bearings when reading these novels, but it only adds to the suspense. Almost like you've been dropped into a strange new world where you don't understand the rules and everything is a surprise. Gradually, though, as you tag along with the characters in these books, you come to get a handle on the setting. The races of people, the system of magic warrens, the geography, the history; they all begin to form a cohesive foundation upon which the rest of the story stands. Some readers have found this almost teasing trickle of information off-putting, but I love the mystery and excitement of gradually putting all the pieces together to figure out what is happening! If you get annoyed by feeling lost in a story, these may not be your cup of tea, but if you're up for a challenge in a incredibly complex setting, this is hard to beat. Book two of the series takes place around a month after the first. For the most part, the events in GARDENS OF THE MOON have very little impact on this new story. A few of the characters have returned, including Kalam, Crokus, Fiddler, and Apsalar/Sorry. Their story centers around attempting to return Apsalar home and maybe assassinating the Empress when done. There are three other major plots, all with loosely-connected characters. Felisin, Heboric, and Baudin are caught up in a destiny that will take them from the slave pits to the center of a revolution. The historian Duiker (one of my favorite viewpoints) follows a desperate retreat across a continent by a harried army trying to protect civilians from slaughter and mayhem. And the non-humans Icarium and Mappo follow their own destinies to confront troubled paths and maybe save the future. Each of these stories is excellent in their own unique ways, and all are emotional roller-coaster rides. The cast of characters in DEADHOUSE GATES is impressive, with the POV characters making up the skeleton, but many more excellent characters filling in the body of the novel (I personally love Coltaine and Apt). Each character is unique and fits a role, with little-to-no needless filler. The overall back-story involves a major rebellion against the Empire in the Seven Cities and a still-mysterious convergence of Ascendants and near-ascendants (D'ivers and Soletaken). This all presents an extremely dangerous setting. I am completely hooked on the series, and can't recommend it highly enough. Memories of Ice , up next!

The book fell to pieces, binding was bad, pages fell out, I returned it.

Un libro appassionante e assolutamente fantastico. Nonostante fosse in lingua non ho trovato troppe difficoltà nel leggerlo nonostante non sia un esperto. Anzi avendo letto anche il libro in italiano dico che l'originale rende molto di più. Comunque consiglio caldamente ad ogni appassionato di fantasy di leggersi questa magnifica ed epica saga.

First, I need to point out the english is not my primary language, there for my feedback maybe a little compromised by that. So... an awesome book, but I found it a difficult reading. The complexity of the intrigues are a bit hard to follow, adding out the huge amount of characters to remember. The universe built by Erikson is huge and deep: the myth and history really gives an impression of extending millenniums ago, the relligion is complex, and filled with diverging interpretations, the characters are deep and intriguing with realistic passions and desires. The number of races populating the world and fantastic skills of the characters invokes a deep sense of an RPG feeling through out the book. This book bringing a lot of war (that practically wasn't brought in the first book) that really brings the feeling of how bad it really is... in a way that is absolutely difficult to pick a side. There is so much happening in the book that, you are always wandering what will happen with the others characters. There for, an awesome (yet difficult) reading!

Easily one of the most fun reads. This book made me pick up next two books in the series. Even as a standalone I enjoyed it. Only two other books in the series, book 4 and 5 were in my personal opinion better than this. The books was packed well and was new in great condition.

Interesting story and writing, though so obscure at times that I had ro review certain parts, and couldn't connect with certain emotional episodes as my brain was a bit overwhelmed.