[UH4]⇒ PDF Deadhouse Gates The Malazan Book of the Fallen Book 2 Steven Erikson 9780765310026 Books

Deadhouse Gates The Malazan Book of the Fallen Book 2 Steven Erikson 9780765310026 Books

Download As PDF : Deadhouse Gates The Malazan Book of the Fallen Book 2 Steven Erikson 9780765310026 Books

Deadhouse Gates The Malazan Book of the Fallen Book 2 Steven Erikson 9780765310026 Books

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.


Tags : Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 2) [Steven Erikson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>In the vast dominion of Seven Cities, in the Holy Desert Raraku, the seer Sha'ik and her followers prepare for the long-prophesied uprising known as the Whirlwind. Unprecedented in size and savagery,Steven Erikson,Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 2),Tor Books,0765310023,Fantasy - General,Fantasy fiction.,FICTION Fantasy General,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fantasy fiction,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Epic,Fiction-Fantasy,GENERAL,General Adult,United States

Deadhouse Gates The Malazan Book of the Fallen Book 2 Steven Erikson 9780765310026 Books Reviews

What Erickson does well Plot, action, world building, conflict
What could use improvement Characters

I am in awe of Erickson's complex plot and worldbuilding. I'm not so in awe of his ability to create characters that I, as a reader, can become invested in. He eventually wins me over with his characters in the third book (Memories of Ice), but there are points in this book where I felt that it was a slog to get through, because I just didn't care about the people he was writing about, even though the plot was incredible.

If you like epic fantasy - do yourself a favor and get this series. Read it. Just be patient with the storyline and characters. It takes a bit to get rolling.
Ummmm......

Y DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO STUPID

I finished and I would give this more stars but it makes me feel like I'm a fantasy idiot. I'm not, I know that I'm not, I usually can really dig in and understand what is going on in most fantasy. But in this series it is so dense that I read all the words and feel like I'm maybe only picking up a third of what I should be.

The world building is immense and Steven Erickson isn't afraid to be brutal and kill everyone in the book you liked. But are they really dead???? Well that is another issue altogether because they could be reborn OR they could have Ascended (become something close to a god) or they are just food for the bloodflies.

As the very lovely Miche suggested in the comments I’m going to try and use the Tor.com Malazan reread forum for the next book and see if that cuts down on my confusion for this series as it feels like I need college level credit to read this.

What I do like about the series is that in a lot of ways it is different from a lot of the fantasy I read. Usually you have the good guys and the bad guys and it is clear who is who. Even when there are shades of grey for character depth YOU KNOW who to root for. I’m still at a loss as to who should get my vote to win.

This book was darker and much more brutal than the last book. Also there is a huge plot line revolving around a military campaign ⇠ Not my favorite thing usually. But reading the story of Coltaine and the army he lead that was trying to help get the Malazan refugees to safety was one of the most heart wrenching things I’ve read and made me hate almost everyone else in the Malazan Empire. The way that particular arc played out pretty well tore me up and I really was glad when a few people got just what they deserved and less glad with the others they seemed to take down with them.

The other line containing Felisin, Heboric and Bauden was also just as brutal but in different ways. I felt so sorry for Felisin and the struggles that she had to go through and how far from the girl she was she fell. Heboric was intriguing to me, a priest/historian that forsake his god. His musings, insights and journey to discover the power within himself was one to pay close attention to. Bauden ended up being one of my favorite characters and I really hoped for trio to have an everlasting bond. (view spoiler)

Kalem’s entire story I liked and his was probably one of the more happy arcs even though it too is riddled with death. I’m glad he met a few new people/things during his journey and I’m hoping we see more of him later in the series too.

Sorry/Apsalar was one of my favorite characters in the first book. She is one of the few characters from that to get any page time in this, though through Fiddler’s eyes. She is still quite a mystical force and just this side of creepy sometimes. Still her Journey back towards her home in search of her father was one of my favorites in this book. There was at least some kind of hope in that journey and I was glad to see that she retains some skills from her time under the thumb of Shadow.

Mappo and Icarium’s role in the book was interesting. I liked finding little tidbits out about the duo’s journeys and why they have been together for over 200 years basically wandering the desert. They were almost the comic relief of the book and by the end there story was as hopeful as it was heartbreaking and spoke to the depths someone would go for their best friend and companion.

Overall I struggled with the darkness and misery of this book. There are some funny moments and such but overall 98%, that might be a slight exaggeration but not by much, of the people I liked ended up dead. Also there are some really horrifically brutal scenes in this book that while poignant to the story they also left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. That is probably what was intended but it was just a little too much sometimes.

I’m hoping that the next book in the series might have a little happiness in it.
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.