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Title: Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen | Book 2) |
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Review of Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 2)
- (20050718)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, this maelstrom of fanaticism and bloodlust will embroil the Malazan Empire in one of the bloodiest conflicts it has ever known, shaping destinies and giving birth to legends . . .
Set in a brilliantly realized world ravaged by dark, uncontrollable magic, this thrilling novel of war, intrigue and betrayal confirms Steven Erikson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination and originality--the author who has written the first great fantasy epic of the new millennium.
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Comments for Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen | Book 2)
- Posted on 2008-09-26
So bad it's funny
I thought Erikson's Tales of Malazan couldn't get any worse after "Gardens of the Moon", and second-efforts often improve the first. Not so in this case. It gets worse: much worse. In fact, so bad I found it funny when hit over the head with such profound insights as "all of history and historical study boils down to three words: children are dying."
Such 'metaphysical' banalities assault the reader on a regular basis. Nobles exist to oppress their servants for no reason, peasants exist to be wiped out en masse for no reason, every nation has massive standing armies of professional soldiers (no one ever goes home for harvest) with no economy to support them and so on. Wars are faught for Power in the post-modernist sense. No war is ever caused by famine, crop failure, point of Honour (as if honour exists in fantasy medieval societies!), territorial claim, change of ruler by marriage and all the rest of actual medieval, pre-industrial life. In fact, I have no idea why the Seven Cities rose in rebellion other than some vague prophecy about the Whirlwind.
Just post-modern, politically correct 'narrative' disguised as a story: it has no conclusion, like "Gardens", just some random events that happen to characters for no readily apparent reason, and plenty of "Get Out of Jail Free" cards supplied to all important characters at every juncture: the ones you want to see die a grisly death always get rescued from nowhere for no reason.
It's written, like "Gardens", as a screenplay, not a novel. Scenes are set in boring detail, to cut to another scene in counter-point, to "flashback" scene, to "dream-sequence" scene. You know he is trying to intensify the action when he seems to be describing camera angles rather than the action itself. One page - Cut! - next character view - Cut! and so on. But nothing happens anyweay, just a series of POV cuts and 'camera angles'.
Also, claiming Flashman as inspiration for the battlefield descriptions doesn't hold water. Fraser was describing historical battles people could (and did) check on. Erikson just makes it all up as he goes along, making for a very confused description of the action, and explains everything away as "magic" or "the gods". Why anyone worships these gods is not clear: no paradise or moral high ground or self-transformation to be found in this hideous caracature of religion, just blood-thirsty ex-humans who exist to fill in the ludicrous gaps of the absurd non-story.
900 pages to say nothing of interest to an adult mind and tell no story whatsoever is, in its way, quite an achievement, one Erikson has mastered if the first 2 volumes are any indication. It was no surprise in its way to find out that these were all rejected screenplays from a non-D&D RPG campaign (GURPS was the English system laughed at by 'serious' gamers of the time) rewritten through a Writers Workshop 101 class, and it shows in the poor standard of writing and lack of story. Seems to me to be a sequence of serial-drama teleplays, not novels or an epic at all.
Save your money, or try to get a laugh. It's a hard slog any which way you look at it. I'd just like to find a fantasy author who doesn't project modern and post-modern politics, sensibilities and philosophies onto pseudo-medieval realms.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-08-11
still confusing concepts on second outing [no spoilers]
"Deadhouse Gates" continues "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" saga immediately after "Gardens of the Moon" with a darker story with scenes and insinuations not appropriate for young readers. However superb battles compliment the fine tale introducing numerous characters and exploring new locations while keeping Crokus and company as an integral part of the plot. The author appears to capture the internal and external struggles of a forced march by a tough foreign commander to save Malazan refugees.
Felisin, Ganoes Paran's youngest sister, justifies the brutal treatment by her desire for vengeance and ultimately her destiny. Mappo and Icarium, a Trell and a memory challenged half-Jaghut, are an interesting duo wandering the land seeking to unlock Icarium's past. Yet excommunicated priest Heboric Light Touch and the assassin Kalam develop into the most fascinating characters.
Many characters have unusually high skills, whether combat or magical, which unbalances the series. I find myself frustrated by unnecessary implied remarks or half-said comments but enjoyed the novel nonetheless.
A better comprehensive appendix would have been useful addressing racial characteristics, relating magical powers, and describing creatures along with catch phrases and terms.
I recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre.
Thank you.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-06-25
Better than "Gardens of the Moon", not yet Erikson's best.
A brief prelude to my review is in order. One of the things that drew me to this series were the 5 star reviews for Erikson's later works. There are two reasons why reviews can get better as a series continues. The first is that the author's writing can get better. The second is that people who aren't interested in an author's style of writing might drop out after a book or two. I'm of the firm impression that the reasons for Erikson's better reviews for later books is because he writes more confidently in later books.
I read "Gardens of the Moon" and had many of the complaints that I'd read in its reviews. The author throws scads of characters, places, races, etc at the reader without explaining much. The plot meanders. Erikson doesn't describe non-human races particularly well. However, as many readers also mentioned, the book picks up midway through and ends well.
"Deadhouse Gates" is almost a carbon copy of the above. The first thing for people thinking about starting this series, to know about this book, is that except for a small number of characters generally playing a much reduced role, there's little overlap with "Gardens of the Moon". You have to learn a whole host of new characters, places, races and politics.
The good news is that the plot is much tighter overall, and while I can't really summarize "Garden of the Moons" plot, I could do so with "Deadhouse Gates". I'd prefer to not have many spoilers here, though, so I won't. Yup, there are side plots in abundance which often feel again as though a party of D&D characters suddenly decided to do something else for a bit, but the main plot makes itself known quickly and it continues throughout to a series of almost breathtaking payoff scenes near the end. One thing that Erikson does exceptionally well is to create an almost movie quality image in the reader's mind for his epic moments, and he's gotten even better at it here.
Again, as is the case in Gardens of the Moon, most of his characters are pretty static, in that there's little character growth except what's forced upon them, but there are more memorable characters. The pace of the book actually feels a bit more plodding than "Gardens of the Moon", but whereas the former was more unfocusedly frantic, this was a more coherent read and one that I recommend.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2008-06-10
AWESOME RIDE!!! LIKE ROLLERCOASTERS? YOU'LL LOVE THIS!
This book is so amazing! The scope itself is huge. I see why people say it's like George RR Martin, except the area involved is bigger. You get to see every main character and supporting character's personality in many different situations, and you never know what's going to happen, to whom, and when. One minute your liking a character and BOOM! their gone! Or a bad character seems not so bad after all, and a good character suddenly deciding to do wrong! Awesome, awesome, awesome!
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-03-11
Another wild ride by Erikson
I'm thoroughly impressed by this series. It's sprawling, imaginative and just plain big. The plot is very even, that is, it proceeds at a breakneck pace throughout. No complaining here about how "nothing happens" in the series. The dialogue is snappy and the humor appropriately dark, to match the mood.
It still can be confusing, but not as much as if you require answers to every question and demand to know the minutia of every detail. I haven't really connected with any of the characters yet, however the finale to the chain of dogs march (and the subsequent events) had me deliriously stunned.
If Erikson devotes the time to flesh out some of the characters a little more so they actually appear to have their own voice, instead of being relegated to just another point of view to push the plot forward, this series will trump all that has come before. Truly impressive.
Score: 4
