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. (Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
This is book two of The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, I have read this book several years ago and than I stopped reading this series. I can't remember why I stopped reading the series, I picked up this series up ago last year just before Christmas. It took me a while to finish book two, but I did finish it. It was good. Steven Erikson has a knack for writing epic fantasy, this series it gets better with each book (at least that's what I heard).
The Deadhouse Gates book could be said to be independent from book on Gardens of the Moon, but I would still recommend that you read the books in order that the book were written in. In The Deadhouse Gates, we have few characters that we have meet in book one, but we meet a lot of new characters. One this about this series so far it the number of characters that we get to meet. I almost believe that there is a new character or some new god on every page. As a reader you have to be careful because it is easy to get lost in the vast number of different characters but please do not let that discourage you.
The main plot of the book the Coltain's march across several leagues from one city to another. The Chain of Dogs. This part of the book was amazing; there is a lot of military tactics involved in this march that I am not going to go into that. But basically this is the retreat of the Malazan 7th Army while they are constantly under the attack from the enemy. Not only does Coltain need to protect his Army, but also there are several thousand refuges with them that need protecting as well. This was amazingly done and written and so bittersweet at the end, once they reach Aren.
Then in the desert Raraku we have Sha'ika re-born or re-made if you want. Sha'ika and the uprising against the empire. It will be interesting to see what happens in House of Chains, book four, especially between Tavor and Sha'ika. On another hand we have some renegades soldiers on the journey to assassinate the Empress Laseen. Kalam, he was Claw, probably one of the best. I hope we have not seen last of him in this book. I want to see what happens to him and the woman he meet and the all the children that he inherits from the god at the end of the book. Another set of characters, Fiddler, Crocus and Apsalar (I think that was her name) and Apsala's father. They take another journey across the desert also trying to reach the Empress. While on their journey they meet an interesting characters, Mappo and Icarium. I found the story of Mappo and Icarium very interesting and I hope to see them again.
Overall this was a book on an epic scale, it was excellent. Writing was top notch, there was number of characters and there was lot of character growth and development. The story was told from multiple points of view and that was very good because it gives a chance to see how all these characters think. I give this book 5/5 STARS - Happy Reading.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series:
1. Gardens of the Moon - Read Review
2. Deadhouse Gates
3. Memories of Ice
4. House of Chains
5. Midnight Tide
6. The Bonehunters
7. Reaper's Gale
8. Toll the Hounds
9. Dust of Dreams
10. The Crippled God
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