Rating: 
Summary: a mix of Glen Cook, David Gemmell and Paul Edwin Zimmer.
Review: One of the previous reviewers said that this book was different from other fanatasy books he's wrong. The story has been done before, in Deadhouse Gates you read echoes of Glen Cook and David Gemmell, but then there is the scope and depth of Paul Edwin Zimmer. "Deadhouse Gates" features some characters from the previous "Gardens of the Moon". The premis is simple a plot has been hatched to slay the empress against this background you have the sub plot of an entire continent in rebellion, the fulfilmet of an ancient prophecy and the corresponding jihad it set's in motion, the introduction of a pair of immortal wanderers one who is potentially the deadliest threat to mankind and all who live, the machinations of shadowthrone, more on the eternal war between the T'lan mass and the Jaghut and on a more intimate and somewhat mundane level the development of a number characters from the previous book. It is all in all a very good read, with heroism that will sate any fan of Gemmell, unrelenting brutality and humour at it's blackest for any Glen Cook fan and finally depth and scope for those few fans of Paul Edwin Zimmer.It's nice to really have despicable villians that you can detest with relish. One character does deserve special mention Coltraine a study of stoic fatalism and master of the wry comment, his campaign of the chain of dogs alone is worth the read. I've been derisive of some writers who seem to write massive tomes with very little substance but Deadhouse Gates is almost 900 pages long, the pages literally turn themselves it's one of the few times that I curse my ability to read fast. I hope Robert Jordan reads this he might get a few ideas on how to get the point. Sorry couldn't resist that but I really have come to dislike his Wheel of Time series as some sort of pointless excerise of female emancipation. Not that there is anything wrong with female emancipation but come on surely I'm not the only one thats finding his series quite the yawn.
Rating: 
Summary: Can you [take] it?????????????
Review: Similar to the first book in that I found this book readable,compelling/exciting in parts,imaginative,so well done thus far Mr Erikson.Now I have finished the book I look back and see it was also hard work; disjointed,comparatively joyless,characters too numerous(not to mention shortlived) to gain much depth.I sometimes felt during the course of the book that the author was trying too hard to make it convoluted and asking too much of me to keep track of all the characters.I kept beginning a chapter or paragraph and thinking "Duicker?...hmm Duicker,I remember that name" and I'd try to remember his past and character for the two or three pages untill it was some other characters turn to test my memory(which,normally,aint bad).To conclude-neither myself nor Erikson were up to what was required but both of us had enough to make the effort JUST worthwhile.Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: The best fantasy book ever. Simply breathtaking!
Review: The Malazan Book of the Fallen is by far the best fantasy series I have read. Why is it different than the rest you may ask? First, the scale is epic in the full sense of the word - a lot of continents, hundreds of tribes, races, states, characters, more than a hundred thousand years history of the world, legends, many gods, factions and intrigues. Secondly, Steven Erikson writes superbly - the sentences flow effortlessly and he can play on the readers emotions like few other authors. He uses words people like Robert Jordan don't know that even exist in the dictionary. His characters are neither "good" or "bad" and his plot is as little cliche-plagued as possible while actually staying in the epic fantasy genre. Plus Erikson is a master of the humorous dialogue and hilarious characters.
About this volume - most of the characters are different from the Gardens of the Moon which may annoy some readers but be assured the cast from GotM returns in Book 3. This book is Dark fantasy in the true meaning of the word dark - bloody (and I mean really bloody) rebellion, gruesome battles, slave labor mines etc but SE doesn't describe the details with the sick passion of G.R.R.Martin he just shows us the real face of war. Erikson's world is not the nicest place to be.:) The Chain of Dogs military campaign is the best in the genre and its ending is one of the most emotionally touching scenes I have ever read in any book from any genre. If you like non-conventional fantasy you just have to give the Malazan Book of the Fallen a chance.
Rating:
Summary: Very moving... Great novel
Review: The sequel to the quite good Gardens Of The Moon, Deadhouse Gates continues Erikson's breathtaking invention. Firstly, perhaps it is just me, but Deadhouse Gates is less awe inspiring in it's invention. There is no 'gawd, would you look at that' type of thing in DhG, as in GotM with Moon's Spawn and the Azath. Personally, I find this to be a good move by Erikson, as more focus is on the plot and the characters. This is where DhG truly shines. Much like Shakespearean tragedy, the characters drive the plot, not the other way around. There is no 'most important' plot within DhG, all of them contribute to the book. In fact, what emerges is synergy, where the entirity is greater than the sum of it's parts. Each thread has it's own throbbing emotion which is beautifully lugubrious. I must make special note of the Chain Of Dogs sub-plot. The final episodes are the most amazing I have read in all of fantasy. In my opinion, fantasy has never produced anything so heartbreaking as the final few chapters of DhG. The characters are worth special note in DhG. They are all solidly constructed, drawing our sympathy, and in some cases - Mappo especially - our empathy. That Erikson achieves this is a true testament to his writing skill. To be able to handle so many characters so deftly and sensitively is a rare feat. Duiker, Felisin, Heboric, Icarium; all are followed with our compassion throughout the novel. While there are moments where it seems characters are walking mindlessly, with nothing going on, there is an important point to these moments. The Seven Cities is a place where the soul wanders, and returns different to what it was. Ultimately, this is what drives DhG. The development of characters. As for claims that some plots are difficult to understand, this is quite untrue. DhG is driven by emotion, not the military intrigue of GotM, or the ancient mysteries of Memories Of Ice. To understand DhG is to feel. Last, but definitely not least: the pace of the novel is still excellent. While the journies of characters are sometimes overwhelmingly detailed, they do not move in circles like Jordan's novels. Everything in Erikson is very direct. In short, better than GotM, and without doubt one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Lives up to expectations
Review: This really lived up to my expectations. The action if fast paced, especially in the second half. We follow the Chain of Dogs, which is a Commander trying to lead civilians and his troops to safety, while at the same times being chased by the uprising. We see the actions of that through a Historians point of view. Also we meet both Paran's sisters, both in suprise positions. And you meet great new characters, Icarium and Mappo, who's names where mentioned in GOTM. The assasins in this are superb, and the way Erikson describes it, is top class. Actually all the action, fighting and battle scenes are the best drawn and detailed scenes in any fanasty books. Normally when a battle, or fight is going on in a fantasy book, you don't really get know what is going on, and the detail is not that well done, but Erikson knows how exactly to write the battles. The Assasin Kalam, is awesome in this one, and we find out more than you would expect from Laseen and about the empire. If you've read Glen Cooks The Black company series, You will not want to miss this. Or if your a fan of any fantasy type of book, get this, its got a mixture of all types of the fantasy in one.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Wow! Gardens of the Moon was great; Deadhouse Gates is even better. Dark, powerful, and complex with flawed heroes and (at least in some cases) sympathetic villains. The Chain of Dogs plotline may be the most compelling, but they all have something to offer, and each story is clearly heading somewhere). Don't bother if you're looking for light escapism and fairy tale endings. This is the best fantasy I've read since A Storm of Swords, and perhaps it's even better than that. It will be hard for the subsequent volumes to live up to the standard set by the first two books in the series.
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