Deadhouse Gates : Book Two of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Malazan Book of the Fallen)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: Having read all 5 of the Malazan books (released in other parts of the world), I can say without a shred of doubt that these are one of the top 5 fantasy series of all time.

This book follows some of the same characters from the first book "Gardens of the Moon", but adds in others as well. The Bridgeburners that readers of the first book remember are not as involved, mostly playing a cameo role, with the exception of a few off on their own missions.

Kalam and Fiddler are on their way back to the Seven Cities, the birthplace of the Bridgeburners. On a mission to pay someone important back for betryaing them on Genbaris.

The Holy Desert of Raruku has brought forth it's prophet, signalling a cleansing of the Empire from the Seven Cities.

Erikson's sense of scope and the epic feel of the books would compare favorably to the Song of Fire and Ice books (and after my last re-reads of the 2 series, surpass them in my mind.)
The dialogue never seems strained and the characters are vibrant.

If you can stick through the first part of "Gardens of the Moon", until you understand the world, everything becomes clear. This is an excellent followup.
An excellent read for all fans of fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and imaginative
Review: It is actually a tribute to Steven Erikson's writing that this book is so hard to plow through. This is because his vivid descriptions of the central heroic event of the novel -- a retreat from a conquering army that is akin to Mao's Long March (although it's the potential "good guys" who are retreating, not a future oppressor of 1/2 of Asia) -- is so realistic. The retreating army's despair, desperation, resignation, determination, heroism, intelligence, brutality (and those of its enemy) are palpable to the point that it is difficult to read of the dire straits of the heroes. The second main plot thread is nearly as dreary as the youngest sister of Gardens of the Moon (book 1) hero Ganoes Paran is captured and sentenced to imprisonment in a mining camp. Her transformation from happy noble youth to defeated young woman to embodying a cultural icon conveys numerous tribulations, and few triumphs.

Deadhouse Gates also has three or more other major story threads that are largely separate from Gardens of the Moon (book 1 of the Malazan Empire series), and is essentially a stand-alone novel. Nonetheless, Deadhouse Gates fits squarely within the overarching narrative that connects all the books in the series (and which becomes more apparent in Memories of Ice, book 3 of the series). It contains the story elements that have launched Erikson's career -- gritty stories of heroism and villainy, vivid action, intriguing cultural elements, a long and rich history preceding the story at hand, unquestioned originality (especially in comparison to 95% of the fantasy fiction available) and the feel that the world he created is starting toward a gargantuan eruption with innumerable initial tremors.

Note that the whole Malazan Cycle is projected at 10 books total, but Erikson writes relatively fast (he's slowed to about 3 Malazan books per every four years, which is pretty good considering the size of the books and the side projects he is working on). Nonetheless, they're worth the time and effort to procure and read.

Highly Recommended.