Deadhouse Gates- Review
Im going to try to keep this as non spoilery as possible as people looking to get into Malazan have a weight on their shoulders already and I don't want to mess their Malazan journey up. This will be more of a general thoughts review and less of a specific plot or character review. Heres a non spoiler synopsis
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, Deadhouse Gates is a novel of war, intrigue and betrayal confirms Steven Eirkson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination and originality--a new master of epic fantasy.
This link gives you an overview of the characters up to this point. Beware, SPOILERS for Gardens of the Moon in this article
https://www.tor.com/2017/06/01/a-beginners-guide-to-malazan-characters-deadhouse-gates/
I have not come to appreciate Deadhouse Gates at this point in my Malazan journey. Deadhouse Gates is set on an entirely different continent with different characters from Gardens of the Moon. Don't expect to continue with the Gardens plot trajectory yet. This book definitely had some chapters where you couldn't put the book down no matter what you had to do. It also had some real sloggy chapters and chapters where you had no idea what the fuck just happened. It is a difficult book to get into, but if you read the TOR Malazan read along concurrently and check articles like whats above, it is easier to understand. There are so many characters that it is easy to get lost in the world, and not in a good way.
In contrast to some of the reviews I have read, I didn't sympathize at all with Duiker, the Imperial historian, but tended to enjoy Felisin's POV more than most. Of course when you get into the Soletaken and D'ivers things get real interesting. The rest of the books in this series will get a longer, more spoilery review but for now I wanted to let you know about the preconceived notions of Deadhouse Gates and why many of them are valid. It is known for being many peoples least favorite book in the Malazan series, but luckily the next book, Memories of Ice is many peoples' favorite. I am at page 80 in MOI and already I've found it more clear and enjoyable than DG.
In the Malazan universe I'd rate Deadhouse Gates a solid 3/5. I'll have to put up a review of Gardens of the Moon eventually but I found that a bit more enjoyable. Be on the lookout for a non fantasy fiction review shortly.
As always feel free to message or comment about why my review is shit or why its awesome.