1.68k reviews for:

Deadhouse Gates

Steven Erikson

4.25 AVERAGE

velocitygirl14's review against another edition

4.0

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This book is heavily convoluted, but damn is it worth the slog. I call it a slog, but it was a pleasure to read, even though it does have a lot of back and forth. It reads like one of the biggest epics and it is just the beginning of it. It has everything: big battles, gods, villains, heartbreaking deaths, and pyrrhic victories and real victories. It was quite the trip. On to the next one.

paulojr_mam's review against another edition

3.0

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As well written as the first book, Gates is a book with a lot of flavor, not at all insipid. The characters are excellent, it's all very evocative, the tone is pretty strong, dense and palpable. It is also a hard read. I don't like excess of descriptions in books, but this one doesn't have enough of them. Part of that is due to the writing style of showing everything and not telling anything, but even within the limits of that style, it fails. It does so in a way that doesn't hinder our ability to comprehend (although I'm not sure I understood everything, unlike the first book), but it undermines our engagement, leaving what's happening a bit vague, distanced, what is at stake is not understood enough for us to get involved. That is worsened by the fact that the journeys between the different characters and the characters themselves are easy to be confused, too similar. The plot also seems to be going nowhere. I imagine that is because I'm not seeing the big picture being painted through ten books, but I still can criticize the feeling that nothing that's happening matters all that much. The stories happening also all seem too simple most of the time, despite the complex storytelling and the glimpses of this being much more interesting than it seems to be (something that never materializes in this book). Another factor that bothers me is the occurrence of events that seem a lot like deus-ex-machina, easy conveniences to save characters from difficult situations and that isn't satisfying, but this also can be because I'm not seeing the big picture. Not all is bad, though, I really liked the fact that important characters can die, unfortunately I wasn't invested in their fates enough to care about their ends. The philosophical ramblings and undertones are really nice, too. But the book also feels a bit too similar to the first one, with again a region that the Malazan Empire is trying to conquer while they are trying to resist. To finish my review, when the book starts to get really good, when things start to connect, the book ends abruptly in a not so satisfying cliffhanger.

cisko's review against another edition

5.0

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A masterpiece, filled with so much to digest. Wrapped around four (or so) storylines, each with a fascinating arc, powerful characters, and plot immersed in danger, pathos, and heroism of all sorts. I look back at my review of [b:Gardens of the Moon|55399|Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)|Steven Erikson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548497031s/55399.jpg|2646042], and this is all that, but built into a much better story. The spine is formed by the Chain of Dogs, the mythically heroic march led by the Wickan, Coltaine, and that arc gives a structure that holds the rest of the story up. It remains a challenging read, full of lush, almost overwrought description, and putting its characters thorough vast pains — many generated by themselves. I’m not sure where Erikson can take the story next, but in any case he has set up a very high bar for himself to clear. Very much a classic of the genre.

weirdbookbookclub's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

blackwolf's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

argentrabe's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rake_anomander's review against another edition

4.0

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It took me a while to get through this but it was mainly because I didn't read as much as I would've preferred this month. It's a very interesting read that moves at an interesting pace but which is held back by a few issues.

The main problem of the book is that it could really do with a wordcount trim. Some of the storylines present feel overdrawn and there's just too much foreshadowing and exposition in parts to keep interesting.
It's also interesting to note that the storyline "Chain of dogs" feels more like something that should be its own book and it feels completely disconnected from the rest. Which is a shame really as the storyline, along with all its characters are the best in the whole book. Characters like Bult, Lull, List, Duiker and especially Coltaine elevate this book so far beyond most fantasy that I've read that it's uncanny. I read their exploits with my heart literally thumping in my chest and could scarcely pass through the other stories and their segments.
For "Chain of dogs" and its characters here's me giving a big hand for Steven Erikson as he wrote one of the most memorable fantasy sequences that I've ever laid eyes upon.

I really couldn't care much for Mappo or Icarium, or for Heboric and Felisin (hated her so badly for most of the book...though I've seen much worse). It's not that the stories were bad per say, it's just that by comparison with "Chain of dogs" they really couldn't reach the same high notes of story and character.

There are a lot of story points here that arise and a lot that are tied up and enough left for further books.

I had a lot more to say about this book. But it's safe to resume to saying that it's a great book that has a lot of high points that make it all the more deserving of a read. I enjoyed the first book of the series somewhat more but this isn't shabby at all. If you're even mildly interested in this series but couldn't stand "Gardens of the moon", I would recommend this one.

statler_waldorf's review against another edition

5.0

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Wow

norunn's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

bearcanyons's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes