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titannineteen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The second book was definitely a smoother read than the first. A lot is happening in these books and there is a lot of hidden knowledge that is easy to miss. I've been reading a chapter review after each chapter to help me keep track of everything, otherwise I find I can get a bit lost at times. The story is challenging but enjoyable. I found myself a lot more invested in the characters and really curious about the world. I plan on reading the rest of the series!
seagul's review
4.0
A good second book on the series, excited to read the 3rd and dive deeper into the world.
realhumanbean4u's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
moshikami's review
5.0
After finishing Gardens of the Moon, I was looking forward to exploring the Malazan universe further, and Deadhouse Gates did not disappoint. From the beginning of the book, DG's writing is more polished and captivating than GotM's.
DG takes place on a different continent than GotM and introduces many new characters, while still following a few from GotM. Due to this, beginning to read DG was almost as intimidating as beginning to read GotM, though the knowledge of Malazan lore imparted by reading GotM did help somewhat.
I love how deep and detailed the Malazan universe is, and I love the overall bleak tone of the story.
This is one of the most popular quotes from the series and it does an excellent job of portraying the overall atmosphere of the novels thus far. Steven Erikson disperses social commentary and plays with moral ambiguity throughout his writing which adds to the book's depth. I enjoyed getting to know Fiddler as a character more in Deadhouse Gates, and I found his constant pondering of his cosmic insignificance to be refreshing and relatable. Kalam is also a BAD-ASS, his action scenes were very fun and exciting to read. He's my Malazan crush so far >////<.
Idk man, this series is just so exciting and there's so much to it and I love it a lot so far and aslkd;fjasl;dkfjasldf; it's fun to be on the precipice of such an amazing journey. I love the high fantasy elements because they encourage me to use my imagination to its maximum potential. I love how I haven't already seen a TV show of this that spoiled everything and clouded my mind with its portrayal of the characters and world.
Wow, I said "love" a lot in this review! I love Malazan <3, I can't wait to read Memories of Ice.
DG takes place on a different continent than GotM and introduces many new characters, while still following a few from GotM. Due to this, beginning to read DG was almost as intimidating as beginning to read GotM, though the knowledge of Malazan lore imparted by reading GotM did help somewhat.
I love how deep and detailed the Malazan universe is, and I love the overall bleak tone of the story.
“Children are dying."
Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.”
This is one of the most popular quotes from the series and it does an excellent job of portraying the overall atmosphere of the novels thus far. Steven Erikson disperses social commentary and plays with moral ambiguity throughout his writing which adds to the book's depth. I enjoyed getting to know Fiddler as a character more in Deadhouse Gates, and I found his constant pondering of his cosmic insignificance to be refreshing and relatable. Kalam is also a BAD-ASS, his action scenes were very fun and exciting to read. He's my Malazan crush so far >////<.
Idk man, this series is just so exciting and there's so much to it and I love it a lot so far and aslkd;fjasl;dkfjasldf; it's fun to be on the precipice of such an amazing journey. I love the high fantasy elements because they encourage me to use my imagination to its maximum potential. I love how I haven't already seen a TV show of this that spoiled everything and clouded my mind with its portrayal of the characters and world.
Wow, I said "love" a lot in this review! I love Malazan <3, I can't wait to read Memories of Ice.
lookingforvheissu's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kh_darko42's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
malignantcactus's review
5.0
Teetering between a 4 and 5 star. The first half is pretty slow, and it took a while for me to get interested (same as with Gardens of the Moon) but damn does the second half PICK. UP. (Same with GOTM).
Objectively DG is better presented, it feels more like a book, and Erikson's prose has greatly improved.
I love his characterization here. There isn't much development, however the characters are so well defined to show that they are the right person to combat what comes their way. It's magnificent.
Mappo and Icarium... my heart <3
Coltaine is my favorite character here. On par with Rake from GOTM.
Objectively DG is better presented, it feels more like a book, and Erikson's prose has greatly improved.
I love his characterization here. There isn't much development, however the characters are so well defined to show that they are the right person to combat what comes their way. It's magnificent.
Mappo and Icarium... my heart <3
Coltaine is my favorite character here. On par with Rake from GOTM.
anael21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zeph1337's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was an excellent book. I think I liked it overall more than Gardens of the Moon. I really enjoyed the much darker tone which honestly made this whole thing just pretty damn tense and gripping. Overall this a very gory and violent book and I can see how that can put off many people but it felt very appropriate for the story it was telling.
The reason I am not giving it the full 5 stars is because I struggled a lot with one major POV and that's Duiker. The main issue here for me was the whole Military Fantasy part. I don't know I am really not a big "war and battle strategy guy" and combining that with Erikson's writing which is far from the easiest to process: I really had troubles visualizing a lot of what was happened during the many battle sequences within this book and that made these chapters into more of a chore than anything. And without reading aids and watching visual presentations of the battles I would have been completely lost. The climax for this particular arc was probably the biggest highlight of the book though. So there is big redemption for all the early struggles imo.
All the other arcs had me pretty excited the whole way through. Only a fraction of the characters in this book also have been part of the first book but we meet many many new cool characters with my favorites probably being Mappo and Icarium.
The worldbuilding of this series continues to be some of the best I have ever read and I am so curious about what else it has to offer and to discover the many Mysteries lying within it alongside the equally confused and clueless POV characters.
Next month onto Memories of Ice!
The reason I am not giving it the full 5 stars is because I struggled a lot with one major POV and that's Duiker. The main issue here for me was the whole Military Fantasy part. I don't know I am really not a big "war and battle strategy guy" and combining that with Erikson's writing which is far from the easiest to process: I really had troubles visualizing a lot of what was happened during the many battle sequences within this book and that made these chapters into more of a chore than anything. And without reading aids and watching visual presentations of the battles I would have been completely lost. The climax for this particular arc was probably the biggest highlight of the book though. So there is big redemption for all the early struggles imo.
All the other arcs had me pretty excited the whole way through. Only a fraction of the characters in this book also have been part of the first book but we meet many many new cool characters with my favorites probably being Mappo and Icarium.
The worldbuilding of this series continues to be some of the best I have ever read and I am so curious about what else it has to offer and to discover the many Mysteries lying within it alongside the equally confused and clueless POV characters.
Next month onto Memories of Ice!
frogpheus's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Gore