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sade's review against another edition
4.0
Buddy read with the amazing edge
Deep Breaths*
I was going to go for 3.5 stars for this book, BUT Coltaine!! His character which we mainly saw from Duiker's POV was absolutely, gaddamn, breathtaking (I never thought i could enjoy battle scences until Coltaine) side note: i think i'm in love with his character. He single handedly made this book 4 stars for me.
I think i'll start with some of the stuffs i liked:
This is a major improvement from book 1. Characters are easier to understand, the plot is more engaging and even though there are additional characters characters, it's actually easier to remember them in this instance.
Mappo the Trell and Icarium. Can i just say Friendship fucking Goals
"I wish, Icaruim said slowly, i wish i could understand. This war i see within you breaks my heart Mappo. You must realise by now...
Realise what? the Trell creaked still unable to meet the Jhag's eyes.
That I would give my life for you, my only friend, my brother"
oh the feeelssssssss (cue the music please, i'm thinking Queen's You're my Best Friend or Randy Newman's You've got a friend in me. But i digress). Mappo's struggles to protect his friend but do what is "right" comes out practically bleeding from this book. I sincerly hope we see them again.
The battles. Lord above! Look book 1 didn't really have a shit load of battles, well there was the whole mage battle thing but magic was involved and Anomander with that was it a dragon? at Darajhistan (however it's spelled). The battles here were EPIC!! Like imagine the final episode of Game of Thrones battle with Jon Snow and Ramsey Bolton Epic x1000000000000 (Too much?) Nah!! I've never really been interested in battle scences but it's a testement to how good this book is that you are at the edge of your seat for all the battles with Coltaine's chain of Dogs and the Apocalypse army.
p.s: Karbolo Dom i hope your death is painful and gaddamn messy.
WICKANS WICKANS WICKANS specifically Uncle and Nephew.I think i feel in love with Uncle's character aka Bult when he referred to Laseen as "the short haired woman" lol i think everyone almost died from shock especially Duiker.
Then Coltaine.
Look Coltaine practically carried this book! That guy was breathtaking. and what's really crazy is that you never really get his POV. All you glen about his character is from Duiker's eyes. Which is exactly why
Spoiler
his "end" was so heartbreaking. I can still hear Nether screaming "Release him, please".My main issue with this book and really with all books that do this is, what is the point of calling a book a certain name that really doesn't have anything to do with the plot. Sha'ik was practically absent for her own freaking rebellion. Going to Deadhouse almost seemed like an afterthought to the characters involved. Except Deadhouse Gates were supposed to be something symbolic in which case it totally went over my head. Could have named it Chain of Dogs, that would have made more sense. Just saying.
Also, these chapters were freaking long. I dunno what kind of balance the author was trying to make. Maybe he thought, make it short and you have a lot of chapters as a whole which may put people off... dunno. but i kinda expect loads of chapters for fantasy books. I mean having 24 chapters seems really small to me for a fanatasy book especially for this kind of fantasy book and the trade off for smaller chapters as a whole seems to be never ending individual chapters, which let me tell you was really tiring at some points.
All in all, a major improvement from the first book cannot wait for more revelations in Book 3 (Although, somehow i'm already sure it won't have anything to do with Ice, Sigh*)
greathornedowl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
kingjerwi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
galactic0071's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
gr3yfoxhound's review against another edition
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
4.5
lvl52_grant's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
I went into this book a little apprehensive, because I was so invested in the characters and plot of the first book, I wasn't so interested in a book on another continent with a different plot. However, once I got in, I was hooked once again. Erikson's characters are either: so real and human, or just weird little guys and it's so fun to see them interact. There were a few plotlines that were continued and those were satisfying, but the real highlights were four of the new characters: Mappo, Icarium, Coltaine, and Duiker. These were the characters that made me think and feel, and not always positive, but they were real. I'm now actually sad to be leaving these characters and to return back to Genabackis, but I'm sure they will show up again as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
dennyb1's review against another edition
5.0
Giunto al secondo volume di questa saga posso già dire che è una delle migliori che qualunque appassionato di fantasy possa mai avere la fortuna di leggere. Steven Erikson impreziosisce il mondo che aveva già presentato ne I giardini della luna (bistrattato dagli stessi fan, ma che a me è piaciuto tantissimo), senza dimenticare di aggiungere nuovi personaggi, uno più bello dell’altro, la cui caratterizzazione psicologica si mostra attraverso le loro azioni e le loro parole.
La dimora fantasma, se vogliamo, è un libro on the road: Violinista, Crockus e Apsalar sono alla ricerca di Tremorlor, l’antica Dimora Fantasma di Kellanved e il Danzatore; Mappo e Icarium sono impegnati in un viaggio tanto lungo quanto straziante (impossibile non innamorarsi della loro amicizia); Kalam ha una missione ben precisa da compiere e riguarda l’Imperatrice Laseen; Coltaine e il suo esercito (oltre allo storico Duiker), invece, dopo la ribellione delle tribù che fanno capo a Sha’ik, devono portare in salvo migliaia di fuggiaschi, e finiranno per entrare nella leggenda (le pagine dedicate alla Catena dei Cani di Coltaine sono meravigliose, e il finale farà commuovere).
Ma non si può dimenticare di citare Felisin (proprio lei, la sorella di Paran), e il suo percorso attraverso il sesso e la perdita dell’innocenza, del saggio Heboric, di Baudin, dell’ombra lunga e minacciosa dell’Aggiunto Tavore, del colpo di scena riguardante l’identità di Trono d’Ombra e Cotillion e tante di quelle nuove informazioni che vanno a comporre la lore del mondo di Malazan da far girare la testa, ma che non fanno pentire neanche per un secondo di aver intrapreso questo lunghissimo viaggio.
La dimora fantasma, se vogliamo, è un libro on the road: Violinista, Crockus e Apsalar sono alla ricerca di Tremorlor, l’antica Dimora Fantasma di Kellanved e il Danzatore; Mappo e Icarium sono impegnati in un viaggio tanto lungo quanto straziante (impossibile non innamorarsi della loro amicizia); Kalam ha una missione ben precisa da compiere e riguarda l’Imperatrice Laseen; Coltaine e il suo esercito (oltre allo storico Duiker), invece, dopo la ribellione delle tribù che fanno capo a Sha’ik, devono portare in salvo migliaia di fuggiaschi, e finiranno per entrare nella leggenda (le pagine dedicate alla Catena dei Cani di Coltaine sono meravigliose, e il finale farà commuovere).
Ma non si può dimenticare di citare Felisin (proprio lei, la sorella di Paran), e il suo percorso attraverso il sesso e la perdita dell’innocenza, del saggio Heboric, di Baudin, dell’ombra lunga e minacciosa dell’Aggiunto Tavore, del colpo di scena riguardante l’identità di Trono d’Ombra e Cotillion e tante di quelle nuove informazioni che vanno a comporre la lore del mondo di Malazan da far girare la testa, ma che non fanno pentire neanche per un secondo di aver intrapreso questo lunghissimo viaggio.
adamkull's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
turniptaker's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
badbadwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0