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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
Dark, brutal, epic, often overwhelming, but utterly captivating—exactly what I’ve come to expect from Malazan. House of Chains, the fourth installment in Steven Erikson’s unforgiving world, delivers another immersive experience. The endless plots and betrayals among gods, mortals, and ancient races weave a complex tapestry of mind-bending magic and eternal conflict. While House of Chains kept me thoroughly engaged, it didn’t quite reach the emotional heights of its predecessors, Memories of Ice and Deadhouse Gates. Still, it’s an undeniably compelling read, worthy of high praise.
The opening 250-ish pages, dedicated to a single POV, are a masterstroke. Erikson introduces Karsa Orlong—a barbarous giant filled with ferocity and ruthless determination. He’s given quite the arc. His evolution from the beginning to the end of the book is nothing short of remarkable. At the start, I loathed him and his atrocities. By the end, I was cheering for him. Incredible.
The middle 600-ish pages—dense, detailed, and at times dragging. Yes, there are moments of brilliance, but the momentum occasionally slips. It’s a grind. A worthwhile one, but a grind nonetheless.
The opening 250-ish pages, dedicated to a single POV, are a masterstroke. Erikson introduces Karsa Orlong—a barbarous giant filled with ferocity and ruthless determination. He’s given quite the arc. His evolution from the beginning to the end of the book is nothing short of remarkable. At the start, I loathed him and his atrocities. By the end, I was cheering for him. Incredible.
The middle 600-ish pages—dense, detailed, and at times dragging. Yes, there are moments of brilliance, but the momentum occasionally slips. It’s a grind. A worthwhile one, but a grind nonetheless.
"When memories have returned, Trull Sengar, solitude is an illusion, for every silence is filled by a clamorous search for meaning."
The way Erikson channels his seemingly endless creativity into developing profound, thought-provoking moments and themes is awe-inspiring. Every page breathes life into a universe that feels as old as time, layered with history, conflict, and mystery. But with that richness comes a challenge—Erikson’s writing can be a labyrinth. His prose is dense, his meanings elusive. Sometimes it feels like I’m reading a foreign language, and even four books in, I’m still deciphering it. But I’m getting there. Slowly.
The ending? Unpredictable. Awesome. But it lacks the seismic impact of Memories of Ice or Deadhouse Gates. Still, Erikson twists the narrative in ways that leave me stunned, even if the emotional blow isn’t as shattering this time around.
House of Chains may not be the best of the series, but it’s still compelling and an impressive achievement in storytelling. This book intrigued me enough to make me eager to binge the rest of Malazan Book of the Fallen, and I’m excited to dive into Midnight Tides next!
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Book 1: Gardens of the Moon – 4/5
Book 2: Deadhouse Gates – 5/5
Book 3: Memories of Ice – 5/5
Book 4: House of Chains – 4/5
All Malazan books are amazing. I need time to realize that Tavore and Felisin will fight with each other.
The Dancer who want something from Apsalar. The First throne of T'lan Imass. Tiste Edur and Liosan...
Shortly, the book 4 is great. S. Erickson have skills to create epic world and heroes, big battles and many surprises.
I look forward to read the 5th book.
The Dancer who want something from Apsalar. The First throne of T'lan Imass. Tiste Edur and Liosan...
Shortly, the book 4 is great. S. Erickson have skills to create epic world and heroes, big battles and many surprises.
I look forward to read the 5th book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
I was eager to begin House of Chains and revisit the Seven Cities to see the conclusion of events from Deadhouse gates and while I can't say I was disappointed, I think some of that eagerness really spawned from a desire to re-live the events from the Chain of Dogs story arc, still House of Chains is a good entry into the series, if by book four you haven't gathered the basic premise of what these books are you should probably get yourself checked out, it's doesn't have the dramatic climax of the previous two, yet I feel this is was a more fitting ending given the journey building towards it, I enjoy the style and world building so I'm quite happy about this entry and where it has brought our characters and story, the only major issues I had with it were of more general terms that most epic fantasy suffer from, too many characters makes it sometimes hard to keep track of them especially the smaller players and with so many different plots lines some are bound to be disappointing compared to others, yet the Malazan series has suffered less from this then others I've read in the past also they go hand in hand with why I enjoy these books.