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A review by es_the_book_hoarder
Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
5.0
I finished Deadhouse Gates this afternoon. I've read through lots of comments, and they're all very poignant and interesting. I'm still extremely emotional about the whole thing. Duiker's "story" just about killed me, and Icarium's?... Don't even get me started on the cruelty of the Elders for all they've put him through - detroyed warren or no - that's just horrendous - not only for him, but also for Mappo. I really hope that Mappo finds out the truth from Fiddler at some point, though I suppose that's too much to hope for, given the circumstances and all that.
The lyrical pull that was present with the epigraphs in GotM was here during Duiker's introspections, and I was glad for that - it was less intense, easier to fall into, but it only heightened the impact of the tale and pulled me more into the world that Erikson has created here. I think, in this, there may be one of the most spectacular pieces of fiction ever written and yet, I cannot fathom it, because it is so immense, it is almost beyond belief - and it's only book two!
I read something in a readalong thread that said that the Chain of Dogs were the refugees - and that Coltaine led those refugees 800 km (which is near enough 144 leagues - at least by what a league is today) - I don't disagree with that accomplishment. But in my opinion, the Chain of Dogs is actually the brutality of the crucified bodies of the Malazan army and others - the 3 1/2 + leagues of dead soldiers and Malaz families (fathers/wives/mothers/sons/daughters/brothers/sisters) nailed to trees - nearly 10.4 miles/17 km of the dead - and all for what? To set an example? To show the power of the victor? To show the futility of war? To illustrate how life is an unending battle, with ourselves, with others? To prove that humanity is as depraved as many believe it to be?
This story, this epic story has forged its way into my very soul, and it hurts. It is grave as it is profound, it is miraculous as it is bizarre, it is confusing as it lucid, it is horrific as it is soulful, it is as much a celebration of life as it is a mournful hymn. It is life encapsulated, as much as it is death. And I do not regret reading a single, solitary word of it..
The lyrical pull that was present with the epigraphs in GotM was here during Duiker's introspections, and I was glad for that - it was less intense, easier to fall into, but it only heightened the impact of the tale and pulled me more into the world that Erikson has created here. I think, in this, there may be one of the most spectacular pieces of fiction ever written and yet, I cannot fathom it, because it is so immense, it is almost beyond belief - and it's only book two!
I read something in a readalong thread that said that the Chain of Dogs were the refugees - and that Coltaine led those refugees 800 km (which is near enough 144 leagues - at least by what a league is today) - I don't disagree with that accomplishment. But in my opinion, the Chain of Dogs is actually the brutality of the crucified bodies of the Malazan army and others - the 3 1/2 + leagues of dead soldiers and Malaz families (fathers/wives/mothers/sons/daughters/brothers/sisters) nailed to trees - nearly 10.4 miles/17 km of the dead - and all for what? To set an example? To show the power of the victor? To show the futility of war? To illustrate how life is an unending battle, with ourselves, with others? To prove that humanity is as depraved as many believe it to be?
This story, this epic story has forged its way into my very soul, and it hurts. It is grave as it is profound, it is miraculous as it is bizarre, it is confusing as it lucid, it is horrific as it is soulful, it is as much a celebration of life as it is a mournful hymn. It is life encapsulated, as much as it is death. And I do not regret reading a single, solitary word of it..