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literaryaddictjose 's review for:
Deadhouse Gates
by Steven Erikson
“The lesson of history is that no one learns.”
How does a writer evolve in his literature to the degree that Erikson has from Gardens of the Moon into Deadhouse Gates ? The second volume to the Malazan Book of the Fallen is superior to its predecessor in every aspect: in prose, in structure, in content, in themes, in character development. While Gardens of the Moon was a taste and glimpse of the world, it lacked a seemingly compelling vision. We could imagine from its reputation and from the scope of events that it was covering that Erikson teased at the later development and growth of the plot; nevertheless, that did not stop it from being weak in content, from putting off a lot of readers by throwing them into a convoluted universe that did was not even super interesting at first glance. Besides Anomander Rake and the Bridgeburners, I'd also make the case that it possessed very little in terms of characters and personalities; although for a first installment, that might be asking for a lot. However, every criticism I make is meant for me to illustrate the extent of which Deadhouse Gates innovates on all those fronts.
"Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.”
In immersing readers within the world, Deadhouse Gates does it better than GotM. We were confused and we were lost, but we trudged on with the promise that there was a definitive direction that would make up for all of its shortcomings. This is the beginning of that promise. The reader is treated like a scholar, treated with respect and intelligence by Erikson. He forces us to remember occurrences from hundreds of pages prior and to file new events and details for future reference, but not in a manner that leaves us lost like a lot of things did in the first book - just challenging. You get out what you put in. The prose here is also a lot smoother and more refined, which to its credit creates among the most poignant and atmospheric passages to date. Readers will also start to see a bit of the philosophizing that becomes much more commonplace in the later novels.
Another thing that it does better is to create characters we care about. In fact, a lot of them become incredibly iconic. Felisin, Duiker, Coltaine to name just a few. These were all introduced here and they were all incredibly well crafted and developed over the span of 800 pages. By god, the perspectives of the members in the Seven Cities brought a lot to the table, introducing us to an even more chaotic climate and war torn arena than Darujhistan.
“We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And, indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again."
Deadhouse Gates is a full course dinner while Gardens of the Moon was merely an appetizer. Someone cannot have a foray into the Malazan universe to see if the series is their thing without having read this because GotM is not enough and hopefully this will convince you. It certainly did for me.
Cool Malazan Resources:
Tor Malazan Re-read of the Fallen.
Deadhouse Gates Companion Guide.
Malazan Series Highlights, a Redditor's Journey.
How does a writer evolve in his literature to the degree that Erikson has from Gardens of the Moon into Deadhouse Gates ? The second volume to the Malazan Book of the Fallen is superior to its predecessor in every aspect: in prose, in structure, in content, in themes, in character development. While Gardens of the Moon was a taste and glimpse of the world, it lacked a seemingly compelling vision. We could imagine from its reputation and from the scope of events that it was covering that Erikson teased at the later development and growth of the plot; nevertheless, that did not stop it from being weak in content, from putting off a lot of readers by throwing them into a convoluted universe that did was not even super interesting at first glance. Besides Anomander Rake and the Bridgeburners, I'd also make the case that it possessed very little in terms of characters and personalities; although for a first installment, that might be asking for a lot. However, every criticism I make is meant for me to illustrate the extent of which Deadhouse Gates innovates on all those fronts.
"Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.”
In immersing readers within the world, Deadhouse Gates does it better than GotM. We were confused and we were lost, but we trudged on with the promise that there was a definitive direction that would make up for all of its shortcomings. This is the beginning of that promise. The reader is treated like a scholar, treated with respect and intelligence by Erikson. He forces us to remember occurrences from hundreds of pages prior and to file new events and details for future reference, but not in a manner that leaves us lost like a lot of things did in the first book - just challenging. You get out what you put in. The prose here is also a lot smoother and more refined, which to its credit creates among the most poignant and atmospheric passages to date. Readers will also start to see a bit of the philosophizing that becomes much more commonplace in the later novels.
Another thing that it does better is to create characters we care about. In fact, a lot of them become incredibly iconic. Felisin, Duiker, Coltaine to name just a few. These were all introduced here and they were all incredibly well crafted and developed over the span of 800 pages. By god, the perspectives of the members in the Seven Cities brought a lot to the table, introducing us to an even more chaotic climate and war torn arena than Darujhistan.
“We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And, indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again."
Deadhouse Gates is a full course dinner while Gardens of the Moon was merely an appetizer. Someone cannot have a foray into the Malazan universe to see if the series is their thing without having read this because GotM is not enough and hopefully this will convince you. It certainly did for me.
Cool Malazan Resources:
Tor Malazan Re-read of the Fallen.
Deadhouse Gates Companion Guide.
Malazan Series Highlights, a Redditor's Journey.