Reviews tagging 'Grief'

House of Chains by Steven Erikson

2 reviews

syinhui's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

"Brother Jorrude?"
"Yes?"
"I want to go home."
Jorrude said nothing. 
It would not do, after all, to utter a hasty, heartfelt agreement, despite their present circumstance.

I'm with the Liosans on this one. After everything that has happened...the excruciatingly long and fraught journey, what exactly did it achieve? A few things, I guess. But in the end, nowhere near satisfying. More mysteries. Forgotten histories. Betrayals. Schemes upon schemes.

The world of the MBotF has expanded once more and even as invested as I am right now, I've come to the point where the multitudes of plotlines have become frustrating enough - though of course not in a bad way - that the moment I finished this 1000+ page long book, I was overcome with a huge sense of relief. Gods! It's done! And now, all I want to do is relax but I know stuff will continue to gnaw at my mind for a few days or so. I really feel for those Liosans, wanting to go home.

I won't say that House of Chains is a downgrade after the previous book and it doesn't feel like that for me at all. The superb worldbuilding and character development more than make up for the flaws that might be present in the plot.

I would agree that the end is quite underwhelming. Anticlimactic, uh huh. But this is Steven Erikson we're talking about, it's to be expected from him, more or less. He'd done it in the earlier books. Rake didn't get to battle the Jaghut Tyrant. Icarium was practically useless, especially during the assault on the Azath House. Nobody managed to stick a knife in the Pannion Seer's dark heart. To name a few.

After so many pages read, here we are waiting for an epic battle to play out only to be replaced by silent wars, a terribly sad one-sided duel, and an awakening of powers unimaginable. I get why this is disappointing to some people, doing it this way (subverting expectations) while weaving a lot of subplots at the same time, well, it's a slippery slope. It either works magnificently or fails catastrophically. There is also a limit on the amount of information people can digest and the patience that can be mustered while reading these books - and that limit varies depending on the person. Malazan, alas, is not for everyone and it's understandable.                               

In terms of new characters, I've grown to like L'oric a lot. I think I was drawn to the kindness in him as well as his vulnerability. He's just one of those characters I feel I could trust. I could be wrong about this because nothing in this world is what it seems. The line between good and evil is never made clear. Motivations are often obscured and ambiguous. No one is entirely innocent, nor can they afford to be. Walking a path without the trail of blood and violence is almost next to impossible. The struggle for balance and symmetry seems to be the overarching theme, encompassing all destinies, powers, and timelines.

That being said, my heart breaks for Cutter and Apsalar. For Sha'ik and Tavore.

Granted that House of Chains lacks the emotional punch delivered by DhG and MoI. Still, it has its own host of tragedies and surprises.

Trull Sengar and Onrack's friendship, gained over the course of their journey is just beautiful. Karsa Orlong's character arc is a solid one, and though I've come to respect the guy it would take more for me to fully like him. So we shall witness. And those poor Tiste Liosans... good thing they're tough!

I loved most of the recurring characters. Oh, Cotillion did great here. What a cool uncle!
I'm glad I got to see more of him, for some reason, I've always liked the shadow rulers.

Kalam and Fiddler's storylines were my favorite. The assassin really has a knack for dealing with demons. The sapper and his banter with his squad and the marines throughout their march to Raraku were always something to look forward to. That scorpion fight was such a joy! 

Iskaral Pust's nauseating diatribes and Mogora's tirade will always be, from now on, a welcome read. There is very little humor to be found in this installment, after all, only more and more deaths, savagery, and brutality. That's why the brief comic reliefs are all the more appreciated in this grim grim world. 
A shame because I could do with a few more cackles, for that, I sorely miss the rest of the Bridgeburners.  
And with Midnight Tides set on another continent, I will be missing practically, all of them. But I'm pretty confident that I would find someone to like among this new set of characters. So it's all good. 
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shivapriya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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