Reviews

House of Chains by Steven Erikson

erickibler4's review

4.0

So. A few mysteries are resolved. Some are just beginning to be understood. And new undergirding mysteries are introduced.

After a long passage where we are introduced to a “new” character, the story breaks into parts, and we follow several groups and pairs and individuals through various adventures. Having read several Erikson novels up to this point, we should predict that these stories will all converge on a single location.

Some characters that only got brief play in previous books are becoming some of the most interesting. And a couple of new characters get major p.o.v. action.

I’m excited to find out where all this is going.

harrisonnaft's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

rhf10's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

kendylldrilling's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

adamkull's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective 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

4.0

samerulesapply's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

mhrocm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

So, Malazan book 4 starts in a far more linear fashion and follows a single character for quite a period of time, which is unusual for this complex, complicated and at times almost impenetrable series of novels. But never fear, the multitude of characters and frequent changes in points of view intersecting both within this novel and with those preceding it, appear in due course. All the storylines are interesting in their own right. That and the massive and incredibly imaginative world of these novels is, I think, respectful of the readers intelligence and more enjoyable as a result. Attempts to actually understand the bigger picture are futile in general, but there are tiny glimmers of understanding appearing now…the best approach appears to be to let it flow over you and with time and persistence, comprehension will follow.

dylan_markiewicz's review

adventurous dark emotional slow-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

4.0

projectmemo's review against another edition

4.0

This is pretty much a direct sequel to Deadhouse Gates. We follow the same characters - plus a few new ones - and all of the remaining storylines from that book get wrapped up here. The characters definitely grew on me after spending more time with them; though I still prefer the characters from books 1 and 3.
Of course we also get the iconic "wtf is going on" moments, but as opposed to the previous book where those moments get woven into the plot, in this book they happen with characters that are completely unrelated to the rest of the characters. Which is my main gripe with this book because not knowing what is happening with an entire character is not much fun, and while I'm sure that storyline will get explained later on, going back and forth to that plot felt a bit jarring, especially because every other character in the book is part of the main plot.

melx91's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5