A review by matt4hire
Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
5.0
Oh. My. Gosh.
I finished Gardens of the Moon, and it was...pretty good? Erikson's an obtuse writer, but I thoroughly enjoyed the world he was creating, and the plot he was setting up was really interesting. But it took me so long to get to Deadhouse Gates, because...I didn't care about any of the characters, and it was mostly interesting intellectually, and that was it.
And then I read this one, and I fell in love with so many characters (personal favorites: Duiker, Coltaine, Bult, Mappo, & Icarium). All of the humanity and warmth and humor and tragedy that was missing from Gardens of the Moon happened here. The last drive of the Chain of Dogs to Aren and its aftermath was one of the most moving scenes I've ever read in a fantasy book. So absolutely excellent.
I finished Gardens of the Moon, and it was...pretty good? Erikson's an obtuse writer, but I thoroughly enjoyed the world he was creating, and the plot he was setting up was really interesting. But it took me so long to get to Deadhouse Gates, because...I didn't care about any of the characters, and it was mostly interesting intellectually, and that was it.
And then I read this one, and I fell in love with so many characters (personal favorites: Duiker, Coltaine, Bult, Mappo, & Icarium). All of the humanity and warmth and humor and tragedy that was missing from Gardens of the Moon happened here. The last drive of the Chain of Dogs to Aren and its aftermath was one of the most moving scenes I've ever read in a fantasy book. So absolutely excellent.