The last of the Seventh

Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson

I had Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen thrust upon me, when I received Memories of Ice as an unasked-for Christmas present. It being the third book of the series I had to go back and read Garden's of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates first. I might never have picked up these books normally, but am I ever glad I was forced into it.

GotM was a fantastic book. I can't remember if I reviewed it here (if so it would have been the last incarnation), but if I did it probably went along the lines of writing 'Oh my god!' a couple of hundred times. The quality of this book -- the depth, the writing, the characterisation, every-damn-thing else -- was unimaginable.

So, you expect DG to not live up to it's predecessor but, somehow, it does. This book leaves behind the characters and settings of GotM almost entirely. It's set on a different continent, and the characters -- except for a couple of the Bridgeburners -- are all new. It's a bold move, and I must admit to a certain trepidation when I realised that the other characters were not going to put in an appearance.

But, Erkison pulls it off. He manages to introduce a new cast of characters that are every bit as complex and realistic as those in the first book. After a couple of chapters, you're totally swept up in these new story lines. Whiskeyjack, who?

So much happens in this book that it would be impossible (and unfair) of me, to try and summarise the plot. Just buy it (and GofM of course) and read it.