Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson

The second book in Steven Erikson's thrilling epic fantasy series chronicling the ill-fated Malazan Empire.Weakened by events in Darujhistan, the Malazan Empire teeters on the brink of anarchy. In the vast dominion of Seven Cities, in the Holy Desert Raraku, the seer Sha'ik gathers an army around her in preparation for the long-prophesied uprising named the Whirlwind. Unprecedented in its size and savagery, it will embroil in one of the bloodiest conflicts it has ever known: a maelstrom of fanaticism and bloodlust that will shape destinies and give birth to legends... In the Otataral mines, Felisin, youngest daughter of the disgraced House of Paran, dreams of revenge against the sister who sentenced her to a life of slavery. Escape leads her to raraku, where her soul will be reborn and her future made clear. The now-outlawed Bridgeburners, Fiddler and the assassin Kalam, have vowed to return the once god-possessed Apsalar to her homeland, and to confront and kill the Empress Laseen, but events will overtake them too. Meanwhile, Coltaine, the charismatic commander of the Malaz 7th Army, will lead his battered, war-weary troops in a last, valient running battle to save the lives of thirty thousand refugees and, in so doing, secure an illustrious place in the Empire's chequered history. And into this blighted land come two ancient wanderers, Mappo and his half-Jaghut companion Icarium, bearers of a devastating secret that threatens to break free of its chains... Set in a brilliantly-realized world ravaged by anarchy and dark, uncontrollable magic, Deadhouse Gates is the thrilling, brutal second chapter in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. A powerful novel of war, intrigue and betrayal, it confirms Steven Erikson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination and originality - a new master of epic fantasy.

Deadhouse Gates est le deuxième roman du cycle Malazan Book of the Fallen de Steven Erikson. S’il est peut-être un petit cran en-deçà du premier, il n’en reste pas moins un excellent roman de fantasy épique, servi par des personnages mémorables dans un univers d'une richesse impressionnante.

Weakened by events in Darujhistan, the Malazan Empire teeters on the brink of anarchy. In the vast dominion of Seven Cities, in the Holy Desert Raraku, the seer Sha'ik gathers an army around her in preparation for the long-prophesied uprising named the Whirlwind. Unprecedented in its size and savagery, it will embroil in one of the bloodiest conflicts it has ever known: a maelstrom of fanaticism and bloodlust that will shape destinies and give birth to legends...

In the Otataral mines, Felisin, youngest daughter of the disgraced House of Paran, dreams of revenge against the sister who sentenced her to a life of slavery. Escape leads her to raraku, where her soul will be reborn and her future made clear.

The now-outlawed Bridgeburners, Fiddler and the assassin Kalam, have vowed to return the once god-possessed Apsalar to her homeland, and to confront and kill the Empress Laseen, but events will overtake them too.

Meanwhile, Coltaine, the charismatic commander of the Malaz 7th Army, will lead his battered, war-weary troops in a last, valient running battle to save the lives of thirty thousand refugees and, in so doing, secure an illustrious place in the Empire's chequered history.

And into this blighted land come two ancient wanderers, Mappo and his half-Jaghut companion Icarium, bearers of a devastating secret that threatens to break free of its chains...

Le premier tome m'avait déjà habitué à la multitude de personnages mis en scène par Steven Erikson, mais celui-ci va encore plus loin. Pas forcément par le nombre de personnages, mais par le fait qu'ils sont disséminés d'un bout d'un continent à l'autre, sans qu'on perçoive tout d'abord les liens entre les différentes intrigues. La convergence finit par se faire, mais elle est moins directe et moins évidente que dans le roman précédent, où toutes les intrigues tournaient assez clairement autour des mêmes enjeux. Au milieu de ce long pavé, j'ai parfois été perdu, mais les derniers chapitres m'ont laissé une très forte impression.

J’ai hâte d’attaquer le troisième tome, Memories of Ice, d’autant qu’il parait que c’est l’un des meilleurs du cycle.

3.5 rounded up to 4. Much better than the first book both in terms of plot and writing style (i.e. it was easier to follow along). I liked the character of Duiker in particular. The book could have been much shorter though; the plot did not justify 800+ pages. The prose is (still) turgid.

This book literally devastated me in so many ways

Executive Summary: Like [b:Gardens of the Moon 55399 Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg 2646042] this book is a tough read. It is a lot more gruesome than it's predecessor however. This book is not for the feint of heart. While there are some lighter moments to interrupt the violence, this book has some truly disturbing scenes.Full Review I found the beginning of this book very frustrating. Just when I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things we shift not only location, but get almost entirely a new set of characters to learn.If not for my Group Read, I might have considered taking a break.I read for fun, not to be frustrated. I don't normally like to have to work so hard for something in my free time. I honestly don't know if I'd enjoy this outside of a group setting. The confusion level I felt while reading this did make for great discussion though. I found it reassuring that even the re-readers were confused on certain points.Mr. Erikson does seem to reward your patience and careful reading. As the book went on, and I started getting used to this new cast of characters, my frustration greatly lessened. This book started as 3 starts but slowly rose to 4 stars.There are 4 main plot lines with a few side lines that diverge and converge as the story goes on. My favorite was the story of Kalam, who was one of the few characters in the first book to appear in this one. Maybe it's because I've always gravitated towards rogues and ranger types in RPGs that I found his story so interest.You learn a little bit more about his past, and find out just how badass a well trained assassin can be. Kalam in on a self-appointed mission for the good of the Empire, or so he believes.The other major plotline of this book was from the perspective of Duiker, the Imperial Historian as he chronicles the months long evacuation of “The Chain of Dogs”, Malazan refugees fleeing for their lives, in the midst of a great rebellion of the Seven Cities.This leads to some of most gruesome battle scenes I have ever encountered. Mr. Erikson makes no attempt to sugar coat the horrors of war.The final two fairly major plot lines in this book are enjoyable as well, but both of them tie back to the two I highlighted. Their cast of characters were interesting (and one of the two groups contained all the rest of the characters that appeared in the first two books). I felt like these were mostly interludes to the other action though. The book comes to a reasonable stopping point, though if this were a stand alone book I'd find myself with too many questions to be satisfied by it.It's hard for me to recommend this to someone to read on their own. If you don't mind working for your reward, or have someone you can read/discuss this with, and are not offput by gruesome and disturbing scenes it's another good entry in what so far has been a mostly enjoyable series.I'm also a bit nervous about starting [b:Memories of Ice 175983 Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316729348s/175983.jpg 836462] that I'll get frustrated all over again. Peaking ahead though it seems like we see a return of many of the characters from [b:Gardens of the Moon 55399 Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg 2646042].