House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)

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House of Chains (Malazan)

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 8,687 ratings · 222 reviews

In Northern Genabackis, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flatlands. Their intention is to wreak havoc amongst the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong it marks the beginning of what will prove to be an extraordinary destiny.
Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Tavore, the Adju...more

Paperback, 1024 pages

Published March 6th 2007 by Tor Fantasy (first published December 2nd 2002)

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Community Reviews

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May 14, 2013 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: epic-fantasy

Story: 4/5

1: Being Vague, rambling plot with no little believable storyline
5: Ripping yarn, clever, thought provoking

Without doubt my favourite in the series so far. If you have read the previous three and wondering whether to start number four. Stop reading this and go read House of Chains.
So the overall rating is a 5/5, but the story I am giving ⅘, but for no other reason than, by itself it is a great book, if you have read the series, then its a awesome book.
The story brings together so man...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, canadian-authors-translators, fantasy-scifi, modern-literature, malazan-book-of-the-fallen, favorites, read-in-2011, favorite-rereads, read-in-2013

House of Chains is the fourth volume in Steven Erikson's monumental ten-volume series entitled, "The Malazan Book of the Fallen." This book follows the first three in continuing to flesh out the world, characters, and mythology that Erikson has so brilliantly created.

The first quarter, or so, of the novel tells the back-story of a character that we briefly met in the second book in the series (Deadhouse Gates)--that of the 'Toblakai' or as we come to find out, the great Teblor warrior, 'Karsa Or...more

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May 11, 2013 Duffy Pratt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, shared-world

Erikson begins by treating us to a 200 page prelude about a new character named Karsa, who also starts out as one of the most purely despicable characters I've ever read. He starts out on his quest for glory, which basically means slaughter and rape. He gets captured, and grows into one of the best and most interesting characters in the series. Erikson is always audacious, and never more so than with this prelude. It's probably the best writing so far in the series, and the remainder of the book...more Erikson begins by treating us to a 200 page prelude about a new character named Karsa, who also starts out as one of the most purely despicable characters I've ever read. He starts out on his quest for glory, which basically means slaughter and rape. He gets captured, and grows into one of the best and most interesting characters in the series. Erikson is always audacious, and never more so than with this prelude. It's probably the best writing so far in the series, and the remainder of the book doesn't quite live up to it.

On their own terms, the other parts of the book stand up very well. The gradual building to a showdown between Tavore and Felisin, the two sisters who lead opposing armies, is very good. And because of that sort of thing, this book is easily the most personal, and the least political of the books so far. On top of that, there were times when I had a sense of what was going on, and what the grand scheme of this world. Of course, Erikson is still as capable as ever of leaving me wondering what just happened, or what some new development or revelation might mean or might have to say about everything else.

Not only is this world difficult on its own terms, but the playing field and the alliances keep shifting. it's hard to know which characters are really aligned with each other. Of course, that's one of the main themes of this book. Felisin is holding together a rebel alliance, while it seems every faction leader is conspiring against her and against each other. The web of conspiracies and betrayals is so deep and complex that it becomes very hard to keep it all straight. I sometimes think that a re-reading from the beginning would help me make sense of things, and to an extent it probably would. But I also think that many things in this series are just deliberately opaque. Sometimes that's frustrating, but I think its also one of the things that makes the series so compelling. You never know where you stand, with anyone -- and most of the time, they don't know either.(less)

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Feb 19, 2009 Lori (Hellian) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Finally finished this monster of a book. Worth every page. I don't know why I'm not giving it a 5. Maybe because there's so many in this series, I want to wait to the end to see which were the best. This might be a contender, there wasn't a dull or wasted part, instead every page I drank deeply from. I wish I could just continue directly to the next, but I've got some other highly anticipated books from the libes and I don't want to be #250 on the wait list. Besides, I like taking a little break...more

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Aug 26, 2008 Guy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy, have-read-more-than-once

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 20, 2012 Igor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Epic finale to the stories started back at Gardens, at least to some of them.
Somehow I was bored through first half of the book although when I consider I wasn't actually bored rather my attention went somewhere else. Luckily enough I got back to the book and found it as my new favorite of the series.
Story about Karsa really evolved and was so unpredictable that kept me following it, where the peak was overwhelming and it's not even over yet! Of course Bridgeburners, well whats left of it, was...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Razmatus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

again great delivery, some things again highly symbolic in nature, and again brilliant climax... each book so far has had a sort of "key word" that could sum up the main storyline(s) in each of them - Gardens of the Moon had "peace", Deadhouse gates "survival, life/death and importance of history/memory" and Memories of Ice was predominantly about "redemption in its many forms"... this book, besides the strong motive on gods and humans, I believe the central element of the book was "vengeance",...more

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Oct 08, 2008 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A very interesting, but odd, book. It begins with a gang of ogres (well, ogre-like guys, anyway) attacking a human city. Well, ok, "begins" isn't quite the right word. The actual attack doesn't begin until page 116, but I can be excused, I hope, for calling that the beginning of a 1,015 page book. You certainly can't accuse Mr. Erikson of being brief.

Still, you won't hear me complaining. Those first 115 pages explore the culture of the attackers, explain the reasons for their actions. They are p...more

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Jun 29, 2011 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

House of Chains is the fourth novel in Steven Erikson’s monumental epic fantasy series The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The tenth and final novel of the series has just been published and I’m in the process of re-reading the eight that I had already read so that I can finish the last two novels with what has come before firmly in my gray matter. I realized after reading House of Chains that I never reviewed it—indeed, I never reviewed any of the subsequent novels. This was not because I didn’t re...more House of Chains is the fourth novel in Steven Erikson’s monumental epic fantasy series The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The tenth and final novel of the series has just been published and I’m in the process of re-reading the eight that I had already read so that I can finish the last two novels with what has come before firmly in my gray matter. I realized after reading House of Chains that I never reviewed it—indeed, I never reviewed any of the subsequent novels. This was not because I didn’t read them or didn’t like them—in fact, I have a hard time not gushing about the series, at least what I’ve read of it, and what I’ve read of it gives me full confidence that Erikson will have pulled off the ending that his masterpiece deserves. If anything, I suspect my lack of reviews had to do with feeling a bit unequal to the task.

The novel starts, chronologically, earlier than the previous novels, and with characters wholly unfamiliar, focused on three members of a savage tribe of a giant people. These are a people to whom killing, plunder, and rape are the meat of existence. They are horrendous in their savagery. Yet Erikson is fascinatingly subtle not only in the nuances of this culture but especially in the subtlety and nuance of the characterization, particularly between our central character, Karsa Orlong (who, I’ll tell you now, figures large not only in this novel but in future installments) and Bairoth Gild. I remember being struck by the absolute mastery Erikson exhibits in the drawing of these two characters, each of whom both underestimates and otherwise subtly misunderstands the other, while also absolutely understanding the other in a way that even the other himself does not. There’s something so absolutely authentic about this and at the same time so amazing to see portrayed so well. It’s brilliant.

The action of the story moves gradually from there to show us events from some of the other earlier novels from a different perspective, even while House of Chains is following its own plot. In the process, certain earlier events are clarified and the overall action is taken forward beyond what had been reached in any of the previous novels. Specifically, we see Felisin as Shai’ik reborn, preparing the Army of the Apocalypse for battle with the Malazans as her sister, Tavore, leads that army across through the continent of Seven Cities to put down the rebellion.

I don’t want to offer spoilers, so I’ll keep my comments brief and just say that it’s quite a ride. We see a number of characters we’ve known from previous books: Fiddler, Kalam, Crockus/Cutter, Apsalar, Gessler, Stormy and the rest of the Coast Guard, Felisin and Heboric, the villainous Korbolo Dom and Kamist Reloe, Pearl and Lostara Yil, Iskaral Pust and Morgara, plus cameos by some others (and I’m probably missing some!). Many of these characters see more development here, as we get further inside their heads.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating (probably in every review of every book of this series): I think Erikson understands epic fantasy in the way that is perhaps most true to life: big events require large casts. A big decision that any writer has to make involves the point-of-view character. It's important to have someone in this role who is actually going to be present at all important events, a convention which in the past has led to fictional heroes who are virtually the center of the universe--other characters may exist and earn our interest, but everything really hangs on what so-and-so does. One way to get around this limitation, common in epic fantasy today, is shifting perspectives. This is great, allowing for a larger scope without unrealistic expectations on one character being present for everything and rather more multi-polar storytelling. Erikson (and I don't mean to imply that he's the only one doing this) goes one better--not only do we have a large cast of point-of-view characters, none of them really manages to assume paramount imortance. A question like "who's the main character" loses meaning in The Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

As a result, character development may well be spread out over the course of several novels. That’s going to be hard for some readers to either follow or approve, but I think it’s brilliant for the realism it brings (into a world where many characters have reality-bending magic and power). All of these characters are woven together in such a way that they’re all (well, pretty much all) necessary for the resolution of the plot. And the payoff with these characters is, to me, greater for the fact that we’ve lived with some of these characters so long.

Also, I’m finding that there was an awful lot that I picked up on a second read-through. This is dense writing. I’m a pretty good reader, if I do say so myself, but there was a lot that only really made sense on a second read, because now I had the perspective of having read the first 8 books in the series, so I could see some of the things that were setting up things to come, could sort out some of the larger story that can seem tangential to the main storyline because it’s more relevant to the over-arching story than to the particular novel. Which is to say, I suppose, that you should plan on reading this whole series twice if you really want to appreciate it—and it probably wouldn’t hurt to give it more re-reads than that. (less)

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Mar 09, 2013 Davit Abuladze rated it 4 of 5 stars

4/5
სიმართლე რომ ვთქვა მეტს ველოდი, განსაკუთრებით MoI-ს შემდეგ.
დალშე სპოილერები.

შაიკის სთორილაინი საკმაოდ უინტერესო იყო, პარანი დებიდან არცერთი არ სხლავდა და გოდესი რომ ონრაკის ცოლი აღმოჩნდა ეგ მაგრად მეკიდა ესლი ჩესნა... კარსა თავიდან ძაან ბანალური იყო, მერე და მერე საინტერესო გახდა, ბოლოსკენ იმენა ბედესი იყო, ბოლო სცენაში მალაზანის არმიასთან რო მივა და არ მოგკლავთო ეუბნება, იმენა 10/10 სცენაა) ისე ის 2 ჰაუნდი რო მოკლა ცოტა მეუცნაურა, მგონი იმაზე მეტია ვიდრე ერთი შეხედვით ჩანს... ნუ ბრიჯბარნერებ...more 4/5
სიმართლე რომ ვთქვა მეტს ველოდი, განსაკუთრებით MoI-ს შემდეგ.
დალშე სპოილერები.

შაიკის სთორილაინი საკმაოდ უინტერესო იყო, პარანი დებიდან არცერთი არ სხლავდა და გოდესი რომ ონრაკის ცოლი აღმოჩნდა ეგ მაგრად მეკიდა ესლი ჩესნა... კარსა თავიდან ძაან ბანალური იყო, მერე და მერე საინტერესო გახდა, ბოლოსკენ იმენა ბედესი იყო, ბოლო სცენაში მალაზანის არმიასთან რო მივა და არ მოგკლავთო ეუბნება, იმენა 10/10 სცენაა) ისე ის 2 ჰაუნდი რო მოკლა ცოტა მეუცნაურა, მგონი იმაზე მეტია ვიდრე ერთი შეხედვით ჩანს... ნუ ბრიჯბარნერები და ზოგადად მალაზანელი არმია ისევ კარგი იყო, ონრაკი და ტრული საინტერესო დუოა, უფრო მეტად ტრული. რამდენიმე საინტერესო ჩარაქტერი გამოჩნდა რომელიც არ ვიცი ვინ არიან, RAFO სავარაუდოდ... ისკარალ პასტი საშინლად გამაღიზიანებელი ხდება ნელ-ნელა... მაგისი ცოლი საერთოდ უარესია... ყველაზე მეტად იკარიუმი და მაპო რომ არ იყვნენ ეგ გამიტყდა, სადღაც 2 გვერდით გამოჩნდნენ და მორჩა... თან შემდეგ წიგნშიც არ იქნებიან...
იმჰო მეოთხე წიგნის საუკუთესო ჩარაქტერები იყვნენ
5. L'oric
4. Trull Sengar
3. Karsa Orlong
2. Fiddler/Strings
1. Kalam

შემდეგი წიგნის დაწყება საშინლად მეზარება, სრულიად სხვა სამყარო, ენდურების და იმ რაღაცა იმპერიის... (less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Onefinemess rated it 3 of 5 stars

OK, so I stayed up (way too) late last night reading the last 300 or so pages. It doesn’t help that I can’t read the clock from the couch without my glasses. Not in the least. And now I’m drinking Red Bull.

This is an odd book. The way it flows. You’ve got a 100-200 page opening section that is the backstory for a character from book 2 (!) who is suddenly a main character. Kind of. He is really, really, really obnoxious to start with but, sadly, I’ll admit he grew on me a bit. He’s funny because...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Klytia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nelle prime pagine Erikson ci presenta un nuovo personaggio Karsa, un giovane guerriero orgoglioso, che decide di partire dal villaggio in cerca di gloria, cioè ammazzare più persone possibili di altri villaggi. Spesso mi sono trovata a chiedermi “ma dove vuole andare a parare Erikson?”, la risposta è arrivata, come spesso accade ormai con i suoi romanzi, con la seconda parte dove si scopre di Karsa lo conoscevamo già…ma con un altro nome e ruolo.
Il percorso di Karsa, il viaggio dal suo villagg...more Nelle prime pagine Erikson ci presenta un nuovo personaggio Karsa, un giovane guerriero orgoglioso, che decide di partire dal villaggio in cerca di gloria, cioè ammazzare più persone possibili di altri villaggi. Spesso mi sono trovata a chiedermi “ma dove vuole andare a parare Erikson?”, la risposta è arrivata, come spesso accade ormai con i suoi romanzi, con la seconda parte dove si scopre di Karsa lo conoscevamo già…ma con un altro nome e ruolo.
Il percorso di Karsa, il viaggio dal suo villaggio fono nel cuore di Raraku e poi attraverso antichi canali, è anche un viaggio nella sua personalità: da giovane fin troppo orgoglioso, impulsivo e presuntuoso si trasforma, attraverso diverse sofferenze, in un uomo che impara a conoscere il valore dell’amicizia e della compassione.
Accanto a Karsa, ritroviamo tutti gli altri personaggi lasciati al termine de La Dimora Fantasma. Tavore che è decisa a bloccare la ribellione di Sha’ik. Pearl e Lostara inviati in missione da Tavore per scoprire l’identità di Sha’ik. E poi Heboric sempre in conflitto con gli Dei ma che viene accolto da uno di questi, il grande mago L’Oric di cui si scoprirà la vera origine, Leoman delle Fruste e Toblakai le guardie del corpo di Sha’ik.
A tutto questo si aggiungono gli intrighi degli Dei, ciascuno pronto a difendere il suo potere dalla nascente Casa delle Catene, o a difendere il suo Trono da coloro che ne reclamano il possesso.
E’ anche un romanzo di rivelazioni, un uno strepitoso capitolo centrale si scopre il passato di Cotillon, del significato del suo nome mortale Dancer e del perché si chiama anche La Fune, e di Tiste, dell’ombra, delle tenebre e della luce, che appaiono in ogni dove.
Forse la debolezza di questo romanzo sta proprio nelle troppe storie che si vanno ad intrecciare. Conoscendo Erikson, le riprenderà sicuramente nei romanzi successivi portandole a termine.
E per apprezzare pienamente La Casa delle Catene è forse necessario un ripasso de La Dimora Fantasma.
Nota sulla traduzione dei nomi: ogni tanto il traduttore si confonde e lascia certi nomi in inglese. I nomi sono molto importanti nei romanzi di Erikson, forse sarebbe stato meglio lasciarli in originale con una nota nelle appendici.
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Oct 15, 2012 Kevin Klein rated it 5 of 5 stars

Steven Erikson is a marvel. Truly, he is a wonder of the craft of speculative storytelling. It may take me, on average, a month to plough through the rich soil of the world of his Malazan novels, but I savor every word.

Steven Erikson is a worldbeating worldbuilder. He is not for the feint of heart. He will confound you. He will have you printing the maps of his world so that you may fully understand the tactics of the Army of the Whirlwind and Tavore’s Malazan Force. His world is rife with magic...more Steven Erikson is a marvel. Truly, he is a wonder of the craft of speculative storytelling. It may take me, on average, a month to plough through the rich soil of the world of his Malazan novels, but I savor every word.

Steven Erikson is a worldbeating worldbuilder. He is not for the feint of heart. He will confound you. He will have you printing the maps of his world so that you may fully understand the tactics of the Army of the Whirlwind and Tavore’s Malazan Force. His world is rife with magic, and it is complex and limited, and despite having spent over 4,000 pages in and out of his magical warrens, I still do not fully grok them.

Steven Erikson is a master of tone, of dialect. He transitions from the perturbed conceit of Iskaral Pust to the stilted, usually drunken banter of Malazan soldiers as seamlessly as the turn of a page. Reading one book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series is like reading five books, all with a different main characters, a different chronology of story arcs, and a different set of conflicts, stakes and, if you’re lucky, a resolution.

When I flip to the back of a Malazan book and I look at Erikson’s author bio picture, I cannot help but visualize the circuitry of his brain firing away behind his forehead.

But the complexity of the Malazan world is not its strength. Erikson has an uncanny ability to balance the turmoil of his own pantheon— made manifest by his Deck of Dragons— with the everyday dilemmas of simple soldiers or lowly bed warmers. Everyone matters, and nobody seems to matter more than anyone else, regardless of station, magical ability, or role in the war. Erikson is unpredictable and ruthless. One stray thought by a lowly girl-servant could end up as impactful as murder commissioned by the Malazan government.

That’s what keeps me reading. Unpredictability. Complexity. In the spirit of George R.R. Martin, no character is safe. And though the story is long-winded, and the reader often feels as he or she is trudging, there is always a sense that the story is moving forward; that every action will ripple.

Admittedly, I have only finished the first four installments of this series, but its depth and forward motion have seized me. I view The Crippled God, the ultimate book in the series, as a final oasis— a place where all the hours spent in Genabackis and elsewhere will coalesce, all the tension of the previous nine books released.

Erikson’s world, and his story, are dense and heady and disparate. Every character, every landscape, taps a different store of emotions in his readers. In Heboric Ghosthands, we feel solemn piety and ambition. In Adjunct Tavore, we feel the dissonance of headstrong determination and uncertainty. In Karsa Orlong we feel hate. We feel only hate, and we feel it as keenly as the edge of his stone sword.

I recommend the Malazan series, but I recommend it to those who are well read within the genre. If you just turned the last few pages of Fifty Shades of Grey, hopped on over to Pinterest and pinned the 10 positions you’d most like Mr. Grey to take you in, Erikson probably isn’t for you. If you read A Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire, and you wished Jordan wrote a bit more graphically, or that Martin utilized more magic, Steven Erikson is the man for you.
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Jul 28, 2012 Lucinda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Steven Erikson’s series ‘the mazalan book of the fallen’ has to be the most original, inspired creation within the fantasy genre that is comparable to the genius Kate Elliot or Terry Brooks. The striking, imaginative front covers capture readers’ attention, especially
for those who love fantasy fiction most of all. The series begins with ‘gardens of the moon’ followed then by ‘Deadhouse gates’ and ‘memories of ice’ with this volume as number four in an already epic saga. This author has so much c...more Steven Erikson’s series ‘the mazalan book of the fallen’ has to be the most original, inspired creation within the fantasy genre that is comparable to the genius Kate Elliot or Terry Brooks. The striking, imaginative front covers capture readers’ attention, especially
for those who love fantasy fiction most of all. The series begins with ‘gardens of the moon’ followed then by ‘Deadhouse gates’ and ‘memories of ice’ with this volume as number four in an already epic saga. This author has so much creative imagination that
you cannot compare to any other writer, being full of compelling drama and thrilling action. What is so outstanding is how Steven Erikson draws upon our own history and myths & legends to create a masterpiece that is comparable to JRR Tolkien in its realism
as to be believable.

The rich, complex and original world that you explore is so breathtaking, I felt as if I was actually there. But it is the detail of its history and background knowledge that is so complex which makes it not just your average fantasy story but rather something much deeper on a vast scale. The mythic vision and the whole concept in its entirety is something to be marveled at, displaying how accomplished and talented a writer he is. Fast moving and full of suspense this tale will have you running along with it at tremendous speed, within an intricate and authentic world that is just as real as our own. Voyaging into the unknown where Demons lurk and Gods observe all, this book is like a chocolate box of delights with each one adding to a most wondrous phenomenon.

An absorbing magical experience here is a series that many readers will treasure and re-read for many years to come, that is totally matchless and distinctive. Whilst weaving your way through a complex labyrinth of an immense plot that is multi-layered, you cannot help but get lost within the saga and the pages of the book. If you want to read this particular genre at its very best, then I cannot enthuse enough about Steven Erikson’s ‘the mazalan book of the fallen’ series with House of Chains as my favorite book. It deserves huge praise and acclaim being totally incredible, that I urge you to discover if you have not already done so.
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Feb 20, 2012 Zane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Review of the series rather than individual works. Check my star ratings to gauge how the books themselves stack-up. No spoilers. Summary: difficult to get into, post-modern style, well worth the effort, jam-packed with action and complexity and one of my all-time favourite authors.

Erikson writes in a post-modern style. You are catapulted right into the action and exposed to character names, lore references, magical concepts and even fantastical races with no descriptions or explanation provided...more Review of the series rather than individual works. Check my star ratings to gauge how the books themselves stack-up. No spoilers. Summary: difficult to get into, post-modern style, well worth the effort, jam-packed with action and complexity and one of my all-time favourite authors.

Erikson writes in a post-modern style. You are catapulted right into the action and exposed to character names, lore references, magical concepts and even fantastical races with no descriptions or explanation provided. This makes his work very inaccessible to new readers, who may not be as captivated by his world or characters and therefore not see the merit in finishing the books.

This also means that the books are not necessarily in chronological order. Books 2 and 3 take place simultaneously, the first part of book 4 occurs at the same time as events in book 1, book 5 occurs before book 1 etc. While this may seem confusing, and nothing described above is encouraging for someone wanting to start this series, this is actually one of the joys of Erikson's writing.

Fantasy, unlike any other genre, encourages epic plots of unparalleled complexity and intrigue with multiple point-of-view characters engaged in complementary quests. Erikson's style, though not accessible, complements the genre's central themes. Each novel increases your understanding of the world, the magic and races. Rather than bog you down with back-story and exposition, your eyes are opened as the story unfolds without any delays to the narrative.

The jumping around chronologically also allows for increased complexity in the plot, with so many subtle links that you miss. What Erikson has wrought is admirable in scope, as well as how internally consistent it is. Try write a ten book epic that isn't in chronological order, keeping each book as engaging as its predecessors while never once accidentally contradicting yourself - I dare you.

Erikson is also the only writer apart from Robert Jordan who manages to pack action of a cinematic quality into his novels. And unlike Jordan, he maintains the same quality throughout all his novels, never once disappointing.(less)

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Mar 25, 2009 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

had been told that he loved to leave little hints about the future, bits of foreshadowing and what not, all over the place but I didn't really appreciate that until this book because this was the first time those connections were actually being made.

While Erikson still doesn't do much in terms of direct descriptions of people or places he does manage to subtly give you a lot of details on various characters and nations. In fact, I could easily see myself reading books that just focused on certa...more

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May 28, 2012 agent zero rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anglofoni

Con la lettura di questo quarto volume della saga di Erikson sono riuscito a risolvere un dubbio che mi rodeva.
Ora sono pressoché certo: non ha senso attendere una evoluzione nello scrivere di questo autore.
Lui così intende la narrazione, la sua è chiaramente una scelta, per me infelice, ma non credo si muoverà mai di qui.
Quando, nella prima parte del romanzo, con Karsa Olong decide di concentrarsi su orizzonti più limitati, su un unico fronte d'azione e su pochi ma ben tratteggiati caratteri, l...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Poe rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Series 6/30/08 - 9/10
The Malazan series is one of the better fantasy series I've read in a while. It's extremely densely plotted, in a very vast and detailed world. Each book takes a new jump that leaves you wondering. Sometimes the books can be a little tough to follow and the characters are not the most detailed, but I really enjoyed these books overall. I can't wait to reread and catch up with the newer books I haven't read yet.

For more info, check out:

Malazan on wikipedia
Malazan Site
Malazan ...more

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Sep 21, 2011 Clint rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Another 1000 page book full of undead wizards, explosions, assassins, barbarians, evil gods and goddesses, rape, torture, and extreme gore. I know that probably sounds so fucking awesome, and it is, but I kind of feel the Malazan books are getting so big and complex that the writer's kind of losing control. He should have spent twice as long writing these books as he did (I think I read somewhere he said he took about 8 months to finish one, which, given the size and complexity of the books, I t...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have very mixed feelings about House of Chains. There were some things about it that I really liked and others that I didn't. I liked the characters and narrative arc; I didn't like the "convenience" of the ending or the way parts of the story felt forced.

This was the first of the four books that really seemed to explain the background and history of the races, conflicts, etc. Through the first three books, I constantly felt lost. Now for the first time, the gaps are starting to be filled in....more

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Apr 06, 2010 Viridian5 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I've been making my slow way through the colossal novels of Steven Erikson's The Malazan Books of the Fallen, and I have to say that House of Chains is the most involving of the group so far. Everything really starts to come together here. I'm not saying that nothing happens in the prior books--tons of things happen to hundreds of people--but House of Chains is where everybody's stories really start to intersect and add to each other. It truly builds off the events of the last three books and sh...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantasy Book Review

Overall - the Malazan series is a very worthy read for someone who has the time to read nearly ten thousand pages. The imagery, action, and imagination are some of the best in all of fantasy. While it would be worth reviewing each of the ten books. I'll let someone else do that. I will say that book four developed one of my favorite characters of all time, Karsa Orlong. Karsa alone makes the Malazan books worth reading.

Creativity - The books are extremely original. Erikson cre...more

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May 15, 2013 Dana Aerys rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: superbly-written, series, must-reread, favour-it, excellent-story, epic-fantasy, blowmymind-epic, all-time-favourite

I cannot express my surprize when I realised Karsa Orlong = Toblakai. damn! I have fallen in love with this brute giant! Witness!!

He makes a great big Uturn from the man he was in Book 1 of HoC and I am just burning to figure out what his connection to the CG will cause.

We finally get a good glimpse of the Tiste Edur through the eyes of Trull Sengar and Cutter and then all of a sudden I have to deal with Tiste Liosan sigh. I am overwhelmed and a series reread is scheduled... from the top!

I did...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Rob rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: random-comments-review

...I appreciated what Erikson tried to do with this book a bit more on this second read. As with the three previous books, I picked up a lot of stuff I missed during my first pass through this part of the story. I still feel Erikson is building a bit too much in this novel. It is a bridge to the third major story line Erikson will open in Midnight Tides and events that will take place in The Bonehunters and beyond, but it doesn't stand on its own quite as well as the previous books did. That bei...more

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Apr 29, 2011 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After a rocky start, I am really enjoying this series. I liked House of Chains just as much as I liked Memories of Ice. My concerns about switching characters again turned out to be unwarranted. I liked returning to the threads that started in Deadhouse Gates and liked the characters that reappeared even more this time.

I also liked the formal introduction of Karsa Orlong. After figuring out who he was, I reread passages that concerned him in Deadhouse Gates. It was neat to see how he tied in. I...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Anirudh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

9/10

This is the fourth book in Erikson's "Malazan Book of the Fallen" and I am stunned by the depth of the world Erikson created. The convoluted story lines, excellent plot and three dimensional characters make this probably the best fantasy series I've come across. (Sorry, GRRM!!)
Strangely, the first quarter of the book is un-Erikson like following the journey of a single character. I found this a bit strange and off-putting but Erikson ties him brilliantly to the storyline. Then start the mult...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Nate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a totally satisfying continuation of the Malazan storyline, specifically the Seven Cities arc. All of the stuff that Erikson fans like is here in abundance; epic setting and plot, interesting ruminations on a cornucopia of heavy themes like death, mercy, and love, and an assortment of colorful characters. As seems to be the case with this series, Erikson writes with improved clarity of vision than in the previous books.

This book was also different from the others in the aspect that this...more This was a totally satisfying continuation of the Malazan storyline, specifically the Seven Cities arc. All of the stuff that Erikson fans like is here in abundance; epic setting and plot, interesting ruminations on a cornucopia of heavy themes like death, mercy, and love, and an assortment of colorful characters. As seems to be the case with this series, Erikson writes with improved clarity of vision than in the previous books.

This book was also different from the others in the aspect that this story was mostly about characters and their interactions with one another. There's no really huge events changing the pantheon as in Memories of Ice, instead the story is that of two opposing armies marching to meet each other in battle and the people involved with both. I enjoyed the generally smaller scale, as it allows Erikson to focus more on characterization, which was a bit of an issue for me (particularly in the first book.) This leads to more three-dimensional characters and it just makes it more gripping. Everyone in this book is plotting and scheming with or against each other and everyone has a different ulterior motive.

The story also had a bit more focus on the life in the Malazan military. A variety of differently ranked soldiers come into play and through them we get a view of life in the Adjunct's army. Erikson explores several facets of military life including tactics, rank, the boredom and rigor of long marches, and camaraderie (or conflict) between soldiers. This might get dull with some other authors, but Erikson's writing has just enough warmth and humor to keep things moving.

Another thing I might not have mentioned is how much I like Erikson's use of magic. Personally, I'm not super interested in magic in fantasy. I mean, I like it but whenever I'm looking at a book I'm never thinking "I wonder how awesome the magic is in this book." Magic is pervasive in this book but Erikson has a unique enough idea of what it is and how it works in this world that it's fascinating. His descriptions of the warrens and how they interact with the world and each other is always vivid and kind of creepy sometimes.

Erikson only seems to gel more and more with the world he co-created and the stories seem to come with greater ease with things like detail, characterization, and plot. It's hard to rate this because with such a big series it's difficult to make decisions on what the "best" is so I have to go with the usual strong four. When I'm all done with this series I might revisit them and see if I feel different but yeah, this one was great.(less)

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May 15, 2013 Dimitris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

House of Chains is the fourth book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. If you have made it until now in the series you know what you can expect from an Erikson book.
A vast world with history, interesting characters and creatures, death, sacrifice, plots and even more plots.
House of Chains follows the events of the 2nd book called Deadhouse Gates and has many of its characters, along with new ones and other familiar ones.
It's the story of a battle between two sisters that found themselves l...more House of Chains is the fourth book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. If you have made it until now in the series you know what you can expect from an Erikson book.
A vast world with history, interesting characters and creatures, death, sacrifice, plots and even more plots.
House of Chains follows the events of the 2nd book called Deadhouse Gates and has many of its characters, along with new ones and other familiar ones.
It's the story of a battle between two sisters that found themselves leading armies to war. But it's more than that. It's the war between gods, ascendants and people that want to control Raraku the Holy Desert.
The book is good, but in my opinion falls short when compared to the masterpiece that Memories of Ice was. It's a book that prepares for further books, a book that is better after a re-read when you have concluded the series. But in its first read it has some flaws. The most important of them are:
1. A huge prologue. The beginning really is very long and a bit boring at times. Moreover, after three books it introduces a new character that nobody cares about (after having loved many characters from the other books) and the fact that he is so unlikeable and uninteresting makes it even harder. Of course (as we see in Erikson very often) this character changes, evolves and later on you start to care about him, but the prologue is difficult.
2. The whole book seems to move very slowly to a climax. While in Memories of Ice there were many points where the interest peaked, here you have the feeling that you are in a slow race towards a great finale. However the events during this race are not so great and the climax, well it's nothing compared to what we have seen in Memories of Ice or Deadhouse Gates.
3. The plot thickens a lot. Just what when you start understanding things and discovering who is doing what and why, you get introduced to other races, gods, spirits etc. and feeling a bit overwhelmed at times.

Despite the flaws, the book is very good (especially after the long prologue) and if you enjoyed the other Malazan books then you will not have problems in finishing it.(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 Nick Moult rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After around three weeks of reading, I have just finished House of Chains, book four of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Throughout the book I kept thinking to myself: 'this is the best in the series so far', and on completion; it still has a fairly strong claim to that accolade.

For the first time, a very strong character arc grips the book. I suspect this is down to the first three-hundred pages being solely devoted to the character as much as the quality of the writing. Elsewhere, the storylin...more

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About Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. His best-known work is the on-going series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/steven...

More about Steven Erikson...

Books by Steven Erikson

Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)

Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)

Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)

Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5)

The Bonehunters (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #6)

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Quotes from House of Chains

“Wise words are like arrows flung at your forehead. What do you do? Why, you duck of course.” — 44 people liked it

“One day, perhaps, you will see for yourself that regrets are as nothing. The value lies in how they are answered.” — 21 people liked it

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House of Chains (Malazan)

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