SFF Readalongs led by Kitty G discussion
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Deadhouse Gates
Deadhouse Gates Discussion
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Epilogue & Final Thoughts After Reading...
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Liked this book much more then GotM. I will definitely be continuing as the thought of where this series could go are quite exciting. So many layers and such a massive world to explore. So many interesting and wonderful characters are starting to develop. I felt that in GotM that there were a lot of characters that just felt like cardboard cutouts, but now seeing some of them take a central role in this novel (Kalam, Fiddler and Corkus) and seeing their personalities and relationships emerge and develop, it makes me wonder who will be next? It appears anyone who seems really trivial when we first meet them could turn out to be a major player in events to come.
Im thinking I would like to see more of Stormy, Truth and Gelsler in the upcoming Novels. For me they were the same at the start, just in the background hard to remember who was who and really uninteresting. All of a sudden they are commanding a ship of undead and close to ascendancy. We still didn't get much of them but I'm sure we will in the future. Can't wait to see where they end up!
Another really interesting character for me was Apt. Wow a demon with a bleeding heart who has some kind of leverage over Shadowthrone. Just really liked this character and how left field she was.
Was some interesting revelations at the end with Laseen revealing the plans with Dujek and I'm sure this will play out in the next novel or two.
Really don't know where this is going to go from here. Hope we get back to Genabackis and catch up with the Bridgburner's and really keen to find out more about Quick Ben. He seems quite central to a lot of what's happening.
So much more I could discuss but I'll wait to hear what other people think and reveal what their favorite parts are.
I think overall I would rate this 4 out of 5
Well the journey of Deadhouse Gates is over for me. This was an excellent book and thanks again for hosting the readalong. Like usual, I don't really like commenting much near the end because I just want to finish it up. Some highlights for me:- Erikson's writing style is some of the best I have ever read, in any genre. His ability to bring the world alive visually is something that few authors can do. There are just so many instances of extremely deep passages that enrich the experience.
- The Chain of Dogs was the most grueling and heart-ache filled portion of the book. It reminded me so much of the Trail of Tears in the southern U.S. with the Indian tribes. At first I wasn't a huge fan of this sub-plot but at the end it really paid off. There are hints of rebirth of Coltaine and Duiker, but regardless, they were amazing characters.
- Kalam's decision at the end surprised me. Granted Laseen wasn't there, she was just using the corpse to talk through. At lease I don't think that was her corpse. Kalam changed his decision after she showed anger about the Seven Cities and I'm not sure what that means.
- Apt is awesome.
- Icarium and Meepo were the stand outs for me. Amazing.
- Sha'ik/Felisin still doesn't capture my interest much.
I am excited about Memories of Ice, as that book is happening at the same time as Deadhouse Gates. It'll be interesting to see how much of that book influenced this current book. I expect all the characters we didn't see from DG that was in GotM to be in MoI, and of course some new ones.
I'm going to rate this 5/5 and I'll be writing a review up. I'll post my video/review after I'm done with it. (Edited it from a 4 to a 5)
My Written Review: http://commontouchoffantasy.com/book-...Video Review: http://youtu.be/qMxUN5LEA-U
My DG rating by comparing it to GotM, which probably isn't fair but I went with 4 out of 5. I preferred the faster pacing of GotM as some of the slower portions of DG were quite slow. Also there is only so much that can be described in a desert setting, GotM gets an advantage in being set in a city for most of the story. In DG's favor is that all of the slow parts lead to a good payoff and I find myself very satisfied with reading the book. The Malazan series as a whole (if I could rate a series) would be 5 stars easy. I enjoy Erikson's writing immensely and will certainly stick with the series.-I am still interested in the confrontation of Tavore and Sha'ik. There is a very interesting dynamic between the sisters which may make for some interesting reading.
-The Empress is full of a lot of tricks and I hope to meet her more in depth soon enough.
-I assume Coltaine is being reborn judging by the epilogue, but it seems that Duiker may as well.
Very much enjoyed this tale of the Malazan series, and am looking forward to Memories of Ice.
Hey Alex, what was your interpretation of Laseen and the corpse? I think maybe it was Topper and her using that corpse so that she could communicate with Kalam to see where his head was at. Kalam figured out she wasn't really there and if he tried to kill her, Topper probably would have killed him. Her getting upset with the mention of the rebellion in the Seven Cities might be in some way connected to her fleet arriving with Tavore. What do you think?
I took it at face value that the corpse was just a Laseen trick and that while Kalam was speaking with her, she was in another location.Your theory of Topper pulling the whole ruse could be very well be true since he had been in contact with Kalam and certainly knew what his intentions were.
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However, with that in mind I still really enjoyed seeing all of the characters we'd met before and the way that they were developed further. I also really liked meeting new characters and Pust, Icarium and Mappo were certainly the ones I liked the most.
I actually quite like the Felisin/Sha'ik situation and storyline so far, I found that one to be one of the ones I was more intrigued by especially with how it all ended up. I can't wait to see her face down her sister and what is going to transpire from that fight.
In terms of the Chain of Dogs storyline that was the one I both found most fascinating and gruesome, whilst also being most confused and irritated by. At points I was captivated and at others I found it hard to know exactly what was happening so for me although I liked it, it wasn't my favourite.
I did like Kalam's storyline and the ending with the Empress was certainly pretty cool. I think there's certainly more to all of that 'corpse' situation and I wonder if it could have been Toppper too. I did like the plans being revealed with Dujek.
I liked the scenes with Fiddler, Crokus and Apsalar as they journeyed to the Malaz City through their various trials. I am sure we'll see more from all of them.
I think Coltaine and Dukier were certainly both stand-out characters who I liked and admired for the things they did, I just didn't love the enormous amount of battle focus (but as I say that's due to inexperience reading much of it and not having it as a personal preference).
Overall I thought the writing was great, the characters were very well done, the story had good an bad bits, fast and slow, and I would rate it a 3.5*s so a little less than Gardens for me, but I am super excited to see where it all goes and I have a feeling I will like Memories of Ice a lot from what I have heard about it.
Once again thank you all for taking part and joining in! It's been a ton of fun and I look forward to the next one with you all :)
Hi there, new to the group. Found this thread after I finished DG yesterday and needed to find a forum to discuss the enormity of what I just read. So stoked to see that Memories of Ice read-along is starting next month. I've only started reading the Malazan series early this month, with slight trepidation but loved it after finishing GOTM. DG however was a completely different experience. It was so intense!!! The violence, the self-reflections, the feeling of despair... I found myself quite emotionally ragged throughout the book. And then Chapter 21 happened... *turned into a pile of weeping mess*
While I am usually not a fan of military/ battle plotlines, the Chain of Dogs arc in this book is clearly my favourite. All the best human qualities of courage, compassion, loyalty. Truly epic heroism which ended in an epic tragedy.
The other arc which I really liked is Mappo and Icarium. Yet again a very emotional plotline as we see Mappo torn between his duty and his love for his very long time companion.
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Also, HI TS and welcome! I am happy to hear you'll be joining us for book 3 as I have no doubt it will be even more awesome than this one and I look forward to reading it as a group very very soon :D
Welcome TS, glad to have another member to our Malazan support group. I am anxiously awaiting starting MoI, though sadly it won't be until after I finish Mistborn, which is looking like it will bleed over into March.
Thanks Kaitlin and Alex! Most of my friends don't read fantasy and the one who does is just not as voracious a reader as I am, so I'm really thankful for the network Goodreads provides, and all these discussions and read-alongs. :)
I loved the ending of the book as I wasn't really expecting it. however, I really disliked felisin as her character was really unpleasant and she was very mean to some people who were trying to help her. I also like how Erikson redeemed her. I am looking forward to the confrontation between Felisin and adjunct tavore now that will be cracker. Cant wait to start book 3.
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I have to say I agreed with you on Felisin but I think you'll enjoy the next few, that's where everything really picked up for me :)
What did you like? Who's your favourite character? What do you think will happen next? Did you expect the ending? Will you be continuing? What did you rate it?
Let me know all that and more below! :D