Review: Deadhouse Gates

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With a title that would make Metal-Heads proud, Deadhouse Gates brings the thunder that Thor can only dream of. Acting as a sequel with a mostly new cast can be a daunting task. Erikson proved with Gardens of the Moon that he can write numerous characters and give them enough purpose to stand out. What he had to prove in this book is if he could reel in his worldbuilding to a more coherent level.

Deadhouse Gates IS the book you want to read. It makes Gardens look like a collection of notes Erikson strung together, whereas Deadhouse reads more like a finished product. Refined. He does this while taking us to new places. He does this while involving us with tons of new characters. Sure, it's the same world. But there is a LOT more in it. Does having the setup from Gardens help? Admittedly, it does. However, I can't shake the feeling that you could almost read Deadhouse first and go back to Gardens after. Major plot details or references will not have as strong as an impact but I don't believe that would matter as the currency of the new cast is enchanting enough on its own.

The returning group consists of Fiddler, Apsalar, Crokus, and Kalam. The latter separates from the group for his own adventure. These characters didn't interest me as much this time around. They aren't the people I would have chosen to follow from Gardens. Kalam grew on me as his personal quest to kill the Empress was more interesting, Crokus was regulated to an afterthought compared to how he was one of the major characters previously. This bothered me at first but it isn't his book to shine. Towards the end, he has more moments but the focus is on Fiddler. I mentioned previously how Fiddler is a fan favorite but I still didn't take to him. To be fair, he's more enjoyable than reading Theon Greyjoy chapters in A Song of Ice and Fire, if that helps.

Two more characters join up with them eventually. Mappo and Icarium. Meh. Then there are Heboric, Baudin, and Felisin. They had a great introduction which excited me. Heboric and Baudin exceeded my expectations with their roles in all of this. Felisin is another matter. After what happens to Lorn in Gardens, Tavore takes over as Adjunct. She is one of Ganoes' sisters. She in turn sends Felisin to the slave camps to prove loyalty to the Empress. Felisin starts great and then turns into a bitch for almost the entirety of the rest of the book. In the end, some things happen, but that's a whole spoiler level I won't even go into.

The fourth part of the story is almost a continuous battle as Fist Coltaine leads an army and refugees to the city of Aren while pursued by a bigger army. The viewpoint comes in the form of Historian Duiker who was once a soldier and proves countless times that he's still a badass. His story gripped me time and time again. The final chapters outside of Aren are masterfully cinematic and equally soul-crushing.

Let's talk about Death a little bit because there is a war going on so you know people are going to be killed off. Erikson gets to me. He does. Some deaths I can see a mile away and still when that bell tolls I am defeated. A secondary character that had grown on me was someone I thought from the get-go was going to be slaughtered. Still, it was tough. One of the more shocking deaths happens much earlier and unexpectedly. It left me grasping whether or not it actually happened. The madman did it. For fans of books where everybody dies because that's just the way it goes in life, try Malazan. Merciless.

Unlike Abercrombie who writes all characters as edgy with their penises hanging out, even the women, trying to snarkily compare who has the bigger one, Erikson doesn't fall on gimmicks. You enjoy these people or you don't because they feel real.

The biggest change between the books is that Erikson no longer floods us with history lessons. Everything is much more focused. The motivations and goals of the cast are clearly defined in the beginning so we as the reader know where this all is going. Shadowthrone has a bigger role here too, but we are no longer bogged down by Oponn. Again, fewer notes, more finesse. I knew where people were headed. There were enough moments in all four plots that even if I didn't like, let's say, something going on with Fiddler and his people, eventually, something would happen that would make me proud I didn't give up on them. Every story was worthwhile in the long run.

Deadhouse Gates is a solid improvement over Gardens of the Moon although I still wouldn't rate it as perfect. This is more along the lines of 8 out of 10.

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Review: The Two-Faced Queen

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The worst part about The Two-Faced Queen is that it ended. 

Years ago, I was out dining with family when it was commented on that I always order the same thing and I was made to order a Filet Mignon instead. The irony here is that whenever we went to a restaurant that had Crab Cakes on the menu, that would be what my Father ordered after going over the entire menu. Without a doubt. Every time. When the food came, I noticed that the Filet was small and of course it was gone in a flash. That cut is considered to be one of the best. The perfect, most tender slice. The Two-Faced Queen is that Filet Mignon. If the book had been a quarter as perfect, but double the size, I would still have gobbled it down like the mortal enemy of cows that I am. 

I wish I had kept a log or filmed myself while reading this so that you could observe how many times I said "Jesus Christ!" or cursed. I can tell you that I read this on my Kindle and at 11% was my first Jesus Christ moment and around the 90% mark was a full-blown "What the ****?" This has shock, after shock, after shock, after shock. 

The Two-Faced Queen continues the story of Michael Kingsman while leaving the comfort so many book series find themselves in. There's a level many books find themselves in. Mistborn, for instance, even though the stakes get higher and the world expands has a constant feel to it. What Nick Martell does here is "I've already done that, this is where we are, and it's about to explode." Michael's redemption is prevalent but everyone comes up to bat in this book. Trey & Naomi have wonderful storylines. I was beyond excited to have the Princess be in the spotlight this time around as her brother was a force in the first book. Every scene she had in Kingdom of Liars always got my attention. Martell even threw in an appearance by Em, the Baker's daughter. He's smart enough to take us on a different adventure while reminding us we are still in the same world. Talented, damn it. 

And these people feel real. They aren't cardboard cutouts of generic fantasy characters. They curse and they **** and they tease and they hurt and they bleed just like the rest of us. Without having to kneel to the Grimdark side of things to have personalities. This is something newer writers should take note of. There's a way to express people without being a caricature. Evan Winter is another writer who is good with this. 

What was really badass this time around was that the plot includes both an assassin and a serial killer on the loose. They contribute to the craziness but there is no escaping the situation surrounding the Princess, Michael, and Dark. The mystery surrounding Dark is a huge focal point. You could easily argue for him to be on the cover of this book. Speaking of which, both covers are absolutely beautiful. 

God, so much happens in this book that it's hard to talk about without giving out other key information. As I'm rewinding it in my head I'm remembering other details that conveniently slipped away and must most likely be waiting for us in book three. I'm still stunned at some reveals. I even was so caught off guard at one point that I threw my Kindle down and had to get up from the couch and shake it off.  

Minor Spoilers: A few passing thoughts to close this out. Naomi this time around definitely gave me Maya Hawke-in-Stranger-Things vibes. You'll understand. There also must be something agreed upon by most writers putting out secondary books in 2020 (or early 2021) that all sequels must have more dragons. 

Overall, this is a solid book from a solid writer. The type of book we read for. I'm honored to have been able to read it early. 

I'll leave off with one of my favorite quotes from the book because I absolutely loved it. Spoilers only because it's wonderful to come across these things on your own as you read. It doesn't affect the story at all. 

There were two kinds of people in Symon's mind: Those who respected books and those who didn't. And anyone who fell in the second category would be lucky if they were erased by history rather than dehumanized. 

For what it's worth, as I can't have milk or eat Chocolate without suffering, the cows truly have the upper hand in our rivalry. 

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Review: Gardens of the Moon

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anyone who follows my reviews will know that I read under typically unfortunate circumstances. I have many kids and little time. I've mostly been on a reading sabbatical, which as a reviewer I deeply regret. Therein lies the question of why I decided to start the Malazan series as a way to bring myself back to form. Especially with everything I have against me.

You see, Malazan is considered to be a "difficult" series. I talked with multiple people shortly after I started as to figure out why this is, and it came down to a few reasons. The main, of course, is that it suffers from the same illness many fantasy series do. Unusual names for people & places mixed in with tons of worldbuilding. The Malazan series is incredible with its worldbuilding. Erickson excels in it.

The short prologue sets the story up a little bit but takes place many years before the events of the rest of the book. Once you get into the first chapter you are treated to rapid pacing and information dumps relentlessly. There's probably close to twenty characters or more that you meet in the first two chapters and they aren't the entire cast. Nothing in this book is done on a small scale. Those information dumps are purely all over your lap, your hands, the floor. I've been told to "get" the Malazan Series you would have to study it. Seriously, that was my advice. The only way it was going to work was to commit my all to it. Well, that didn't happen. And you shouldn't worry about that either.

The book starts us out with possession, then a massacre, an investigation, and an important battle. What could be troubling is that during these events, little things may be occurring that get referenced but don't come fully to light until afterward. Gardens of the Moon makes you wait for the payoff. What slowed me, in the beginning, was keeping up with all the names, titles, and places thrown at me so quickly because the book does not stay put. It jumps from characters and situations frequently. Enough to make me want to write down who is who and what they are doing, whose side they are on? No. I did grow annoyed when people had multiple titles or nicknames and those were used interchangeably without mentioning their actual name but that is only really prevalent in the first part of the book. Also, I'm still not sure how many one-armed people exist.

All of this changes once the first battle ends. We've met a good portion of the major characters or else heard about them and the format of the book abruptly changes. The pacing slows. We spend a decent amount of time with fewer characters and then move on to the next big set-piece. Or course, once there we get a whole boatload of new characters and more things occur but it's like hearing the same story but told by someone else. This shift happens in Chapter 5 so if you are on the fence about sticking with it, make it at least through that chapter.

I was very impressed with Erikson's ability to merge stories and connect his large cast. I call this the Tad Williams quality I look for in authors. Some people can do it, some people can't. Tad always wins. Erikson doesn't just give us a story but a rich history of the world with different species and cultures too. I have the full collection of books to go through and I know a lot of things mentioned in this volume will come up again and be expanded. It's a series that you can get lost in and even live in for a while to escape from everything going on in our world.

I'd seen somewhere that Fiddler was a favorite character for his humor but I didn't notice Fiddler that much in this book, and never for a laugh. I enjoyed Captain Paran as well as Crokus and the rest of his crew. Adjunct Lorn also grew on me throughout the book. Curiously, with the first two, they are the closest we get to generic fantasy hero tropes. I'm talking about a stable boy or kitchen hand. Paran was a noble that decided when he was a boy that he'd rather be a Soldier. Crokus is the nephew of a known writer (and more) who can land himself in the higher circles of society but chooses to be a thief. With a cast so large it's odd that I find the two easiest characters to enjoy, but they also are used as pawns to the Gods (one in particular) so the focus is largely on them. Lorn then is someone who struggles between her duty as the Adjunct who exists solely as the hand of the Empress and the person she is. The more I think about this the more I realize how I enjoyed many of the characters. Excellent job Erikson.

The main plot focuses on the Malazan Empire planning to conquer the city of Darujhistan which is secretly run by High Mages and has rival Assassin clans. An Assassin War is a minor part of the book. Complicating the Malazan Empire's plan is Anomander Rake who is the lord of the Moon's Spawn which is a floating fortress with a city within it. He had made a pact with an earlier city, that of Pale, where the first battle of the book takes place and jumpstarts the events. Despite being opposed to the Empire, Rake ultimately comes across as a third party. It's team A versus team B but team C is involved because so and so. Got it. He has his own cards he is playing in Darujhistan, and everything comes together as books do.

I enjoyed the ambivalence of the characters. Although you can say a couple of people do things only to deliberately harm others, actions are often brought about because of the situations they find themselves in. Those I swore were the villains turned out not to be so at all. Even the Gods we meet, because they play huge roles, are typical Gods. I would compare them closest to the Greeks. They come, they interact, sometimes they help, sometimes they ruin things, and then off they go. It's like watching episodes of Xena with more interesting immortals and a lack of lesbian undertones. Mmmm Calypso.

The worldbuilding was impressive but not entirely my thing. On a geographical scale, I didn't mind it. When we dive into the history of non-human races, the first inhabitants of the world, etc, I start zoning out. Rake, who in Gardens of the Moon is 20,000 years old, is a Tiste Andii which is similar in appearance to a Drow. Dark skin, white hair. His people have a backstory as they are one of the elder races and I wasn't able to connect with them. At least at the time of reading. Now that I'm done I do appreciate more their storyline. There are also the Imass, the K'Chain Che'Malle, the Jaghut, and others. Each with details enough to fill a companion textbook. I just wanted to keep moving with the story, getting to the top of the figurative mountain without doing the climb. This is me as a person and not a fault of Erikson. It's a lot of information but none of it is hard to understand.

What I'm getting to is that if you are interested in the series but hesitant, I recommend you try it out to at least the end of chapter 5. Don't do a ten-page in and skip thing. This is involved fantasy to the fullest extent and you will be rewarded, I promise you. Read on a kindle to avoid papercuts. Ten big books mean lots of opportunities.

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