Deadhouse Gates by Steven EriksonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another chunk of the Malazan series done. I found this volume more comprehensible than the first one, maybe because I knew the major players. However there are still plenty of opaque spots from my point of view. That may be partly because I took a long pause about midway through, needing a rest before heading on. I wish the author had taken a technique from George R.R. Martin and had each chapter dedicated to a particular character. I found the multiple POVs annoying. I assume that the events of each chapter were to be interpreted as happening at the same time? I think readers are smart enough to figure that out without having it spelled out in that fashion.
I must say that this series still reminds me of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time in both its complexity and enormous cast of characters. What Erikson does better, in my opinion, is the female characters. They follow their own paths, which may or may not include men. The relationship between the sexes is less hostile, too. Jordan's characters pair up, but seem determined to misinterpret each other. Erikson's people have, to my mind, more realistic expectations of one another.
There's a lot of magical influence in this world, not to mention a plethora of species, gods, and ascendants stirring the political pot. There's a lot to keep track of and to try to assimilate. I'm pretty sure I have just as many misunderstandings as things understood. My reading plan for this year includes at least one more installment of this series and I think I can handle that, although I will need a significant break before I attempt it. I don't believe my library has book 3, so an interlibrary loan will be necessary.
Book number 404 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
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