Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson

There is one word you need to know before picking up anything by Steven Erikson.

Convergence.

Allow me to explain.

From the moment he hit the scene with Gardens of the Moon, the first volume in the epic Malazan Book of the Fallen, Erikson has developed a reputation for dumping his readers in the middle of the story.  In fact, it can be argued that the entire series begins in the middle of the story - with the expansive history of Erikson's world evident right from the start.

But no matter how broad in scope, no matter how little you think you know at the beginning of the tale, Erikson is always in absolute control of his story.  Not once throughout the Malazan Book of the Fallen, does he fail to bring it all together in a compelling and exhilarating manner.

But it may be Erikson's second offering, Deadhouse Gates, in which he first showed hints of such mastery.  Following on from the critically acclaimed Gardens, the sophomore effort shows a more controlled narrative, allowing the work to stand alone in its own right.  As with all of his volumes, the pay off, yes the convergence of all the seemingly disparate story threads, is more than worth the investment of your time.

Here's the blurb:

In the Holy Desert Raraku, the seer Sha'ik and her followers prepare for the long-prophesied uprising named the Whirlwind.  Enslaved in the Otataral mines, Felisin, youngest scion of the disgraced House of Paran, dreams of freedom and vows revenge, while the outlawed Bridgeburners Fiddler and Kalam conspire to rid the world of Empress Laseen (although it seems the gods would, as always, have it otherwise).  And as two ancient warriors - bearers of a devastating secret - enter this blighted land, so an untried commander of the Malaz 7th Army leads his war-weary troops in a last, valiant running battle to save the lives of thirty thousand refugees.

In spite of the fact that Erikson introduces a spate of new characters while simultaneously fracturing the Bridgeburners - who were central to Gardens of the Moon - his skill with characterisation soon has you on board with the new cast.  Displaying an uncompromising sense of characterisation which seems to come straight from the Stephen Donaldson school of thought, the reader has no choice but to feel a strong connection with the characters and their motivations.  The personal stakes are never in doubt.

But perhaps the most impressive thing about Deadhouse Gates is Erikson's masterful management of a plot that could easily have spun out of control in the hands of a lesser author.  

As the sub-continent falls to the Whirlwind, Malazan citizens are murdered and the people of the Seven Cities rise up to purge the region of the Empire's yoke.  With an ailing and vastly outnumbered army, the former Governor of Hissar, the Wickan General Coltaine, leads close to fifty thousand refugees across the desert to the only remaining Malazan stronghold; Aren.  This leads to one of the most memorable sequences in modern epic fantasy, the Chain of Dogs, and it's around this phenomenally well written sequence that the rest of the cast fleshes out one of the most ambitious story arcs ever attempted. 

All in all, what Erikson does with Deadhouse Gates, is elevate.  The scope.  The stakes.  And the bar.  With skilful prose, thoughtful and consistent characterisation and incredibly well executed action scenes, Deadhouse Gates stands as one of the best fantasy stories I have ever read.  Erikson displays a master's touch, while affording the reader an early glimpse into the mind-boggling scope of his plans for the series.

My score - 9.5/10