Finally finished reading Deadhouse Gates and wow! what an emotional rollercoaster of a ride that was. The final portion of this book was so gut-wrenching and I had to take a moment to gather myself.

I still can't believe how different this book reads to Gardens of the Moon because there is a complete shift in tone, it's so much darker more violent but at the same time the prose is a lot easier to digest than GOTM which makes this book so much better. Honestly its one of my favourite fantasy books that I have read. A true masterpiece that this review is unable to do justice but I'll try anyway. (Brace yourselves, there's a lot of words.)

The Chain of Dogs:

“Coltaine guided sixty thousand refugees from Hissar to Aren. It was impossible, but that’s what he did.”

Where else to start but with the main storyline. The Chain of Dogs is one of the most heart-breaking storylines I have read in a fantasy book. Following Coltaine through Duiker's POV made it seem that I was on the march with them and what an emotionally exhausting march it was. The endless battles....the loss of hope....the eventual belief in Coltaine....Vathar Crossing...The swarming butterflies...Corporal's List's visions....Children are dying...Reaching the gates...Pormqual's refusal to help...The fall of Coltaine and the remaining men....Nil and Nether's cries...The crows taking Coltaine's soul...Mallick Rel's betrayal...Duiker's death...The death of that loyal dog.....The soldiers crucified on Aren's Way.

I felt so empty and emotionally spent after reading this legendary storyline and it's been a long time since a book made me feel that way. Watching the final battle outside the walls through Duiker's eyes was soul-crushing and just when I thought, well at least Duiker is safe.....Thanks for breaking my heart into pieces Mr Steven Erikson.

Mappo & Icarium:

'Is your friendship such a burden, then?'

'Some burdens are willingly embraced.'

Another incredible highlight of reading this glorious book was following these two. What a beautiful and tragic friendship SE wrote with Mappo and Icarium. It's incredible writing that two new characters left such a strong impression on me in a space of one book and I really hope to see more of them in future books. I really felt for Mappo, watching him wrestling with his burden of duty against his friendship with Icarium nearly made me tear up on several occasions.

Felisin and Company:

"Armour can hide anything until the moment it falls away. Even a child. Especially a child."

And now we come to Felisin, oh Felisin. What a compelling character you are Felisin of House Paran. I had so many conflicting emotions about her throughout this book. I found her really annoying at first because of how she spiteful she was to others, but the more I thought of her when I wasn't reading this book, the more my views on her changed. Here's a young girl who is hurting and her lashing out at everyone might simply be because she doesn't know how to process her trauma, and frankly how could she (she's 15!). She lost her parents, her older brother is dead for all she knows and her remaining family member, her sister has sent her to a hellhole. A hellhole where she is taken advantage of my Beneth and his men.

For me, she is the best written character in the book and one of my favourites in the series so far. Reading her innocence getting shattered was so hard to read, starting from the prologue in which her journey begins. Thinking back that march to the slave ships in the prologue was a mini chain of dogs sequence in which we see a character go through a journey and end up being changed by it at the end. She is a tragic young girl who was failed by the adults around her. The famous thematic line of this book Duiker says 'Children are dying' could easily apply to the death of Felisin's childhood innocence. (GANOES PARAN, YOUR LITTLE SISTER NEEDS YOU!!!)

It was fascinating reading her journey and upon reflection I felt a great sense of pity for her. Witnessing her fall from a frightened noble girl spiral ever downwards was devasting to read and covers quite possibly the darkest arc in the book. Her addiction to numb the trauma she is unable to process was really well written and I cried for her when she named the young girl at the camp Felisin. I look forward to how her arc plays out now that she is a goddess. Her impending meeting with Tavore is already giving me goosebumps. I also have to salute SE for not shying away from letting us in on Felisin's thoughts as dark as they were. There's no romanticizing trauma and SE's writing on Felisin really captures that.

Felisin's company in the book are also interesting. There's so much of Heboric's arc that I was confused with but I found him so intriguing and can't wait to see where it goes. Him and Felisin share a unique bond and despite his cynical nature I'd like to think he cares for her, I just wished him and Baudin did a better job of protecting that young girl. That whole journey on the ship through the warren was epic with how much was going on. The Tiste Andi headless crew...The huge skeletal dragon...The arrival of the T'lan Imass..... SE doesn't hesitate to throw so much chaos at the reader and I absolutely love it.

Can't finish this section off without mentioning Kulp, he was a cool mage and his death was so sudden and shocking to read. To think that he went on this mission to find Heboric on Duiker's behalf and it cost him his life was so sad. Baudin dying in Felisin's arms was also moving, there was so much that passed between them in that silent moment. Understanding that came far too late. 'You . . . were . . . not what I expected . . .'(*Grabs box of tissues once more.)

Fiddler and Company:

It was really good to see some familiar faces in Fiddler, Crokus and Apsalar once more. Fiddler was incredible in this book even though he was not a major character. Him saving those two girls from that pimp was a reminder why I loved the bridgeburners from GOTM. I'm interested to know what that exchange with the spiritwalker was, something about a song for the bridgeburners. It was also pretty cool to learn that the bridgeburners were once in Raraku, I love how SE drops those small bits of lore throughout his books.

Fiddler, Crokus and Apsalar's journey though the desert to meeting Mappo and Icarium to passing through the Azath house were really cool to read. I also have to mention Fiddler befriending Mappo and understanding his plight was also a really nice touch.

I guess Crokus and Apsalar (back with with her dad yaay!) got their happy ending? It would have been cruel if Apsalar had become the goddess because she has been through so much. Seeing Fiddler return to being a soldier was a surprise, I really thought he would have wanted to retire, so I'm guessing we'll see him again which I'm happy about as he grew on me throughout this book.

Kalam:

Kalam has become one of my favourite characters. The guy is an absolute tank, a one man army. I loved reading his fight sequences and SE did a great job of showing how skilled an assasin he is. The way he handled all those bandits to protect Keneb's family was epic. Learning that he is a seven cities native was also really interesting, I would really love to know how he came to be a Malazan soldier.

I remember the rooftop fights in GOTM where he held his own against the tiste andii so to see him fight off all those claw members whilst he was wounded was really epic. His plan to assassinate Laseen came as a shock and their conversation (although she was not there physically) shed light on a lot of things that went down in Pale. I'm interested to see where things go with Kalam now that he's with Minala and all those kids that were resurrected in the shadow realm.

Favourite Epigraph:

Every throne is an arrow-butt ~ Emperor Kellanved

Favourite Moments:

• That prologue, wow! talk about setting the tone. Probably the most brutal prologue I have read. The flies....Baudin beheading Lady Gaesen using the chain....Felisin's fears. I felt that this book was going to be different from GOTM just from this prologue alone and I was not wrong. Learning that Tavore was the new adjunct was also a real shock at this point.
• Apsalar confirming that Dancer and the Emperor had ascended. This part still left me with a lot of questions regarding Ascendency. So both men avoided being killed but managed to ascend? I would really love to know what happened on that day and just in general how Ascendency works.
• Felisin and Co's escape from Skullcup and their travels on the Silanda with the other marines was so epic and tense to read.
• Kalam killing those rebels to protect that family. Fiddler protecting those two girls at the start reaffirmed why I loved the Bridgeburners from back in GOTM.
• The whole Chain of Dogs sequence. Special mention to those sappers building a road on that river crossing and then blowing it up.
• Coltaine accidently demoting that sapper leader was really funny and much needed relief.
• 'Children are dying'. What an epic qoute and it serves as the thesis for the whole novel.
• Coltaine as a leader was really cool to follow. The empire did not deserve you.....
• Duiker's perspective as Historian was a genius choice. Him being 'witness' to the chain of dogs whilst its happening gives the storyline an almost mythical touch.
• Corporal List's Jaghut visions were honestly such an underrated part of the Chain of the Dogs. It really emphasises one of the themes of the book which is the cyclical nature of history. Just as the Jaghut were hunted down, so are Coltaine's army. To see the army pass through the ghosts of past battles that occurred thousands of years ago was so eerily haunting. I really would love to read more about the Jaghut/T'lan Imass conflicts as in GOTM I thought the Jaghut were the bad race but this book throws that now into question with the T'lan Imass pogroms against the Jagut. Very interesting.
• Felisin's transformation was uncomfortable to read but had to put it here as it was so well written.
• Every Kalam fight scene.
• That plot twist of who would become Shaik reborn between Apsalar and Felisin.
• Raraku was a joy to delve into. It felt very much alive with all its history that it became like its own character. In GOTM I found Darujhistan a great city to explore and now in DG, SE has written another great setting in the holy desert that I hope to revisit in future books.
• Learning more about the Azath houses was nice. The fact that they can be used to travel between them was interesting. Wish there was more about the warrens as the magic system is still a bit of mystery.
• How have I not mentioned ISKARAL PUST!! This dark book needed him so much as he brought me so much laughter. He's like the evil dark version of Kruppe LOL. What I would do to see them both in the same room.
• Those special quiet moments between characters that I loved in GOTM also occur here and there's too many to name but a few examples are Apsalar's talk with Icarium about the nature of memories whilst Mappo feigned being asleep or Duiker trying to find the words to comfort Captain's Lull need for answers to all they have witnessed. Honestly SE is so great with the dialogue in this book.
• Any section of philosophising brought a smile to my face.
• The Epilogue was really interesting, does it mean that Coltaine will be reborn???

Favourite Quotes:

• "You ever think that maybe what you are is what's trapping you inside whatever it is you're trapped inside?" (Baudin to Felisin)
• “The historian, now witness, stumbling in the illusion that he will survive. Long enough to set the details down on parchment in the frail belief that truth is a worthwhile cause. That the tale will become a lesson heeded. Frail belief? Outright lie, a delusion of the worst sort. The lesson of history is that no one learns.” (Duiker)
• “Children are dying." Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.” (Captain Lull)
• 'I’ll never return to the List of the Fallen, because I see now that the unnamed soldier is a gift. The named soldier – dead, melted wax – demands a response among the living.. a response no-one can make. Names are no comfort, they’re a call to answer the unanswerable. Why did she die, not him? Why do the survivors remain anonymous – as if cursed – while the dead are revered? Why do we cling to what we lose while we ignore what we still hold? Name none of the fallen, for they stood in our place and stand there still in each moment of our lives. Let my death hold no glory, and let me die forgotten and unknown. Let it not be said that I was one among the dead to accuse the living.' (Duiker)
• "....The clans do as he commands and say nothing. It is not shared certainty or mutual understanding that breeds our silence. It is awe." (Nether on Coltaine)
• “How does a mortal make answer to what his or her kind are capable of?” (Captain Lull)
• “It is not the Empire’s soldiers the Empress cannot afford to lose, it is its memory.” (Coltaine)
• “Pogroms need no reason, sir, none that can weather challenge, in any case. Difference in kind is the first recognition, the only one needed, in fact. Land, domination, pre-emptive attacks—all just excuses, mundane justifications that do nothing but disguise the simple distinction. They are not us. We are not them.” (Corporal List)

Conclusion:

One of the most impactful and demanding books I have ever read. My immediate feeling after finishing GOTM was that I was about to embark on a special journey with this series and reading DG has reaffirmed that feeling. If the remaining books left in this series are close to this level then Malazan will comfortably become my favourite fantasy series (Sorry Gene Wolfe).

Thinking back, what made this book at times so uncomfortable to read was that in a series that contains long-lived races such as the T'lan Imass, Jaghuts etc it's actually humans that give this book such a haunting feel. When I think about the things that occur in this book like in Skullcup or the chain of dogs, we are faced with the worst of humanity and I love that SE does not shy away from driving home that point because in our real world we all know of the atrocities that have happened in the past. But for all the bad things that take place in this book SE balances it out with honourable moments that restore a certain amount of goodwill back into humanity like with Kalam and Fiddler's rescue moments or Mappo healing those dogs at the end of the book.

Sidenote- I also need to know what SE was doing between both books because the writing is on a completely different level and the prose felt so much more refined which was a pleasant surprise as GOTM - a really good read - was a little difficult to follow at times with all the quick head hopping and at times rough prose.

I have a lot of questions which I'm sure will be answered with RAFO so one I would like to know is where Deadhouse Gates is generally ranked in the series rankings. Are the other books in the series on this same level?

Star Book Ranking: 5/5

Series Book Ranking:

1. Deadhouse Gates (We have a new Number One! how long will DG hold the top spot?)
2. Gardens of the Moon