The warrens of magic dwelt in the beyond

Sette Città era una civiltà radicata nel potere dell'antichità; l'antichità in cui gli Ascendenti camminavano su ogni strada mercantile, ogni sentiero, ogni pista abbandonata fra città dimenticate.
(64)

Ho percorso antiche strade
In questo giorno
Che diventavano spettri con
Il calar della notta
E scomparivano ai miei occhi
Con l'alba.
Tale fu il mio viaggio
Leghe attraverso secoli
In un batter di ciglia del sole.

Epitaffio Pardu

(198)

Quando le sabbie
Danzavano cieche,
Lei emerse dal volto
Di una dea furibonda.

Sha'ik

(414)

...Heboric scoppiò a ridere. Sollevò le mani invisibili. "Mostrami un mortale che non sia inseguito e ti mostrerò un cadavere. Ogni cacciatore è cacciato, ogni mente che conosce se stessa è inseguita. Spingiamo e siamo spinti. L'ignoto insegue l'ignorante, la verità assale ogni studioso abbastanza saggio da riconoscere la propria ignoranza, perché quello è il significato di verità inconoscibili".

(551)

E così, la semplice verità... i sentieri che abbiamo percorso per così tanto tempo diventano le nostre stesse vite, loro stesse una prigione...

(824)

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First read: June 2013
Re-read: January 2015 ( )

Literary masterpiece, if any single one of the other Malazan books are similar to this than I don't know if I'll be able to read regular fantasy after. Gardens of the Moon suffered at times from the feeling that nothing was happening, Deadhouse Gates is the complete opposite. It could stand alone with how intensive but also well wrapped-up the story is, but since its the second of a long, long series it sets up what I'm worried is a nearly impossible standard to match. The ending was fitting, but its one of the first times I was actively hoping for some blatant author miracle to save them. Any break in (fantasy) realism would have been welcomed rather than Coltaines end.  ( )

I sometimes have a hard time imagining the terrain, especially during Coltaine's marches. I just can't visualize battlefield and what its surroundings look like. This is the first fantasy book where I've felt an urge to consult the maps. I can't wait to read Memories of Ice. ( )

I had almost written off Steven Erikson's Malazan epic after reading "Gardens of the Moon", which I thought was mired in D&D tropes, boggled down by cookie-cutter characters and overstuffed with information and world-building that seemed interesting but hard to grasp.

It's a good thing that I gave the next book in the series a chance. The characters are better fleshed out in this book, which benefits from a few new characters and a somewhat clearer plot (at least one of its threads, that of Coltaine and his Chain of Dogs which I felt was the stronger and best-plotted thread in the series so far). Duiker and Heboric are more rounded characters than Paran and the rest introduced in Gardens, though Felisin is a strange character, as she goes from 'easily relatable' to 'unbearable bitch' to 'wise Seer' in what seems hardly believable. Her transition could have been handled better, but it's still a better progression than Apsalar's or Crokus', who showed up as horribly stupid and stereotypical characters in the previous book and aren't given much more to do in this one.

Kalam is starting to become the most interesting character in the series, along with Quick Ben, and the other intriguing parts are the blossoming storylines of the Jhagut, T'lan Imass, Tiste Andi, etc. I expect the author's 'archeological' take on world-building (that is, what I believe he's doing, basically cutting down on exposition for the sake of the reader slowly peeling back layer by layer of the world's history) will end up paying off further down the saga. Icarium's storyline, though, seems important at first but ends up overwhelming. I don't know if I'd be glad to see him appear on a later book, but we'll see.

The best part of the book is, in my mind, Duiker's progression from historian back to soldier. That whole part of the book was very well handled and the ending was terrific. Too bad Erikson felt he needed to undercut that storyline by adding a final magical macguffin to allow him to have the cake and eat it too.

Overall, a satisfying, fast-reading experience that improves on the previous book's failings a bit. ( )