Good Read
Stephen Erikson recently said he does not write grimdark books. Well, I just finished reading Deadhouse Gates, and it was grimmer and darker than anything I have ever read before. But I have also never read anything as confusing before. The closest thing to it was this book’s predecessor, Gardens of the Moon (GotM going forth). That is not necessarily a bad thing. I am not trying to be negative with this review. I have to say this. Nothing else I have ever read has required me to read chapters summaries after, just to see what I have missed. And I missed a lot in this book. One could say it’s me, but I don’t have this issue with other books, at least not to this degree. The book starts out following 4 or 5 different groups of people in a totally different continent than GotM. Most are new, but some appeared in GotM. I was able to connect with most of the, especially the holdovers. As the book progressed, I found that I began to like others and not care so much about the ones that interested me initially. By the end of the book, I was exhausted, and didn’t care much who was doing what. I am now questioning if these books are for me. I know there are many who consider these books to best in fantasy. There is nothing wrong with that, as much as there is nothing wrong with me considering future readings of subsequent books in the series. The general consensus is that you need to read the first 3 books before you truly realize if these books are for you. So, I am going to do that. I am going to read Memories of Ice, but I will be taking a month’s break first to clear my mind and palate. As with GotM, I connected with characters rather than story. And before I began to lose interest, I enjoyed following certain characters. I did like the Felisin, Heboric Light-Touch, and Baudin storyline. I did enjoy continuing with Apsalar and Crockus. I was initially intrigued with what Kalam was planning on doing. I struggled a bit with Duiker. I struggled a bit with Coltaine. I struggled a bit with Mappo and Icarium. And before long, as explained above, they swapped. Erikson does write very vivid characters. We spend so much time with them, you grow to love or hate them. For me, it the one thing I can rely on to continue reading, even when their storylines become confusing. In conclusion, Deadhouse Gates was a better book than Gardens of the Moon, which I rated 3 out of 5 stars. As much as it was better, it never reached 4-star status. I am both hesitant and looking forward to reading Memories of Ice, to see if this series will finally break through and become what it has for many who love these books so much, or if it will be the final nail in the coffin for my interest in the series.