Product Description

In Northern Genabackis, just before the events recounted in GARDENS OF THE MOON, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flat lands. Their intention is to wreak havoc among the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong it marks the beginning of what will prove an extraordinary destiny. Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Coltaine, revered commander of the Malazan 7th Army is dead. And now Tavore, elder sister of Ganoes Paran and Adjunct to the Empress, has arrived in the last remaining Malazan stronghold of the Seven Cities to take charge. Untested and new to command, she must hone a small army of twelve thousand soldiers, mostly raw recruits, into a viable fighting force and lead them into battle against the massed hordes of Sha'ik's Whirlwind. Her only hope lies in resurrecting the shattered faith of the few remaining survivors from Coltaine's legendary march, veterans one and all. In distant Raraku, in the heart of the Holy Desert, the seer Sha'ik waits with her rebel army. But waiting is never easy. Her disparate collection of warlords - tribal chiefs, High Mages, a renegade Malazan Fist and his sorceror - is locked in a vicious power struggle that threatens to tear the rebellion apart from within. And Sha'ik herself suffers, haunted by the private knowledge of her nemesis, Tavore...her own sister. So begins the awesome new chapter in Steven Erikson's MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN - an epic novel of war, intrigue, magic and betrayal from a writer regarded as one of the most original, imaginative and exciting storytellers in fantasy today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7858 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1040 pages

From the Publisher
Stop Press! Amazon customers might like to know that Steven Erikson's awesome new novel, HOUSE OF CHAINS, is also available in a hardcover edition (ISBN: 0593 046250) in addition to the trade paperback. This the first time a full-length chapter in his epic 'Malazan Book of the Fallen' sequence has been published in hardback.

From the Back Cover
In Northern Genabackis, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flat lands. Their intention is to wreak havoc amongst the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong it marks the beginning of what will prove an extraordinary destiny.

Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Tavore, the new Adjunct to the Empress, has arrived in the last remaining Malazan stronghold on Seven Cities. New to command, she must hone twelve thousand soldiers, mostly raw recruits but for a handful of veterans of Coltaine's legendary march, into a force capable of challenging the massed hordes of Sha'ik's Whirlwind who lie in wait at the heart of the Holy Desert.

But waiting is never easy. The seer's warlords are locked in a power struggle that threatens the very soul of the rebellion, while Sha'ik herself suffers, haunted by the knowledge of her nemesis: her own sister, Tavore.

And so begins this awesome new chapter in Steven Erikson's acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen.

About the Author
An archaeologist and anthropologist, and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Steven Erikson lives in Winnipeg. His first fantasy novel, GARDENS OF THE MOON, was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award and the second, DEADHOUSE GATES, was voted 'one of the 10 best fantasy novels of the year'. The third and fourth books in his epic Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence - MEMORIES OF ICE and HOUSE OF CHAINS have each received remarkable critical acclaim, confirming him as one of the most significant fantasy writers of his generation.

Customer Reviews

witness - well if you say so :)
a lot of flak is pointed at house of chains because it focuses on one character for the first section, but what a character! Karsa orlong explodes ontot he page and pushes this book beyond the ordinary into the fantastic. The remainder of the book is no less breathtaking with many story arcs folding into each other as another convergance takes place. This is a most tragic novel and builds to a very unexpected ending.

Erikson remains unlike any other author i have read in the gritty realism of his characters within the world they inhabit. This is not typical fantasy, its soemthing so much more.

Highly recommended.

below standard
This book is okay, but by no means great. It is far too long and overwritten (as others have commented on), and Karsa seems to be one of those polarising characters, that you either love or hate. I didn't like him at all, and as the first 250 pages of the book are dedicated to him, i almost stopped reading.
Some of the plot devices are also infuriating - *spoiler warning* - how many times can a character be in a dead end, no way out situation, then suddenly a god comes in and saves the day? I groaned out loud a couple of times with this.
One of the most difficult things for a great writer to do is to have each character not only with their own personality traits, but to speak believably and individually. Eriskon suffers here from the same flaw that Tom Clancy and other, otherwise excellant story tellers, does - namely that the characters speak in the same way, with the same pet phrases etc. Very frustrating from a readers pov.
Finally, I just didn't find that this book really drew you into the characters the way his previous books have, so you don't really care about them or what happens to them.
I will read (at some stage, not for a while as I'm not keen to dig back into the Malazan world yet) Midnight Tides, and if hasn't gotten back to the standard of the first novels, I will probably end there.

Anthropolgical slaughter
"Karsa's sword was a blur as he cut into the archers. Figures turning to run. Dying, spinning away in floods of blood. Skulls shattering. Karsa carved his way down the line, and left a trail of eight figures, some writhing and others still..."

The warrior Karsa Orlong departs his loved ones to do battle astride his horse Havok, accompanied by his dog Gnaw and fellow warriors Bairoth Gild and Delum Thord. The Uryd tribe of the Teblor are giants among men, and their culture has some very particular conventions when it comes to courage and combat and killing. They think nothing of fighting on in spite of numerous wounds, partly because they have the further advantages of an immunity from infection and exceptional powers of bodily healing, ensuring that they usually live to fight again. We would be but children among them, and such children they are fond of slaughtering in great numbers.

There's more to this book than spectacular violence and savagery, of course. The author is an anthropologist, and instils life in his work, creating philosophies and ways of thinking that exist beyond the details on the printed page. And he certainly has a story to tell; this is the fourth in an epic series of ten volumes dubbed 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'. The first, 'Gardens of the Moon', was Erikson's debut, and was short-listed for a World Fantasy Award. The second, 'Deadhouse Gates', was voted one of the best fantasy novels of the year. I know someone who has read as far as the third and wants to keep going, which can't be bad. [This review was written in December 2002.]

As a part of such a sequence, and at 757 pages, plus three maps, five pages of characters and a five-page glossary, this book appears a daunting prospect. In fact, the plot follows mostly from the events of the first volume, although some years have passed. Mercifully, it can be read in its own right, and soon begins to make some sense even without constant reference to the accompanying documents. No, I haven't had the time to finish it yet, but decided to post a review in time for the official publication (today, 5th December).

Are you a reader of epic fantasies? A follower of war, intrigue and betrayal with a little mythology and magic thrown in, among a cast of characters who really battle and suffer and even die; this is another one for you. You know who you are.