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: #6981 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

Incredible
I first came across Steven Erikson some 2 years ago and after completing Gardens of the Moon I was a committed fan. Every successive book has only served to reinforce my opinion that he is one of the most original and captivating fantasy autors that I have ever had the pleasure to read. The House of Chains has managed to surpass even all my expectations, and after Deadhouse Gates they were very high indeed. From the novella in the first 150 pages through to the unfolding of some of the plans of the Crippled God, this book was unletdownable. Erikson rightly deserves much more credit for his work than Jordan, who I consider a much inferior author. This book has everything that makes a great novel, both from a fantastical sense and from a literary sense. There is no overwhelming subterfuge at work trying to confuse the reader, each book gives more elaborate and indepth insights into what goes on in the twisted pantheon of the MAlazan Empire. A must read....

Another excellent book that continues a fantastic series
House of Chains is the fourth book in the series but, in fact, carries on where the second book left off. (Deadhouse Gates)
The author takes us back to the characters and consequences that followed the ending of that book. Although this book can be read on its own I would strongly advise reading this series in order:-
1)Gardens of the Moon
2)Deadhouse Gates
3)Memories of Ice
The reason is that many of the most enjoyable parts of the book are seeing the cleverly interlaced stories that flow from book to book with actions that occur in one book being seen from different angles and even explained more fully in this one. We follow a number of different individuals as each follows their own paths meeting and crossing the paths of all the other characters. The cleverest part is that each path is distinct unto itself with the goals and objectives varying wildly. The crossing when it occurs may not even be with the characters but an explanation as to why for example a boat was found drifting with all the crew dead in a previous book.
This series is an excellent read which is full of novel ideas and a depth of story and plot that has kept me enthralled from the time I started reading the first book until now when I eagerly await the 5th.

Truly Amazing, He Is The King Of Fantasy
This book truly is awesome, its exciting, fulfilling and keeps you on the edge of your seat right the way through to the end and beyond.
This book carries on from Deadhouse Gates, and writes about the rebellion aka "Sha'ik's Whirlind" that has sweeped across genabackis and how Adjunct Tavore (Ganoes Paran's sister) has been given the task of destroying the rebellion with a rag tag army of recruits.
We see the old characters from Deadhouse Gates in this book like, Fiddler, Kalam, Crokus, Apsalar and many more. Also what is interesting about this novel, is that it begins with the tale of a character who was barely even mentioned in Deadhouse Gates, this character is called Karsa a Toblakai who was first mentioned in the first few pages of Deadhouse Gates when the first sha'ik was assassinated by the Red Blades.
Anyway Karsa's story is set before any of the stories in the other novels took place, and tells us everything about him and the part he plays and still has to play in these truly amazing stories.
As usual Steven Erikson writes with a lot of detail which as usual compliments the story than hindering it and making it boring.
As you all will know the battles in his stories are extremely violent and grusomely detailed and this story is no exception, but I find this gives more realism to the story and the battles in general, and it makes the novels more exciting.
This novel will close a lot of doors from previous novels, but as with all of his novels they actually open more doors than they close, its this style of writing which keeps us waiting in agony for the next instalment, and making us frustrated that the books could end so soon when there is so much left to cover.
But over all it is another hit from perhaps THE BEST author of fantasy novels in this day and age, it's his attention to detail and his merciless imagination which sets him apart from most fantasy authors and puts him straight up in the big league with the likes of Tolkien.
I advise to anyone thinking of buying this novel to buy it over the net because i will tell you now you will not be able to find it in any high street retail shops, I spent ages looking for this novel, I even went to this giant book shop in Cambridge which had like four floors in it and they didnt even have it, they only had Memories Of Ice (what about the other novels, insult or what) in the end I had to order it over the net because I just couldnt find it anywhere. So avoid the hassel and just order it from Amazon.
But like I said this is a truly magnificent story from a highly under rated, and highly ignored MASTER of fantasy novels, who never seems to be given the light of day by anyone.