House of Chains
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- Create Date：2021-05-23 10:55:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Steven Erikson
- ISBN：0553813137
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Summary
In Northern Genabackis， a raiding party of 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 this pivotal 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。
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 this pivotal 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。
Reviews
Ethan
，
I will be brief with this one。 I greatly enjoyed this book， specifically the audiobook version。 The first 3/4 were fantastic。 I enjoyed Karsa's character and his time in captivity。 I really liked the Nascent and when perspective characters would go there and see the desolation that occurred in a time long past。 I enjoyed seeing a good bit of Kalam， Cutter and Apsalar as well。 I also really liked seeing Lostara Yil and Pearl's interactions。A big criticism I have of the climax of this book is one I will be brief with this one。 I greatly enjoyed this book， specifically the audiobook version。 The first 3/4 were fantastic。 I enjoyed Karsa's character and his time in captivity。 I really liked the Nascent and when perspective characters would go there and see the desolation that occurred in a time long past。 I enjoyed seeing a good bit of Kalam， Cutter and Apsalar as well。 I also really liked seeing Lostara Yil and Pearl's interactions。A big criticism I have of the climax of this book is one that I have heard others level as well。 Without spoiling the players and events involved what I will say is that some really cool stuff happens with spirits at one point。。。。but we don't get to read a first hand account of all that as it is going down， we just get an account of it from someone who was there to another main character。 I get why this authorial choice was probably made （to save time and perhaps create mystique around the events） but I would have really appreciated have to experience those events with a perspective character （or multiple） as we got in Memories of Ice。 The strong points of this book were VERY strong while the weak parts were a little disappointing。 The strong points overshadow the weak though and I enjoyed it overall。 PS， this is a minor gripe but one I thought I would mention。 For me the second half of the book I had a lot of trouble keeping Felisin Elder， Felisin Younger， Sha'ik Reborn， OG Sha'ik， and the Whirlwind Goddess apart。 Why oh why name a character one name and give her adopted daughter the same name？？ That adds a whole new level of confusion to the already confusing situation with the original Sha'ik dying， being "reborn" and then being possessed throughout by a goddess。 Also， since we never see the goddess until the end I had no idea if that was distinctly another being or just some incorporeal personality。 Very confusing， especially amidst a story that has so many named characters and perspective hopping。 。。。more
Safat
，
Before Malazan， the only other fantasy series I finished was Harry Potter。 That was nearly a decade ago， and I struggled to read British English back then （English is not my first language）。 Then now and then I tried to pick up this fantasy book or that （LOTR， for example）， but couldn't get through much。 So I kind of decided fantasy wasn't my thing。What intrigued me about Malazan was its notoriety as the 'most difficult and potentially most rewarding fantasy ever written'， and what I saw as a di Before Malazan， the only other fantasy series I finished was Harry Potter。 That was nearly a decade ago， and I struggled to read British English back then （English is not my first language）。 Then now and then I tried to pick up this fantasy book or that （LOTR， for example）， but couldn't get through much。 So I kind of decided fantasy wasn't my thing。What intrigued me about Malazan was its notoriety as the 'most difficult and potentially most rewarding fantasy ever written'， and what I saw as a diminishing attention span on my part。 So I took it as a personal challenge。 Also， that the author of the series was a archaeologist and anthropologist also was a supplemental intriguing factor。 It's been a more than a year since I started the series。 I was aware that the first few books would be difficult， and the first two book was indeed like groping in the dark。 It wasn't like there weren't redeeming storylines there， but I understood two little of the world to sufficiently enjoy the plots。As I was halfway through House of Chains， I have just began to enjoy the series。 In fact， I have noticed that my goodreads rating of the first three books were 2， 2 and 3 respectively， and this book is a 4。 From the reviews I see， I can only see it getting better from here。 It's quite difficult to review the early books in the series， because so far the meaning of each book has been substantially revised with each latter book。 It is because the world Erikson is building is huge （people say it's the huge-est）， and thus necessarily unfolds rather slowly。 Many would claim that the third book is one of the best installment in the series and definitely better than this book， but I'm actually enjoying the 4th book better。 I understand that there were a lot more excitement and events in the third book than the 4th one， but I feel like I understand the world better now and can connect the dots a little more， and for it matters more than the micro or even major events happening in the books。 Can't wait to get to book 5 and get into the history of the world！ I have a feeling that from book 5 it is gonna really click for me。 。。。more
Jean
，
I gave this book a 3 star but I suspect I’m going to be giving it a 4 after sitting with it for a bit。 Unlike the previous three books that started confusing and ended strong this one started strong and ended confusing。 I liked it and there were some fantastic sequences， but from around page 600 to 800 I lost the thread。 I think I spent about 200 pages going， “wtf” 😂。 The one thing I’m sure of is Karsa is a great character。 Not a good character but he dominated every scene he was in and I liked I gave this book a 3 star but I suspect I’m going to be giving it a 4 after sitting with it for a bit。 Unlike the previous three books that started confusing and ended strong this one started strong and ended confusing。 I liked it and there were some fantastic sequences， but from around page 600 to 800 I lost the thread。 I think I spent about 200 pages going， “wtf” 😂。 The one thing I’m sure of is Karsa is a great character。 Not a good character but he dominated every scene he was in and I liked his arc。 The thing I liked the most was he seemed to give zero fucks when it comes to fighting。 He’ll fight anyone at anytime。 I like that。Edit: May 18th 2021。 I’m giving it 4 stars after thinking on it for a while。 。。。more
Jonathan Bergeron
，
Very odd how I can give 5 stars yet not finish the book。 The reason why I give 5 stars is that Erikson's writing is nothing short of superb。 I just didn't care at all about the main character。 Just found him uninteresting and not my cup of tea。Still， the imagination that Erikson has is inspiring。 Very odd how I can give 5 stars yet not finish the book。 The reason why I give 5 stars is that Erikson's writing is nothing short of superb。 I just didn't care at all about the main character。 Just found him uninteresting and not my cup of tea。Still， the imagination that Erikson has is inspiring。 。。。more
Chris
，
So， I'm having mixed feelings about this series。 On the one hand， the books are difficult to read。 Like I've got to puzzle through what's going on all the time。 For example， there's one scene where Karsa squeezes a blade out of his back by relaxing and tensing his muscles （he's not human， he can do these things） but it never actually says the blade popped out or that he was successful。 No， instead it says that something dropped behind him and made a noise and you just got to figure out that that So， I'm having mixed feelings about this series。 On the one hand， the books are difficult to read。 Like I've got to puzzle through what's going on all the time。 For example， there's one scene where Karsa squeezes a blade out of his back by relaxing and tensing his muscles （he's not human， he can do these things） but it never actually says the blade popped out or that he was successful。 No， instead it says that something dropped behind him and made a noise and you just got to figure out that that something was the blade。That ain't bad per se， I kind of enjoy puzzling through it as I go but it does slow things down。And then， it's hard to care about a lot of these characters。 Partly because there's so darn many of them， partly they all have weird names so it's hard to remember who they all。 Partly because very few qualify as good people so when bad things happen， I can be very indifferent。And thirdly， a lot of the events can be summarized as， "and then some magic crap happened" or， "and then some really crazy magic crap happened"。 Like， at the end of this book， （view spoiler）[instead of a climactic battle between the Malazans and the forces of the Apocalypse， the desert raises up ghosts and spirits to destroy Shaik's army （hide spoiler）]。 And it's kind of explained but I'm mostly sitting here thinking， "Oh， did not know that was a thing that could happen。 Magic deserts， who'd a thunk it？"That being said， the main thing I'm here for is the world building。 It's really cool。 Like the T'Lan Imass are basically zombie Neanderthals who made themselves undead so they could finish committing genocide。 Said zombies will take a detour into a realm of fire to kill an impostor god if they need too。 The mundane world and magic world overlap such that parts of the world can be sucked into a warren。 Pretty sure Toc was temporarily possessed by a wolf god before Toc possessed another dude。So， that's my biggest interest so far。 I'm really interested in what the deal with Chained god is and how this world works。 I also hope that Toc and the wolf god are okay （what？ I like dogs）。 Okay， fine， maybe there are some characters I care about。 。。。more
Zahra
，
چقدر این کتاب رو دوست داشتم با وجود اینکه پایان بندیش اصلا به پای کتاب دوم و سوم نمیرسه و در حد اون دوتا حماسی نیست اما بازم برای من دلنشین بود。تراژدی خواهرهای پاران، یادمان راراکو،。。。 و تقریبا همه اتفاقات کتاب یه تعادل جالبی بین امیدواری و یأس داشت。اما یه ستاره کم میکنم فقط بخاطر کارسا！ یعنی کاراکتر رو مخ تر از این تو جهان فانتزی تا حالا ندیدم！
David
，
3。5
Kaminsod
，
This might be a MBotF book I have the least to say about。 And it's not like I didn't like it - it is my second least favorite， I rank it on the 9th place， but this is my favorite series， all these books will get 5 stars and perfect rating from me。 But HoC might be the MBotF with least memorable moments。The first part is brilliant。 It is something completelly different than the stuff from the first three， and that's pretty refreshing。 And the rest of the book is good too， but it is slower paced a This might be a MBotF book I have the least to say about。 And it's not like I didn't like it - it is my second least favorite， I rank it on the 9th place， but this is my favorite series， all these books will get 5 stars and perfect rating from me。 But HoC might be the MBotF with least memorable moments。The first part is brilliant。 It is something completelly different than the stuff from the first three， and that's pretty refreshing。 And the rest of the book is good too， but it is slower paced and that can be a problem for some people。 But it didn't really bother me， the book was just heavily soilder-focused， which set to tone for the rest of the series and it showed us what Erikson really want this series to be about。 And the finale part was great， as always。So I might not enjoyed HoC as much as most of the Malazan books， but it is still a brilliant， brilliant book and it has everything that Malazan book should has。 。。。more
Живко Тодоров
，
"Дом на вериги" е продължение на "Дверите на Скръбния дом" и отмъщението （за унищожаването на "Веригата от кучета" и убийството на предводителя и Колтейн） на Малазанската империя срещу бунтовниците на Ша'ик укриващи се в пустинята Рараку защитени от Вихъра на богинята。。。 Адюнктка Таворе Паран （сестрата на Ганоз и Фелисин） преводителка на 14-та армия е натоварена със задачата да смаже бунтовниците и залови/убие предводителката им。 Както и в предните 3 тома Ериксън разказва в 4 книги историята на "Дом на вериги" е продължение на "Дверите на Скръбния дом" и отмъщението （за унищожаването на "Веригата от кучета" и убийството на предводителя и Колтейн） на Малазанската империя срещу бунтовниците на Ша'ик укриващи се в пустинята Рараку защитени от Вихъра на богинята。。。 Адюнктка Таворе Паран （сестрата на Ганоз и Фелисин） преводителка на 14-та армия е натоварена със задачата да смаже бунтовниците и залови/убие предводителката им。 Както и в предните 3 тома Ериксън разказва в 4 книги историята на новия персонаж Трул Сенгар （Тайс Едур-от децата на Сянка） и подържащия персонаж от "Спомени от лед" Онрак （Т'лан Имасс） и завързалото се между тях необикновено приятелство и перипетиите с които се сблъскват по пътя по който са поели。 Цялата първа книга е посветена на тайнственият пазител на Ша'ик ，тоблакаят гигант Карса Орлонг и неговият път до присъединяването му към бунта и по-нататъшната му необикновена съдба （моят любим персонаж от този 4-ти том）。Ериксън се е концентрирал върху сблъсъка между двете армии на Малазнаската империя и бунтовниците на Ша'ик ，а също и в определени персонажи във двата лагера ，като юмрук Гамът и стар познайник Стрингс （под псевдоним） и още десетки поддържащи персонажи от 14-та армия。В лагера на бунтовниците централни персонажи са отново Фелисин и Хеборик （който търпи преобразяване） ，а също и Леоман и върховния маг Л'орик （интерестни разкрития за произхода му） ，разкриват се плановете на Корболо Дом и магът му Камъст Релой ，разкриват се също и плановете на магът Фебрил ，на сцената и на този лагер не липсват поддържащи персонажи и ключовите им учатия в гигантския пъзел на историята на Стивън Ериксън。 Също така интересни разкрития прави принуденото дуо Перла （кралски нокът） и Лостра，а и другото вече познато ни дуо Апсалар и Крокъс ，които имат важна роля и подпомагат плановете на Котилион /Въжето。 Има изненадващи появявания на Икариум ， Мапо Рънт и Искарал Пъст。 Оцелелият от подпалвачите на мостове убиец Калъм Мекхар също има един куп перипетии и интересни ，но и болезнени срещи。Както и в предните 3 тома и тук има изобилие от персонажи （10-тина основни и около 20-тина поддържащи и още 3 пъти по толкова споменаващи се :） ），действие ，развитие и изненади в тази част от гигантския епос за Малазанската империя 。 За разлика от шедьовъра "Спомени от лед" в който имаше много трагизъм и кървави битки ，тук действието е по умерено ，но все така увлекателно и те хваща за гърлото ，неумолимо те стиска докато не изчетеш близо 1000 -та му страници。 。。。more
Rumi Bossche
，
This is more going through a 3。7 iss rating， the story broadens， and the world gets bigger and better， it starts fantastically with a awesome new character named Karsa， the story is way better to follow， but it fizzles out a bit at the end。 Still much better then expected after the lackluster reviews。
Martin Corrigan
，
Another epic installment of perhaps the best Fantasy series written to date。Impossible to summarize so it's best to just。。。。。。。Witness！ Another epic installment of perhaps the best Fantasy series written to date。Impossible to summarize so it's best to just。。。。。。。Witness！ 。。。more
Richard Swartz
，
Purely excellent。 House of Chains returns to the setting of Deadhouse Gates， picking up many of the same characters and story threads while also introducing several new characters and settings。Although I prefer the story of DG， I feel like Erikson figured out his writing style between books， and HOC is much more enjoyable to read overall than DG。
Ola （The Reading Witch）
，
*4。5I don't even know where to start with this review because I feel like the strenght of this novel lays in its themes more than the story it tell， and even more thant the themes alone it was the way they were portrayed， the words Mr Erikson used。To stay as vague as possibile House of Chains is a big metaphore for the many different ways one can carry grief， pain， scars - one's emotional chains。Of course this was extremely dark and painful （not at all as in "bad to read" but as in "this book wi *4。5I don't even know where to start with this review because I feel like the strenght of this novel lays in its themes more than the story it tell， and even more thant the themes alone it was the way they were portrayed， the words Mr Erikson used。To stay as vague as possibile House of Chains is a big metaphore for the many different ways one can carry grief， pain， scars - one's emotional chains。Of course this was extremely dark and painful （not at all as in "bad to read" but as in "this book will hurt you"）。 If you think I'm crazy by praising such aspects know that I put a very high value into thought provoking stories and catharsis。The other 2 major themes are sisterhood and culural belifs， but executed with clever intricacies。The one thing I want you to know is that in the endless amount of darkness Erikson wrote in this novel he also left here and there lines full of compassion， empathy and understanding。 It is what makes the difference for me。Structurally this book is totally different from the previous 3。 We start off by following a single character for the first "book within the book"， we only have 1 PoV for 200-250 pages。 This was Erikson resposne to the criticism questioning his ability to stay with one single character since he has switched among multiple PoVs constantly in the provious MBotF book。To me he not only proved he can 100% handle a single PoV storytelling， but he did it so well that when the story switched back to multiple PoVs I was almost sad and definitely impatient in some sections。 These sections were the biggest flaw of this novel to me。The character arc we witness here is outstanding。 What was done was brilliant and left me staring at the last page of book one in awe， with my mind bouncing to make all the connections a little predictions。I feel exhausted but it was so very worth it。TW: rape， mutilation， war themes and horrors， slavery， abuses of all kind， trauma， murder， mass murder， gore， imprisonment， torture。 。。。more
Lorenzo Fittarelli
，
After finishing MoI， which didn't disappoint， actually was a great continuation of what happened especially in GotM， I knew from what I read on the internet that this book is a sort of "sequel" of DHG， plus I read about this new character "Karsa Orlong"。Well， needless to say that this is just another great installment in the Malazan series， which is growing on me more and more。 I found the plot fast paced and much easier to read than the previous books， maybe because I'm understanding more what' After finishing MoI， which didn't disappoint， actually was a great continuation of what happened especially in GotM， I knew from what I read on the internet that this book is a sort of "sequel" of DHG， plus I read about this new character "Karsa Orlong"。Well， needless to say that this is just another great installment in the Malazan series， which is growing on me more and more。 I found the plot fast paced and much easier to read than the previous books， maybe because I'm understanding more what's going on， or maybe because this book is just like that （？）。In any case， I loved the plot， and I loved the characters （yes， Karsa Orlong is one of my new favorites now）。Was definitely worth the read and the time。Now I'm very curious about the next installment， MT， which I know involves completely different characters and plot， though I learned to know Erikson， and he is a guarantee。 。。。more
Javi-K
，
Gran libro dentro del género esta cuarta entrega。 Se me ha hecho un poco duro en algunos momentos su lectura por los nuevos personajes que introduce en este volumen que no terminaba de situar， ni de ver el camino que tendrían en la trama。No obstante， una lectura que he disfrutado muchísimo， sobre todo tras el primer tercio del libro。Muy recomendable。
J。 Allen
，
The overall series is so excellent I doubt I'll go under 4 stars for any of the books。 This installment is a direct sequel to Book 2， bringing back all the （surviving） characters & introducing yet more。 The 1st hundred pages or so is the back-story of the character only referred to as The Toblakai in the 2nd volume。 While the story continues to expand and fill in missing pieces of this complex universe， ultimately this book felt incomplete。 Looking back on the actual events that took place， not The overall series is so excellent I doubt I'll go under 4 stars for any of the books。 This installment is a direct sequel to Book 2， bringing back all the （surviving） characters & introducing yet more。 The 1st hundred pages or so is the back-story of the character only referred to as The Toblakai in the 2nd volume。 While the story continues to expand and fill in missing pieces of this complex universe， ultimately this book felt incomplete。 Looking back on the actual events that took place， not all that much really happened （if it wasn't Malazan， I'd say the core plot was fairly simple）。We DO learn a lot more about the Tiste （Andii， Edur， & Liosan） and the T'lan Imass， & a bit more about the Fallen One。 You also get a better feel for the interrelationships between the dark， shadow， & light warrens; and some hints about the warren that was torn apart （again， presented in book 2）。The anticipated （dreaded） climax comes with a fizzle rather than a bang， and an expected battle in defense of a Throne simply doesn't happen。。。I imagine we'll hear more of that in a future installment。After book 3， book 4 was a bit of a let down。 I suspect the story grew a little too big to include full arcs within a single volume （think Wheel of Time 6-11ish， or Ice & Fire 4-5）。 It's still great stuff， but starting to show some cracks in the foundation。 。。。more
KingSolomon
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wow only 35% into the entire series according to the kindle omnibus。 It’s already been quite a journey， so much has happened it’s hard to imagine how much more can occur in this vast saga。 This was the clear worst of the series thus far。 In ascending order we have this installment， Deadhouse Gates， Gardens of the Moon， and Memories of Ice。 Though the top three are fairly equal contenders， this installment is undisputed in its low tier status， comparatively。 This by no means should insinuate th Wow only 35% into the entire series according to the kindle omnibus。 It’s already been quite a journey， so much has happened it’s hard to imagine how much more can occur in this vast saga。 This was the clear worst of the series thus far。 In ascending order we have this installment， Deadhouse Gates， Gardens of the Moon， and Memories of Ice。 Though the top three are fairly equal contenders， this installment is undisputed in its low tier status， comparatively。 This by no means should insinuate that the book was bad。 By no means was it bad。 It wasn’t as exhilirating and intriguing as the others， but it still was to a good degree。 The concluding chunk of each book is so rife with action I’m shocked it’s been dubbed a ‘Sanderlanche’ and not an ‘Eriklanche’。 While it’s already built into the traditional curve of the falling action， if the name is going to be awarded to someone who never fails to produce an action heavy， drool inducing， heartpounding ending， it should be Erikson。 When Kalam’s pov slips its way through in the final chunks of the book， after deadhouse gates， you know you’re in for a treat。 Nice appearance by quick B。 L’oric even grew on ya。 Ghost hands was already an affable character， despite his arch stagnating a bit （not in terms of his personal in-story development）。 Karsa had a nice arch， and just completely went rambo at the end。 Tavore was boring。 Felisin/shaik was just used to subvert a trope。 Pearl and Lostara are intriguing to follow。 Mapo and Icarium making an appearance made me realize that I really do like them。 Fiddler is growing。 Cutter is progressing。 Cotillion is growin on me too。 I still miss WhiskeyJack。 Now that they ascended， are they going to be alive in some realm？ Rake didn’t make an appearance here， nor did Brood。 I have no clue if they’re in Midnight Tides cause I here it’s a new cast again。 I thought the ending while action packed， was a bit weird。 Erikson tried to be novel and fought criticism that he couldn’t write character with a huge chunk of the beginning taking place solely from Karsa’s pov。 Tbh， while I like Karsa by the end， and while his environment and storyline are certainly captivating， and while I indubitably agree that Erikson is capable of writing compelling characters， beginning Karsa fell kind of dull on me。 He wasn’t bad， it was good， but it wasn’t anything too great。 Perhaps on a reread I’d appreciate it more。 This book felt like a necessary logical sequential sequel to the seven cities saga， and I’m happy Erikson went with it as opposed to just summarily finishing that whole plot with a paragraph or two。 No one wants to write or read about a green army lacking proper leadership and motivation marching to a battle they won’t end up fighting， without much ordeal， and lots of discussion on past events of things we’ve already read。 It’s hard to read and write what is otherwise the boring aftermaths that tend to happen off-screen， but Erikson did a fine job at it。 I will admit at times I get so frustrated at his prose and his way of writing that I feel he’s all bombast。 But then when I get into it I am on the complete other side of the spectrum and am shocked with the breadth of his vocabulary and experience， particularly in archaeology （not his religious views or lack thereof）。 I thought I’d find my footing and make a decision by this book， but I’m still not quite set on a perspective， and still not too comfortable with his writing。 It’s gotten better， but there are mercurial vignettes and I am never sure what the conclusion is。 The story is still dense and vague at times， but I’ve come to expect that， and I still enjoy it cruising with majority of the information。 Still for sure going to finish this series。 Have no clue if it will crack top ten。 We’ll see what happens in midnight tides。 Four stars。 。。。more
Stefano G。
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***4。75/5 Stars***Best book of the series yet！ Love Karsa Orlong！ What an awesome character！！！！ :） Highly recommended read！ The first part of the book is dedicated to the backstory of Karsa Orlong， and it's some of the greatest storytelling I've read in a while。 This totally gripped me， just loved the fighting， mysticism behind this race， and the hilarious way they see other races calling them "Children" or "Lowlanders"！ This could have been honestly a standalone， I was honestly sad that the re ***4。75/5 Stars***Best book of the series yet！ Love Karsa Orlong！ What an awesome character！！！！ :） Highly recommended read！ The first part of the book is dedicated to the backstory of Karsa Orlong， and it's some of the greatest storytelling I've read in a while。 This totally gripped me， just loved the fighting， mysticism behind this race， and the hilarious way they see other races calling them "Children" or "Lowlanders"！ This could have been honestly a standalone， I was honestly sad that the rest of the story had to come back on stage， fortunately that is not the last of him， and his remaining POVs are great！ The coolest thing I realized is that the newest book （The God is Not Willing） by Steven Erikson will feature Karsa Orlong as the main character！ Super stoked！！！The remaining parts of the book are also exciting， where the story rivets around politicking， scheming and double crossing each other - seems to be typical of people when on Seven Cities。 I loved that we got to see a lot of familiar characters that weren't seen in Book 3， was really refreshing and at some points hilarious （especially the discussions within the Imperial Marines）。 The book also explored the backstory of many new and old races mentioned in the books。 This was greatly appreciated as it started to bring light （or Darkness？ Or Shadow？ :P） and clarity to motives for the overarching conflicts in the story up till now。 Yet it doesn't satiate all answers， there is still much to still find out :P！ Not much to complain about this book， great read and don't be scared by the lofty 1000 pages， the story is well paced！ On to the next！！！ :） 。。。more
Jesse Scott
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I took a star off because while it was another excellent instalment， it was a bit more of a slog for me than the previous 3 book。 The page count only goes up from here so let’s see what happens next！
Faisal
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witness。
Juan Andrade Schoppe
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denso， demasiados personajes nuevos 。。。 colapse como en la 500pd: las primeras 300 son oro puro， la historia de Karsa Orlong， es tremendamente buena。
Nenad Pavlović
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The introductory part with the toblakai is perhaps the best fantasy I've ever read （and I read a lot）。 The rest is just standard Malazan fare， that is to say， very good。 It could do with less exposition though。 The introductory part with the toblakai is perhaps the best fantasy I've ever read （and I read a lot）。 The rest is just standard Malazan fare， that is to say， very good。 It could do with less exposition though。 。。。more
Mark Dubben
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4。5/5 - House of Chains has a much different start than the predecessors in the series so far。 Focusing on a single POV for the first part of the book。 At first I wasn’t much into Karsa Orlong but that definitely changed by the books end。 Erikson continues to amaze me with how well he can just put a random character I don’t care about at all and develop them so well and uniquely that I end up absolutely loving them。 Of course the whole book isn’t strictly about Karsa，we also revisit our Seven Ci 4。5/5 - House of Chains has a much different start than the predecessors in the series so far。 Focusing on a single POV for the first part of the book。 At first I wasn’t much into Karsa Orlong but that definitely changed by the books end。 Erikson continues to amaze me with how well he can just put a random character I don’t care about at all and develop them so well and uniquely that I end up absolutely loving them。 Of course the whole book isn’t strictly about Karsa，we also revisit our Seven Cities crew and it’s great to see them again。 This book continues the awesome theme of Mortal vs God that Memories of Ice so wonderfully captured。 I’d say this was a great follow-up to Memories in that way。 I also love the motif of chains and breaking those chains。 Especially the chains of isolation which is such a powerful theme that affects so many people and ideas still today。 Wonderfully done。 。。。more
Santiago
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Cuarta entrega del Libro de los Caídos de Malaz， dentro del corpus general， y obviando un tanto la larga «introducción» con una historia que presenta a un personaje en particular， La Casa de las Cadenas se antoja como un imprescindible y muy completo libro de transición， utilizado para atar cabos y tomar aire ante lo que se barrunta que viene a continuación。 Da la impresión de que Erikson está soltando «lastre»， limpiando la casa， y preparándolo todo para lo que ha de llegar。 Muchas de las cuest Cuarta entrega del Libro de los Caídos de Malaz， dentro del corpus general， y obviando un tanto la larga «introducción» con una historia que presenta a un personaje en particular， La Casa de las Cadenas se antoja como un imprescindible y muy completo libro de transición， utilizado para atar cabos y tomar aire ante lo que se barrunta que viene a continuación。 Da la impresión de que Erikson está soltando «lastre»， limpiando la casa， y preparándolo todo para lo que ha de llegar。 Muchas de las cuestiones que habían quedado en el aire anteriormente comienzan a obtener respuesta， muchos misterios empiezan a desvelarse y muchos personajes empiezan a adquirir su verdadera dimensión。 De modo un tanto frustrante， sin embargo， muchas de estas revelaciones tan solo sirven para arrojar más sombras sobre el futuro desarrollo de la trama， para acumular dudas y adquirir nuevas preguntas。 Reseña completa en Sagacomic:https://sagacomic。blogspot。com/2021/0。。。 。。。more
Alan
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Rating 4。5
Thomas Poldervaart
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In Seven Cities， the new Adjunct gathers the 14th army， with only a few experiences soldiers on her side， while in Raraku， the factions of Sha’ik’s rebellion turned inward to fight one another。This will be the fourth Malazan book I’m reviewing， so if by this point you still need a reason to read it or put it away， I don’t know what you’re doing。 House of Chains is in style very similar to the previous entries， with an epic world， and story on an enormous scale。 It’s hard to read and rewarding to In Seven Cities， the new Adjunct gathers the 14th army， with only a few experiences soldiers on her side， while in Raraku， the factions of Sha’ik’s rebellion turned inward to fight one another。This will be the fourth Malazan book I’m reviewing， so if by this point you still need a reason to read it or put it away， I don’t know what you’re doing。 House of Chains is in style very similar to the previous entries， with an epic world， and story on an enormous scale。 It’s hard to read and rewarding to finish。（view spoiler）[There is one topic I wanted to highlight， as I kept mulling over it。 I noticed that， while reading， I was excited every time I was reading about the fourteenth army， and frustrated every time we spent time with the Sha’ik’s rebellion or Toblakai。How so？ Well， I think it had to do with passiveness and likeability。In the fourteenth army， we have Strings and Gamet and Tavore， as well as a host of other soldiers， who face a host of external conflict （Sha’ik’s rebellion， the child omen）。 At every turn， they take an active turn in trying to make the best out of a bad situation， through both military means and fun as people （the scorpion fight）。 They are active， and they are likeable。 The same goes to an extent to Cotillion， a character I didn’t know I would fall in love with when I read about him in Garden of the Moon。Sha’ik’s rebellion and Toblakai were less engaging to me because they’re the opposite。 They sit in the middle of the apocalypse fighting each other with horrific means （female castration， Dom’s arrogance， Toblakai’s murders） while many of the grand events are not driven by them， but by gods forcing them （Dryjhna， Treach）。 Does this serve the story？ Probably。 That’s for Erikson to decide。 But it made me less engaged with them， which meant I was hoping for Strings to return every chapter。Toblakai turned around a bit in the end。 His introduction was too long and too unemphatic for me to enjoy it， but I was glad when he went against his gods at the end， and it made him a much more interesting character to me。It’s completely up to the author to decide what he wants in his story， but if anyone wonders why I gave it four stars， it’s this。 I can’t give five stars if more than half the time I’m wishing to go back to a different character。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Maximilian Gerboc
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Not sure why it took me so long to read this book。 For some reason I typically read a ton in January and February and then have a major slump in March。 Seems like 2021 is no different than the past couple of years。ANYWAY， I loved this book。 I feel like it's cliche at this point， but I feel completely in awe at the creativity in this series。 The world of Malazan is so intricate and enormous and beautiful and frustratingly opaque at times， but the truths that are the real through-line of this seri Not sure why it took me so long to read this book。 For some reason I typically read a ton in January and February and then have a major slump in March。 Seems like 2021 is no different than the past couple of years。ANYWAY， I loved this book。 I feel like it's cliche at this point， but I feel completely in awe at the creativity in this series。 The world of Malazan is so intricate and enormous and beautiful and frustratingly opaque at times， but the truths that are the real through-line of this series remain clear: empathy and compassion are the ultimate rewards of experience and wisdom。 The quiet moments of mercy between these characters， often set against a backdrop of the most grisly types of large-scale violence， are heartbreaking and tear-jerking。 Without spoilers， just some names/scenarios for my own remembrance and for those who know what I'm talking about: Pearl/Tavore - they're brief encounter near the end; Omtrack and Trull Sengar "I weep because he cannot。"; Karsa Orlong's entire arc; The Ritual of Tellann as a stand-in for moral surrender。And here are some quotes:“And so， he faced only what every mortal faced。 The solitude of death， and oblivion’s final gift that was indifference。”- Heboric POV“Duty and courage had been made animate， and this was all the T’lan Imass were， and had been for hundreds of thousands of years。 Yet， without choice， such virtues as duty and courage were transformed into empty， worthless words。 Without mortality， hovering like an unseen sword overhead， meaning was without relevance， no matter the nature - or even the motivation behind - an act。 Any act。”- Omtrack POV“The stigma of meaning comes later， like a brushing away of dust to reveal shapes in stone。”- Felisin POV“‘When I began this journey， I was young。 I believed in one thing。 I believed in glory。 I know now， ‘Siballe， that glory is nothing。 Nothing。 That is what I now understand。’‘What else do you now understand， Karsa Orlong？’‘Not much。 Just one other thing。 The same cannot be said for mercy。’”- Karsa Orlong and 'Siballe 。。。more
Mike Mueller
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Good book。
Tanmay Randhavane
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I still do not understand the Malazan series completely。 The characters are multi-faceted， yet they seem simple and human。 The writing style is the hardest I have ever read， but at the same time seems appropriate for the story it is telling。 I wouldn't say that the plot is flawless， but I can ignore the flaws and enjoy the experience of reading the Malazan story。 There is just something magical about this series。 5 Stars！ I still do not understand the Malazan series completely。 The characters are multi-faceted， yet they seem simple and human。 The writing style is the hardest I have ever read， but at the same time seems appropriate for the story it is telling。 I wouldn't say that the plot is flawless， but I can ignore the flaws and enjoy the experience of reading the Malazan story。 There is just something magical about this series。 5 Stars！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=House of Chains
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=House of Chains&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,House of Chains&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0