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Review: House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen #4)

July 23, 2024 by Alan Behan Leave a Comment

Rating: 10/10

Synopsis

In Northern Genabackis, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flatlands. 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 to be an extraordinary destiny.
Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Tavore, the Adjunct to the Empress, has arrived in the last remaining Malazan stronghold of 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 in the heart of the Holy Desert.
But waiting is never easy. The seer’s warlords are locked into 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.

Review

Witness a tale of unimaginable epic proportion and magnitude of worldbuilding, plot, characterisation, a story full of emotional impact that leaves you laughing, and absolutely floored with devastatingly mixed feelings.

Steven Erikson is an author who is on top of the fantasy genre with his craftsmanship and writing style that will leave you absolutely dumbfounded with each book and what I love about rereads, you discover something new or that you might of missed, so I continue my amazing journey through the world of Malazan.

House of Chains is the 4th book in this incredible series Malazan Book of the Fallen. The mythology of the world alone is on such an epic scale. There is so much to comprehend, and that’s why I think fans love and reread this series so much.

I absolutely loved the first three books, and this one is bloody fantastic. I keep thinking the change of locations, story lines, and characters are going to slow these books down as you figure out whats going on, but they never do. You know they are leading you to something truly incredible.

If you love to immerse yourself in a beautifully written complex story, full of twist and turns with amazing and brutal, diverse characters full of eder gods playing games with their lower mortals, epic explosive battles, sorcery, and magic that will blow your mind. This is for you.

Lead us, Warleader, from a race of giants, the Toblakai, Karsa Orlong, a huge sword-swinging brute who destroys almost everyone who opposes him. A barbarian, full of himself and arrogant in his abilities, begins a journey of bloody rampage with two of his fellow Toblakai. He wishes to relive his grandfather’s epic journey to kill, collect his trophies, and take his spoils that are his due of battle to show the strength of his people. He’s about to learn that history isn’t what he thinks and is about to learn that he may have been misled.

In the Holy Desert of Rakaru, Felisin has been reborn as the Sha’ik of the apocalypse, a vessel for a vengeful and powerful goddess and to gain her own revenge on her sister Adjucnt Tavore that betrayed her that ended in her slavery. Surrounded by powerful mages and an army lusting for the bloody deaths of the Malazan army led by Adjucnt Tavore, Felisin might just get her wish.

An absolutely brilliant tale of human brutality, a series every fantasy fan should read. Karsa Orlong is one of my favourite characters ever. I can’t highly recommend this series enough. So if you want to become one of the elites, a Bridgeburner, what are you waiting for, Witness….😁🔥☠️🗡🌪

Filed Under: Action Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Demons, Grimdark, Military Fantasy, Reviews, Sword and Sorcery Tagged With: Book Review, Books, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fantasy Books

About Alan Behan

Right a bit about myself, I am married to my wonderful wife Catherine of 18 years, we have three beautiful girls together, 20, 18 and 14 years of age. They are my world as well as my books...😁 I work full time as industrial plumber, I'm 45 years old and my hobbies is spending time with my family and of course reading fantasy every chance I can get. I love supporting indie authors and getting the word out about their new books. My all-time favorite authors are Steven Erikson, Mark Lawrence and Robert Jordan and that's just to name a few.

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