Malazan: Deadhouse Gates Review 

Tolkien was a linguist and it shows. Erikson is an anthropologist and archeologist and somehow that's even more apparent.

Just wanted to add on ur comment of the chain of dogs ending, the refugees didn’t die. They were allowed into safety in the city. It was the forces that stayed behind to fight korbolo dom and his army that died. Coltaine, bult, the wickens and malazan 7th army. They fought to give the refugees time to get inside the city and then were slaughtered right outside of its gates, the refugees did make it to safety.

I actually cried near the end of this book. "RELEASE HIM. PLEASE!"

I was miserable with this book the first half. Then in the second half I fell in love with it. But I can certainly say it isn't for everyone. I'm 4 books in now and it remains my favorite. And I know the fans get mad at me for this, and the series may not be overall, but this book is extremely grimdark. It felt like a First Law book in a lot of instances.

Four books in and this book is still my favorite with my two favorite lines that will never leave me. “Armour can hide anything until the moment it falls away. Even a child. Especially a child.” And “Children are Dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.” My god the beautiful sadness in those lines.

“I see now that the unnamed soldier is a gift. The named soldier-dead, melted wax-demands a response among the living…a response no one can make. Names are no comfort, they’re a call to answer the unanswerable. Why did she die, not him? Why do the survivors remain anonymous-as if cursed-while the dead are revered? Why do we cling to what we lose while we ignore what we still hold? Name none of the fallen, for they stand in our place, and stand there still in each moment of our lives. Let my death hold no glory, and let me die forgotten and unknown. Let it not be said that I was one among the dead to accuse the living.” -Duiker

Malazan and One Piece are 2 of my favorite series so I'm having a lot of fun watching you discover them both for the first time. :)

Hi Merphy, I really enjoyed your review. I am so pleased that you experienced that connection with Felisin. She is a wonderfully complex and well realised character. I hope that the rest of the series continues to engage and immerse you. If you are interested I have a discussion with Erikson on my channel about one of the humorous scenes in Deadhouse Gates.

The first-time Malazan experience goes like this: during Gardens of the Moon you're completely lost until the very end, when you think you've kind of got a handle on the cast and what they're doing. In Deadhouse gates you're completely lost again because it's a new cast in a new place. Memories of Ice you begin to see there's a bigger picture for the series. In House of Chains you start thinking you can see that bigger picture. In Midnight Tides you're lost again because you're in a new place with completely new people again. It's not until Bonehunters that you actually start getting it. I wish I could read it all again for the first time.

this book broke me when I first read it. the final scene had so much pathos and beauty to it while also being extremely tragic. Steven Erikson is writing a poetic epic through malazan book of the fallen and i love it.

Me: Yeah, I'm reading the Malazan series. Friend: Cool, what's it about. Me: *1,000 yard stare*

An honest heartfelt review is more meaningful than a perfectly organized-hit-every-plot-point one. I couldn’t agree more about how Erikson presents many angles of trauma and war but doesn’t tell you how to feel. I love that you took the time to deeply explore these different perspectives. Thank you, Merphy! 🤍

Deadhouse Gates is definitely one of those books that lingers with you. The ending is so viscerally sad and I remember just shutting the book and just staring at the wall while tears slowly fell. I’m on book 8 now and I’ve loved them all but Deadhouse Gates is definitely the most memorable and my favorite.

A major issue I see with a lot of people who try Malazan is that they go into it feeling like they’re owed explanations on everything. Erikson doesn’t let you into the characters heads, and follows the method of “show, don’t tell.” Just enjoy the ride and discover everything at the pace he wants you to.

It's a shame that Erikson isn't really commenting on RU-vid videos anymore because I *know* he would have appreciated your grasp of the themes and your emotional honesty. These books can be a slog for various reasons, but there is a beautiful soul to them and they will be no crueller than is absolutely necessary. Hold the course!

Thanks for the Felisin perspective. I didn't entirely get that people deal with abuse differently, and that her rudeness was one way to deal with it. I was always fixated on "that's not how I'd react", which I now know would be a harmful outlook. Waiting for your review of House of Chains (book four) to push me through finishing that book.

I know you said that Erikson doesn’t force morality on the reader but compassion is one of the main themes of the series as a whole, which makes it insane how some readers perceive Felisin.

It's such a relief to hear your thoughts on Felisin precisely echo my own. You may not understand the world of Malazan yet, but you certainly understand its characters and themes, which is ultimately the heart of the series. I've a feeling you're gonna increasingly love it going forward.

I love your Malazan reviews Merphy. It's funny how at the start, I thought one storyline was going to be boring. 'I don't know these people! There's not really anything magic going on!' But by the end I was totally invested and it was heart-wrenching.

Really enjoyed this video, I love how heartfelt it was! I like to refer to Malazan as "Grimhope". Yes, the world is dark, but that doesn't mean you can't do something good.

Honestly your rambling reviews of Malazan are just amazing! I think my favorite parts of the books are the absolutely amazing friendship duos. You’ve met some of them so far but don’t worry the best are still to come!

1. Re: Humour. I think I'm among the only five people in the world who read both Malazan and One Piece. Jokes aside, I do find they often hit similar notes in terms of humour: unhinged eccentric characters, crazy circumstances, and silly remarks. Basically, those chaotic One Piece panels where everyone's doing their antic shenanigans. Like how Stormy and Gesler would casually wave to a passing undead dragon (something I imagine Luffy would do), or how Coltaine kept promoting his underlings, unsuccessfully. These incidents are some scenes that likely happen in Impel Down or among Marine officers. 2. Re: Friendship and Found Families. In general, Erikson has excellent friendships throughout the series, especially bromantic duos. So far you've met Fiddler and Hedge (the Malazan sapper/engineers), Kalam and Quick Ben (the assassin and the wizard), Stormy and Gesler (the Malazan marines who got on the undead boat), Icarium and Mappo. Rest assured, you'll see more of those iconic duos and then some more. 3. Re: Felisin. Yeah, she's quite divisive in the fandom, but you're spot on. Erikson did intend to write her as a complex character (he even wrote quite an elaborate essay on this). Basically, she's just a minor who went through abuse and so much pain and lashing out was her sole defence mechanism. It's not that her companions were exactly good, but some parts of the fandom weirdly and easily tolerate them compared to Felisin. She's not meant to be likeable but her circumstances were what made and shape her. You'll see her arc will echo in some future key characters, with equally fascinating circumstances. 4. Re: Foreshadowings, Curveballs, Red Herrings, and Payoffs. Since you seem to enjoy those I have a good feeling you'll love the sequels even more. 5. Re: Tragedy and Hope. Another spot on. As you aptly mentioned, what I love about Malazan is that it doesn't revel in darkness and misery. However, it also shows people who fight back for what they believe. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they failed. Great video!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Merphy, your humanity, compassion, and emotional honesty in this review were beautiful to see. I recently finished Deadhouse Gates and I hope to be able to process everything you've said here and incorporate it into my own, developing response, as it left me kind of dead and numb inside. I can already feel my empathy rebuilding, and I thank you for that.

This is why I come back to your channel time and again. I appreciate your heartfelt reviews and connections made being a character driven reader.

On Book 5 right now and the series just gets better and better

This book, for all its horrifying moments, i found it to be incredibly beautiful. It makes you feel so much compassion: for Felisin and everything she goes through and how she reacts to the world as a consequence; for Icarium and Mappo and their beautiful, complex friendship, but also for its metaphor on humanity's incapacity to remember its own mistakes and tragedies and repeat them endlessly. Definitely one of my favorite books in the series for the themes it tackles. As the sadness wanes, you'll find the themes emerge more clearly and you'll see the beauty in this book.

Yes. She likes Felisin😭 Welcome to the Malazan world Murphy!

Yes, was wondering when this would come out, can't belive you've read it alongside everything else including one piece, you're my hero haha

There is a reason they don't call the series the Malazan Book of Everyone Lives

About Icarium. He's a gentle soul with lots of power that when tapped becomes an unstoppable force and he's cursed to forget it. His killing of "animals" isn't linked with his amnesia. He just loses memories a lot

I love your empathy for Felisin. It's always a little sad to see people despise her, and the reasoning generally comes from a surface level look at her actions and character.

I've always approached Malazan as a Fantasy History text, this isn't trying to spoon feed me a single narrative and make me feel comfortable, these are fantasy world Herodotus and Homers journals, its up to you to study this massive collection of vast interconnected world events, stories, mythos and put together the pieces. Truly "The Book of Malazan" lol I first found the series when I was still in school and the first two books almost felt like a fever dream mushroom trip into some far off world, had to come back to the series a few years later.

I really enjoyed your review, I hope you continue reading Malazan!

It's an awesome series, I'm very glad you started it and enjoyed some much. Looking forward to Memories of Ice review. All the best to you and your family.

I feel as much for Felisin as much as you described in the video. Though, I have 8 more chapters left in DG. Still think Felisin, Kalam, and Fiddler would stay as the most memorable, favorite characters till the end. Nice review!

Wow - great review. Just finished this book and working my way through the series. Love your take on Felisin and completely agree.

Omg I’ve been waiting for this review forever!!!

Wonderful and spot on review!! Just finished the book this morning and of course I’m going through my go to sources( like you ) for their thoughts as I process it all, trying to affirm that I read it “right”! I was very moved by your review and I also found myself wondering why I wasn’t reading this book faster than I was…. though I was absolutely enthralled by it all. I was floored when Fiddler found out more about Icarium’s background! Loved your commentary “ at the end of every journey is not always a victory “.

I just found your channel! And also just started MoI, after a five year gap since reading DG, I loved it so much but it hit me the hardest I think of any of my modern fantasy reads for the last decade, i remember it really well which for me really shows the impact it made whilst i read it. Looking forward to diving into more of your vids! :D

After watching your 'My Favorite Tropes' video I've been looking forward to your review of Deadhouse Gates, and was so happy to see your reaction to Mappo & Icarium. And, your take on Felisin is spot-on. I've read Deadhouse Gates 5 or so times, and it breaks me every time. Take your time between Malazan books, they're a roller coaster.

I'm glad I watched your review of Deadhouse Gates. I rarely watch book reviews through these days but Malazan has been my favorite books since 2013 and yours is one of the most heartfelt review I've seen. Can't wait for your heart to break even more in books 3 through 10! Trust me, it'll happen.

Beautiful review! Take your time with the series. Glad you are not a Felisin hater! And I feel like Memories of Ice is when you can START to see the little hints at what is actually going on. So I will wait patiently to see your review of that book!

Thanks for the review Merphy! Appreciate it! :)

I truly enjoy your dives into these Malazan books so far. Excited to see your reactions to the series.

I've been saving watching your review for when i finally got to book 2 and finished it (today!). It was so heart-wrenching but about halfway through the book was when I realized that I think i'm going to be hooked on this series. Devastating. Cried a lot. But It was SO GOOD. I definitely echo all of your sentiments.

I swear if we get Felisin haters in here I’m starting a riot!!!!

Fantastic review. Thank you so much for the empathy, understating and compassion you showed Felisin. It was beautiful to see your emotions. I was in the darkest period of my life when first reading DG and I had a profound connection with Felisin. Every page with her was heartbreaking. And yes, her reaction to the trauma, her resulting emotions and behavior are very ugly. It’s difficult to read. It does not mean she is to blame or that she is a bad person however. It’s challenging to remain compassionate when she grows increasingly toxic and bitter. And I love how Erikson challenges us. In the end though, I couldn’t help but feel more sorrow for her as this young, promising, sensitive compassionate girl was twisted into something she is not. At the same time though, Erikson still writes the character with so much understanding, empathy and compassion. For someone who hated themselves for the ugly emotions inside them, to see Erikson write Felisin with so much love and understanding helped me immensely, and I cannot thank him enough. And beyond the personal/emotional, the character herself is just greatly written. I love character studies, and to explore their damaged psyche with such depth and complexity is engaging. For as dark as this series is and for how much emotional strain it puts on us, I truly believe it makes us better people. There is moments of hope and love amidst the darkness. Looking forward to your future thoughts. I also enjoy your One Piece reviews a lot, and I am glad you have a wholesome series like One Piece to counterbalance Malazan haha, have a good one!

I‘m so glad you DNFed this series. The first time around we only got a three sentence goodreads review and I questioned whether you had read the same book as me. Now this is a reaction I can relate to. I‘m so glad that you are coming back now that you have the capacity for this gigantic story. Have a wild ride!

Hey Merphy! Long time watcher, love your videos, and lately you've been talking about my two favourite fantasy series: Malazan and One Piece. It's fantastic. Thank you! Theres nothing quite like malazan anywhere (except maybe the Black Company, but it was SE's inspiration for malazan so it's not so surprising). It's so gratifying to see you appreciate all the best stuff about it. I think Deadhouse Gates is kinda like the REAL starting point of Malazan. By this I mean I think it has the most 'seeds' that come to fruition later on. The events of this book reverberate throughout the whole series (and beyond). It'll make sense later hopefully. Really looking forward to your one piece videos as well. One Piece is the greatest fantasy being written imo; can't wait to see more of what you think! :)

When Phillip Chase talked about this not being Grimdark on Mike's channel, I said, "Malazan uses the expectations of Grimdark to subvert Grimdark." You are absolutely right that Erikson uses tragic arcs and brutally dark scenes to display the brokenness of his world, and the people in it, but you're also right to see he never revels in it. As I see too much of Grimdark do. Sure like Grimdark, villains often win and even the protagonists make decisions we find hard to stomach. But when, against those moments, we see true sacrifice, compassion, or a refusal to let that "win" be the coda on the story, it shows us that there is more to this thing we call human existence than the depravity we are all capable of. And that without that awareness of our capability for darkness, we would never find meaning in our small acts of hope, redemption, and honor. And yes, that's a theme Erikson will continue to reach for through to Book 10. But you will see it sharply in Book 3, promise.

One of my favorite fantasy series book 3 my favorite

Loved this!! Such a great job talking about Felisin, can’t wait to see what you have to say about MoI. I think you will really, really enjoy it. :)

Between Deadhouse Gates and Marineford sounds like you've had a rough week. Though your thoughts on the Malazan series as a whole not being a tragedy, but DH being one are honestly really insightful for this point in the series. I look forward to your thoughts on the rest. Can't believe you didn't touch on Stormy, Gesler and Truth and their pirate adventures on the Grand Line though. For shame!!

Okay you convinced me to pick the book up again. I got most of the way through but Felisin's story hit me way too hard and I couldn't keep going at the time. Hearing a bunch of the things you enjoyed and going "oh yeah! I loved that too" really reminds how much I was enjoying it even though it's just so dark and bleak at times

Can´t wait till you read Memories of Ice, is amazing and by what you said, I think you´re gonna love it too.

Malazan is my all time favorite Epic fantasy. You’re reviewing both of my all time favorites( One Piece and Malazan)

I'm so glad you are enjoying the experience of Malazan book of the fallen. It's such a difference experience to other fantasy series. You seem to have an excellent handle on things that I didn't get my head around until a lot later on.

Four books in and this is my favourite. Duiker and Coltaine is my favourite story I’ve ever read and I love Icarium and Mappo’s travels.

Wonderful review. I have never finished a Malazan book and not needed a long, long think about what it all meant. Erikson has a true gift for planting certain ideas and images so deeply in the reader's mind that they really stay with you long after you finish reading.

I remember when Heboric "accidentally" brought Fener into the physical world. I remember specifically feeling TERRIFIED....for a GOD! Writing that made me feel visceral terror for a being of immense power, suddenly vulnerable, made me jump out of my chair and start pacing to calm down.

Erikson, I feel, is a master of writing the extreme sort of scenes. The heartwarming scenes make you feel really,really good, all warm and full of life, while the sad scenes make you feel as if your heart is being wrenched out. The more grimdark scenes have always made me feel disgusted with the perpetrators, and I believe Erikson accomplished doing what he set out to do by writing those scenes- make us sympathize with the real-world victims of such trauma.

finished DG last night. exhausting, expansive, and brutal. Most importantly it got the emotional hooks in me that I was missing in GotM. The Chain of Dogs and Mappo/Icarium storylines turned out to be wonderfully written arcs. I'm onto reading Heroes now and you're right! Abercrombie and Erikson use plentiful humor to bring levity to insanely bleak moments. Abercrombie kind of has this rollicking, wicked sarcasm to his characters, and Erikson loves knowing winks and sly, understated jokes. Very fun to bounce back and forth between these authors.

That is a perfect review of this book. Thank you.

Oh geezus, Malazan series… I loved Gardens of the Moon. Then stalled halfway in Deadhouse Gates. I’m gonna have to start this book from the beginning and I’m dreading it.

Excellent book and a very good review, book 5 is in my August TBR.

Great review, very emotional like my reaction on this book. Loved it. It wasn't easy but amazed me with every new scene. And even 1 year after the 1st book I remember it quit clear - can't beleive myself 😮

The ending of this book is when I finally fell in love with Malazan. Finished it 2 weeks ago and I've already finished Memories of Ice and am 300 pages into House of Chains!

Terrific review. Very honest and very perceptive.

Loved the review!

This book was great! I really struggled with Gardens but I loved this book from start to finish.

The starting tone from Book 1 review and Book 2 is stark and totally understandable 😅 Spooky that just as you mentioned humour I thought of the undead slaves carrying that character as well 😂

Hope once you finish the series to see your overall thoughts- still avoiding starting myself until hear more reviews

Yeah, that ending is grim and it's dark and it's sad... But (like you said) that's just war. One thing that might help you along the way is that Erikson also makes points about compassion. It's there in every turn and you start expecting it after some time. That scene with Mappo Runt salvaging what little was left of the chain of dogs by using such a valuable healing elixir in two dogs... That's just beautiful. Thank you for sharing and evoking great memories... Of ice.

I always loved how Erikson writes so many characters, and still he manages to tells us so much about them. Have you met Iskaral Pust yet?

I love how you can love a book and not completely understand it. I think people would love reading if they were like you. Excellent review!

I love watching these reviews knowing what you haven't gone through yet (At the time).... this series broke my brain.. i honestly don't read the same now. BTW.. duiker at the end of this book... best writing i have ever read. P.S. i wish your friends hadn't warned you about book 3... Malazan should never be spoiled :)

That satisfied feeling when you things come together is amazing and happens through out the series. Is there a review for Memories of Ice

I’m blasting through Malazan atm , it took me 10 years to finish gardens of the moon but I’m just loving Malazan now. You telling us that it’s okay to not understand it all was helpful

I love your reviews. Started to watch with the one piece reviews and stayed for your enthousiasme and love for good story’s. Have you ever read Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist? I grew up with the books and are probably my favorites of all time. Keep being you and enjoy One Piece 😁

The thing about Felisin is a test of empathy - I've seen a lot of hate against her, and I always assume those people either haven't experienced much pain in life or just don't open themselves up to empathy, or just wants strong and cool characters in cool fights, and don't care about characters that are alive in a story and hinders the plot a bit. But those characters are the usually the most interesting, because you imagine your own emotions and try to relate with your own experiences, and also wonder how you would have been in that situation, and in that way also feel for them. I never understood people that hate characters just because they are not acting good or honorably, they're not your real life friends.

Merphy I am getting addicted to your content. So much so that I have toughest exam to crack and I wait for week impatiently for your content. I must stop! Oh god! I must stop!

The first time you read through the Malazan Book of the Fallen, you think it's a pretty great series. The second time you read through it and catch everything you missed now that you understand the world, you think it's the best series ever written.

I REALLY love and enjoy your videos, specially the One Piece playlist. Love You a lot. Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina :)

I really want to watch your reviews of the rest of the books. I hope you haven't give up.

Wow we had a very similar reaction to this book and to Felisin -- great takes!!

Started following from the one piece stuff but I have always loved this series, loved the review!

I absolutely plowed through this series over the course of like a year and a half in college. The friend who recommended it to me started several books ahead of me and I finished it well before he did XD. I guess due to my major I was well aquatinted with the feeling of not quite knowing what was going on haha, and I appreciated the *in media res* framing. So much of what is confusing at first are fundamental concepts that a learned person would be expected to understand in that world, so it makes sense that those things aren't explained.

What's amazing about those readers who sputter about how much they hate Felisin is their complete failure at compassion and empathy, or even mere sympathy, for a person (albeit fictional) who is clearly a victim. This is taking victim blaming to extremes and shows how little they understand the major themes of Erikson's Malazan books.

Great review. Book 3 is my favorite book hope you enjoy it!

It took like 400 pages before I was fully down with the book, but in all book two is easily my favorite thus far. Absolutely crushing, I love it

I love how Erikson writes. It took me 5 books to really get into the series, but man am I invested now! Great novels all have a "Soul" and WOW does Erikson know how to give his books a Soul. And if you think this was a tear-jerk ending, you have a LONG way to go!

The way you describe this book is how I felt reading it. Good book but I didn't catch a lot of what was going on and this is my first read through. Took me almost 2 months because I did what you did and read other books between reading this one.

The "I don't get this and that's ok" is a key mindset for this series. It's ok not to get it. As you pointed out, he does that to you on purpose. You definitely will get it (well, most of it, probably). You just gotta keep going. Deadhouse is certainly a book that makes a lot more sense later on. You'll appreciate it and everything it sets up when you're able to look back at it with new knowledge. If you've stuck with it and liked it up to now, Memories of Ice is going to blow your mind.

Very excited for your House of Chains review

Ah Felisin... One of the best characters I've ever read. I was in shock the whole time at the brutal honesty of the scenes and the character. Really left me scarred. Loved it!

I read it a decade ago and the ending still haunts me.

great review!

one piece reviews brought me here, homegirl can review a cook book and still get me stoked about it

Great video, thanks