House of Chains

Executive Summary: The best book in the series so far. There are just a few subplots in this book that slow it down and prevent me from giving it a 5.Full ReviewThis novel is very different from the first 3. The first “book” is not only 25% of the novel, it all focuses on one character. Karsa Orlong is not a very likable character. His story is still an interesting one.His is one of the most straightforward stories of the series so far, and the one with the most character growth so far. The Karsa Orlong at the end of the novel isn't that fundamentally different from the one at the start, yet I find myself liking him now, and I'm still not sure how Mr. Erikson managed that. He's obviously a genius when it comes characters and making the point that people aren't black and white, but many shades of grey.This story isn't just about Karsa Orlong however. This book returns back to Seven Cities and the conflicts that were left looming at the end of [b:Deadhouse Gates 55401 Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316126263s/55401.jpg 3898716].Some of my favorites are back, like Fiddler and Kalam Mekhar, as well as others I just don't really care for, like Felisin and Heboric. Really I find pretty much everyone associated with Sha'ik's Army of the Apocalypse basically unlikable. At first. Once again everything isn't so black and white, and I found myself changing my mind on some of the characters.Mr. Erikson seems to have a fondness for duos, as there have been many such pairs throughout the series so far. One of the newer ones I've come to enjoy in this book is that of the Claw Pearl and Lostara Yil. We are also once again rewarded with more Iskaral Pust and Mogora, which offer some pretty amusing dialogues.The only thing that detracted from this book for me was the story of Trull Sengar and Onrack. I just found myself indifferent and eager to get through there parts. It wasn't that I didn't like them, every good story needs unlikable characters. I just didn't care. Hopefully that will change with future books.All and all this was a great entry to the series, and I'm looking forward to continuing on with [b:Midnight Tides 345299 Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366996057s/345299.jpg 3898719] shortly.