They leave to seek her out and instead find Fiddler, Crokus, and Apsalar, who've made their way through storms, rebel pursuers, and the ongoing shapeshifter battle. According to Erikson, he wrote Deadhouse Gates over the course of eight months whilst working at the Toyota Head office in Redhill, UK, with Gardens of the Moon due out early the following year. They leave to seek her out and find instead Fiddler, Crokus, and Apsalar, who have made their way through storms, rebel pursuers, and the ongoing shapeshifter battle. I liked Mappo and Icarium, I liked Fiddler, I liked Heboric, I liked Kulp, I liked Duiker and I liked Kalam. Kalam reaches Laseen’s audience chamber where she’s concealed as he accuses her of killing the Bridgeburners deliberately (she denies it), outlawing Dujek (it’s a ruse), killing Dassem Ultor (true but he threatened civil war), killing Dancer and Kellenvad (true but the Empire required it), and incompetence in the Seven Cities (revenge is afoot); he leaves after hearing her defense.

Gardens of the Moon introduced us to the concept of Soletaken when Anomander Rake veered into his draconian form. Mallick Rel is a priest of Mael (an Elder Sea God whose cult is now largely defunct), and is slimier than a dhenrabi at a jelly-wrestling contest. Icarium, whose wantonly destructive past has been removed from his memory to protect the world, travels in the company of Mappo Runt, a Trell warrior, who is secretly charged with monitoring and, ultimately, controlling Icarium's rage. It received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising the tones, the softer introduction, and the plot. They’re more focused on helping the Whirlwind rebellion bring down the Malazan occupiers and restoring things to how they used to be.Let me say this, I absolutely don’t care about your understanding or knowledge of any series if you’re going to spoil my reading experience.

Icarium tells Mappo to let the house have him if it takes him, even though it would mean eternal imprisonment. Duiker sends the mage Kulp on a Malazan boat to retrieve the trio from the otataral island, but the company is drawn into a mad mage's watery warren where they board the Silanda, on which they find headless Tiste Andii oarsmen still capable of accepting commands and probable Tiste Edur corpses in the captain's cabin.Apsalar, Crokus, and Servant ask to go to Apsalar's home in Itko Kan; Kalam and Minala join Apt in the new Shadow warren home of the 1300 crucified children; and Fiddler re-enlists to join Tavore's host. I'm still not particularly attached to any character, which makes it a bit difficult to continue reading. GotM saw the struggle of Darujhistan (the last remaining free city on the continent of Genabackis) from the sides of both the Daru and the conquering soldiers of the Malazan Empire (which include everyone’s favourite bunch: the Bridgeburners). Formerly a mage in Dom’s army, Reloe felt inferior surrounded by so many powerful Malazan mages (bless his socks), so he decided to spit out his dummy, shit on his chips, and turn his cloak (say one thing for Korbolo Dom: say he’s a trendsetter).

Benjamin Button Sormo E’nath is the most powerful of the Wickan warlocks accompanying the 7 th Army. However, he is arguably even more tragic: caught up in a centuries-long internal conflict between friendship and duty, Mappo is the most philosophical, empathetic henchman you’ll ever meet. But as jingoistic as the Red Blades are, even they despise Pormqual – especially when his fearful paranoia leads him to have them all locked up. If you’re wondering why the name Tavore Paran sounds familiar, let me remind you that her brother, Ganoes, was the very first character we met in Gardens of the Moon.The two make their way through the battle to shelter in the temple of Iskaral Pust, a High Priest of Shadow, who may be mad. Maybe I am being dense, but this is the second of his books that I have read, and I have the pervasive feeling as I progress through this series that I am missing something important, but I can’t put my finger on what precisely that is. Coltaine's warlocks, led by Sormo E’nath, defeat a Semk tribal god by loosing the spirits of the land against it. Baudin’s heroic saving of Felisin during their flight makes Heboric and Kulp suspicious, and he admits that he is a Talon assassin sent by Tavore to protect Felisin.