As finely written atmospheric pieces alone the stories would be memorable... As social documents they are absorbing. The volume's profound theme is the tension between convention and exploration, family solidarity and individualism... An admirable humane and responsible achievement

One of the most brilliant and subtle writers ever to have described the meeting of eastern and western culture

Beautifully accomplished and memorable

Absolutely first-rate…absorbing

Desai has a gift of opening up a closed world and making it clearly visible

A meticulously realised otherworld...ambitious and scrupulously crafted

A world of evocative magic, brutal warfare and poetry unlike anything I'd read before...the publication of a second novel is always a tense time - was the author a one hit wonder? Fortunately for us, Deadhouse Gates triumphantly proves that this is not the case for Steve Erikson