Arguably the best fantasy series ever written. This is of course subject to personal opinion . . . but few can deny that the quality and ambition of the ten books that make up The Malazan Book of the Fallen are unmatched within the genre

Reading The Malazan Book of the Fallen . . . is the most masterful piece of fiction I have ever read. It has single-handedly changed everything we thought we knew about fantasy literature and redefined what is possible

Erikson's magnum opus, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, sits in pole position as the very best and most ambitious epic fantasy saga ever written

Erikson afflicts me with awe...his work does something that only the rarest of books can manage: it alters the reader's perceptions of reality

If you're looking for a low calorie dish of light fantasy, this ain't it. If you're looking for a nine-course riot of taste and texture, exotically spiced to make your eyes water, your heart pump faster and your brain do cartwheels inside your cranium, I know a great little Thai place. Or, if you want something analogous to that in your reading, stop at the 'Es' and pick up the latest from Steven Erikson...I can safely say that Deadhouse Gates is one of the best fantasy novels of 2000

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