House of Chains Audiobook By Steven Erikson cover art

House of Chains

Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 4

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House of Chains

By: Steven Erikson
Narrated by: Michael Page
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In Northern Genabackis, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flatlands. Their intention is to wreak havoc amongst the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong, it marks the beginning of what will prove to be an extraordinary destiny.

Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Tavore, the Adjunct to the Empress, has arrived in the last remaining Malazan stronghold of Seven Cities. New to command, she must hone 12,000 soldiers, mostly raw recruits but for a handful of veterans of Coltaine's legendary march, into a force capable of challenging the massed hordes of Sha'ik's Whirlwind, who lie in wait in the heart of the Holy Desert.

But waiting is never easy. The seer's warlords are locked into a power struggle that threatens the very soul of the rebellion, while Sha'ik herself suffers, haunted by the knowledge of her nemesis: her own sister, Tavore.

And so begins this awesome chapter in Steven Erikson's acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen.

©2002 Steven Erikson (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Epic Fantasy Sword & Sorcery Action & Adventure Military Epic Fantasy Fiction

Editorial reviews

"This masterwork of imagination may be the high watermark of epic fantasy. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny's Amber, Vance's Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon's hoard." (Glen Cook)

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fantastic work as always by the author. Michael page however is mediocre. Having Ralph lister back would be fantastic. Hard to differentiate characters, especially as first syllables were frequently not audlible (pun intended) do to spotty quality

excellent story, but I miss Ralph lister

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The previous voice actor had ways of pronouncing things differently. I'm not saying there's a right or wrong way but at least be consistent.

The voice actor altered the pronunciation of words

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I avoided the Malazan Book of the Fallen on audio for a year or more because of the horrible reviews given the change in narrators after book 3. Finally, my desire for a "re-read" with the convenience of audiobooks overcame my reluctance and I started in. I enjoyed Ralph Lister's work on the first three books very much, so it was with a great deal of trepidation that I plunged into House of Chains with narration by Michael Page.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Mr. Page does have some issues with differentiating between characters, and some of his choices are odd (why does Crocus/Cutter, who's a young man, sound like a grandfather?), but other characters are an improvement for me, especially Kallam and Strings/Fiddler. Mr. Lister's renditions never really fit the characters as I'd imagined them from reading the printed texts, and for me, anyway, the Page versions are much closer to my mental images. Fiddler, especially, will be a welcome change as his role in the series grows more central.

I think if Michael Page had been the narrator from the start, he'd be getting solid 4-star reviews, with some minor quibbles. It's unfortunate the publishers couldn't finish the series with Ralph Lister, but I'm relieved that I'll be able to enjoy it to the end with the new narrator.

Don't Avoid Books 4 - 10 Due to change in Narrator

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An excellent performance by Michael Page. I was disheartened at first, having grown to admire Ralph Lyster, but as the story continued, he was able to capture the characters in his own way.

The reason for 4 stars and not 5 is because I feel they should have kept the pronunciations of names the same.

Michael Page did a great job.

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The story of Karsa Orlong was way too much and too long. The performance of the narrator is very hard to listen to. It's like he purposely pronounced key names to set himself apart and totally ruins the continuity from previous books and also the continuity of following along with the storyline because you have to rewind to figure out who he's actually talking about. Poorly done.

New narrator is horrible!

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