DEADHOUSE GATES Book 2 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

"Weakened by events in Darujhistan, the Malazan Empire teeters on the brink of anarchy. In the vast dominion of Seven Cities, in the Holy Desert Raraku, the seer Sha'ik gathers an army around her in preparation for the long-prophesied uprising named the Whirlwind. Unprecedented in its size & savagery, it will embroil in one of the bloodiest conflicts it has ever known: a maelstrom of fanaticism