Maybe I have hallucinations but I’m seeing recurring themes everywhere. Today I watch “Angel Beats!” (anime, check my twitter) and there was a dialogue about the nature of god that seemed to resonate with some themes in House of Chains.

Then there are some obvious analogies directly between the book and Lost. Especially this last season of Lost. Consider also that the book came out in 2002, so well before the TV series could influence it.

Some strict analogies in House of Chains with Lost:
– there’s a mysterious island (Drift Avalii) said to be inhabited by spirits.
– this island moves. It “drifts”, moving in a kind of elliptical path.
– Not openly stated, but it’s almost sure that time passes differently on the island.
– Some boats end up crashing against it (and disappear).
– The island holds some kind of power, and there are guardians stationed there protecting this power.
– Interesting: contrarily to Lost, the guardians have failed their mission. Only one guardian is left.
– These guardians are very sad and miserable, since they had to sacrifice their whole life to the task.
– The guardians are obviously immortal (if they aren’t directly killed, I guess).

Then there is this other main plot thread:
– A god is trapped unjustly and only wants to be free.
– The god, who originally wouldn’t want to mingle with human affairs, is forced to seek allies.
– He finds his allies through analogies between theirs and his own story. So people who also were trapped or suffered in their lives.
– If the god is freed, the world ends.

Some of these themes have already been dealt more clearly in the 4th book of a 10 book series than Lost four episodes from the game over. And in the books this is just a small part of a much bigger picture, as if you take everything that Lost is and then attached it to a much bigger universe where there are a huge number of gods struggling for power instead of just one.

The majority of themes in Lost, like faith, belief and destiny, are also heavily featured in the Malazan series, with more facets and perspectives added.