Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book 1) (The Malazan Book Of The Fallen, #1)

by Steven Erikson

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent. 

Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners and for Tattersail, sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, still holds out - and Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds.

However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand... 

Conceived and written on an epic scale, Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement - a novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling, powerful storytelling to resounding effect. Acclaimed by writers, critics and readers alike, here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy: the awesome 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.

• ISBN10: 0553819577
• ISBN13: 9780553819571
• Publish Date: 4 March 2008 (first published 1 April 1999)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 13 March 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• Imprint: Corgi
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 752
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780553819571

Reviews

[moraa]

Words are like coin—it pays to hoard.

I have to admit, I'm impressed:

1. With the world-building. It's not every day you read such complexity without getting bogged down by backstory (of course a dramatis personae helps wade through those murky waters)
2. That it took me two days to finish this, especially after all the hype about its difficulty (that may have had a hand in my decision to bump this up on my tbr)
3. That I wasn't rooting for anyone! I'm accustomed to having a character to root for (even if it's not the protagonist) and I was scrambling for my list trying to figure out which alliances I wanted to see sustained and who I'd willingly part with. It was a hot mess in that final third of the book, literally and figuratively.
4. That I can't find any scathing remarks of significance (I always have those, even for my favourite fantasy writers)

All in all, I'm definitely heading over to the second book soon.

[HekArtemis]

It's the characters that did it for me. I loved every single character. I love how I couldn't find an obvious "bad guy". Not like full on grimdark where everyone is bad, no it's just that everyone is "human" and they have legit motivations for the choices they make, so I found myself rooting for all of them even though they were often opposed to each other. So good.

[ross91]

DNF at 62%
Let's face it: I'm never going to finish this book.
I don't blame it on the story: I'm intrigued with the plot and I like some of the characters. The main problem is the writing style that is really not for me: everything seems plain and kind of superficial, I find it really difficult to become invested in the plot and sometimes it's hard to separate all the supporting characters from one another.
I'm really sad because I honestly thought I had found a new big series to read and fall in love with, but the magic didn't happened. Maybe I will re-read it in the future and I will like it more, but for now I say goodbye to Mr. Erikson!