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

My rating:

add to my books

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

by Steven Erikson

3.82 · rating details · 7,181 ratings · 671 reviews

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, survivin...more

Mass Market Paperback, 666 pages

Published January 10th 2005 by Tor Fantasy (first published January 1st 1999)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Best Epic Fantasy

30th out of 1,113 books — 5,878 voters

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Best Fantasy Series, Trilogies, and Duologies

41st out of 737 books — 2,928 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 13,769)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 15, 2011

mark monday rated it

Shelves: operatik-sword

i feel like i'm being pretty generous in giving this 3 stars. okay, it is my good deed for 2011. now don't say i never did nuthin' for you, steven erikson!

the cons: so much, where do i even start. (1) the dialogue is a joke, a sad flailing uncomfortable joke, the kind that just goes on and on and i start to look away from the joke teller in embarrassment. corny corn, beyond belief. (2) and the characterizations - so flat! so trite. and when they weren't trite - just entirely unrealis...morei feel like i'm being pretty generous in giving this 3 stars. okay, it is my good deed for 2011. now don't say i never did nuthin' for you, steven erikson!

the cons: so much, where do i even start. (1) the dialogue is a joke, a sad flailing uncomfortable joke, the kind that just goes on and on and i start to look away from the joke teller in embarrassment. corny corn, beyond belief. (2) and the characterizations - so flat! so trite. and when they weren't trite - just entirely unrealistic. there are literally no stakes to the character of paran because he literally has no character. the attempt to establish him as a speaks-his-mind kinda guy fall totally flat when you see him act like a jackass to the number 2 most powerful person in the land and then to some kind of Master of the Assassins. he also acts like a jackass to, um, GODS. there is a difference between admirable pluckiness and the kind of bizarre behavior that is a sign of mental unbalance. (3) i hate when alien, non-human species act like humans in costume. that is lazy writing. or unimaginative writing, take your pick. this happens with at least a couple non-human species.

the pros: the imagination on display. except for characterization, erikson's imagination is actually a little breath-taking. this is a fascinating and incredibly complex world. so many fertile concepts, just one after another, almost overwhelming at times. for example: an insane wizard trapped in the body of a puppet, running around various dimensions...about a half dozen non-human species, many of whom seem genuinely alien (the two i mentioned above being the notable exceptions)....a great sense of scope, of so many larger things happening throughout so many places....a floating moon palace! the world took a while to understand, but slowly but surely i was taken in and reading the novel turned from a frustrating experience to, in the last third, a truly pleasurable one. the last part of the novel was read in a big rush - i felt like i read my eyes out that night. in the end, despite my issues, i am now really looking forward to reading more of this series. besides, depth of character & excellence of dialogue are not absolutely necessary for my own enjoyment.

also, the author clearly favors larger women. two big ladies are represented as very attractive, enticing even. that was unusual to read and i loved it. as far as the ladies go, i think erikson must have great taste!(less)

like 24 likes

· see review

Apr 24, 2010

Jon rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Jon by: Fantasy Book Club May 2010 Selection

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, epic-fantasy, moochable, read-in-my-40s, ebooks

Maybe 3.5 stars. Maybe.

While reading this book, I attended a science fiction convention in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the guest of honor author, Brandon Sanderson, distracted me from finishing this first book of the epic fantasy series Malazon Book of the Fallen in a timely manner. In fact, I stopped reading at the midpoint and asked Brandon during a break between panels, if he had read the series. I explained I struggled to stay focused with the novel because the characters lacke...more

like 15 likes

· see review

Dec 02, 2007

Ben rated it

Recommends it for: fantasy buffs

Technically speaking I read this book and the Ice and Fire series as work-related research. I think that the cover alone might have been enough to scare me off otherwise. This book is quality, though not *great* fantasy fare. By and large I enjoyed it in the role of fantasy geek; my more literary aspect was full of frowns as smiles throughout the course of it.

The book is not well written; specifically, it is bad prose written by someone who is very intelligent, but lacks an ear for p...moreTechnically speaking I read this book and the Ice and Fire series as work-related research. I think that the cover alone might have been enough to scare me off otherwise. This book is quality, though not *great* fantasy fare. By and large I enjoyed it in the role of fantasy geek; my more literary aspect was full of frowns as smiles throughout the course of it.

The book is not well written; specifically, it is bad prose written by someone who is very intelligent, but lacks an ear for poetry, or in fact, language in general. The names are atrocious (and to think I complained about G.R.R. Martin's names!), and the sentences are disjointed in a kind of technical way that often left me rereading them because I had somehow missed the sense in them as I grappled with their structure. There is a good deal of poetry prefacing the book and every chapter, and it is quite bad. Not just because it doesn't rhyme, but because it too is disjointed, and all too often it seems to be making a smug in-joke for the author, rather than informing the reader's understanding of the book.

To complement the actual prose style, the story to be told is not an easy one to jump into. For the first fifty pages I had no idea what was going on, and seventy-five pages after that I had just the beginning of an inkling. Granted, The Sound and the Fury presents a similar level of disorientation, but I won't belabor this review with a list of reasons why Erikson is not William Faulkner.

All of that said, the story is a good one. Ultimately, it feels a bit like historical fiction, except set in a fantasy version of history. The characters don't have the depth, or interest, or, well, *character* you'd get from the greats of fantasy, or of literature in general. But the history feels real, and the way that individuals are played upon by such greater forces has enough of a grain of truth to it to be compelling. Erikson does not create the immersively accurate-feeling world that George R.R. Martin does, but he often alights on a writerly detail or artifact that gives his world considerably more depth than it would otherwise have.

Lastly, the fantasy geek in me was entirely satisfied by the fantasy part of the book. Erikson's model for magic is intriguing (and feels slightly video-gamish to my eyes, actually). He has done the courageous thing and largely departed from the old Orks'n'Elves pabulum. Although he has analogs to some of these things, he has created his mages, monsters, and non-humans afresh. Of course, their names are over complex, unpronounceable, and generally intractible. But still.

By the books end, you get the feeling that Erikson has made the opening move in a game of chess; or, to try another metaphor, that he has presented us with a prelude, chosen his instrumentation, a key, and the major themes of movements to come.(less)

like 21 likes

· see review

May 22, 2008

Guy rated it

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy, have-read-more-than-once

Excellent book. Erikson may not be quite as good a writer as George R. R. Martin, but he's plenty good enough to hold the rapt attention of this reader. I have just Amazoned the other seven novels in the series that have been published thus far, and I look forward to many (many!) hours of deaf-to-the-world reading.

Concerning some of the comments of other reviewers: "Gardens of the Moon" is complex and is definitely sink or swim at the outset (but who wants to be spoon-fed...more

like 13 likes

· see review

Aug 01, 2008

Jamie rated it

Gardens of the Moon is the first in Steven Erikson's gargantuan and oddly named fantasy series, Malazan Book of the Fallen. What's odd about it is that it took me THREE tries to get through this first volume. The first two times I tried, I got one or two hundred pages in and just lost interest, mainly because I was confused and didn't know what was going on. But the third time I tried it just clicked and I enjoyed it. Figuring out why this is the case took some thought, and I believe it boils do...moreGardens of the Moon is the first in Steven Erikson's gargantuan and oddly named fantasy series, Malazan Book of the Fallen. What's odd about it is that it took me THREE tries to get through this first volume. The first two times I tried, I got one or two hundred pages in and just lost interest, mainly because I was confused and didn't know what was going on. But the third time I tried it just clicked and I enjoyed it. Figuring out why this is the case took some thought, and I believe it boils down to two basic and interconnected reasons.

First, Erikson has an extreme "show, don't tell" kind of style. The very first chapter dumps you head over heels into the middle of an epic storyline full of action, with hardly any exposition at all. There's no narrator saying "Okay, there's this nation called the Malazan Empire, and they've been engaging in a protracted military campaign against a group of allied Free Cities. We're going to enter the story as the Malazan forces prepare to attack one of these cities, which has formed an alliance with this one badass dude who controls a flying fortress. Now, let's talk about the structure of the Malazan military..."

No, none of that. Instead, after a brief prologue where you eavesdrop on a few characters, you get action action action and you're left to yourself to figure it all out by paying close attention and making your own inferences based on what's said and done. This is mainly what put me way off balance on my first two attempts at reading this tome.

The offsetting effects of show-don't-tell style are exacerbated by something else Erikson does: he eschews many of the typical fantasy staples that usually act as guideposts to new readers. There's a reason why not many books stray from the formula of a hapless youngster being apprenticed to an elder wizard or military veteran or adventurer or whatever who guides him through the world that has been opened up to both him and the reader. It allows the author to slyly provide exposition about the world by having the master explain things to the apprentice while the reader just sort of listens in. And going along with all that, other fantasy staples act as familiar sign posts and landmarks so that you don't get lost.

Not so much with Erikson. Sure, his books have wizards and dragons and dudes on horseback slinging swords around, but in general Erikson's world is different enough that you don't necessarily know what's going on, and his staunch adherence to the show-don't-tell method means you gotta figure things out on your own. What's a "warren" and what does it mean when a wizard "enters" one to perform his hocus pocus? That's not explained. Figure it out. Or don't. It's all on you, hapless reader.

But eventually I did figure enough of it out, and in time I began to see both Erikson's style and his kicking of conventions to the curb as good things. I enjoyed the story and the richness of the world that he was building. If I've got one complaint it's that at least in this book Erikson can't seem to help upping the ante with how powerful each character or threat gets. Okay, here's these really frightening and legendarily powerful Hound things and --oh, okay, this even tougher dude with a big black sword just killed three of them. Guess they weren't that tough. But this wizard is really powerful oh, no he just got stabbed in the neck by an assassin chick who's apparently even further to the right on the badassedness curve. Now here's a demon king fighting a dragon while a pissed off demigod is kicking over mountains like they were sandcastles RRRAAAWWWWOOOOEERRAAHH PEW! PEW! PEW!

After a point it borders on ridiculous, but fortunately there are a number of more mundane (and more interesting) characters to tether things down a bit. I look forward to seeing where he goes with it all in the subsequent books.(less)

like 31 likes

· see review

Apr 20, 2010

Terence rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Terence by: SFBC random pick

Shelves: sf-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well, I finished my third go-around with this book this week. After four+ years it still stands the "test of time" and I don't regret the 5-star rating. After 9 books averaging 500-700+ pages per, it's impossible to explain the story-so-far in anything less than a novella-length review but for the uninitiated the overall plot revolves around the Crippled God's plans to end to his pain in an apocalyptic denouement that will bring down gods, Ascendants and mortals. Twirling around that c...more

like 10 likes

· see review

Nov 02, 2007

John rated it

This is the first novel in a now-completed 10-novel epic fantasy by Canadian writer Steven Erikson. It's an impressive enough first novel that I look forward to reading future installments. I wouldn't have to, though: unlike many epic fantasy series, this novel looks like it could stand alone, with all of its major plot threads pretty well wrapped up; there are certainly things for each character and for the world as a whole which could be explored in future volumes, but there's no real cliff-ha...moreThis is the first novel in a now-completed 10-novel epic fantasy by Canadian writer Steven Erikson. It's an impressive enough first novel that I look forward to reading future installments. I wouldn't have to, though: unlike many epic fantasy series, this novel looks like it could stand alone, with all of its major plot threads pretty well wrapped up; there are certainly things for each character and for the world as a whole which could be explored in future volumes, but there's no real cliff-hanger here. In a genre dominated by plot lines that don't get resolved for thousands and thousands of pages, this is refreshing.

Even as I type that, though, a part of me feels like the ending is just a bit too pat. Let me explain, by talking about the things that I think Erikson does well and the elements that seem weaker to me. First and foremost, he has created here a fully realized world that is quite original in its conception. Here are no elves or dwarves or hobbits, though we have alien races aplenty. Here is magic, but with its own unique system which we're only beginning to discover. Here, too, is a world as a whole to discover, with all its history and politics, its poetry and philosophy. Erikson gives us, from page one, a world vast and real; at first, it is hard to settle in, because strange things are referred to so matter-of-factly, but gradually it all comes into focus, and his achievement is revealed in its real genius. Erikson is also particularly talented at drawing rounded characters quickly and deftly. The grand scope of the plot and its action doesn't always allow for extremely deep characterization, but he makes the most of his materials--it's inevitable that some of the characters will appear somewhat flat, but he gives us enough sense of depth to let us believe in the reality of his characters.

These rounded folks are, I should add, not all on the same side, and another part of Erikson's excellence is the way that he confuses our sympathies (in a good way)--it's clear that certain characters are at odds with each other, even when they don't know it, and he's drawn the characters well enough that we want both sides to succeed. By the end, Erikson has worked things out such that most of the characters for whom we've been cheering end up in a good place. He kills off some characters we might have liked, but ultimately the ones who die tend to be bit parts or less sympathetic characters--which brings us back to my concern that ultimately the ending may be just a bit too facile. While there's too much still hanging in the balance to call the ending "happily ever after," there's still something about the ending that seemed too easy. Perhaps I'm just being too hard on Erikson here--the fact is that he wrote a story that was engaging enough that I can't wait to dig into later volumes in the series, and that's a pretty good mark of success in and of itself, isn't it?(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Mar 23, 2009

Lori rated it

What a hard beginning, or maybe even first third! So many names, too many to keep track of. But I had nothing else to read on my vacation, and I found the world intriguing, so whereas at home I might have tossed away, I plugged away, and oh what a world what a world. Everything started to come together, I stopped having to keep track of all the strange who what when and wheres in the index and appendix, and completely dug in. Great reading experience. I'll be reading the next in the series for s...more

like 7 likes

· see review

May 23, 2011

Kelly rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-scifi, fiction, 20th-century-postwar-to-late

If only I hadn’t put on that little black dress. Perhaps that would’ve saved this one for me. I mean, not only did I put on the little black dress, the one cutjusttothere. I did the hair. I put on the heels too. Everyone who has that little black dress or is dating someone who does knows what heels I mean. You guys have been in that mood where you really just want to go out- paint the town red like you’re Sinatra and are just, as they used to say of kings, in the mood to be pleased, right? Whoev...moreIf only I hadn’t put on that little black dress. Perhaps that would’ve saved this one for me. I mean, not only did I put on the little black dress, the one cutjusttothere. I did the hair. I put on the heels too. Everyone who has that little black dress or is dating someone who does knows what heels I mean. You guys have been in that mood where you really just want to go out- paint the town red like you’re Sinatra and are just, as they used to say of kings, in the mood to be pleased, right? Whoever your date is that evening will probably have to make very little effort for you to have a good time, and indeed you’re just fine with being the entertainment. I would like to state here and now that I showed up for my date with Steve Erikson with the hair and the dress and the heels in this mood. And it turns out he’s that guy. The one who will manage to irritate you no matter how many times you try to grin and change the subject, no matter how many broad hints you might help him out with. As with most dates you’ve gathered information on solely from the internet and well-meaning friends, he turns up late, it turns out he has lied about his height, is awkwardly insistent on telling you excruciatingly uninteresting stories the entire night while not asking you a single question about yourself, and then is confused when you do not want to see him again.

Seriously, I PUT ON HEELS FOR THIS, ERIKSON. (Somehow that’s always the most insulting part, isn’t it?)

Everyone told me you were great! This was supposed to be my happy fun vacation time with a happy fun book that I could geek out with my friends about and finally have something to talk about with them that did not involve Foucauldian analysis, Marxist delusions, academic drama or a thesis of any kind! But nooooo. Instead someone’s evil twin shows up and now I have to awkwardly tell all these people I like that I do not like their favorite book.

It’s just that this isn’t a good book! And not even that it's not “good” in some literary way. It is clearly not “good” in that way, and it isn’t meant to be. I don’t hold it to that standard. It does seem to me to be trying to be good in a more old fashioned way more typical for fantasy- it just wants to tell a rollicking good story. But I mean… it is a bad story. I like stories. That’s why I read fantasy, in large part- I like that feeling of the archetypal coming to life in an interesting way that shows the inner workings of the recurring characters that I see everywhere in my reading. I like that sensation of a campfire at night and a bard repeating the history of a people, with flickering flames and drama and shadows and pronouncements that you can only take seriously in that setting and which you’d feel obliged to laugh at in the morning. This is a bad story. It’s cool that Erikson doesn’t need to spend a hundred pages explaining every detail of his world to us (and given how complicated it is, thank GOD for that), but the reader shouldn’t have to stop reading many times in order to try to straighten out what’s going on, who are these random people that keep showing up, how does this new demon or magic fit into anything, and most importantly, all important, why on earth should I care?

Erikson definitely did not manage to make me care. It’s largely a function of the fact that there is such a huge cast of characters, and he spends so little time developing any of their personalities. When there is some sort of “inner reflection” by a couple of them, or “feelings”, it seems shunted in there to give his epic quest one of the elements an epic is supposed to have- it feels like he’s impatient with people being, you know, people, and would rather get back to telling me about this super cool magic battle with a demon he just invented that just popped out of nowhere. It was almost like people were necessary vehicles for him to create his fantasy world, but that cool names, and “Houses” and ranks (Son of Darkness, Knight of Darkness, Queen of Light) were the real point of the whole thing. People are there for him to be able to have fights. Honestly? It seemed like it was kind of constructed like an RPG game a lot of the time. Here is an action sequence. After this, your hero may explore this world and pick up coins and treasure to increase his value, there is an epic quest, but you can choose to get sidetracked by a bunch of others that involve various gods and spirits. Then in between each quest there’s that part where the game stops to give you an expository scene that advances the plot and you just watch, and then you take control back and go on to the next action sequence. Eventually you come back to the big quest and kill off the Big Bad and YAY YOU WIN! I can certainly see the appeal of this construction as a game, but I think as a book it doesn’t work so well, at least, not for me.

It certainly didn’t help that in addition to the off putting construction and the poor character development, the dialogue was absolutely laughable (incredibly stereotypically exactly what satirists make bad fantasy writing sound like), the plot was ridiculous, he pulled a new thing out of his ass every five pages because… well.. because... His world building was incomplete, too. It felt like you could never trust it because he could just change it on you a minute later because he felt like it. He doesn’t hold himself to any rules. It’s like when you’re trying to make up an excuse on the fly for why you were late for something: “I forgot my keys, and then I got caught in a traffic jam, and then I passed that and there was some truck that had dumped bunnies on the roadway and I had to help save the poor things, and then I was almost here when all of a sudden Elvis appeared from the dead, riding an elephant and… well that’s why I’m late and its totally okay!” There’s no suspense because the main characters are sure to be resurrected (the alternate dimension rebirth had me laughing so hard I was crying), and the bad ones are either off screen, introduced late, or dumb. There’s some attempt at shades of grey with one character (the Adjunct) but he tells me what the point is, straight out, about five times, just to be sure that I get it, and its not that interesting a point anyway so it kind of ruins it. I liked the climactic end battle, but I swear to you even while that battle was going on, he was introducing new magic and people and not just going with the hundreds he already had after 600 pages of setting things up. If an author feels the need to do that instead of relying on the payoff from the 600 pages he already has… not good news. Not good news at all.

I don’t know, I almost kind of feel bad saying all this. It feels like I’m making fun of someone who’s just so excited to tell me about all this cool stuff he thought of that he forgot to put it in a coherent order. It doesn’t mean that the individual ideas he thinks of can’t be cool, he just hasn’t figured out the other stuff he needs to make it interesting as well as cool. But still… lest we forget. HEELS, ERIKSON. HEELS.

Yeah, still not over that. Next date, if there is a next date (I’m sensing some peer pressure coming my way from my crafty friends), I’m showing up in sweats, half tired and in the mood to watch reality TV. Something tells me things might go better that way.
(less)

like 29 likes

· see review

Apr 08, 2010

Brian rated it

Without any reservations, the best book I ever read. Steve Erickson is a master of fantasy. When I evaluate a book I ask myself these questions, is the author gifted at story telling? Was the plot intriguing? Where the characters memorable, good and bad? Did the author inject too much of his or hers philosophy in the story? The author more than surpassed these questions and if I could I would rate it six stars out of five. The book evolves around the Malazan Empire and the power hungry Empress L...moreWithout any reservations, the best book I ever read. Steve Erickson is a master of fantasy. When I evaluate a book I ask myself these questions, is the author gifted at story telling? Was the plot intriguing? Where the characters memorable, good and bad? Did the author inject too much of his or hers philosophy in the story? The author more than surpassed these questions and if I could I would rate it six stars out of five. The book evolves around the Malazan Empire and the power hungry Empress Laseen who would do anything to control all surrounding continents.

The Empress had the Emperor and second in command killed off. Shortly after that is when one of the Elderly gods "Shadowthrone" opened his Warren (a maze of underground networks that snaked thousands of leagues throughout the empire and a means for the sorcerer's to access different kinds of power). Each sorcerer possesses access to a different Warren. Within the story, there is also Claws(master spies), Assassins, High Mage(soceror) killers like Adjuct Lorn and one of the most interesting characters is the ancient and supremely powerful Anomander Rake, Lord of Moon's Spawn and a major player in the "reshaping" of Darujhistan.

The Empress decided to unleash sorcery to overtake the city of Pale along with a sizable army. Above the city of Pale was Moon's Spawn to resist the invasion. The ensuing use of sorcery was amazing as one High Mage Taychrenn unleashing volleys of fire from his sword at the floating mountain and the reply by them with a transparent rolling source of energy that killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers in grotesque ways.

I really enjoyed the lesson in the story as the use of sorcery has it's consequences as old gods thousands of years old became involved to the determent of the Malazan Empire. Oponn for instance directly interfered with the operation of the Empire.

Decisions from the evil Empress proved to be her downfall as she decided to kill anyone who was associated with the assassinated Emperor. Tattersail and the "Bridgeburners" outsmarted Laseen and staged a coup of their own along with One Arm Dujek, commander of the forces that invaded the city of Pale. There is so much I could reveal about this great book. I wish to leave whoever reads this review to discover so much more in this epic fantasy. The characters I was hoping to survive did and in the end spoiled Laseen's plans along with the desertion of a massive army led by Dujek. At the end of the book her empire is on the brink of destruction. The ancient and powerful Anamander Rake used his influence to pave the way for Dujek's army to desert into the city of Darujhistan. Recommended to any avid reader, this book has much to offer regardless of preferred genre. Very intricate with more than one hundred characters and so many subplots. I would like to take this opportunity to thank goodreads author George Straatman for highly recommending "The Game Of Thrones" and lending me "Gardens Of The Moon". Without his ecouragement I would not have likely discovered the awesome world of fantasy!

(less)

like 4 likes

· see review

Oct 19, 2011

Traci rated it

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

First I have a confession to make. I was a pre teen reading high school melodrama when I picked up my first fantasy book. It was a Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Dragonlance book. And I quickly fell in love with the world of elves and dragons. Now that I'm older I can see some of my sentimental favorites do not hold up well with a series like A Song of Ice and Fire, a series I like a lot, but there's a younger part of me that still yearns for why I fell in love with fantasy to begin with. This...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Dec 19, 2008

Raja rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I read Martin's A Game of Thrones, and at the end I had exactly the same thought that I had at the end of Gardens of the Moon: "Ahhhhh, things are getting started!" But unlike Thrones, I didn't feel like Gardens could have done without the middle four or five hundred pages. Almost every section of every chapter in Gardens is important in ways that become apparent within the book itself. I'm given to understand that some of those hundreds of middle pages in Thrones pay off two or three ...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Jul 29, 2007

Billy rated it

Recommends it for: fantasy fans

This book/series is a bit more pure fantasy than George RR Martin's work. That said, the ending of Book 2, and two points in book 3 are the most choked up I've been when reading a book in a long time. This first book is a bit hard to get through, and I was frequently checking the glossary of characters in the back for the first 200 or so pages. The reason for this is that instead of slowly introducing you to the world and the characters, Erikson starts smack in the middle of a continent spann...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Aug 14, 2008

Andrew rated it

The first volume in what is probably the greatest fantasy series being published, completely insane and overwhelming in scale and scope, refreshingly inaccessible, and taking more cues from Peake, Wolfe, and Dunsany than anything else. Though the series has a heavily political and military slant, the world building and creatures are up there with the finest. This in particular - this raw, "Monster Manual" commitment to true capital-f Fantasy places this book and series far above George...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Jun 16, 2010

Ron rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, maps

A good story I suppose, but it's lost in trivia and too large a cast and--though many seemed to know a lot of what was going on--it was not well conveyed to the reader.

Point of view shifts are well done, adding drama, but the large cast--with shifting names--often pushed the reader out of the story.

I like maps. I like books with maps. I hate books with maps when significant parts of the story--especially the opening as here--happen off the map. (The city map wasn't necess...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Mar 24, 2009

Christopher rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: high fantasy fans

I have to actively stop myself from giving it one star. It's not that it is not immaculately written, or that it is all consistent and blah blah blah but the content is so blah. In the goodreads description, it uses the word "realistic" and I could almost die laughing at that concept. Every character, and there are LOTS, is the very bestest baddest awesomeest at whatever they do. Normal mages have one warren? I have nine. Did I mention there is also a dude that has a sword that b...more

like 6 likes

· see review

Dec 12, 2011

Bookbrow rated it

After reading two of Erikson's books. I think I have a understanding of his style, these are immense stories with sometimes confusing long lists of characters, events, places etc., often leaving one baffled as to where it all fits in. On the positive, after this loose confusing start both books I have read have gotten tighter and tighter as they wind-up to a big conclusion. I enjoyed this tale and look forward to the next tome.

like 2 likes

· see review

Jun 18, 2007

Tiffany Shaw rated it

Recommends it for: Fantasy lovers

This is the best fantasy series I have read in a long while. Erikson, once anthropologist, has clearly spent a great deal of time developing his world. From the geology to the history, the Malazan world gives the reader an impression of reality and antiquity beyond even what Tolkien managed. Who knew fantasy authors could actually write well?

like 3 likes

· see review

Mar 12, 2011

Christopher H. rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, canadian-authors-translators, fantasy-scifi, modern-literature, favorites, read-in-2011, malazan-book-of-the-fallen, favorite-rereads

Wow! I am nearly speechless after reading the first installment, "Gardens of the Moon," in Steven Erikson's hugely fascinating and sophisticated epic fantasy series, "The Malazan Book of the Fallen." This book hurls the reader into a red-hot frying pan face down! As it is so intellectually creative, the novel requires a significant amount of work on the part of the reader, but it is ever so worthwhile. The plot is stunningly complex but riveting; and the characters are ab...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Mar 15, 2010

Ryan rated it

· review of another edition

I've been trying to find a new fantasy series to read. Most of the ones that I've been reading since high school are winding down (Wheel of Time), unbearable (Sword of Truth), or else being written once every four years (A Song of Ice and Fire). So I thought I'd give this a go.

Frankly, Steven Erikson's writing is worse than most fantasy writers, but his plotting is unusual. Unwilling to tell a slack-jawed yokel story, the text starts in media res and readers have to start the book de...more

like 1 like

· see review

May 03, 2009

Dominic rated it

Recommends it for: Fantasy readers, George R.R. Martin Fans

Shelves: favorites

The only words that really come to mind when I think of this novel are such as "immaculate" and "incredible." Erickson has, in so many ways, created the most panoramic world in the genre of fantasy. The sheer scope of the novel is an undertaking in itself, and for Erickson to have executed everything to such an enjoyable and high-level read are nothing short of miracles. No other author, not even Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, or Gene wolfe could come even remotely close to han...more

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 07, 2009

Jen Mendeck rated it

Well, I finally finished. It did get better, although it took more like 200 pages to do so. I was never more than mildly interested, though, and I really didn't like it enough for it to have been worth the pain of the beginning.

The problems with this book as I see them:

- The author seems to think it makes things mysterious if he doesn't explian what he's talking about. The result is you're halfway through the book before you can picture anything in your head.
- Ch...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Sep 17, 2008

Susanne rated it

Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Susanne by: Jana

Shelves: fantasy-and-science-fiction

This. This right here. This book is everything I expect from a fantasy novel.

The author's rather intimidating introduction (Bantam edition) notwithstanding, this book has neither a too difficult plot to follow nor does it require excessive reference to the dramatis personae or the maps. Both help, but the plot is straightforward even where it is mysterious, and it hammers along at a pace that sweeps you up and takes you with, whether you like it or not. The worldbuilding is awesome -...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jul 04, 2008

Dave Fay rated it

Erikson's books are only for readers who love getting deeply immersed in an epic story in a fantasy setting. That said, if you fit that prereq, you are going to love these books. Erikson introduces many sub-plots and draws them all together in sometimes unexpected ways.

The only warning I'd offer is that there is plenty of violence in these books. Aside from that, there are really too many great things to enumerate about these books.

The author seems to have a philosophy of...more

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 09, 2008

Peter rated it

I read a lot of fantasy, including Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, Elliot's "Crown of Stars" series, Moon's "Paksenarrion" series, etc. This was definitely one of the best and promises to rival Jordan's work, in my opinion.

I agree with a lot of the comments I have read by others that the book starts out slowly. But once it gets going, it proves to be an engrossing read. I like Erikson's writing style. I didn't have a hard time paying attention, like I ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Dec 13, 2007

Don Murphy rated it

Recommends it for: anyone

I wrote this review on Amazon first:

I just finished up "Gardens of the Moon" last night around 2:00am. I couldn't put the book down for about 4 hours, as anyone who has read this knows that the last 1/4 of the book grabs you, holds you, and doesn't let go. ;)

I've read many thousands of books in the scifi/fantasy genre over the last 30~ years and lately I've been stuck at trying to find a book that was a bit more "mature" than Eddings, Anthony, Jordan, ...moreI wrote this review on Amazon first:

I just finished up "Gardens of the Moon" last night around 2:00am. I couldn't put the book down for about 4 hours, as anyone who has read this knows that the last 1/4 of the book grabs you, holds you, and doesn't let go. ;)

I've read many thousands of books in the scifi/fantasy genre over the last 30~ years and lately I've been stuck at trying to find a book that was a bit more "mature" than Eddings, Anthony, Jordan, etc.. and somehow, I ended up buying "Gardens of the Moon". I think that Stephen R. Donaldson wrote up a good review on the book/author and loving Donaldson as much as I do, I picked up this book.

I'm glad that I listened to my instincts (and that Donaldson wrote that review), because I got lucky enough to be pulled into Erikson's world. I am totally in love with his world, his characters, and the way that he writes. This is a very complex story and it's quite unlike most every other novel that I've read previous. As other people have noted, he doesn't hold your hand and he relies on your own intelligence to keep up with the fast pace of things in this world.

The way I see it, if you're pretty bright, you're going to catch onto the story, the characters, and the dense history of the world that is described to you in lush detail. I've been hoping to find a book that doesn't have to carry me through it as if I were an infant, but rather runs ahead of me so that I have to try and catch up, using my own faculties to learn and understand. I'm not much for the hand-holding philosophy; I've moved on and can figure things out on my own.

This book has everything that I've been looking for, so I am quite smitten with it. I guess that's why I picked up the rest of the books in this series today at lunch. I actually think the newest book comes out tomorrow, so I'd better get a move on and get to some hardcore reading. :)

I absolutely recommend this book without any reservation at all. From what I've read, the rest of the books are even better. I can't wait for work to be done so that I can go home and start on book #2.. ;)
(less)

like 5 likes

· see review

Nov 18, 2007

Tina rated it

Shelves: sff-fantasy

Laseen, Empress of Malazan, has just crushed Pale, one of the last two Free Cities yet to fall under Malazan domination. However, the fight for Pale was unutterably ugly even for the seasoned fighters in the Malazan army. But Empress Laseen isn't quite finished yet. She is determined to grind Darujhistan, the last of the Free Cities, under her heel. However, many forces both inside and outside the Malazan empire are conspiring to see that doesn't happen. Tattersail, a powerful mage in the employ...moreLaseen, Empress of Malazan, has just crushed Pale, one of the last two Free Cities yet to fall under Malazan domination. However, the fight for Pale was unutterably ugly even for the seasoned fighters in the Malazan army. But Empress Laseen isn't quite finished yet. She is determined to grind Darujhistan, the last of the Free Cities, under her heel. However, many forces both inside and outside the Malazan empire are conspiring to see that doesn't happen. Tattersail, a powerful mage in the employ of the Empress has just witnessed the death of many of her companions during the siege of Pale. As they make the move toward Darujhistan, Tattersail wonders if the death of so many powerful mages was indeed the work of the enemy or rather of someone closer to home. Whiskeyjack, the seasoned veteran of the elite Bridgeburners squad also has doubts about why so many of his people were left to die in the siege. Ganoes Paran, a newly promoted captain knows he is simply a pawn, but whose? And finally the gods themselves have decided to take a hand in things. How will their presence affect matters?

I can't even begin to do justice to the plot of this story in one simple paragraph. But I really hate to give too much a way because it is too fun to discover all the different people in this book. I discovered Erickson while casting around for someone to read after reading the latest installment of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. This was recommended to me. Little did I know that I couldn't get it in the US. Thank heavens for amazon.co.uk! Got it in a week...

I can not sing the praises of this book more. I only gave it 4 stars because I did have a hard time getting into in the beginning. It does begin a bit slow and there is so much information that I had a hard time absorbing it all. But about the middle it starts to roll along and then it really picks up steam until it ends with a bang! Great momentum and a true page turner. And for those of you who like a big meaty book, this is it.

However, the slow beginning is really worth it. The one thing I love about this book is the main thing I love about the GRRM books, the panoply of characters. Some are good, some are bad but many, many, more are somewhere in between. And although there is a huge cast, Erikson somehow manages to create a wonderful depth to them all. They each have a definite personality including quirks, foibles and vulnerabilities. Even the unsympathetic characters are given real moments of humanity.

I can not recommend this enough, If you like large, sprawling books with a lot of characters who are all plotting and counterplotting, this is it for you. I especially recommend it for those who enjoy the Robert Jordan or GRRM series because it is along that vein that this book is written. However, I do stress that this book is not a cookie cutter of those two. It is as different form The Wheel of Time and The Song of Ice and Fire as they are from each other. It has its own flavor and Erikson has created a very different idea of magic in his book. I am eagerly awaiting the second book in the series to arrive (it should be on my doorstep any day now).(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Jul 04, 2007

Lucias rated it

Recommends it for: fantasy fans

Shelves: fantasy

Here I am starting yet another fantasy series. This one comes with a lot of recommendations so I had fairly high expectations for it. The book is set in a extremely well-realized fantasy world that really has a deep sense of mythology and legend. The world is very old and the author makes use of that fact time and again.

Erikson's writing style is the oddest I've encountered in a long time. The book is set at an extremely fast pace and he never slows down to really explain to the r...more

like 1 like

· see review

Oct 23, 2008

Malik rated it

This is the first book in a mega series of fantasy. Although this series was created recently it is an instant classic.

The author has created an enormous but very detailed world. As you get further along in the series it pays to go back an re-read the previous books. Each time I do I notice new things and have a greater understanding of what is really going on and how everyone relates to each other.

With most of the books in this series coming over 900 pages, there are...more

like 1 like

· see review

Apr 11, 2009

Laurel rated it

I have a feeling I'm going to become obsessed with this series. It took me a great deal of time to get into it - about 150 pages of "Who the heck are all of these characters"! But, I eventually caught on to it all, and found myself intrigued. I've already ordered the next in the series from the library, and hope to spend many an hour following the adventures of Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners.

like 1 like

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 458 459 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
steven erickson	7	63	Feb 05, 2012 04:17am
Malazan books artwork	8	77	Jan 27, 2012 05:30pm
Fantasy Book Club: The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series	20	73	Dec 04, 2011 10:46am
Houston Book Read...: Fantasy series recommendation	1	4	Sep 15, 2011 11:16pm

combine
Other Editions (27)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

897 users

Fantasy > Epic Fantasy

71 users

Epic

25 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

19 users

Fantasy > High Fantasy

14 users

Science Fiction

10 users

Book Club

7 users

Novels

7 users

Speculative Fiction

7 users

Cultural > Canada

6 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. His best-known work is the on-going series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

More about Steven Erikson...

Books by Steven Erikson

Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)

Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)

House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)

Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5)

The Bonehunters (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #6)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Gardens of the Moon

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Gardens of the Moon

“Tell me, Tool, what dominates your thoughts?'
The Imass shrugged before replying.
'I think of futility, Adjunct.'
'Do all Imass think about futility?'
'No. Few think at all.'
'Why is that?'
The Imass leaned his head to one side and regarded her.
'Because Adjunct, it is futile.” — 43 people liked it

“Ambition is not a dirty word. Piss on compromise. Go for the throat.” — 8 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved Gardens of the Moon

Girls, Guns and Grimoires

175 members

last activity 1 hour, 50 min ago

shelf: currently-reading

SciFi and Fantasy Book Club

6067 members

last activity 54 minutes ago

shelf: read

Fantasy Book Club

4305 members

last activity 2 hours, 18 min ago

shelf: read

title link	preview: Gardens of the Moon
avg rating	preview: Gardens of the Moon Goodreads rating: 3.82 (7181 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55399.Gardens_of_the_Moon?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316129563m/55399.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55399.Gardens_of_the_Moon?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson[/url]

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

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website