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Apr 11, 2011

mark rated it:

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 More...

24 comments like (24 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2011

Jon rated it:

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...

4 comments like (15 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2007

Ben rated it:

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 More...

12 comments like (21 people liked it)

May 22, 2008

Guy rated it:

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...

6 comments like (13 people liked it)

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 More...

4 comments like (31 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2010

Terence rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

4 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2011

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 More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

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...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

May 23, 2011

Kelly rated it:

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 More...

26 comments like (29 people liked it)

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 More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 20, 2011

Traci rated it:

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...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2008

Raja rated it:

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...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 29, 2007

Billy rated it:

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...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

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...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2010

Ron rated it:

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...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 24, 2009

Christopher rated it:

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...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

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.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2007

Tiffany rated it:

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?

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 12, 2011

Christopher rated it:

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...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2011

Ryan rated it:

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 03, 2009

Dominic rated it:

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 07, 2009

Jen 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...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2008

Susanne rated it:

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...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 04, 2008

Dave 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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2007

Don rated it:

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, More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2011

Tina rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 04, 2007

Lucias rated it:

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

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