Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) in Sinful Readers Anonymous

Apr 30, 2014 Srividya Vijapure rated it really liked it

Shelves: series_2015, owned, mt-tbr, 2015_reading_challenge

This book was an impulse buy for me! I had just newly joined GR and was adding books that I had read to my shelf when I was recommended this book based on my shelving of “Lord of the Rings”. Being new to the site and having not made any friends from whom I could get recommendations, I went ahead and saw the blurb, which is something I rarely do, and found it interesting. I saw the books were available for a steal on Flipkart, so without really thinking about it, I ordered the first three books i This book was an impulse buy for me! I had just newly joined GR and was adding books that I had read to my shelf when I was recommended this book based on my shelving of “Lord of the Rings”. Being new to the site and having not made any friends from whom I could get recommendations, I went ahead and saw the blurb, which is something I rarely do, and found it interesting. I saw the books were available for a steal on Flipkart, so without really thinking about it, I ordered the first three books in this series, solely based on my impulsive decision.

I did go on to make friends, friends who were mainly into Fantasy and that is when I realized that this set of books had a straightforward divide in the form of those who loved it and those who hated it. Swords were drawn and territories were defended with determination and passion, and poor ole me was caught in between indirectly for I was watching this exchange of words as one would watch a rally in tennis! People who loved the book cheered my decision to read it while those who didn’t were pretty derisive of my intentions, although I have to admit that they never said a word directly and neither did they discourage me! Caught in this dilemma, I decided nevertheless to take the plunge and read it. Read it, I did, all 650+ pages of it, and believe me I was stunned, not to mention really excited. My heart beat some 200 beats per minute while I was engrossed in some parts of the book while my soul was smiling as it does when it reads something truly unique and exciting. From this, I am sure you must have realized, if you hadn’t already with my rating, that I loved this book! Not just loved but fell completely in love with it, so much so that I can’t wait to read the remaining books of the series; something that I plan to do in 2016.

This is not an easy series from what I have heard and definitely the first book is not an easy book to read and decipher. So, if you are looking for an easy read, where everything is explained and given to you on a platter; sorry but this book is not for you. However, if you are okay with the stinginess of information, the indirect links that are given throughout the book, the complexity of each character for a reason that is mentioned but not overtly; in short if you are open to reading and deciphering things on your own and enjoy those ‘a-ha’ moments where a connection clicks; then and only then read this book and the series, else you shall be disappointed and join the hordes who don’t like this book or series.

I was and still am relatively new to fantasy as a genre, so I went into this as I would go into any book – with an open mind (despite hearing a lot of negatives) and with the acceptance that this would be a difficult read and that nothing will be clearly mentioned. Maybe it was because I went in with a fear that the book will be difficult or maybe because I went into it without really knowing much; whatever the reason, I loved this book a LOT! It was an easy read for me, despite its underlying complexity in the form of themes, plot, characters and just about everything. I know I am consistently being paradoxical about the books I read but somehow the things that most readers find complex, aren’t complex to me at all. It could be that I was in a mood for this book and its narrative style, after all I have to accept that it was my third attempt and third time’s lucky is what everyone believes, right?

The prose for me was lyrical, almost like a beautiful poem, albeit one that talked about war, destruction, spying, evil and of course good. The beauty of this book and its narration was that there was no black and white in any of its elements. They were all filled with a beautiful shade of grey whilst also bursting with other colours depending on the situation. There were bursts of crimson, hues of golden, crazy deep blues and many more are felt and experienced while reading this book. War scenes were depicted with such horrifying grandeur that one could almost see the crimson colour of the blood whilst tasting its metallic taste; similarly, the plots within plots, the espionage, the strategy meets were all shades of blue and grey covering the entire horizon making it more beautiful, soft orange and golden hues were for those tender moments, however few they were, just like a rising morn, you could almost feel the freshness in the air.

The plot was one of the complex things in this book. Complex not because it was difficult to understand or follow but because each main plot had many sub plots and often these sub plots had further sub plots and keeping track of things could get a little difficult. However, apart from the initial chapters where I did face this problem, I didn't face it again and only sailed smoothly through the book, having many an ‘a-ha’ moment where something from the earlier chapters were linked with happenings in the later ones. I applaud the genius of this author to have created such a magnum opus and never once failing in his execution or reducing the effort and appeal in this intricate weaving of the story. Also, each plot and sub plot has a reason for being there in the book. While some are explained fully, others aren't. Given that this is the first book of the series, a little room should be given for ambiguity, which is something that I always give for first books in any series. Nevertheless, I never found an ambiguous note in this book except for maybe in its explanation of the magic systems.

Characters in this book are again manifold and one has to keep checking with the initial dramatis personae till one gets the hang of people and their connections. This is another major grievance for those who don’t like this book, that the characters are too many and the plot unnecessarily complex. While I do understand their point of view, I don’t accept it fully. Having experienced the first book in its entirety, I could gauge the story’s progression as well as that of each character. Characters, even the minor ones, have been developed with due consideration and play an important role in the plots and sub plots. I loved the fact that no character was portrayed as black or white but had beautiful shades of grey, just like the story. There was a sense of evil, there was a sense of good; but neither the good were all good all the time and nor were the evil all evil and painted in such extreme shades. Character development, at least with the main characters were simply awesome.

Dialogues between the various characters were simply wonderful. I won’t call it mind blowing as much as I would like to call it prophetic. Discussions that happened in the past, played a very overt role in the future; which can be easily caught, provided you pay attention. This to me was simply awesome as I felt that the book made me work for it, which is a mark of good writing and story telling. Hidden meanings and philosophies should be subtle rather than obvious, at least this is a quirk of mine; so I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Magic is another woe that many people have with this book, where they claim that it is not well defined or explained. That is true to a certain extent and I do agree that magic systems have not been explained in a clear manner. However, as I said earlier, this is the first book of the series and one has to give some leverage to the author. This book is more plot driven, action driven and is setting the stage and therefore it is okay, in my honest and humble opinion, if the author doesn’t provide all details. Moreover, according to me, the magic has been explained in its simplest form, while letting the more complex uses unexplained, something which is absolutely fine with me, making it easy for me to like this book than dislike it.

All in all, I loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one, which shall be soon as it is already 2016! I will definitely recommend this book to all but only if you are willing to work for it. It isn’t like any other fantasy that I have read till now and its brilliance is often masked by its slightly complex plot and world building along with its myriad characters, who are slightly difficult to keep track off. However, once you get the hang of that, this book is smooth sailing and definitely rewarding! ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Mar 21, 2013 Athena Shardbearer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, own, paperback, buddy-read, darkfantasy

Fantasy Buddy Read/Group Discussion ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2019 Sophie rated it really liked it

Shelves: high-fantasy

For all the warnings that this is complicated, it isn't any more so that a lot of epic fantasy. Yes you get thrown into a world with a lot of characters and a magic system that is new, but I think that's standard for this genre
It's a v well thought through book and looking back the choice of words in places has been made carefully so you get hints of what is to come. Suspect this is one that gets even better on a reread. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review