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

Dec 15, 2008 seak rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2023-tbr, 2013, reread, 2023

Hey, I have a youtube channel now and made a video based on this essay: Why Read Malazan Book of the Fallen

Why Read The Malazan Book of the Fallen, or A Love Note to Steven Erikson (Okay, not really the latter)

If you've even attempted to read Gardens of the Moon, the first book in the 10 book epic that is the Malazan Book of the Fallen, you'll see very quickly that you're not given much as a reader. It's confusing, it's complicated, it's full of mysteries and myriad of characters and magics that ...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Bee rated it really liked it

Shelves: reread, favourite, epic-fantasy

I love this series, it is honestly the best fantasy series I've ever read, by a very long margin.

The first book often feels a little rushed, there's just such a vast amount of inoformation that is needed to lay the groundwork for everything that is to come.

It gets so much better. There's nothing wrong with this book except that it is a bit long and boring to those who don't know where it's heading. It leave so many questions unanswered that some never get further than this first book. i start ...more

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May 25, 2008 Lori rated it really liked it

Edit: reread. And what an enjoyable time to comprehend what I’m reading without waiting 1/2?through. And what a ton of info! And Paran is a main character, w
I didn’t remember that all. I often think this is ultimately Fiddlers story but maybe Paran too?

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 ...more

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Sep 11, 2009 Duffy Pratt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, shared-world

In most fantasy worlds, the author starts with a fairly ordinary situation, develops the world and the magic underlying the world gradually, and then develops the situation from there. Along the way, there typically is a good deal of repetition. In some multi-book series, the repeated explanations of how things work, or where the characters stand, becomes tedious at best.

Erikson goes to the other extreme. The situation at the start of this series is far from normal, even for the Malazan world. T In most fantasy worlds, the author starts with a fairly ordinary situation, develops the world and the magic underlying the world gradually, and then develops the situation from there. Along the way, there typically is a good deal of repetition. In some multi-book series, the repeated explanations of how things work, or where the characters stand, becomes tedious at best.

Erikson goes to the other extreme. The situation at the start of this series is far from normal, even for the Malazan world. The characters don't even get introduced to the reader. Rather, like a play, they appear onstage, and we have to make of them what we will. And the magic system is far from clear. Indeed, its not entirely clear how well people in the world understand it, even while they are using it.

All of this makes for a very steep learning curve, and makes this book almost impossible to understand on a first reading. "Isn't enjoyment a kind of understanding?" So said a poetry teacher of mine in college. And fortunately, I found enough enjoyment in this book the first time through to continue in the series. More and more, I'm thinking that this is far and away the best fantasy series I've read. (And it ranks up there with the Palliser series by Trollope, and the Marlowe books by Chandler, as a favorite in any genre.)

My impression of this book improved dramatically on re-reading. The first time through I was alternatively amazed and confused. This time, most of the confusion is gone, and I would have to say that I was alternatively amazed and moved. The striking thing for me is how fully Erikson has a grasp on each of his characters, and how he had this incredibly complex web in his head from the start. Read this book/series if you like fantasy, if you like tragedy, if you like originality, if you like dark humor. Stay away if you need spoon-feeding and have little tolerance for being confused. These days, its rare for me to re-read anything at all. I have perfect confidence that this book, and probably the whole series will get at least a third reading. It's that good.

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Jun 04, 2008 Jason rated it it was amazing

Loved the reread. Amazing how much Erikson starts things up with this, but you don't notice when you first read it ...more

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Mar 06, 2009 Donald rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, read-in-2000s, epic-fantasy-series, read-in-2018

This is the kick-off of my favorite of the "epic fantasy" series that I have read over the years. Any epic series faces the threefold challenge of finding a good story and characters that convince the reader he/she needs to stick around for multiple 500-1000 page volumes, writing it well enough that those readers don't have to slog through a bunch of drivel to find out what happens, and finally producing the individual volumes at a fast enough pace to keep the reader happy without sacrificing th ...more

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Sep 15, 2007 Pete rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, re-read

Just finished my 2nd reading. Man, I love this book. What a way to kick off an epic fantasy series. I know people love it or hate it, but if you can stick with it in the beginning, it is well worth it. Erikson doesn't give you anything to start you off. No brief history, no expository dialogue. You are thrown into the middle of things and forced to work things out on your own. You need to be an active reader with this series. I picked up so much that I missed the first time through the book. Muc ...more

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Aug 19, 2009 Michael Abberton rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I love the point of view of these books. The characters generally don't have the full story, and even putting all the knowledge of each of the, admittedly, large cast of characters leave you wanting to know more.

I love the characters in the books, and I like how they are all flawed without being broken. ...more

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