Customer Reviews

Gardens of the Moon: Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Mane of Chaos...Anomander Rake. Lord of the black-skinned Tiste Andii...who has looked down on a hundred thousand winters, Who has tasted the blood of dragons, who leads the last of his kind, seated in the Throne of Sorrow and a kingdom tragic and fey...a kingdom with no land to call its own." - Steven Erikson, Gardens of the Moon

So Steven Erikson introduces one of his major characters. This series is quite simply outstanding, grandiose, magnificent - the word epic is often used as a cliche but if ever a series is worthy of being called that, this is it. It's staggering in its scope.

Erikson's narrative style is to throw you in the thick of the action with minimal background information. This can be quite disconcerting when starting this book - you just don't, and won't, know what the hell's going on. You won't understand how magic works, what a Warren is, where the Malazan empire actually is and what the hell is a Tiste Andii anyway??

It'll be like that for the first hundred pages or so. Keep up or be left behind. You'll find yourself rereading various passages, trying to glean some tiny seed of understanding. It can be pretty frustrating, not knowing a damn thing about anything. But Erikson gives you enough teasing glimpses of quality under the survace for you to feel that understanding is just around the corner if you keep perservering with it, even if you don't initially understand what's going on - Erikson's world is incredibly rich in detail and history, and this is slowly revealed as you get further into the book.

And the more this world - and the storyline set in this world - is revealed the more and more impossible it gets to put the book down. The originality is quite amazing, and it's a MAJOR rush when you start to piece things together. Everything starts to fall into place. It's called approaching comprehension - and it creeps up on you, till you get to the last page of the book and realise that you can't wait to go back to the bookstore to get the second in the series, Deadhouse Gates, just so that you can find out more about this world and the people who live in it. Then when you finish that you'll want to get the third, Memories of Ice. And the fourth, House of Chains. And the fifth, Midnight Tides. And so on and so on...and the best thing? It gets better and better and better as you get deeper into the series - if ever there's a world and a series to lose yourself in, it's this one. Not only that, the rereadability quality of this series is amazing - better than anything else I've read before. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

If you are new to the fantasy genre, this is probably not a book for you. This is the most complex fantasy novel I have ever read. There are dozens of characters, 3 or 4 major plot lines, intricate politics, an unconventional magic system, and a highly involved pantheon of gods. It took me about 200 pages to figure out what was happening, but once I did the book instantly became one of the best I've read. Erikson does not spoon-feed information, but respects the intellect of the reader and allows him or her to make their own deductions. This can be frustrating at times, so if you just can't seem to work something out I recommend visiting the Malazan Wiki online, or consulting the glossary at the end of the book (which I didn't realize was there until after I finished the book). Once you begin to grasp the fictional world, Gardens of the Moon is not a book you'll want to put down in a hurry.

If you like intrigue and complicated, interweaving storylines then "Gardens of the Moon" is the next book you should read.

Set in a land torn apart by an invading empire, "Gardens..." follows a variety of characters, from various groups, who would eventually collide through the interferance of gods, elder races and politics.

Erikson has an excellent grasp of character development (often sorely lacking in Fantasy) as events alter the perspectives of each character. This enables the reader to empathise with these believable characters.

I found the most intriguing aspect of "Gardens..." was the ambiguity of the characters. Never had I read a Fantasy novel which blurred the lines between good and evil so well - the characters are not your typical good guy battling the typical bad guy. Erikson writes from all persectives: the invading army soldiers who are ordered to complete their missions without question. For example, the officers in the invading force not neccessarily agreeing with the job they had to do, but completing it nonetheless. We read the perspectives of various political factions in the targeted land; both for and against the conquest, and also the persectives of civilians caught up in the struggle to save their city. What makes this book interesting is that I can now really envision war through similar perspectives.

I had been told a number of times that if I like George RR Martin, then I would also enjoy Steven Erikson as their style and subject matter are similar. This is true. They both have an excellent technical grasp of the English language; not poetic, like Kay or Wolfe, but like Donaldson, they always seem to write the correct word when needed every time. For this reason, you need to read "Gardens of the Moon", and the whole series for that matter.

I can understand why this guy got a huge advance from his publisher toward the writing of another 8 novels in this sequence. He's a very gifted wordsmith and this novel is a fascinating read. It's a complex tale of military intrigue and very potent magic and does have a lot of characters, but if you have a brain in your head and are not afraid to use it, you'll find you won't be able to tear your eyes away from the page.

For me, this novel stands easily alongside Goerge R R Martin's current series in terms of depth of story and quality of writing and like a lot of the other reviewers listed below, I am looking very much forward to reading this author's future works.

Okay, let me preface this review by saying that by picking up this book you will be obliged (by your own need and curiosity) to buy and read the other 4 that are out so far (namely Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, House Of Chains, and Midnight Tides {with The Bonehunters set for release in March '06}). It really is THAT good of a series.

Gardens of the Moon will likely do to you what it did to me and countless others. Whereas other 1st books in fantasy series (A Game of Thrones, Assassins Aprentice...ect) spend alot of time setting up the world and it's characters, and making you feel quite comfortable in it before moving you foreward. Gardens of the Moon simply grabs you by the shirt collar on the way by and pulls you along at a lightning pace. The characters and setting get introduced to you almost in passing, as if you should already know them whilst Erikson is pushing the intricate plot foreward at an alarming pace. This is the sheer brillinace in Eriskons writing. Though you have to just keep reading and take alot of strange words and ideas at complex face value, you get to understand them later, so by the time you are ready to start Deadhouse Gates you have a DECENT grasp of the world he has created, but you'll likely never know it all till the whole series is out, and in this lies the key to these books holding up to multiple reads.....it keeps you guessing and intrigues, beyond anything I've read anyway. The world is HUGE, and the cast of characters is staggering in this series, and Erikson continuously introduces you to new characters, but the difference between him and alot of other authors is that almost all mentioned characters have a purpose related to the plotlines, whereas other authors throw names at you of charcters you needn't really care about.

Trust me when I say READ this book. Enjoy it, and don't worry about explanations....you'll get there in time, after a few books are under your belt, and that's the fun!! You won't put it down, I promise. As far as I am concerned Erikson is the best author I have read in years (if not ever)!

Oh, and Erikson doesn't miss his deadlines. Meaning no long waits.

I won't attempt to cover for this novel's flaws; it has many. It throws alot at you, very quickly, just like many other "epic" fantasy novels/series/trilogies. The writing is a bit rough at times, but never bad. The characters are indeed half-assedly hashed out, mostly because they're only followed to further the plot, in fact, many of the characters you meet in this novel die before the end. That's the idea... why waste time to hash out a character that's going to die?

And that's what people don't seem to get about this series in general. They're all written as glimpses of history, showing you pieces of this magnificent world's past. This first book is (brilliantly) designed not only as a hook, but to change the way you think about a fantasy world in general.

The gods in these books aren't singular or all-powerful, there are dozens, and all capable of killing each other. An average human could kill a god in these novels, given the right circumstances.

This entire series is written to blur the black and whites of fantasy into grey. Everyone that is "good" is not entirely "good", and vice-versa. There are alot of new ideas in these novels that as you read on you will become more and more accustomed to, and learn to love. Those with a good imagination will undoubtedly appreciate the images conjured of (spoiler) an entire floating city crashing into an ocean, or of a god raising his soul-devouring sword in the middle of a crowded city street and telling everyone to get the hell out of the way.

Forgive me, I can't collect my thoughts. I have not read the almighty Martin, as many have raved about, but after reading all 5 books in this series, Erikson is my favourite author, hands down. There are some fantastic events that happen in later books that make you go back and read them all again because everything connects so seamlessly.

All the questions you ask in this book are answered in later ones. Heck, what Warrens really are and how they work isn't answered for another 4 books... but by then you will have your own thoughts conjured anyway.

Plainly put, you'll either like this book enough to read the second book and subsequently be hooked, or it's imposing and oftentimes overwhelming idea-dropping will scare you off. If you stick with it, you'll be handsomely rewarded. The series could not possibly get worse.

Oh, and don't even start people -- Jordan drops ten times more names in a page than gets dropped in this whole book. For those of you who gave up on Jordan around books 5-8, come to Erikson. You won't be disappointed!

No lost princes or kings (Aragon), no awkward teens who become the greatest warrior of all time, no conflicted reincarnations of mad wizards (I am looking at you Rand Al'thor), no elves, and best of all, NO HOBBITS (sorry Frodo, you were cool when I was six, but come on)...most importantly, we have a fixed ending (ten books, I am told), no endless Wheel of Time nonsense, just fantasy writing for grown ups. It is dark, it is dense, but it is very, very good. Characters actually die. The history is big and dense and there aren't any classroom sections that grate on you. It picks you up and drops you off in another world.
Get the rest of the five from Amazon.ca (with the exchange rate, they almost pay for themselves).
Great book.

The book Gardens of the Moon is enjoyable. It's often compared to both Martin and Jordan, and to be quite honest, if you like both Martin and Jordan (or either), you will love this series as a whole.

There are few great fantasy writers out there that have good enough plots, characters, and intrigue to keep you going, and Erikson is certainly up to the task. This book is difficult to follow at first. You are thrust into the middle of things to an extent, and there is little explanation of all the events going on around you.

My first take on reading this book was that Erikson is a 9 year old dungeon master pitting too many super powers against each other with little control, rules, or thought. However, this illusion dies away as you read on through the series. At the time of this writing, there have been 4 books released, and the wonderful thing is each book brings you new understanding of all the books before hand. If permitted the time, I'd love to read this series a second time, because I'm sure all the books would take on so much more meaning.

Anyway, of fantasy authors I've read (and I've read virtually all of the major ones), I'd say Erikson easily is top 3. If you're into fantasy you've almost certainly read Jordan and Martin, and so you really have little to lose by picking up Erikson. Many people don't enjoy this book as much on first inspection. I emplore you to read through book 2 before making any decisions on Erikson as an author though.

D for "Gardens of the Moon"
I absolutely could not get into this novel when I first attempted reading it. You should note that I am a bigger fan of low-magic novels as there tends to be less use of deus ex machina, but I do also enjoy high magic systems when done well. Perhaps I will try at a later date, but for now I will leave you with another review that pretty well encapsulates my thoughts.

By Mark Erikson (Australia) on amazon.com. His review accurately reflects on most of the key issues I had with the novel.
"I picked up this book, the first in a projected series of ten, because everyone was giving it glowing reviews. Wherever I looked I saw nothing but great things being said about it. So I bought the first three in the series, intending to read them all while on holiday.

What I discovered was that the book was awful.

I have seen people saying that Steven Erikson can really write. He's not particularly bad, but he isn't fantastic either.

What actually makes this book fall flat, though, is the magic. It's vague (we get wizards killing people with "a wave of sorcery", not fireballs or ice storms or lightning), and it is not explained. There is absolutely no text about how and why the magic works. It's just there, and in massive ammounts.

There's also this vague impression that there's some "normal" mages floating about, but we never get to see them. Every single character who we're introduced to is somehow special. They can access seventeen types of magic, rather than the usual one or two, or they can fight at lightning fast speeds, or they've been altered by a magical object. It's like a comic populated entirely by superheroes, with no ordinary people for them to save.

And finally, there's the gods. Like the Greek Gods, they are driven by entirely mortal wants and needs. However, they appear to be all powerful, and locked in a constant struggle for power. What isn't clear, though, is what many of the Gods wants. Oponn, for instance, is one of the major players in this book, but as the God of Luck, doesn't appear to have any particular motivation except to cause random events. A character who has a massive impact on the plot and has no actual goal? Can you see the problem there?

The result of all this is a plot that doesn't follow any kind of logical pattern. Many of Erikson's fans seem to think that this makes the book somehow pleasantly unpredictable, the way George RR Martin's books are.

But Martin's plot twists occur when characters decide to do things which, while they may not be expected, are entirely believable given those characters' personality and motivations. Erikson's plot twists often involve a supremely powerful character suddenly appearing and using magic to alter events, often for no apparent reason, or at least no foreshadowing whatsoever. Similarly, when faced with problems, his characters usually have some inexplicable magical means to overcome it.

And this happens a lot. A whole lot. The plot doesn't twist and turn, it more or less bounces randomly around.

The ending is possibly the worst part of the book. While everything else is in constant flux, there are two plots that are constant throughout the book. The raising of a terrible monster from it's prison, and the diabolical mission of a possessed assasin-girl. However, at the last minute, the monster is recaptured before it can actually do anything, and the assassin girl is released from her possession, mission unaccomplished.

Instead, we get a completely random demon for some final dramatic action, and an entirely new group of superhero characters appearing in the final chapter to save the day. What?

A year later I tried again and tackled the second book in this series, "The Deadhouse Gates", on the promise that it was far better. It wasn't, it suffered from the same ridiculous plot twists and (still) unexplained magical metaphysics.

I gave up about halfway through when, it the midst of a pitched battle, it is suddenly revealed that the battle just happens to be taking place on the site of some heretofore unmentioned prior battle, and the mages raise the corpses of those long-dead soldiers to provide reinforcements of undead.

That isn't storytelling, that's just pulling something out at the last minute to explain why your vastly outnumbered force of good guys manages to beat the bad guys. "

Seeing some of the other reviews, it very apparent that it takes a certain type of person to appreciate the Malazan Book of the Fallen. This is not at all an easy series, and to truly understand and enjoy it, you will have to do some work. This can be simply referring to the glossary or looking back at other chapters. Erikson's style, especially in the first book (Gardens of the Moon), is to release bits of information about a topic, like the magic, and keep us wondering and on our toes. I find this half the fun - because it makes me curious. Some may find this frustrating because they don't understand right now, but I just keep reading until I come to a moment when it all makes sense. This is when it is really useful to do some re-reading, because it will reveal so many little secrets. So it really comes down to if you are willing to put some time into reading this book and this series - if you do, it will be one of the best you've ever read.