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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hoo boy.
I really wanted to enjoy Gardens of the Moon and, hopefully, the Malazan series. I'd seen it held up as a masterpiece of worldbuilding. On top of that, I'd read that Steven Erikson was an anthropologist, so I was doubly interested to see how that would play out.
I give this two stars solely because it should be a masterpiece of worldbuilding, and in many ways it is. I can respect that in and of itself. But sweet singing Jesus, coaxing information out of this book was like pulling teeth. Almost immediately you're thrown into a world of wars, magic, and intrigue that could be exceptionally exciting if I knew what was happening. A wizard talks about conjuring magic and "entering their Warren." Alright, cool, what's a warren? It's never explained; I go digging on the wiki and I'm treated to an inscrutable diagram.
I do think Gardens of the Moon, and the whole Malazan series, could be enjoyed. If you like being tossed into a setting without context for most things and having to deduce things like background and motivation, here you go. For me, it just felt like too much of a slog.
I really wanted to enjoy Gardens of the Moon and, hopefully, the Malazan series. I'd seen it held up as a masterpiece of worldbuilding. On top of that, I'd read that Steven Erikson was an anthropologist, so I was doubly interested to see how that would play out.
I give this two stars solely because it should be a masterpiece of worldbuilding, and in many ways it is. I can respect that in and of itself. But sweet singing Jesus, coaxing information out of this book was like pulling teeth. Almost immediately you're thrown into a world of wars, magic, and intrigue that could be exceptionally exciting if I knew what was happening. A wizard talks about conjuring magic and "entering their Warren." Alright, cool, what's a warren? It's never explained; I go digging on the wiki and I'm treated to an inscrutable diagram.
I do think Gardens of the Moon, and the whole Malazan series, could be enjoyed. If you like being tossed into a setting without context for most things and having to deduce things like background and motivation, here you go. For me, it just felt like too much of a slog.
I love fantasy but this just wasn’t my cup of tea. This series doesn’t need any additional attention from me.
Story sets up an exciting bunch of characters and got me invested in the story, then promptly abandoned them for several hours in the audiobook. If this was how the rest of the story was gonna be (unsatisfyingly leaving good characters on the back burner) I decided I didn’t want to spend more time listening
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Before reading Gardens of the Moon, I'd been in an extended reading slump. I skimmed while reading and would often miss plot elements in a rush to just get the book done. With its expansive world and, as the back of the book says, "panoramic" style, I was worried Gardens of The Moon would make my focusing issues all the worse. However, the fact that I had to pay attention to make sense of anything in this story helped dramatically.
I don't know what to say, Gardens of the Moon is a banger. It's a crazy book that is written in a way that seems totally ill-advised, but I don't know, it's fantastic. It's hard to wrap my head around all of the plot lines, characters, and foreshadowing, but what I can tell you is that this story made my head spin but also had so many lightbulb moments.
As to the story itself, nearly every character is an enjoyable read. After establishing the main cast in the first two parts, I consistently found myself excited whenever Steven Erikson return to an established point of view. Gardens of the Moon is millitary fantasy, which is a new genre to me. Although it reads like a fantasy book, the fact that an ongoing conflict is the main focus feels different than many other fantasy bricks I've read. There are moments where we're really moving in quagmire, alongside the characters, and it's worth knowing that ahead of time. Like a Brandon Sanderson novel, Erikson builds some incredible moments of "convergence" into Gardens of the Moon, but, also like something written by the modern GOAT of fantasy, you have to wade through a lot of build up.
Malazan: Book of the Fallen is often billed as an incredibly confusing story. To some extent, that's true, but the learning curve is not insurmountable. By buddy reading with two friends, occasionally looking at published chapter summaries, and having a before bed reading book that was different, I felt I was perfectly capable of holding onto the essential information in Gardens of the Moon. Even without some sort of reading strategy, Gardens of the Moon can be understood if you're willing to take your time and reread when confused.
Although Erikson's style is difficult, I found it truly rewarding. There's a ton happening in this story, but things really pay off. Questions get answered satisfactorily and plot lines resolve within this first novel. After my experience reading The Wheel of Time, Gardens of the Moon felt in many ways like a breath of fresh air. I can't wait to tackle Deadhouse Gates.
I don't know what to say, Gardens of the Moon is a banger. It's a crazy book that is written in a way that seems totally ill-advised, but I don't know, it's fantastic. It's hard to wrap my head around all of the plot lines, characters, and foreshadowing, but what I can tell you is that this story made my head spin but also had so many lightbulb moments.
As to the story itself, nearly every character is an enjoyable read. After establishing the main cast in the first two parts, I consistently found myself excited whenever Steven Erikson return to an established point of view. Gardens of the Moon is millitary fantasy, which is a new genre to me. Although it reads like a fantasy book, the fact that an ongoing conflict is the main focus feels different than many other fantasy bricks I've read. There are moments where we're really moving in quagmire, alongside the characters, and it's worth knowing that ahead of time. Like a Brandon Sanderson novel, Erikson builds some incredible moments of "convergence" into Gardens of the Moon, but, also like something written by the modern GOAT of fantasy, you have to wade through a lot of build up.
Malazan: Book of the Fallen is often billed as an incredibly confusing story. To some extent, that's true, but the learning curve is not insurmountable. By buddy reading with two friends, occasionally looking at published chapter summaries, and having a before bed reading book that was different, I felt I was perfectly capable of holding onto the essential information in Gardens of the Moon. Even without some sort of reading strategy, Gardens of the Moon can be understood if you're willing to take your time and reread when confused.
Although Erikson's style is difficult, I found it truly rewarding. There's a ton happening in this story, but things really pay off. Questions get answered satisfactorily and plot lines resolve within this first novel. After my experience reading The Wheel of Time, Gardens of the Moon felt in many ways like a breath of fresh air. I can't wait to tackle Deadhouse Gates.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated