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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh man, what amazing battle scenes! THE LORE! Creativity to rival Tolkien and Martin. The magic, the backstabbing, the floating moon city. Epic fantasy at its most epic. Dark, truly imaginative, does not shy away from the fantastical. Stevie gave me mysterious, breathtaking scope and I love how he treats me as an intelligent, perceptive and sophistic-
Wait hang on, is that a fucking puppet fireballing giant ravens..?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wait hang on, is that a fucking puppet fireballing giant ravens..?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Confused but intrigued. I think this is one of those books that starts to make more sense the further along you read and upon rereads. So maybe one day I'll have proper feelings towards this book. For now, the journey continues.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly this book both intrigued and disinterested me.
From start to finish the boom was very difficult to follow - events took place in an unorganized order that gave the reader whiplash trying to determine what was happening, who it was happening to, and if you should care. Does the empire want all mage craft dead, or just those that oppose it? Why did you kill off Paren and Tattersails only to bring them both back, just slightly different? Why do we get introduced to Toc the Younger just to have him DIE BASICALLY IMMEDIATELY and why did we only find out Mammot was a freaking high mage right before he was POSSESSED AND MURDERED? as you can see I'm not bitter.
I do enjoy some of the characters and I want to see where they go. Kalem intrigues me, I feel his past is something of note, and Quick Ben being a high mage deserter means there must be more to him than we know. Sorry's story is just starting and I want to see how being possessed, as well as the seer soul still within, end up guiding her story. And Crokus is the most intriguing of all with his spinning coun of Oponn. I am still unsure who the good/bad guys are in this story, but I'm interested enough to keep pursuing.
From start to finish the boom was very difficult to follow - events took place in an unorganized order that gave the reader whiplash trying to determine what was happening, who it was happening to, and if you should care. Does the empire want all mage craft dead, or just those that oppose it? Why did you kill off Paren and Tattersails only to bring them both back, just slightly different? Why do we get introduced to Toc the Younger just to have him DIE BASICALLY IMMEDIATELY and why did we only find out Mammot was a freaking high mage right before he was POSSESSED AND MURDERED? as you can see I'm not bitter.
I do enjoy some of the characters and I want to see where they go. Kalem intrigues me, I feel his past is something of note, and Quick Ben being a high mage deserter means there must be more to him than we know. Sorry's story is just starting and I want to see how being possessed, as well as the seer soul still within, end up guiding her story. And Crokus is the most intriguing of all with his spinning coun of Oponn. I am still unsure who the good/bad guys are in this story, but I'm interested enough to keep pursuing.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was written for a tv script not originally a novel. You can really tell the author is writing with the knowledge of his characters and world and doesn’t ever explain anything. Who the characters are, the setting, the magic system, etc. Lots of the scenes are disjointed and no joke there’s 33 POV’s. It’s really a whole big mess and requires additional YouTube videos to explain things based on information from sequels he writes years later. It’s just a bad book. Highly detailed world but to not explain who anyone/ what is going on is just a disservice to the amount of work that was put into creating all this.
I can’t adequately express how much I loved the first installment of the Malazan series. It was the very best of Game of Thrones and The Kingkiller Chronicle, but somehow even better. I was not prepared for how quickly this book would top my list of all-time favorites, especially since I had never heard of this series before! I’m only disappointed that I didn’t discover it sooner because I’m eager to start the next book and get lost once again in this fantastic world of high magic and fantasy.
The world-building is incredible, but unlike the slower pace of something like Name of the Wind (which I still love just as well), all of the details build subtle momentum towards the increasing tension of the story. A seemingly insignificant encounter with minor characters, a stray comment about a particular historical point, or some other environmental description all contribute to the complexity and suspension of disbelief in the events that unfold. Too often I found myself forgetting where I was in real life, looking up hours later to find that the time had slipped by at my desk while I believed I was in the heart of Darujhistan.
I have nothing but praise for Gardens of the Moon and I’m so excited to dive deeper into this series.
The world-building is incredible, but unlike the slower pace of something like Name of the Wind (which I still love just as well), all of the details build subtle momentum towards the increasing tension of the story. A seemingly insignificant encounter with minor characters, a stray comment about a particular historical point, or some other environmental description all contribute to the complexity and suspension of disbelief in the events that unfold. Too often I found myself forgetting where I was in real life, looking up hours later to find that the time had slipped by at my desk while I believed I was in the heart of Darujhistan.
I have nothing but praise for Gardens of the Moon and I’m so excited to dive deeper into this series.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4/5 Stars, I really liked it- and my enjoyment grew as it went on. There was a section near the end that almost made me drop it to 3 stars (it was giving me EoTW flashbacks) but the rest of the ending section was good enough that it remained 4 Stars.