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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
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.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was very challenging. OMG. It took a lot of brain power to keep track of naps and stuff.
- The Bridgeburners are the heart of the series—scrappy, loyal, funny, tragic, so human.
- Rake? Top tier, no question. Just pure, mythic elegance and power. He’s everything.
- Paran’s arc is one of the most satisfying slow burns—he starts so lost, and then becomes someone worth rooting for.
- Tattersail is like a ghost—just as you start to get attached, she’s gone. And yet… not completely.
- Sorry is such a mystery now. Is she healed? Broken? Rebuilding? You’ll find out.
- Rallick and Vorcan and the Assassins’ Guild—that thread explodes later. You are right to be dying to know.
- Kruppe is chaos and riddles and heart. It’s okay to feel iffy on him—some love him, some don’t, but he matters.
- And Circle Breaker… his tiny arc was one of the most quietly beautiful victories in a book full of giant gods and armies. Just one man, given freedom.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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:
Complicated
You hit the ground running and it honestly never stops. Often confusing, but you gotta accept this state of confusion as your new state of mind and trust that things will make sense later on. OR WILL THEY.
adventurous
challenging
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
Complicated
It took several attempts, but once it finally clicked, I was insatiable.
The characters spring to life through the pages, and whilst the plot starts at a plodding (yet confusing) pace, it picks up momentum and hurtles you along with it. I genuinely felt every emotion whilst reading it.
So excited for the rest of the series!
Pro tip: the index and glossary are your best friends.
The characters spring to life through the pages, and whilst the plot starts at a plodding (yet confusing) pace, it picks up momentum and hurtles you along with it. I genuinely felt every emotion whilst reading it.
So excited for the rest of the series!
Pro tip: the index and glossary are your best friends.