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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
i wanted to push through and read this, i really did. but why should reading a book be a challenge?? if your book is infamously difficult to read, maybe you should just be a better writer. like, maybe if there was a reason for it. but no! it's just like that! i'm not gonna numb my mind reading this just for the sake of it.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
If you have ever read a puzzle book, you know what GoTM might feel like. Really, I feel a bit conflicted rating this because I am not even sure if I have understood the whole book!
Gardens of The Moon is basically the first title in the epic Fantasy series Malazan, which is reputed for a very deep, intricate and dark world, and also for being a tough read in general. Really, if I hadn't approached this book after the mountain-load of disclaimers I got about how tough this book is to get into (including one from the author himself in the introduction), I might have left this unfinished.
Why is this tough? Because the author wants to do away with all the transparent exposition scenes in books where the reader is given large info-dumps about the world and the characters in convenient unrealistic conversations between people who for some weird reason start discussing common knowledge stuff amongst themselves. And you have to be grateful to Erikson for that here because in a world as deep and complicated as Malazan with a plethora of characters, the infodumps would have become tiring soon! Having said that I did not like those instances where the author was intentionally cryptic to make following the events even harder, which served the reputation but not the story.
So, the important question is, is all this effort, to decode and understand what the world is from the little morsels of information worth it? I would say Yes! Kind of. The cast of characters is large and while it is overwhelming at times to be constantly introduced to new characters every few chapters, you start loving all the unique interpersonal dynamics that come into play. And you realize that the uniqueness comes from a depth to the characters which makes them feel actually lived in rather than looking like some 1 dimensional NPC. Similar is the case with the magic system which is based on these thing called Warrens which are supposedly elemental paths that permeate the world which can be tapped to use magical powers or opened up to use for transportation. I can't however comment much on the magic given that I have understood very little of it myself. A good advantage to the reader here is that Erikson is a very visual writer. Even if you don't fully understand what's happening you can visualize the scene properly and feel properly immersed in the happenings; like a confused specatator with 20/20 vision. Also, the imagery is fairly vivid, picturesque and singular and visualizing them in your head is a fun task (For me the standout was when we were first introduced to the Moon's Spawn, a castle atop a tooth shaped rock which was hovering over a city!). Another standout here for me was the idea of Gods. As we read we realize that in this world the Gods interact with humankind in a much more direct and visible manner, and there is a lot of politics involved there as well. It is nice to imagine perspectives of characters that are thousands of years old who don't actually even care about regular puny humans anymore. Really heartening.
That said, a big failing for me in this book was that as interesting as assembling the puzzle was, the final image was not that interesting. The story feels incomplete as it serves more as a prequel to what's coming ahead. And also I guess the writer might have been thinking he was breaking tropes and subverting expectations in his climax, but really after building up the big threat for so long, the way it all was resolved was too anticlimactic and really made me want to throw the book at one point (which I wouldn't really have done given that it was borrowed, but still I wanted to). In fact probably what redeemed it for me in the end was perhaps the preview of the next book which was attached at the end which frankly felt much better written and really beautifully visualized, and thus it made me feel that all that I went through had a purpose. (Is it fair to rate a book a bit higher based on the next book's preview?)
In the end I would only say this, if you have read enough of epic fantasy and want to give yourself a challenge, pick this up. It makes you toil but rewards you, partly now, partly later (I am assuming that the later books do offer the promised payoff).
3.5*
Edit: I wanted to thank Tor.com for the excellent re-read segment which helped me get a grip on what was happening and without whom I would have probably taken another whole month!
Gardens of The Moon is basically the first title in the epic Fantasy series Malazan, which is reputed for a very deep, intricate and dark world, and also for being a tough read in general. Really, if I hadn't approached this book after the mountain-load of disclaimers I got about how tough this book is to get into (including one from the author himself in the introduction), I might have left this unfinished.
Why is this tough? Because the author wants to do away with all the transparent exposition scenes in books where the reader is given large info-dumps about the world and the characters in convenient unrealistic conversations between people who for some weird reason start discussing common knowledge stuff amongst themselves. And you have to be grateful to Erikson for that here because in a world as deep and complicated as Malazan with a plethora of characters, the infodumps would have become tiring soon! Having said that I did not like those instances where the author was intentionally cryptic to make following the events even harder, which served the reputation but not the story.
So, the important question is, is all this effort, to decode and understand what the world is from the little morsels of information worth it? I would say Yes! Kind of. The cast of characters is large and while it is overwhelming at times to be constantly introduced to new characters every few chapters, you start loving all the unique interpersonal dynamics that come into play. And you realize that the uniqueness comes from a depth to the characters which makes them feel actually lived in rather than looking like some 1 dimensional NPC. Similar is the case with the magic system which is based on these thing called Warrens which are supposedly elemental paths that permeate the world which can be tapped to use magical powers or opened up to use for transportation. I can't however comment much on the magic given that I have understood very little of it myself. A good advantage to the reader here is that Erikson is a very visual writer. Even if you don't fully understand what's happening you can visualize the scene properly and feel properly immersed in the happenings; like a confused specatator with 20/20 vision. Also, the imagery is fairly vivid, picturesque and singular and visualizing them in your head is a fun task (For me the standout was when we were first introduced to the Moon's Spawn, a castle atop a tooth shaped rock which was hovering over a city!). Another standout here for me was the idea of Gods. As we read we realize that in this world the Gods interact with humankind in a much more direct and visible manner, and there is a lot of politics involved there as well. It is nice to imagine perspectives of characters that are thousands of years old who don't actually even care about regular puny humans anymore. Really heartening.
That said, a big failing for me in this book was that as interesting as assembling the puzzle was, the final image was not that interesting. The story feels incomplete as it serves more as a prequel to what's coming ahead. And also I guess the writer might have been thinking he was breaking tropes and subverting expectations in his climax, but really after building up the big threat for so long, the way it all was resolved was too anticlimactic and really made me want to throw the book at one point (which I wouldn't really have done given that it was borrowed, but still I wanted to). In fact probably what redeemed it for me in the end was perhaps the preview of the next book which was attached at the end which frankly felt much better written and really beautifully visualized, and thus it made me feel that all that I went through had a purpose. (Is it fair to rate a book a bit higher based on the next book's preview?)
In the end I would only say this, if you have read enough of epic fantasy and want to give yourself a challenge, pick this up. It makes you toil but rewards you, partly now, partly later (I am assuming that the later books do offer the promised payoff).
3.5*
Edit: I wanted to thank Tor.com for the excellent re-read segment which helped me get a grip on what was happening and without whom I would have probably taken another whole month!
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This is a difficult review to write, because my thoughts on the book aren't too clear.
On the one hand, I appreciate the complexity of the story and the character cast. It's nice when an author writing books for adults realizes that adults have brains, and doesn't feel the need to spoon feed you information, or explain everything in dumbed down terms.
On the other hand, in his effort to impress, Erickson gets carried away. "Oh, this is ANOTHER ancient being powerful enough to level the entire continent? Put him in the corner by the others." In fact, I'm not really sure on the scale of power, because it seems like every other chapter a new all powerful being gets introduced.
As a first effort goes, it's a good book, and I'm interested in seeing Erickson develop as a writer.
Compared to other series spawning novels, it's not as good as "Lord Foul's Bane," but is head and shoulders above "Eye of the World" or "The Sword of Shannara;" in quality, it seems closest to "The Gunslinger."
On the one hand, I appreciate the complexity of the story and the character cast. It's nice when an author writing books for adults realizes that adults have brains, and doesn't feel the need to spoon feed you information, or explain everything in dumbed down terms.
On the other hand, in his effort to impress, Erickson gets carried away. "Oh, this is ANOTHER ancient being powerful enough to level the entire continent? Put him in the corner by the others." In fact, I'm not really sure on the scale of power, because it seems like every other chapter a new all powerful being gets introduced.
As a first effort goes, it's a good book, and I'm interested in seeing Erickson develop as a writer.
Compared to other series spawning novels, it's not as good as "Lord Foul's Bane," but is head and shoulders above "Eye of the World" or "The Sword of Shannara;" in quality, it seems closest to "The Gunslinger."
Honestly I’m so confused I’m not even gonna give it a star rating
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
slow-paced
A slow start with a lot of names and locations to remember but by about 25% into the book I finally got my head around who everyone was and their places in this world.
Really enjoyed it once that happened and will be continuing with the series.
Really enjoyed it once that happened and will be continuing with the series.