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nerdkitten's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, War, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Death, Infidelity, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Gore, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide, Genocide, Sexual content, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
catsy2022's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rating: B
Malazan is immensely popular on Reddit's Fantasy board, the first place that I heard of it. Written in 1999, Gardens of the Moon is the first entry in the series, the debut novel of the author who is reportedly also an anthropologist and archaeologist. Cool. I did manage to power through the book in a few days once I got going, however, I wouldn't say it was particularly amazing.
Gardens of the Moon (GotM) follows two separate groups of people in the ongoing war caused by the Malazan Empire expanding into different continents with the purpose of conquering the world. The first group is a ravaged company of men - both mages and warriors - who have been doing missions for the Malazan empire and the second is a group of locals living in the last free city Darujhistan. The story features a rich lore and world, multiple gods and elder beings (all explained in the Personae Dramatis and Glossary) as well as frightening weapons. I would say that I liked a few of the characters but found them to rarely be in the limelight.
Every character save 1 or 2 spoke in the same manner, so I never felt like they were particularly distinct. The names don't follow any sort of convention but I liked that they weren't overly complex or confusing. I also liked how some weapons have names. I liked the presence of the gods and how they interfere in the mortal realm as well as learning about the political climate. I think it was a good introduction to a new series. I wonder now if I could explain what happened in the book; I never felt like I was truly lost in it, but I did feel like none of the battles were particularly epic or exciting.
I already have the 2nd book at home and the library also has them in their collection so I think this may be the best path for me. I hope the next books are better.
Malazan is immensely popular on Reddit's Fantasy board, the first place that I heard of it. Written in 1999, Gardens of the Moon is the first entry in the series, the debut novel of the author who is reportedly also an anthropologist and archaeologist. Cool. I did manage to power through the book in a few days once I got going, however, I wouldn't say it was particularly amazing.
Gardens of the Moon (GotM) follows two separate groups of people in the ongoing war caused by the Malazan Empire expanding into different continents with the purpose of conquering the world. The first group is a ravaged company of men - both mages and warriors - who have been doing missions for the Malazan empire and the second is a group of locals living in the last free city Darujhistan. The story features a rich lore and world, multiple gods and elder beings (all explained in the Personae Dramatis and Glossary) as well as frightening weapons. I would say that I liked a few of the characters but found them to rarely be in the limelight.
Every character save 1 or 2 spoke in the same manner, so I never felt like they were particularly distinct. The names don't follow any sort of convention but I liked that they weren't overly complex or confusing. I also liked how some weapons have names. I liked the presence of the gods and how they interfere in the mortal realm as well as learning about the political climate. I think it was a good introduction to a new series. I wonder now if I could explain what happened in the book; I never felt like I was truly lost in it, but I did feel like none of the battles were particularly epic or exciting.
I already have the 2nd book at home and the library also has them in their collection so I think this may be the best path for me. I hope the next books are better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Suicide
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