Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by nonsenseofsight
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
4.0
This is probably my seventh or eighth time through this particular book. Like the Jordan's Wheel of Time, I read these books as they released and would start the series over with each new installment. So I've been to Dharujistan a time or two before. The opinions expressed here reflect that familiarity but I'll try to talk about what drew me to these books in the first place too.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is not like other fantasy series. It is a massively complex series of books and Gardens of the Moon is like a fingernail dent in the surface of its many peoples and systems and intrigues.
Gardens introduces us to the Bridgeburners, a worn out unit of misfit soldiers in service of the Malazan Empire. In many ways the Bridgeburners are the anchor of the entire series (though they often disappear for a few books). Malaz on the other hand is in the midst of a regime change, full of politics, backstabbing, conquest, and suspiciously light on space for old soldiers.
Gardens does a nice job of establishing this story line (though I'm always surprised at how incidental many of the major characters in the series are in this first novel). But if you're expecting to know what's going on in the bigger plot, prepare to be disappointed. Things are so tangled that it takes four or five books to really get your bearings. It's OK to be lost. Just enjoy the ride until things clear up.
While the book is light on answers what it does have is:
A lot of worldbuilding, an assassin's war, a mysterious dark lord with one of the most terrifying swords in history, an ancient evil, bug based air transport, huge immortal dogs, a pensive skeleton, and explosive ordinance. There's also a lot of hints about just how deep Erikson can go. What I truly love about the Malazan Book of the Fallen is that the world is deeper than it is vast (and it's hugely vast, spanning hemispheres and multiple continents by series end). There's history all over. Not just lore-stone incidental videogame cutscene history, but rich, developed, tragic and powerful history.
The entire series is a five star experience for me. Gardens is a little bit under-developed (hence the docked star). Which is ok. You kinda have to ease into this world. If you bounce off this installment I HIGHLY recommend reading the second book "Deadhouse Gates" before giving up entirely. Deadhouse is one of the best wartime fantasy books I've ever read. It's a nail-biting, tragic, and triumphant ride.
I'm looking forward to revisiting it.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is not like other fantasy series. It is a massively complex series of books and Gardens of the Moon is like a fingernail dent in the surface of its many peoples and systems and intrigues.
Gardens introduces us to the Bridgeburners, a worn out unit of misfit soldiers in service of the Malazan Empire. In many ways the Bridgeburners are the anchor of the entire series (though they often disappear for a few books). Malaz on the other hand is in the midst of a regime change, full of politics, backstabbing, conquest, and suspiciously light on space for old soldiers.
Gardens does a nice job of establishing this story line (though I'm always surprised at how incidental many of the major characters in the series are in this first novel). But if you're expecting to know what's going on in the bigger plot, prepare to be disappointed. Things are so tangled that it takes four or five books to really get your bearings. It's OK to be lost. Just enjoy the ride until things clear up.
While the book is light on answers what it does have is:
A lot of worldbuilding, an assassin's war, a mysterious dark lord with one of the most terrifying swords in history, an ancient evil, bug based air transport, huge immortal dogs, a pensive skeleton, and explosive ordinance. There's also a lot of hints about just how deep Erikson can go. What I truly love about the Malazan Book of the Fallen is that the world is deeper than it is vast (and it's hugely vast, spanning hemispheres and multiple continents by series end). There's history all over. Not just lore-stone incidental videogame cutscene history, but rich, developed, tragic and powerful history.
The entire series is a five star experience for me. Gardens is a little bit under-developed (hence the docked star). Which is ok. You kinda have to ease into this world. If you bounce off this installment I HIGHLY recommend reading the second book "Deadhouse Gates" before giving up entirely. Deadhouse is one of the best wartime fantasy books I've ever read. It's a nail-biting, tragic, and triumphant ride.
I'm looking forward to revisiting it.