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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW!, 27 Mar 2007
When I bought this book, I was dreading having to look up stuff in the index at every page, or not being able to understand what was going on in one great long, 700 page battle. That was the impression I had got of the series from its critics. However, others, whilst admitting that it was complex, could not praise it enough. I thought I'd give it a try.
Well, I'm simply blown away. What an amazing start to what promises to be an enormous project that will be soon seen as one of the top fantasy series ever!
Yes, Steven Erikson (and Ian Cameron Esslemont, the co-creator of the world of the Malazan empire) have imagined a world far beyond anything that's ever been written about before. Yes, sometimes it can be hard to remember exactly which Ascendant Cotillion is (though perhaps if you're confused over that one, you've skipped a few pages!) but generally if there is a point when you think, "Hang on, who's Apsalar again?" there is a very useful list of characters at the start which helped me get a few things straight - but I never needed to do this with anything important. If there was something I was unsure about, it would be a minor God, whose name was mentioned in passing. Erikson writes so skillfully about this complex world that I had next to no difficulty remembering what was what.
The pace is fast throughout the book, helped by the style of the book. You see events from many different characters points of view, from both 'sides' (similar to George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire) and you come to care for the characters.
You do NOT get spoon fed the story and details of the world. You get dropped into the story, and you pick up stuff as you go along. The way the reader has to work some things out and wonder about others is deliberate, and I feel one of the book's strengths - instead of spending a few hundred pages introducing you to the world, there is a few pages of prologue, which give you some idea of the start of the Malazan Empire, and introduce you to some of the main characters - and then the pace immediately picks up, dragging you into the story straight away.
As you can see, I feel that this will be an astounding series, and I've heard that the sequel is even better that the first book (doesn't seem possible!)
If you want a nice, easy read, where you don't really have to think too much to understand whats happening, don't chose this book. But if you want an epic, original and unbelievably engrossing new series, what are you waiting for?
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37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A New Epic Begins, 7 Feb 2003
Few fantasy series take as few prisoners as Steven Erikson. In Gardens of the Moon we're plunged into a story that feels already halfway done. The Malazan Empire is battling to conquer the continents of Korelri, Stratem and Genabackis, the Emperor and his high assassin have both died under murky circumstances and the new Empress is untested. The previously-conquered land of the Seven Cities is on the verge of rebellion and something seriously odd is happening in the Warrens, the otherdimensional magical realms where the Ascendants (demigods) and demons dwell and which the various races can tap to use for their own ends. This isn't a relaxing, take-your-mind-off things read, but an explosive, fast-paced epic tracking the Empire's attempts to conquer the city of Darujhistan. There are a huge number of characters here, from tragic wizardess Tattersail to cynical battalion commander Whiskeyjack to Captain Paran, whom fate has a truly bizarre destiny arranged for. Erikson takes few prisoners and also refuses to bow down to cliche. No dwarves, hobbits or elves (although the cold, remote Tiste Andii are a bit elf-like at times), but an overwhelming array of more original races, such as the demons of the Warrens and the T'lan Imass, an undead race who comitted racial suicide in order to confront a powerful enemy hundreds of thousands of years later. At times Erikson's past as a role-playing gamesmaster comes through (such as a bewildering array of magical items and a frantic desire to cram as much of his meticulously-constructed world in as possible) and the plot is so crammed with incident you may completely lose track of what the hell is going on. But Erikson's style is good, delivering complex ideas whilst retaining a certain dark humour and a genuine (and fiendish) desire to shock the audience out of its genre expectations. Even the frequent intrusions of the gods into the lives of mortals (something I have hated since foolishly reading a David Eddings novel when young) is handled well. Gardens of the Moon is a stunning debut, presenting a fantastical world in its full glory and setting up intriguing hints for future volumes...although, refreshingly, the book stands perfectly well by itself. Highly recommended.
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55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get into the Malazan World, 30 Mar 2005
Now where do I start? Gardens of the moon is the first book in a series of 10 (5 out so far) based on at least 5 continents and I estimated over 10 different character POV per book. There is also about 300, 000 years of relevant history, numerous different species and a completely different system of 'magic' to the regular fantasy fare. With countless mysteries and good number of extremely powerful beings it is quite hard to get your head around it at first. So I will try my best in this review to give you a good idea of what to expect from the series as a whole.Firstly if you are looking for any of the following, beware!
A young nobody (or lost prince) finds famous sword, hacks up baddy, saves the world
Main characters that never seem to die
A light read i.e. Few brain cells or imagination required (Harry Potter?)
Author spoon feeding i.e. everything is explained immediately
Elves, Orcs, Hobbits, goblins etc After about 100 pages of gardens of the moon you will be very confused, after about 200 it will be even worse, it was for me when I first read it. The story does pick up, but there are still a number of things that will have your head spinning. Erikson is not the type to give info dumps so the brain cells will have to stay sharp while reading this book since the info is spread through all the books. The first book is the weakest of the 5 currently published simply because it is impossible to fully understand everything that happens since you don't have enough information about the Malazan world. But perseverance pays of tenfold as soon as the second book and there is hardly any filler (WOT?) so it is worthwhile not to skim through. To give a head start I would say that there are 2 definite constants in the Malazan world. The first is convergence which means that power draws other power. And the second one is a balance of that power. It is also useful to condition your thinking and remember that this is a completely different world and is not based on LOTR or D&D, for example a god is not one in the conventional sense, but is just a powerful being who commands a warren (a realm can be used to release magic into the Malazan world). Even though gardens is a good book, there will always be debate about its quality since it is quite complex and a lot of people can't take that. However, that debate dies off after Book 2 (Deadhouse Gates) , which even with a good dose of extra mystery is easier to follow and the Erikson proves himself as top class with incredible story that leaves most people very numb and wanting more. If you are not hooked after that there is still some hope as book 3 (memories of ice) is in my opinion even better. There will invariably be comparisons made to George Martin's (another favourite of mine) song of ice and fire. Which is fair since they are both gritty and main characters can and do die. However, I would say that Martin is more character driven, while Erikson is more event or plot driven. But both do it so well that they are arguable writing the best ongoing fantasy series at present, other really don't come close.
So you should get into the Malazan series if you're looking for: A powerful story that will blow you away
An intriguing web of plots with no clichés
A chance to test the limits of your imagination
A different world you can really get into Enjoy.
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