Gardens of the Moon

The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1

By: Steven Erikson

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Vast legions of gods, mages, humans, dragons and all manner of creatures play out the fate of the Malazan Empire in this first book in a major epic fantasy series

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand....

Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order - an enthralling adventure by an outstanding new voice.

©1999 by Steven Erikson. (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Erikson is an extraordinary writer. My advice to anyone who might listen to me is, Treat yourself to Gardens of the Moon. And my entirely selfish advice to Steven Erikson is, write faster." --Stephen R. Donaldson

"I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high water mark of epic fantasy. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny's Amber, Vance's Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon's hoard." --Glen Cook

"A world that is both absorbing on a human level and full of magical sublimity...a wonderfully grand conception...splendidly written...fiendishly readable." --Adam Roberts

different but good.

I found the writing style hard to get used to at first, but towards the end of the book I found myself really into the story. I would definitely recommend the book but say that you have to stick through at least the first book to get used to it and the second book to get into the story.

Complex and brutal

Deep and enjoyable. I definatly plan on reading more. Better than the wheel of time!

Hard to follow, get context before listening.

Once I read the wiki summary it was a lot easier to track the story. Without that context I was hopelessly lost. The reader is great and the scope is huge and complex. I'm going to give the next in the series a try.

Takes a while to understand

The story in my opinion could have been set up better it takes a while to understand all the players I almost turned off twice to skip it and mark it up as a lost cause. I am glad u kept going as once I began to put the pieces together the story got better and better . I am now looking forward to the next book I. The series

Hard to follow but it has potential.

The voice acting was superb. I'll be seeking out other recordings of his. I might move to the next of this series but I'll have to think about it. So lost in who fights who and on which side. Names, warrens, planets. I could have used a flowchart. Some good characters introduced. Totally intrigued by the T'lan Imass, would like to hear more about them. I'd say that if you want a lot of story for the price, this is a good choice.

Immersive

One of the rare combinations of Author/Narrator that bring you right into the world they created.

Complex world building. Loved it.

The first 2 hours were a little difficult, but by then I understood the world and the characters enough that the story really took off.
Narration was very good, both male and female characters really came alive.

First read 2/5, Second read 5/5

First off let me say the performance from Ralph Lister is amazing. I've read this series twice and only recently picked it up on audible. His performance kept me hooked through each book even though I was already familiar with the story.

Now as to why I say first time read 2/5 and second time 5/5 is simple, this book/series is so damn confusing, at least until half way through book three. It was on my third attempt, yes twice I gave up before managing to finish Gardens of the Moon.

Worse yet, the second book adds nearly an entire new set of characters that just leaves you scratching your head as to what the hell this series about. I nearly stopped reading the second book but managed to push my way through.

I know, at this point you are probably asking why I gave it a five star rating. Well, if you make it past book two PLEASE READ THE THIRD! Halfway through everything stats to click and the series went from I'm "sort of interested" to "I can't put it down!"

When I recommend this series to friends it's with a lot of caveats, as well as saying there are 11 books in the series because once you have read all ten books you need to revisit Gardens of the Moon. Once you understand the world and are familiar with the characters this book is amazing.

Steven Erikson has written my all time favorite series and at least for me, there is nothing else I've encountered like it. I can't go more than a few years now without revisiting this series just to remember how truly epic it is.

Finally, a well-written adult fantasy

Gardens of the Moon is an epic, exciting, mature and beautifully written fantasy novel that I cannot recommend enough.
There are dragons, demons, gods, immortals and mortals. Magic wipes out armies and levels cities, there are plots and twists, and for the first time in a long time for this fantasy literature nerd, there is writing and wording that made me want to rewind and hear the phrasing again. Ralph Lister's performance does it every bit of justice and I was absolutely enthralled.

This was a fantasy that inspired me to write. If you're a writing snob with a love of fantasy, this will tick all the boxes.

At first I was intimidated by other reviews here. "It's too complicated, there's too many characters, it's confusing..."
Hood's balls, am I glad I decided to give it a try!

First of all, If you were able to keep track of the main characters in George RR Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire", then you'll have absolutely no issues with characters here. I think there are more significant characters in Game of Thrones than this. It is not your small, merry band of fantasy stereotypes sticking together and conquering the world from start to finish. The story jumps from character to character all around the world as the epic unfolds. Some die. Some ascend. Some fail and some triumph. Some are so much more than they seem. I did not find any of the characters stereotypical, boring or predictable.

I could go on and on about how much I loved the world and characters, the depth of everything and how immersive the world was. But the whole reason I wanted to write this review was to praise Erikson's wordmanship. Some descriptions, expositions and dialogue are so wonderfully written that I found myself grinning from ear to ear and rewinding. This is an advanced read, but if you're willing to focus and enjoy the brilliance of his writing, you will not be disappointed.
While I do enjoy fantasy for fantasy's sake, I have been so disappointed by the ho-hum, overly accessible writing of modern fantasy. This is not a Sanderson cinema-made easy reader. Erikson does the media justice and as someone who dorks out on wonderful wording and unique descriptions, I really was inspired by listening to this audiobook.

Finally, performance-wise, this was a solid A. Ralph Lister was phenomenal, and did Erikson's work the justice it deserves. After I finish this series, I will probably seek out more books read by Lister just because I found his reading so enthralling.

The only gripe I have is that there are breaks mid-chapter where the story switches characters. I'm sure there is a line or something in the written book to denote the break, but I felt the pauses were too short in the audio book in these spots, which sometimes caused me to be a little confused, as it felt that all of a sudden the next paragraph was in a totally different setting. Just a second or more of a pause in the editing would really clean up that confusion.

TLDR; this book is an advanced read that is not an easy listen and requires a bit of focus, but is so rewarding, inspiring, and stimulating. The story, writing and performance are all A+, and my love for a genre that honestly has disappointed me in the writing category was renewed.

Thank you Erikson and Lister for the ride. I can't wait to continue the series.

Astounding!

Loved every minute. Finally found an author that writes fantasy as good or better than Tolkien. The narration is perfect. Characters have distinct voices, but the voice acting doesn't over shadow the story.