Gardens of the Moon

The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1

By: Steven Erikson

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

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

Probably best to read on paper/kindle

Would you consider the audio edition of Gardens of the Moon to be better than the print version?

No I doubt it. It's a VERY complex book and I am someone who listens to my ABs while jogging, lifting, doing housework, driving etc. There are so many characters in here and so many factions it's easy to get confused. I love GOTM but I wish I had a non-spoiler crib sheet that would have told me who was who and who was aligned with who.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gardens of the Moon?

Fall of Pale.
Interactions between Wiskeyjack and his team.
Rake fighting the hounds.

What about Ralph Lister’s performance did you like?

It was great.

Any additional comments?

This is a fantastic epic fantasy book, but it is so complex that sometimes the audio format makes you lose track of what is going on.

Probably the biggest problem for me was that I couldn't even keep track of which way the factions were aligned.

The magic is incredible.

Probably better as a book in print

I am an avid audiobook listener of many genres, and I really like fantasy, but for me, this book needs the "family trees" or a printed cast of characters to reference in order to keep this story flowing. I was confused about names, places, who was "good" and who was not from the first chapter. For that reason, I can't give it a better rating as an audiobook.

Finally it is here.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recommend "Gardens of the Moon" to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy. This book is fast paced, with great characters. Just as complicated as George R.R. Martin, and Robert Jordan, but with a much faster pacing. The Magic is unique, and you can tell that Steven Erikson was a professor of anthropology.

This is Grade A fantasy at its best.

What did you like best about this story?

The pacing of the story, it covers a lot of ground. I also have love for the Bridgeburners.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Quickben, and Kalem get ambushed by Anomander and company on the rooftops.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Certain characters made me laugh, but it is a serious book.

Any additional comments?

Please get the other 9 books of the main series on Audible asap!! ohh... and all the novellas of the Malazan world by Steven Erikson, and the ones by Ian C. Esslemont

The Best Fantasy I Have Ever Read!!

You have to read each Chapter a few times very carefully and slowly.
Also, don't read reviews or discussions or weekly.

The story contains a lot of ambiguous elements that slowly get revealed.
That is what makes it fascinating, not knowing a lot of details and figuring
them out later.

Also it is based on turn based combat. Characters or groups of characters
take turns to move/think/act/talk, which makes the storytelling very engaging,
It is not a good vs evil cliché, and everyone make their move based on
their own best interest.

Finally, there is no way you can guess upcoming events,
and it does not do Game Thrones style of
I am gonna kill every main character bs.
So you can enjoy having lots of characters.


As for the audiobook, Ralph does a good job on men character voices,
but he is terrible at performing most of women character voices. And he confuses
his designation voice-style of some characters from time to time during his narration.

No words for how good this book is

Erikson starts his stories as if you already know the characters and the world they live in. There is no context setting and you spend the first third of the book just trying to figure out what is going on and who is who. It is really not until you are half way through the story that you can really follow all of the characters and you begin to see how the story is coming together. You would think that would make for a bad review, but the story is absolutely brilliant. Events follow one after another in an unpredictable but very realistic manner. The world he creates is immense. And as you approach the end of the book you are left to wonder how he could have written such a brilliant story. It’s dark, it’s realistic, it’s funny….it is a great fantasy read!