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

Dense but delightful

There is so much detail so that not a single sentence is a throwaway...not a complaint, however. This is the kind of book that you can read 10 times and glean something new from it each time. Beautifully written and the characters instantly grab you.

Slow, unorganized and hard to finish

I had 0 interest in finishing this book after getting past the half way point. it was a struggle to even get that far. The narrator wasn't terrible which was it's biggest saving grace, sometimes the story was interesting, but when that happened it shifted to another character with 0 warning and went on about something new and unrelated without any explanation. Time to find something new.

Engaging, inventive. D&D plyrs wil love the series

Fantastic, well written and comical, this is a softer and slower start to an amazing series. The books get darker as the story and history of this world unfolds, but there are moments when I burst out laughing at the antics and conversations between characters. There are a plethora of characters with intertwining stories, it can be hard to get into at first, especially with the history that is included. But please give it a chance. I was hesitant at first, but this has been the fourth time I've listened through the whole series and I still catch things I've missed before that makes it all the more enjoyable. The conversations and battles are both equally engaging.

Complex - Not For the Casual Listener!

This book has a huge cast, a complex and unfamiliar magic system, and a vast, old, mind boggling world. While I will normally listen to my books at 2x - 3x speed I had to slow this one down to 1X and even then pause some times to try and catch up to what was going on. Even then I spent the first half of the book feeling fairly confused and, to be honest, not particularly attached to any of the characters. So, if you are willing to commit to a book, I think this one can be a real gem, but unlike a lot of other books out there, I found this one to take effort. By the last half of the book I only found myself occasionally trying to remember, for example, who Toc the Younger was.

I expect that I'm going to go back and listen to this again, just so I can pick up on everything I missed the first time around. I'm not sure I would be willing do this with every book I read or listen to, but every once and a while a book that completely alters what I've come to expect out of a fantasy novel is probably a good thing.

A hard series to get into

What did you like best about Gardens of the Moon? What did you like least?

First off I hate these questions. I don't like someone dictating to me my review - With that said. I found that this entire series was hard to get into. Why? Because over the course of the series, many of the characters names change or they get killed or left out of a book or two. There isn't a main character per se as most books. Each book in the series may or may not contain the characters from the previous book or they may appear 1 to 2 books later on. There was times I would start to get into the book and than the author would go to the next chapter and leave you hanging to figure things out. I told myself that the next book would be better, well it wasn't. Maybe this writing style is for some, but it's definitely not for me. I don't like a book that I feel like I have to study it to understand it. This series has to be followed meticulous. If you miss or forget something, you could be lost for awhile. All I have to say is be sure, you like this style of writing before diving into the series.

Would you be willing to try another book from Steven Erikson? Why or why not?

I'm not sure. This series has really turn me against Erickson. The story is just like Game Of Thrones. No main character and mass killing of the characters involved. I just don't like books or authors that have this kind of writing style.

Which scene was your favorite?

N/A

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I don't know, but I doubt it. I didn't like the TV series Game of Thrones and the writing style is the same for The Malazan Book Of The Fallen series.

Any additional comments?

I feel that the rating on this book and series are more than it merits. With that, I'm left wondering how so many enjoyed the book/series that I find so unappealing. I really wanted to like this story and so many times I thought I was starting to get into it.... but, it just didn't happen. P.S. Could someone tell the authors, to stop changing narrators thru out a series. Seriously, you get use to someone and associating a voice to a character and BLAM - Next book a new voice to a character. I don't have any issues with the narrators, they all did a decent job. Authors - Find a single person to narrate your ENTIRE series. Seriously this is starting to become a pet peeve of mine.

very good

earns a place in my top ten books read, similar in tone to The Black Company, if you liked this you will love that series

Hunker down, this will take a while

Assassins, magic, meddling gods, threat of a powerful tyrant, and intrigue, what more could you want from a epic fantasy?
Be warned this book is long and has a high learning curve. I was about a quarter or third before I could stop wondering if I understood what was happening and start enjoying the story.
It all came together at the end and the last few chapters was exciting and page turning. Despite being part of a long series the story stands well on its own.
There are many characters and politics to track. The main characters are well fleshed out and have their unique voices.
If you don't like books you can't get into right away then stay away from this. If you're patient and okay with a slow increment of reveal and plot advancement then hunker down and start reading.

One problem with the audio book is that the character viewpoint will often change within a chapter and there are no audio cues or even pauses. It can be quite jarring and annoying.

Slow start... Slow finish...

This book takes a long time to get going partly because of the number of characters. By the end I'd found a few I liked enough that I'll pick up the sequel if it's ever on sale. But there are enough other books that I'd recommend saving your credits.

One of the greatest fantasy books I have read.

Amazing book and amazing narrator. I predict this series to become one of my favorite along with the likes of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.

Very interesting

A bit yard to follow in the beginning, but it is pretty good. I really like the characters.