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

Excellent

Fantasy a d world building at its best. Memorable characters. Stellar performance. Buy and listen now.

Hard to start, great to finish.

This book has been in my library for at least 5 years and I’ve started it about once a year when I’ve had nothing else on my radar and every time except now did I quite a couple of hour in.
It honest takes about 10 hours of listening to get what the hell is going on and even then you don’t exactly know many of the main characters motivations. But it sure as hell gets better and once passed that 10 ish hour mark I could barely stop listening. Most of the main characters are relatable and interesting once you get to know them and the plot is excellent.
So keep at it push through for a great pay off.

Uneven Pace, brilliant language though

pros:
-Amazing writing
-intricate plots
-great worldbuilding
-strong women whose stories don't revolve around being women.

cons:
-Very uneven pace. strong in the beginning and end, almost unbearably slow in the middle.
-HIS EYES GLITTERED

OVERALL: gonna start on Book 2

Highly recommended

Ik loved the written books, can't praise Steven Erikson enough, but it was Ralph Lister who made me addicted.

beyond epic

Wider and deeper than the ocean, complex as a tapestry with growing and breathing wirld building. Among the best fantasy I have read, maybe better than that

wow

Do you like a song of Ice and Fire? Do which there was a little more magic? Well look no further, we got political games, though there are God's, demons, killer puppets, dragons, and magical bad asses from the fucking moon. The beginning is a little tough cause a lot is happening at once. Though once it gets going, it really gets going. The narrator is absolutely outstanding also.

My new obsession.

Wow.

WOW.

I dove into this series with no knowledge at all. I love the pace of the story and how quickly you're dropped into the middle of a complex world filled with history.

Read & listen to it at the same time!

This book was awesome! I took someone's suggestion and read the physical book along with listening to the Audible book. The combination worked and I was able to follow along (the maps were helpful lol). I admit, I was a little lost in the first chapter but once the action began taking place, I was able to place it on the map and keep up. The narrator was excellent but I had to speed it up because I read fast. I'm excited to continue the series!

Gripping. Complex. Nuanced. Scifi and fantasy.

Gripping. Complex. Nuanced. Scifi and fantasy across hundreds of thousands of years. Excellent narration.

A great way to reread the series!

prefacing this review by saying I have already read each all of the Malazan book of the fallen on Kindle and that I'm a huge fan.

I love this series and Ralph lister does a great job narrating this challenging book. The sheer amount of characters means he does have some character voices that can be hard to distinguish. the book is also quite a tangled web and has 0 hand holding. Steven Erikson is going to drop right into the middl it an epic story without explaining how the intracacies of the magic work or other pieces of the lore. it's very much a series that you have to read on and find out if you are confused.

I say all this because I think these things make this series a hard one to listen to for the first time. I highly recommend reading the books the first time through to get a better grasp of the characters as it can be easy to get lost while listening on audio.

If you're like me and you have already read the books, wanted to reread them right away but couldn't find the time to commit to reading all 10 again I thibk the audio book is a good option!