The opening chapter in an epic fantasy masterpiece....Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent.Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners and for Tattersail, sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, still holds out - and Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds. However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand... Conceived and written on an epic scale, Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement - a novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of …
The opening chapter in an epic fantasy masterpiece....Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent.Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners and for Tattersail, sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, still holds out - and Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds. However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand... Conceived and written on an epic scale, Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement - a novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling, powerful storytelling to resounding effect. Acclaimed by writers, critics and readers alike, here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy: the awesome 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.
Will be interesting to see if I change my mind on this, as generally the reviews appear to be "book two is where it all comes together" but while this was enjoyable, there was the fantasy version of technobabble and unstoppable forces literally colliding in the air over protagonists heads.
It's not bad, but the thought of nine more doorsteps means I'm going to have to pace them out.
Like many readers, I struggled a bit with Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson's first tome in the Malazan series. Not that it's a bad book, it's merely a bit confusing at times. It hits you with about a hundred names and several storylines that do not touch each other very much before the last chapters.
So, does it all come together? Nearly. Does the book stand on its own to be readable as a novel in its own right? Very nearly, but not quite.
I'd recommend that you approach it the same way I did: Having heard so many positive things about the "good kind of chaos" of the Malazan series as a whole, I decided to read the first book with a view to continuing onwards to the whole series.
Am I going to continue? I suppose I must, now, in order to get the whole story.
And …
Like many readers, I struggled a bit with Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson's first tome in the Malazan series. Not that it's a bad book, it's merely a bit confusing at times. It hits you with about a hundred names and several storylines that do not touch each other very much before the last chapters.
So, does it all come together? Nearly. Does the book stand on its own to be readable as a novel in its own right? Very nearly, but not quite.
I'd recommend that you approach it the same way I did: Having heard so many positive things about the "good kind of chaos" of the Malazan series as a whole, I decided to read the first book with a view to continuing onwards to the whole series.
Am I going to continue? I suppose I must, now, in order to get the whole story.
And am I looking forward to it? Yes I am.
(Does putting zero stars count as the worst score?)
This is sort of a review (and more) of the magic in the series. I wrote it after finishing the third book (Memories of Ice) because that's when a lot of my thoughts on it crystalized, but the review is only using stuff from this book.
a-blog-with.relevant-information.com/posts/unabstracted_magic/
Reads like book three of a litrpg series. Names, places, and concepts all pile on with no background or explanation. Lots of contradictions.
