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Online StoreGardens Of The Moon by Steven Erikson
Steven Erikson's Gardens Of The Moon is the first book in the series and is entitled A Tale Of The Malazan Book Of The Fallen. The book was first published in 1999 and marked a sensational, critically acclaimed debut.
There is no easy way to describe this book, you are flung into the fantasy world from the first page with no explanation of characters or plot. Questions that arise are rarely answered and if anything the answers raise even more questions of their very own. If you hoped that this would be a fantasy book that would help wile away a few rainy days then you will be in for a shock as this tale will require your full and undiluted attention from the very beginning. That is if you want to understand what is going on...
As with many new fantasy novels there are a lot of new character and place names to come to terms with before you can fully enjoy the book. Gardens Of The Moon is more difficult than most in this aspect as many, many characters enter the story in a very short time period and there is a lot to keep up with. It is though, without doubt, worth preserving as the whole story comes together beautifully and the plot begins to make more and more sense. I should also mention that it is not just people and places that you will need to learn, there are also gods that interfere in mankind's struggle.
During the first chapters of the book, Captain Paran, one of the main characters comes into contact with the Empress' Adjunct at a scene of unexplained carnage.
Gardens Of The Moon: Book One - Pale
Amongst all the intrigue and battle there are a company of soldiers called the Bridgeburners. I would say that these are most interesting and easily identifiable characters in the book. Their fate is intertwined with that of Captain Paran, Tattersail the Mage and the myriad characters that appear in the tale. A large majority of the action centre's around a siege on a city called Pale where there is a great magical battle between the Empire's mage's and the Lord of Moon's Spawn, Anomander Rake. We are unsure as to who is good and who is bad and the story builds nicely and the characters are developed nicely and past happenings are mentioned that help us to understand how everyone and everything has ended up in the situation that they are now.
'I make neither, Elderling One.' With a soft, hollow laugh, Raest's battered, withered body collapsed.
K'rul cocked his head. 'He's found another body.'
Kruppe pulled out his handkerchief. 'Oh, my,' he said.
Gardens Of The Moon: Chapter Twenty Two
I can't overstate the importance of sticking with this book even if all seems to confusing, the book WILL make sense in the end as the author expertly brings all the threads of the story together and gives us a story to cherish. The imagination of Steven Erikson can only be marveled at as he breathes new life into the fantasy genre with his new ideas and creations.
This is a book that I think I will need to re-read as soon as possible due to the fact that I feel it make be enjoyed even more second time around and there is a good chance that there a parts of the book that I missed first time around.
I highly recommend this book, it is a work of great skill and beauty. Read and enjoy.
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Daniel from Reading
Steven Erikson is the best fantasy author to come along since Tolkien. His narrative is spellbinding and the characters are as life-like as you could wish for. I did like Gardens of the Moon but thought that Erikson was cutting his teeth on this one and that the books improve with each release. Memories of Ice is very, very good!
Gaz from The Malazan Empire
Wow, what can I say. Fantasy like this does not come along all that often and I was blown away. The imagination of Steven Erikson is incredible, the world that he builds and characters that he creates are unbelievably good. Gardens of the Moon has a start and a finish so you could stop after reading it but I find it highly unlikely that anyone could do that. Brilliant, fantastic, exceptional, I'm running out of superlatives, so just buy it.
Emily from Seattle
This is a perfect start to what may be the best fantasy series I have ever read. Complex fantasy, rich characters, involving story. I found that I had to re-read the book as I felt that I\'d missed too much first time around. I\'m glad I did, it was even better second time around, Kruppe is a great character.
Ed from Nottingham
With most modern fantasy being very much a "good vs evil" affair, I found this book very refreshing. By the end I was still trying to work out who the good guys and the bad guys were! It is an extremely well crafted story of war, politics and betrayal. The story flows well, despite the number of characters involved and builds up to an exciting climax. I get the feeling that this is very much the 'tip of the iceberg' in terms of the world that Erikson has created. I have wasted no time whatsoever in starting his second novel.
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