496 pages
English language
Published Nov. 6, 2009
Gardens of the Moon is the first of ten novels in Canadian author Steven Erikson's high fantasy series the Malazan Book of the Fallen. The novel details the various struggles for power on an intercontinental region dominated by the Malazan Empire. It is notable for the use of high magic, and unusual plot structure. Gardens of the Moon centres around the Imperial campaign to conquer the city of Darujhistan on the continent of Genabackis. It was first published in April 1, 1999 and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. It received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising the tone, characters, and overarching story. The book sold over a million copies in a month.
(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.
1) Definitely dense, but with a lot of action. I think Erickson did a fine job introducing us to his world without too much exposition. Granted, it was a little confusing in parts, but by the time things really came to a head, I had it pretty well sorted out.
2) His characters are fairly strong, which is good since there are so many.
3) The balance of the "epic" scale was a little skewed. It was really hard to tell which God or God-like being was going to suddenly be more powerful. In this it reminded me a bit of Dragonball Z, with the characters suddenly powering up and showing new hidden strength, but with Malazan, it was harder to tell which was actually more powerful. Perhaps further reading will reveal that balance a bit more.
4) Meh... I'm bored of reviewing. :)
