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| Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen) | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven Erikson
Publisher: Bantam Books
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £1.75
You Save: £7.24 (81%)
New (27) from £4.36
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 21137
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 752
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7 x 3.9 x 1.7
ISBN: 0553819577
EAN: 9780553819571
ASIN: 0553819577
Publication Date: February 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Worn/used- scruffy second hand reading copy. Fast dispatch from experienced British seller.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 The best of the best November 8, 2008
Although complex and at times difficult to follow, Steven Ericksons saga is the finest of all modern fantasy novels. This is the first book of the masterpiece that is the 'Malazan, book of the fallen' series. Steven Erickson has a remarkable talent for creating depth to characters and interplaying story lines in a surprising and interetesing way. Seriously, anyone with a faint interest in fantasy novels must read this book it really is a modern classic.
A dark, gritty fantastic read November 7, 2008
First, hard to get into. The world is new, the atmosphere dark and peculiar, the characters many. But soon, without even you noticing, you enter the world and start understanding its scale and the depth of the story and characters.
By then you're hooked and will keep on reading what seems to me like one of the best book of the genre. And I've read plenty !
Challenging but very satisfying. November 5, 2008
It is a challenging book. If you don't have the patience or mental flexability to hold the plot lines together you will probably give up on it and miss out on something truly amazing. This book is the gateway to the series, it does throw you in at the deep end, if you really want to start from the beginning read Ian C Esslemont's Night of Knives first, as that is the actual first book (I believe) to this world.
Essentially these books are a retelling of a very long and in depth role playing game played out by Steven Erikson and Ian C Esslemont.
I don't quite understand one of the other comments here complaining about the character development, I wouldn't agree at all, but I don't know what novels the writer of that comment would compare this to.
The only possible reasoning I could think of is... the story does not build up, there is no "And the hero grew up with his aunt on a farm..", in fact there is no hero. There are factions, and gods, and armies, and wizards, and planes of existance, and races. The story starts and you are thrown into it without time to get your footing, much like the characters in the book.
As the series progresses seemingly inexplicable occurrances and actions from earlier books suddenly make perfect sense, are seen from different angles, or simply are explained in a perfectly satisfactory way, with each book I got the urge to read the previous books again to apply the new perspectives and knowledge to what was written before. It's very satisfying, but challenging. This is definately not a children's book, and as mentioned, it's definately not David Eddings.
I've read all of the Malazan Book of the Fallen that has been released so far, and Ian C Esslemont's two books. I consider it to have been a brilliant investment of time and I recommend these books to anybody. They're gritty, hilarious, epic, intricate, fantastical creations.
Sharpen your teeth October 23, 2008
Not so long ago, I stumbled into Robin Hobb's Assassin sequence thanks to the reviews on Amazon - Gardens of the Moon promises the same consuming immersion. This is richly constructed, deftly woven, tightly plotted, vividly coloured fantasy. It musters many of the traits I enjoy in this genre - with a panoply of convincingly powerful or embittered characters - but is singularly distinctive. The handling of Magic and Deities are the barbs that keep you hooked upon the interplay of the sharply written characters. The scape is huge - whoever summarised the book on Wikipedia should be congratulated - but I was always returned to characters before I had forgotten them or grown too familiar with others. That there are many other books in the series has mapped out the next yard on my bookshelf very satisfyingly. Don't waste any more time reading my drivel: throw yourself into the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Epic - Original - Confusing? October 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I stumbled across the Malazan Book of the Fallen whilst browsing the reviews.
In describing the series to my friends, I usually start with "grownup fantasy." The storyline is undoubtedly confusing. Immediately we are plunged into a world governed by some serious individuals who clearly have objectives.. just what they are we do not know. It would be impossible to read one of the books in silo for instance. Not until around the 3rd in the series do the multiple strands start coming together. And when they do, you will see what I mean by "Epic, Original".
Gardens of the Moon lays the foundation for the followups and pulls no punches. In fact the opening scene with High mages surrounding a giant floating citadel will stay with me as one of the most awe inspiring scenarios I have ever read.
Whilst the underlying story takes some time to emerge, the individual novels are quite superb and I cannot recommend this series highly enough. I usually take a break in a particular genre intespersing fantasy with some contemporary fiction or good old fashioned history book. However, this is the only series where I find myself just grabbing that next one. Ordering the sixth right about now.
Frankly it isn't the easiest read, but from a personal viewpoint, I regard this in the top 3 of fantasy masterpieces.
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