Product Description

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'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #588838 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 688 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
With a field as crowded as heroic fantasy, a reader is entitled to know what makes the latest blockbuster worth his or her attention: but Bantam books are throwing considerable marketing weight behind Steven Erikson, because they clearly believe he is the Next Big Thing. They may be right--he has the breadth and detail of imaginative vision, he is able to create a world that is both absorbing on a human level and full of magical sublimity, and, above all, he can write.

Gardens of the Moon concerns the military campaign by the Malazan Empire to capture the last remaining Free City on the Gernsbackian continent. War is waged with conventional soldiers as well as powerful magicians, and gods mix with mortals in a complex, but rewarding, series of narrative threads that come chiefly out of the school of Feist's Magician, although there is also something of the flavour of Gavriel Kay's celebrated Fionavar books. The moon of the title is a wonderfully grand conception, a sort of floating mountain that moves through the skies of the war-striken continent, and is the home of the 'Son of Darkness'. The various magical battles are splendidly written, and the characters are well realised. Rewardingly mellow and fiendishly readable. --Adam Roberts

From the Publisher
Stephen R. Donaldson praises 'Gardens of the Moon'
I thought amazon.co.uk's SF and Fantasy fans would be interested to know that Stephen R. Donaldson, author of the classic 'Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever' recently wrote to us and very generously had this to say about Steven Erikson and his tremendous first novel...

"Steven Erikson is an extraordinary writer. I read 'Gardens of the Moon' with great pleasure. And now that I have read it, I would be hard pressed to decide what I enjoyed more: the richly and ominously magical world of Malaz and Genabackis; the large cast of sympathetically-rendered characters; or the way the story accumulates to a climax that hits like machinegun fire. 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."

Praise indeed from one of the true masters of the genre!

From the Back Cover
The opening chapter in Steven Erikson’s fantasy masterpiece…
The Malazan empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Anomander Rake, Lord of Moon’s Spawn, and his Tiste Andii. Even the imperial legions yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Lasseen’s rule – enforced by her feared Claw assassins – remains absolute.
For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to pause, to mourn the many dead. But the imperial gaze has fallen upon the ancient citadel of Darujhistan. This, the last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet dares to hold out.
However, the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand…

Customer Reviews

A New Epic Begins
Few fantasy series take as few prisoners as Steven Erikson. In Gardens of the Moon we're plunged into a story that feels already halfway done. The Malazan Empire is battling to conquer the continents of Korelri, Stratem and Genabackis, the Emperor and his high assassin have both died under murky circumstances and the new Empress is untested. The previously-conquered land of the Seven Cities is on the verge of rebellion and something seriously odd is happening in the Warrens, the otherdimensional magical realms where the Ascendants (demigods) and demons dwell and which the various races can tap to use for their own ends. This isn't a relaxing, take-your-mind-off things read, but an explosive, fast-paced epic tracking the Empire's attempts to conquer the city of Darujhistan. There are a huge number of characters here, from tragic wizardess Tattersail to cynical battalion commander Whiskeyjack to Captain Paran, whom fate has a truly bizarre destiny arranged for. Erikson takes few prisoners and also refuses to bow down to cliche. No dwarves, hobbits or elves (although the cold, remote Tiste Andii are a bit elf-like at times), but an overwhelming array of more original races, such as the demons of the Warrens and the T'lan Imass, an undead race who comitted racial suicide in order to confront a powerful enemy hundreds of thousands of years later. At times Erikson's past as a role-playing gamesmaster comes through (such as a bewildering array of magical items and a frantic desire to cram as much of his meticulously-constructed world in as possible) and the plot is so crammed with incident you may completely lose track of what the hell is going on. But Erikson's style is good, delivering complex ideas whilst retaining a certain dark humour and a genuine (and fiendish) desire to shock the audience out of its genre expectations. Even the frequent intrusions of the gods into the lives of mortals (something I have hated since foolishly reading a David Eddings novel when young) is handled well. Gardens of the Moon is a stunning debut, presenting a fantastical world in its full glory and setting up intriguing hints for future volumes...although, refreshingly, the book stands perfectly well by itself. Highly recommended.

Get into the Malazan World
Now where do I start? Gardens of the moon is the first book in a series of 10 (5 out so far) based on at least 5 continents and I estimated over 10 different character POV per book. There is also about 300, 000 years of relevant history, numerous different species and a completely different system of 'magic' to the regular fantasy fare. With countless mysteries and good number of extremely powerful beings it is quite hard to get your head around it at first. So I will try my best in this review to give you a good idea of what to expect from the series as a whole.

Firstly if you are looking for any of the following, beware!
A young nobody (or lost prince) finds famous sword, hacks up baddy, saves the world
Main characters that never seem to die
A light read i.e. Few brain cells or imagination required (Harry Potter?)
Author spoon feeding i.e. everything is explained immediately
Elves, Orcs, Hobbits, goblins etc

After about 100 pages of gardens of the moon you will be very confused, after about 200 it will be even worse, it was for me when I first read it. The story does pick up, but there are still a number of things that will have your head spinning. Erikson is not the type to give info dumps so the brain cells will have to stay sharp while reading this book since the info is spread through all the books. The first book is the weakest of the 5 currently published simply because it is impossible to fully understand everything that happens since you don't have enough information about the Malazan world. But perseverance pays of tenfold as soon as the second book and there is hardly any filler (WOT?) so it is worthwhile not to skim through.

To give a head start I would say that there are 2 definite constants in the Malazan world. The first is convergence which means that power draws other power. And the second one is a balance of that power. It is also useful to condition your thinking and remember that this is a completely different world and is not based on LOTR or D&D, for example a god is not one in the conventional sense, but is just a powerful being who commands a warren (a realm can be used to release magic into the Malazan world).

Even though gardens is a good book, there will always be debate about its quality since it is quite complex and a lot of people can't take that. However, that debate dies off after Book 2 (Deadhouse Gates) , which even with a good dose of extra mystery is easier to follow and the Erikson proves himself as top class with incredible story that leaves most people very numb and wanting more. If you are not hooked after that there is still some hope as book 3 (memories of ice) is in my opinion even better.

There will invariably be comparisons made to George Martin's (another favourite of mine) song of ice and fire. Which is fair since they are both gritty and main characters can and do die. However, I would say that Martin is more character driven, while Erikson is more event or plot driven. But both do it so well that they are arguable writing the best ongoing fantasy series at present, other really don't come close.

So you should get into the Malazan series if you're looking for:

A powerful story that will blow you away
An intriguing web of plots with no clichés
A chance to test the limits of your imagination
A different world you can really get into

Enjoy.

The turn of the tide
After I read "Gardens of the Moon", I felt that I had to write a small review telling everyone out there how good this book was.
After almost 22 years of reading fantasy literature I had the feeling that the fountain of inspiration for fantasy writers had finally dried out.

Then I stumbled into George R.R. Martin, and I felt kind of refreshed. But with Eriksson one should say "it makes you feel reborn!" Great characters, with approaches scarcely read in fantasy books, where sword and magic, gods and mortals blend in a unique mixture of adventure, intrigue, and analysis of human nature that gets a grip on the reader until he has finished the story. After that, your first word usually is "Whoah!"

What fantasy fans need is more writers like Eriksson or Martin, so we can think that our cause is not lost.
Astonishing writting, complex plots but never boring, Eriksson provides something that many known writers just dream of. In Eriksson Books, nothing is what it seems to be, so the reader is always on the verge, trying to expect the unexpected while the tide of the story comes and goes, weaving surprising dialogues and plots, creating a maelström of characters so powerful that it doesn't matter who is the main one, since every one of them fits perfectly in the puzzle created by Eriksson. Absolutely brilliant.