Author: Steven Erikson
First Published: January 1999
Publisher: Bantam Books
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen #1
752 pages (mass market paperback)
Oh god, I’m finally done this book. I’ve had this book for just over a year, I totally bought it impulsively. I had heard nothing about it before I got it, just wanted to read a fantasy novel. Well, now I’m done this book, and it was, unfortunately, an ordeal to get through it. I cleaned out my bookshelf yesterday, and I think this book is going in my “to donate” pile of books to bring to the thrift store.
I’ve got a lot of issues with this book. The biggest thing is that it’s difficult to follow. The writing isn’t the best, and there’s weird scene transitions and absolutely no explanations about anything. My copy of the book includes an introduction by the author, and he says in his introduction that he purposely didn’t want to have to explain everything because he didn’t want to dumb down his story, which in turn may be insulting to his readers’ intelligence. Okay, fair enough. However, I don’t think it was handled very well. Some explanation or hints would have been nice. I don’t know how I’m supposed to know which characters were on which side, are what ranking, etc. without a little help. A lot of terms also went right over my head; I still don’t really know what a Warden is, or what a T’lan Imass is. I have a vague idea but still not really sure.
So, the book was confusing. I’m usually prepared to be a little confused at first when I start a new fantasy series. Fantasy series seem to like to drop readers into the middle of the world and have you work your way around the story-verse yourself, which is fine. I usually am able to sort everything out 50-100 pages in (which is nothing, considering how long these books usually are) and then just enjoy the story from there. With Gardens of the Moon, I was on page 600 out of 752 and still had no idea what I was reading about, just a lot of assassins, gods and running around on rooftops …
I mean, I sort of got the gist of the story. The Empire, led by Empress Laseen, tried to take over the city of Pale in the beginning. Pale was helped by Moon’s Spawn (which I had to look up on the Internet — it’s a floating fortress), but eventually Pale falls. Then the rest of the book shifts to the characters wanting to take over or save, depending which side they are on, the last free city of Darujhistan. And there’s some gods who are involved with these mortals’ affairs, which is really putting a kink in Laseen’s plans. So yeah, I kind of get the story, but at the same time, I feel like I didn’t understand the story at all.
The characters and dialogue were rather poor as well. The characters were on the dull side. I didn’t feel invested in any of them, it was like no big deal when any of them died. The dialogue was overly dramatic and corny, also dull. It just wasn’t very engaging.
I do think the world was very intricately built and well done though, from what I can tell with my limited understanding. It’s obvious this book takes place in an immense world with a deep and rich history that spans thousands of years. I do feel a little sad that I was unable to enjoy this world; I did want to like it, but there were simply too many obstacles preventing me.
I have read that the first book is considered the weakest, even amongst fans of this series. I read somewhere that new readers are advised to simply start with the second book (there are new characters and stuff, so it’s not like a direct continuation from book one). At this point in time, I’m not sure if I want to give the series a second chance. I feel quite burnt out from fantasy reading this book, so if I do try the second book, it won’t be for a long time. Perhaps after I read some reviews/opinions on the second one first, then I will decide. As for this first book, I think if you are really, really into epic fantasies, into world building and super complicated fantasy plots, you can give this a try, but for any one else who just reads fantasy from time to time, you’ll probably want to skip this one.
My Rating: 1/5
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