Gardens of the Moon, Malazan Book of the Fallen 01

Gardens of the Moon is the first novel in the Malazan Book of the Fallen epic fantasy series written by Steven Erikson. It was published in 1999 and in 2000, it was nominated for a World Fantasy Award as one of the year's best fantasy novels.

The trade mark of Erikson's books in this series is multiple layered storylines and a large cast of characters. The complexity of the plot and the number of characters present a substantial obstacle to a complete enjoyment of this book. I was also of the impression that Erikson did not want to make it easier on the readers. It reminded me of the swimming teaching technique when the one is thrown in the deep water and has two options: learn to swim or drown. I, for myself, survived, and plan on continuing with the series but I am afraid that many a reader will not reach the shallow end, both to the regret of the reader and the author.

We are presented by the expansionist Malazan Empire and their allies the Moranth, who are trying to conquer the last remaining Free Cities on the continent of Genabackis: Pale and Darujhistan. Pale falls eventually to a massive sorcerous attack, but at the cost of many of Empire's best. The Malazans then turn to Darujhistan, which proves much harder to conquer. A power-struggle at the top level of the Empire churns as the Empress tries to consolidate her reign, all while gods and Ascendants apply their own machinations.

The major Malazan characters are Ganoes Paran, a young nobleman turned army officer; Whiskeyjack and his elite soldiers the Bridgeburners; Tattersail, a military sorceress and divinator; and Adjunct Lorn, the Empress's personal agent. Opposite the Malazans are citizens of Darujhistan: Kruppe, Crokus, and the Phoenix Inn Regulars, and Baruk, the High Alchemist with the rest of the T'orrud Cabal. In addition, there are Anomander Rake in his floating mountain fortress Moon's Spawn; Shadowthrone, the possibly insane ruler of the Warren of Shadow; and Oponn, the Twin Jesters of Chance, are the major featuring Ascendants with their own motives.

Erikson is a masterful writer. I am convinced that he could have made different choices and made this book easier to read but he is the artist and has the right to his artistic vision, and that must be respected. Gardens of the Moon is a great book, although a hard book to read. You feel like you started reading a vast and complex story somewhere in the middle but as you go along, you cannot but be captivated by the world and characters created. Erikson makes incredible characters, so maybe that is why he is making so many of them. There is at least 700 characters, according to Malazan characters Wikipedia page, which I often used during my reading, just to remind myself who is who, and I heartily recommend it.

In retrospect, Gardens of the Moon has a lot of strong and some weak points, but that is understandable, and in my opinion acceptable. I would rather have the first book to be weak and the rest to be better, than the other way around. The entire series consists of 10 books, with a number of prequels and spin offs announced, and it has been both critically acclaimed and created a strong fan base that generated a lot of positive hype. All in all, I perceived Gardens of the Moon as a solid introduction to one of the best series of modern fantasy literature.