Gardens of the Moon

The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1

By: Steven Erikson

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Vast legions of gods, mages, humans, dragons and all manner of creatures play out the fate of the Malazan Empire in this first book in a major epic fantasy series

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand....

Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order - an enthralling adventure by an outstanding new voice.

©1999 by Steven Erikson. (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Erikson is an extraordinary writer. 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." --Stephen R. Donaldson

"I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of imagination may be the high water mark of epic fantasy. This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. The Black Company, Zelazny's Amber, Vance's Dying Earth, and other mighty drumbeats are but foreshadowings of this dark dragon's hoard." --Glen Cook

"A world that is both absorbing on a human level and full of magical sublimity...a wonderfully grand conception...splendidly written...fiendishly readable." --Adam Roberts

An engrossing yet demanding high epic

This book demands attention from the reader/listener that I had to frequently skip back secs / mins to catchup on things which I missed or did not understood because I was not paying needed attention. Partially it is due to the nature of the book the way it is written, and a lot of it is due to narration. The narrator though otherwise did a great job, did finish one chapter of the book and start the next one seemingly in same breath causing confusion at times. I had to get use to this style, but once I was in synch, I had a great time.

Book has mix of great elements such as mage assassins making it an entertaining listen. Even though there is free flow use of magic, author manage to maintain the intrigue of such things while combining it with great character development. Characters are very well flushed out, and combination of interesting skill set makes the plot lines very interesting.

Book does demand attention as mentioned above that not everything is spelled out for the listener. Events are taking place which make no sense at the time gets explained as user continue to read through the book.

Book sets ambitious goal for itself in terms of complexity and quality, and I have to say that it almost achieved it. Though not easy to listen, it is very entertaining sometimes awesome epic. I plan to next book in the series when it arrives. I would recommend this book for seasoned epic fantasy fans.

This is a perfect example of an editor's failing

I actually tried to read this book twice....the second time took me looking back and reading chapters again to understand what Steven was telling us. Steven is gifted and has a tremendous ability to tell a story, but he clearly had no editor. This could have been an epic sires, but with no guidance...this gifted writer was left out in the cold. Easy stuff like let the reader know that you are looking back or forward were overlooked and left us guessing...That is the only job an editor should do, beyond punctuation....makes me feel bad...keep it up Steven...just get an editor that knows their job next time.

Audible, PLEASE get the rest of this series!!!

Any additional comments?

This is a great start to what I hear is an amazing series. With all 10 of the books having been out for some time now, I was hoping to dive headlong into them. But, alaas, all I can get my hands on is Book 1. Please hurry and get the rest of the series uploaded to you site so I can buy them and give you a bunch of money :) Thank you.

Hard to get into. Rewarding if you're stubborn.

2021 Edit/Update: After trying the book 5 more times, I love it. This is a series/book that makes you work to understand what's going on (original review below). If you're looking for an easy-to-consume Epic Fantasy book move along, this isn't the one for you. I didn't really start understanding what was going on until about 5 or 6 chapters in (probably 7 hours of listening). Be warned. If you want something on the scale of the Wheel of Time, but with even more factions and characters to track then give this one a try (or another try if you're me).

Original (2017?) review: I've tried to get into this book three times. Each time I've listened for over two hours, and it just never comes together. On my last listen I realized what is missing: storytelling. The book reads like a plot outline with lots of details, but you are never given a reason to care about any of the characters. Their inner lives, motivations, emotions, etc are a mystery. Factions clash, intrigue is present, and I just can't find myself caring.

Epic start to a series

I tried this book on a whim and was I blown away. It takes a while to get used to the author's style but once I started following the way he writes I really enjoyed it. It has classic heroes and bad guys and people who you don't know what they are, the characters are unique and interesting and the narrator does a good job of putting voices to the characters. I really enjoyed this book.

Sublime.

Any additional comments?

It's as good as all the positive reviews suggest.


And unlike another remarkably skilled fantasy author, Steven Erikson has completed his grand saga. You actually get to see how it ends... how the author penned the final page.. not how HBO finished it because the author got fat, rich, lazy, and had a heart attack.

Couldn't finish

Just seems to go nowhere. I've tried to listen to it twice and can never finish it.

Great book, great performance.

What did you love best about Gardens of the Moon?

The in depth pervasive environment, history, well fleshed out characters. It's an epic fantasy realm unlike any other.

What did you like best about this story?

The kick-off to a great series!

What does Ralph Lister bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is probably one of the better readers I've listened to, perhaps the best. The Malazan books are full of different cultures, characters, languages, etc. and I think the reader does a great job at trying to create different accents, styles of speach, and attitudes for each character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The first 30+ hour movie!

Any additional comments?

Why did he give Khalam a nasaly voice?! I am seriously holding this against the reader. I imagine Khalam as almost Khal Drogo-ish type of character and the reader makes him sound like British Milhouse from the simpsons.

Awesome....And I'm Pretty Dense!

Would you consider the audio edition of Gardens of the Moon to be better than the print version?

If you found me reading this many pages, it would be at gun point.....lol. That's why I have 400+ books on Audible.

What other book might you compare Gardens of the Moon to and why?

Mistborn series....maybe?

Have you listened to any of Ralph Lister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Probably the thief in the bedroom that gets caught. Don't want to give it away.

Any additional comments?

I have to be honest, while I loved this book I had to listen to most of it twice. This is a good thing, because there is so much going on when I doze off at bed time and lose my spot.....a lot....you can miss a lot!. If you like epic fantasy thought this is the way to go. Click helpful for me so I have one....lol.

Many moving parts (use the maps, placenames, etc)

This book is packed. There is a lot of action, detail, and lore. It is really difficult to keep up with all the names and relationships. Gods are mortals and mortals turn out to be Gods... The story is very interesting when it does hook you though but, if you don't use the appendices, you'll likely get lost.