Gardens of the Moon
is a fantasy book by Steven Erikson and the first in an epic ten volume series
called the Malazan Book of the Fallen. While it injects some sorely needed
originality into the epic fantasy genre and is written with admirable
sophistication, it suffers from a number of issues that may cripple its appeal
to a mass audience. That doesn’t mean it is bad by any means, I already have
the second book and am looking forward to reading it, but it’s not for
everyone.
I’ll start with the good. Fantasy fans will find a lot to
like here. The world is well developed with a variety of different races and
regions. It has a sword and sorcery vibe, but expands greatly beyond the
clichés and feels appropriately adult in its ideas and graphic imagery.
Soldiers use swords in battle, but are referred to as Marines. High explosives
are used to wire up a city block for later detonation. That same city is
powered by natural gas collected from the caverns it sits atop. The originality
combines with a quickly paced plot that feels fresh and (for the most part)
holds your attention.
Now, for the bad stuff. Character descriptions are woefully
weak, and sometimes completely absent. And there are a lot of characters in
this book, sometimes having multiple names and allegiances and it can become
tricky to tell them all apart. One of the main characters, a soldier named
Whiskeyjack, is described as a man with grey eyes and a beard. I can’t recall
much other description. So, obviously, I immediately picture him as Bryan
Cranston from Breaking Bad. Is that what the author intended? I don’t know, but
it’s too late. In my head, Whiskeyjack looks like Bryan Cranston from Breaking
Bad.
Further complications occur with the book as the reader is
thrown right into the middle of the story with few introductions or
explanations for what is happening. In a way, I like this, it feels realistic,
like you’re the new guy and no one can be bothered to get you up to speed on
the current happenings, you just have to pay attention, pick up bits and
pieces, and overtime connect it all together. Eventually, you do figure out
what is going on, or at least you become more comfortable with not knowing
everything, but this doesn’t occur until about three hundred pages into the
book. I will admit, it was a difficult barrier to get through. Even prepared as
I was by other reviews that mentioned this issue, I still found it difficult to
press on. Not everyone is going to be so determined to get hooked into this
story. Rarely does a book make the reader responsible for becoming engrossed in
its tale, but this book does and it gives you the finger and a firm backhand if
you start mouthing off about it. It is what it is. Nobody asked you to read it.
There’s another issue I have with the book that may not be a
problem for others. Scenes are short. Sometimes it cuts to different
perspectives and plot lines multiple times per page. Longer scenes tend to only
be a couple of pages in length. Like I said, this may not be a problem for everyone,
but I found that it was hard to get absorbed into the tale or really get
connected with certain characters because of this. This may have also
contributed to the struggle to break through to the halfway mark. New
characters are introduced then it’s quickly off to someone else. Characters
have a brief conversation in which you have no idea what they’re talking about.
Some assassins fight on a roof top for no apparent reason. Someone has a dream
about an ancient god, but it’s actually real. Or is it? A mad wizard in a
puppet’s body appears from a rift out of thin air, blasts a couple of talking
crows, then disappears again just as quickly.
I think if you read some reviews and get a description
of the basic story elements, you don’t
have ADD, and are patient about being in the dark for most of the plot, you’ll
know whether this book is for you or not. It’s not an easy, casual read, and it’s
got some flaws, but there are some brilliant moments and epic ideas that make
the task of seeing it through worth while.
For now, I’m going to relax and take a breather with some “easier”
fare, but I will get around to the second book at some point. Based on the
observations of other readers, I feel like I will enjoy this book more as I
read more of the series. For me, that’s fine, I can handle it, but most people
don’t read for the challenge. If you decide to read this book, know what you’re
getting into, go with its flow, be patient and I think the pay off will be
worth it (unless you just hate the fantasy genre in general, Gardens of the Moon won’t help to change
your opinion).
