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A review by millennial_dandy
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
3.0
3.5
I want to begin by congratulating myself on finishing this brick of a book (high fantasy is, I know, known for 500+ page installments in series that can be 10 books long or more). 703 hard-fought pages later and I feel about as world-weary as the characters that made it with me to the end.
Recommended to me by my partner, who is well-versed in the genre, and heralded by him as the high fantasy series (Lord of the Rings notwithstanding), I set off on my quest to read this book months ago. Finally taking out my bookmark and placing 'Gardens of the Moon' back upon the shelf brought with it a sense of pride, of accomplishment...and relief. A bone-deep sense of solace that the journey is over (though the line of books in which it sits insists otherwise).
It wasn't that I disliked the reading experience so much as it felt like a mammoth task of herculean proportions for me; stranded in an unfamiliar genre with all the trappings of fantasy of this type that have always made it so, well, intimidating. And I say this after having tackled quite a few literary classics: we are not the true heroes--oh no--the true heroes are the writers and readers of these titanic fantasy series that make your 'Harry Potters' as well as your 'War and Peaces' seem like child's play by page-count comparison.
I can see why the 'Malazan' series is so fervently beloved by both my partner and its other die-hard fans. Having also just read 'Six of Crows' there is definitely something to be said about the difference in skill level of the respective authors (nothing against Leigh Bardugo or fans of that series, mind). Steven Erikson, I can only imagine, must live in the world of his own creation to be able to keep track of every little detail of the sprawling landscape (both literal and political).
I stand behind my decision not to read beyond about a 3 page sample of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' on the grounds that George R.R. Martin's writing style was more convoluted than it was a vehicle for complex storytelling, and indeed, the numerous asides and worldbuilding dead ends did nothing but weigh down any meaning he was apparently trying to impart.
'Gardens of the Moon,' mercifully, did not suffer from this same issue, Erikson seemingly having the sense to recognize that form and function can actually harmonize to form sentences that are both comprehensible and rich with innovative imagery.
I would not say that this series is for beginners (being a beginner-level epic fantasy reader myself) both given the dizzying word count total of 3 and a quarter million ( million!) as well as the complete lack of any kind of spoon-feeding by the author. That is to say: expect nary a paragraph dedicated to info-dumping -- Erikson throws the reader straight in the deep end and god help you if you don't know how to swim. From page one you are hit with place names, conflicts and political intrigue the characters already know all about, a magic system that starts popping off during a battle we get flung into involving people we don't know. And one of them dies immidiately.
It honestly took me nearly half of the book to feel settled into Genabackis and a bit more than that to fully understand who all the characters were, where they fell in the grand scheme of the plot, and then another lil chunk to re-acquaint myself with some of them after their long absence.
It was a lot.
Additionally, because this is the first book in a sprawling series, the bulk of the page count was dedicated to spreading a bunch of characters across the map and then bringing them back together at the end as in the background you kept the sense that there were larger things afoot. That being said, the plot (what plot?) of this novel consists mostly of setting the wheels in motion for future action. There was a climax that was satisfying enough to avoid getting blue balls, but that didn't really conclude any major plotlines.
To an extent, this kept things fairly grounded because, well, war is complicated and messy, and the lead-up to it even more so (as anyone who has even dipped a toe into WWI or Vietnam War history can attest). I defy anyone, even someone who is a die-hard fan to succinctly summarize what all the chess moves were that happened in this book. They do likely have a better understanding of who the two players are, though. Better than I do, though I think I at least know who a good chunk of the pieces are (this does apparently get thrown totally out the window in the next book where you start over with a wholly new set of characters).
You get some great characters for your trouble in this one. It's amazing that with such a large ensemble cast Erikson was able to flesh out enough of these people for them to feel solid. The group in our second location, Darujistan, got the most 'screen' time, so I felt like I knew them the best, but there were some other cool characters in the other groupings as well.
Kruppe is incredibly likable and funny, Paran is your sympathetic 'everyman' hero, Crokus is a dumb teenager that you can't help but root for, and some of the more mysterious characters like Rake and Tool feel appropriately intimidating and cool.
Once I got used to it, I liked the magic system. But more than that I thought Erikson's take on gods was super novel. They are incredibly powerful, but like the Greek gods, they have a lot of in-fighting, and they also often have direct dealings with mortals. Unlike the Greek gods, however, they can be killed, they can be tricked, and their influence has limitations (though what those limitations are remain murky, at least in this installation).
Would I continue on with the series? It's hard to say. Again, 3 million words is just such an intimidating prospect that I can't help but feel paralyzed by it. Yet, because by the end of 'Gardens of the Moon' everything was left unresolved it is certainly tempting to plow ahead just to see what the hell all this setup was driving at. Time will tell.
I want to begin by congratulating myself on finishing this brick of a book (high fantasy is, I know, known for 500+ page installments in series that can be 10 books long or more). 703 hard-fought pages later and I feel about as world-weary as the characters that made it with me to the end.
Recommended to me by my partner, who is well-versed in the genre, and heralded by him as the high fantasy series (Lord of the Rings notwithstanding), I set off on my quest to read this book months ago. Finally taking out my bookmark and placing 'Gardens of the Moon' back upon the shelf brought with it a sense of pride, of accomplishment...and relief. A bone-deep sense of solace that the journey is over (though the line of books in which it sits insists otherwise).
It wasn't that I disliked the reading experience so much as it felt like a mammoth task of herculean proportions for me; stranded in an unfamiliar genre with all the trappings of fantasy of this type that have always made it so, well, intimidating. And I say this after having tackled quite a few literary classics: we are not the true heroes--oh no--the true heroes are the writers and readers of these titanic fantasy series that make your 'Harry Potters' as well as your 'War and Peaces' seem like child's play by page-count comparison.
I can see why the 'Malazan' series is so fervently beloved by both my partner and its other die-hard fans. Having also just read 'Six of Crows' there is definitely something to be said about the difference in skill level of the respective authors (nothing against Leigh Bardugo or fans of that series, mind). Steven Erikson, I can only imagine, must live in the world of his own creation to be able to keep track of every little detail of the sprawling landscape (both literal and political).
I stand behind my decision not to read beyond about a 3 page sample of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' on the grounds that George R.R. Martin's writing style was more convoluted than it was a vehicle for complex storytelling, and indeed, the numerous asides and worldbuilding dead ends did nothing but weigh down any meaning he was apparently trying to impart.
'Gardens of the Moon,' mercifully, did not suffer from this same issue, Erikson seemingly having the sense to recognize that form and function can actually harmonize to form sentences that are both comprehensible and rich with innovative imagery.
I would not say that this series is for beginners (being a beginner-level epic fantasy reader myself) both given the dizzying word count total of 3 and a quarter million ( million!) as well as the complete lack of any kind of spoon-feeding by the author. That is to say: expect nary a paragraph dedicated to info-dumping -- Erikson throws the reader straight in the deep end and god help you if you don't know how to swim. From page one you are hit with place names, conflicts and political intrigue the characters already know all about, a magic system that starts popping off during a battle we get flung into involving people we don't know. And one of them dies immidiately.
It honestly took me nearly half of the book to feel settled into Genabackis and a bit more than that to fully understand who all the characters were, where they fell in the grand scheme of the plot, and then another lil chunk to re-acquaint myself with some of them after their long absence.
It was a lot.
Additionally, because this is the first book in a sprawling series, the bulk of the page count was dedicated to spreading a bunch of characters across the map and then bringing them back together at the end as in the background you kept the sense that there were larger things afoot. That being said, the plot (what plot?) of this novel consists mostly of setting the wheels in motion for future action. There was a climax that was satisfying enough to avoid getting blue balls, but that didn't really conclude any major plotlines.
To an extent, this kept things fairly grounded because, well, war is complicated and messy, and the lead-up to it even more so (as anyone who has even dipped a toe into WWI or Vietnam War history can attest). I defy anyone, even someone who is a die-hard fan to succinctly summarize what all the chess moves were that happened in this book. They do likely have a better understanding of who the two players are, though. Better than I do, though I think I at least know who a good chunk of the pieces are (this does apparently get thrown totally out the window in the next book where you start over with a wholly new set of characters).
You get some great characters for your trouble in this one. It's amazing that with such a large ensemble cast Erikson was able to flesh out enough of these people for them to feel solid. The group in our second location, Darujistan, got the most 'screen' time, so I felt like I knew them the best, but there were some other cool characters in the other groupings as well.
Kruppe is incredibly likable and funny, Paran is your sympathetic 'everyman' hero, Crokus is a dumb teenager that you can't help but root for, and some of the more mysterious characters like Rake and Tool feel appropriately intimidating and cool.
Once I got used to it, I liked the magic system. But more than that I thought Erikson's take on gods was super novel. They are incredibly powerful, but like the Greek gods, they have a lot of in-fighting, and they also often have direct dealings with mortals. Unlike the Greek gods, however, they can be killed, they can be tricked, and their influence has limitations (though what those limitations are remain murky, at least in this installation).
Would I continue on with the series? It's hard to say. Again, 3 million words is just such an intimidating prospect that I can't help but feel paralyzed by it. Yet, because by the end of 'Gardens of the Moon' everything was left unresolved it is certainly tempting to plow ahead just to see what the hell all this setup was driving at. Time will tell.