Book Review: Gardens of the Moon – Malazan Book of the Fallen

I’ve been hearing about this series for a long time. Apparently it’s an incredibly complex story with a cast of thousands of characters and many people have been dismayed by its scope. But those who enjoy it have said that the effort pays off, and I like that. Something which requires effort to appreciate must be good indeed, and so I picked up the first book and after reading it, I must say I’m pretty impressed. I haven’t read anything by Steven Erikson till date, so this is my first exposure to his writing.

I went into it with the understanding that the story might not make sense at first and this helped greatly. We’re thrown right into the middle of the action and we’re forced to figure out what happened based on snippets given here and there. But this happens automatically and isn’t an obstacle. It’s a fantasy series all the way so we have different “human like” species, strange magics, and a strange structure within which magic takes place called a “Warren.”

But to me, the best thing about the book is the characters. I like stories which have a good plot and great portraits of individuals. Since it seems that the same guys are going to keep coming back in future novels, I look forward to meeting them and new people in the process. One of my favorites is a chap called “Kruppe” who has a unique way of humorously addressing himself in the third person, but posses an extremely sharp mind as well – something he doesn’t show to anyone.

The rest of the cast includes assassins, gods, demi gods, sorcerers and sorceresses. I also like the timescale on which things occur. While the “Wheel of Time” at the most held a history of a few thousand years, the world in “Malazan Book of the Fallen” extends to possibly millions of years and before. Much more logical according to me – and interesting as well!

I find it curious in the book though that the gods are not supreme. There are older and more powerful creatures than even the gods.  There’s also a sense of history since we have new gods and old ones. I suspect more about this will be revealed in later books.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the books and nice long evening curled up with them :) How nice it feels to know you have some great stories to sink into whenever you wish!