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Gardens of the Moon

The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1

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Gardens of the Moon

By: Steven Erikson
Narrated by: Ralph Lister
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Gardens Of The Moon: (Malazan Book Of The Fallen 1) by Steven Erikson, read by Ralph Lister.

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent.
Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners and for Tattersail, sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, still holds out - and Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds.
However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand...

Conceived and written on an epic scale, Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement - a novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling, powerful storytelling to resounding effect. Acclaimed by writers, critics and readers alike, here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy: the awesome 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.

©1999 Steven Erikson (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Emotionally Gripping Magic

Critic reviews

Erikson is an extrodinary writer...treat yourself to Gardens of the Moon (STEPHEN R. DONALDSON)
Complex, challenging...Erikson's strengths are his grown-up characters and his ability to create a world every bit as intricate and messy as our own (J.V. JONES)
There's nothing safe about fantasy like this: intriguing, complex, thought provoking, exceedingly well-written, and, for the intelligent reader, exhilaratingly satisfying (PAULA GURAN)
All stars
Most relevant
I love these books; I am a massive fan. I have owned them in paper, on kindle and now narrated. You will note the length of the books, with a massive 300 hrs (roughly) across the 10 books, reading them is not something to take lightly. But please believe me, it is worth the journey. This is a rollercoaster of a ride, with loud laughter, tears, disgust and moments when you can't believe the author wrote that storyline. Definitely an (18) rating, no mistaking this. GotM is a great opener and for a long time was my favourite of the series. You will read parts which make little sense, but store these up, as you will understand them in later books. The first 3 narrated by Ralph Lister, he is good and deserves 5 stars for his performance, the latter books are read by Michael Page; I have listened to the books a number of times and on the latest listening the stressing of the names has changed, seriously, a bit weird. If you decide to stop at any time, that is fine, as these books are contained and complete stories - apart from 9 and 10 potentially, but don't skip in numbers as the books builds your knowledge of the Malazan 'verse and later books won't be as enjoyable. Deep breath!! Be brave and begin - trust me you won't be the same at the end. And just to be controversial, this series leaves Games of Thrones standing, after all it is original and GOT is a re-telling of the war of the roses :-)

If you are reading these for the first time ...

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When my friends ask me to describe this book series I often say it's Game of Thrones on steroids, at least as far as the TV-series goes. This is a must read for any fantasy fan that loves either magic, assasins, creatures and epic floating mountain-castles spewing dark magic upon battlefields.

Epic dark fantasy

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Book 1 is okay, too many characters with similar names but i got to the end, and understood what was happening.
Book 2 no chance, i gave up 1/2 way thru, life is too short. Reading a book isn’t supposed to be a challenge, the authors jobs is to entertain you. This series is hard work with no reward, a million plot lines, constant new characters so i end up not knowing who anyone is, ideas with no context, so much crazy i can’t follow, if you have time to write notes i expect it’s great but...
Want a great compelling story to keep you up? read anything by Brandon Sanderson, James Islington, Patrick Rothruss, Harry Connolly, V. Lakshman not this rubbish

life is too short

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Don't be put off by the negative reviews. If you read between the lines they all say "too hard for me, too complex, too many characters". If you don't want to be challenged then fine, nothing wrong with that. But to review this book poorly because "I'm too dumb for this" is incredibly unfair.

This book has a fresh, inventive, incredibly rewarding story for those who have the concentration needed to appreciate it. No it's not for everybody. It assumes you don't need your hand held, that you can read deeply and pick out the clues, but if you can do that then there's a truly special story here for you. Don't be afraid to try.

Incredibly rewarding

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Characters and story are decent. Narration is fine though can be a little grating at odd moments. But while this is the kind of book I like it didn’t grab me fully. I can’t put my finger on why but I found my attention wandering at times. Perhaps my views will change later but at present I have no real desire to get the next audiobook in this series

Doesn’t quite do it for me

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