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Reddit mentions of Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1)

Sentiment score: 13
Reddit mentions: 20

We found 20 Reddit mentions of Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1). Here are the top ones.

Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1)
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    Features:
  • Tor Books
Specs:
Height6.7 Inches
Length4.1999916 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateDecember 2004
Weight0.65 Pounds
Width1.4 Inches

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Found 20 comments on Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1):

u/shyguy1092 · 94 pointsr/books

I'm gonna say Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen sounds just about right for you. This series epitomizes climatic appearences and moments as there is a wealth of setting to be explored in this work. Figures of myth and legend descend into the story to guide and manipulate the lives of mortals. Mortals rise above the chains of fate to carve their own paths in this world's histories. It's a world filled to brim with interesting stories and they are really a bonus to what you're looking for. Some cautionary and advantageous notes about this series below.

Cautionary: This is a series that executes what your asking for incredibly well, but there is a caution. The series starts in media res and that has a lot of information to process and understand in the first few books. Yet, I found this to work to its advantage in creating moments of pure delight. Its worth it for the build up Erikson does alone. Another caution is that many are unhappy with the changing of story lines many times within the series. I did not have this problem and seeing as you carved your way through Martin's work I doubt you will either. Those are most of the significant concerns I've seen with the work. I'm sure others could think of more.

Advantages: There are a few other advantages this series might have over others for you. The first being that its main volume of work is complete. You will be able to read from start to end at your leisure and not worry about having to sit on your hands waiting for the next book. Likewise, there is still fresh material being amended into the larger world of Malazan at large. So if you enjoy it then there are other stories to follow, many of which are complementary. As a final note it has many interesting and varied applications of story telling. Some of which I'm even now learning to appreciate. If you decide not to pick this series up now, it might be something you want to check out in the future. I did, and I'm happier for it. Good luck and have a good read.


u/OrionSuperman · 15 pointsr/Fantasy

Hey! Loved Redwall and the other associated stories when I was growing up. I was an avid fan and owned the first 10ish, but the quality of story went down as more came out. :(

Now the real trick is figuring out what you're asking, so I'll take a few stabs. If there is a specific aspect about Redwall you really want to reflect in your new reads let me know and I'll expand the selection. :)

Like Redwall as in intelligent animals:

Light On Shattered Water:
Human finds himself in an alternate dimension where cats evolved instead of humans. I first read in around 2000, and last read it again this year, still very enjoyable.

The Chanur Saga:
Anthropomorphic cat aliens. Pretty decent adventure, though the tech is a little silly but not bad considering it was written in the 80s.

Watership Down:
Rabbits in England trying to live their life. And adventure type stuff happens. A classic for very good reason.

Like Redwall for epic adventure and battles

Malazan Book of the Fallen:
Epic in every way. Hands down my favorite book series. Never has any other book given such a sense of scale to the world. Everything has a history, and Erikson writes in a way that you want to know more, about it all.

His Majesty's Dragon:
I originally only picked up this book because the summary sounded like a joke. Napoleonic era England, insert dragons as the aerial corps. I brought it with to work, read it on my breaks and lunch, and after getting off at 9pm ended up staying at wprl until 5 am to finish it and the second book in the series.

u/sampling_life · 7 pointsr/Fantasy

Erikson's take on races is really well done. He gives great background in the lore and culture of several different races. Tiste is generally thought of his take on elves. There isn't a good and a bad elf race though the lines are blurry.

edit:
Erikson writes the series Malazan book of the fallen. Though I must warn you it is long and hard for some people to get into but I really enjoyed it. Book one is Gardens of the Moon.

u/GlueBoy · 3 pointsr/scifi

Prince of Nothing
Set in the middle of a holy war and on the verge of an apocalypse. Written by a philosophy/anthropology professor iirc, and it shows. Very good.

Sword of Shadows
4 books so far
Dark and gritty. No dragons or talking swords or whatever. So far pretty consistently good.

Malazan Book of the Fallen
Probably the best fantasy books i've ever read. The first isn't that good, but after that it takes off in quality, especially books 3 5 6. They're large complex novels with very little exposition, and some people despise that. Just to give you an idea, there are literally dozens of POVs throughout the series, and many many more meaningful characters. It's mind-boggling.

The author, Erikson, is a beast. He's been writing 1 major book a year since '99 plus 4 minor novels. The last will be released next year, and so far they're all been excellent.

u/FalloutWander2077 · 3 pointsr/witcher

I'll post links so you can get an idea of what they're about. Apologies, I'm a bit tired, otherwise I would give you a rough synopsis myself

If you're looking for some good fantasy books I'd highly recommend the following:
1.) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/0756404746

2.) Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence - http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Thorns-Broken-Empire-Lawrence/dp/1937007685

3.) Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson - http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-Moon-Malazan-Book-Fallen/dp/0765348780/ref=pd_sim_14_12?ie=UTF8&dpID=51pDraZRUIL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR99%2C160_&refRID=1H0ZZ7MYMYZGKGQMEKTW

This next one has some fantasy elements, however, it's hard to pigeonhole into an exact genre (low fantasy adventure?), nonetheless, it's one of the better books that I've read recently.

4.) The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards) by Scott Lynch
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Gentleman-Bastards/dp/055358894X/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51tpIK8K%2BtL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR98%2C160_&refRID=1H0ZZ7MYMYZGKGQMEKTW

5.) The Way of Shadows: The Night Angel Trilogy: Book 1 by Brent Weeks -
http://www.amazon.com/Way-Shadows-Night-Angel-Trilogy/dp/0316033677/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51tPZPp5dsL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR93%2C160_&refRID=1WERAT21ARWMVZN12V2P

(All books mentioned are the 1st novel of a larger series. If you're already aware and/or read these already than disregard, trying to pass along some great books for anyone who might come across my post)

u/madmoneymcgee · 3 pointsr/Malazan

My cover (bought last year) is the same as yours except blue instead of purple.

http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-Moon-Malazan-Book-Fallen/dp/0765348780

But some of the later books I picked up at the library had similar covers to OP. Memories of Ice being especially egregious but at least clearly featured Gruntle and Stonny.

u/Eswft · 2 pointsr/books

I'll start by saying this is not my most read genre, though I do enjoy it. I tend to read contemporary lit. Still, some of my favorite series are in this genre.

Brandon Sanderson, anything by him. He has a few series in progress, the one that's finished is Mistborn. I'd start with that. He finished the wheel of time at the request of Jordan's widow by the way. Great author.

Fire and Ice (game of thrones). This one's obvious, but it has to be said. Again, the writer is not top notch, but he's pretty good. My main gripe would be with technical writing ability, as opposed to the massive flaws in the wheel of time.

Iain M Banks (not a typo). This man can write. The Culture series is a series that takes place in a persistent universe over millenia at times, though not with the same characters. However, this is one of the best sci fi/fantasy "series" there is. This man was a genius.

Ring World by Larry Niven. A series. Follows a few characters through an amazing series of events. A thought expanding series. Great.

The last one I'll mention is hands down my favorite. Stephen Erickson, the Malazan book of the Fallen. An absolutely MASSIVE series covering an empire, the Malazans. It covers dozens of characters, over the course of I think 10 books. It just wrapped up a couple years ago. Maybe 11 books.

These books are dense. There is a lot happening. The characters are robust. The settings span a continent and are varied. The author dumps you into the middle of it, right into a groups lives. There is no preamble, no backstory. you're just there. Some people find this off putting.

The main complaint I get about this series is there is too much happening and people can't keep track. It is worth it. The reward is being so heavily invested in characters that comparison in the genre is hard. People get upset about a death in Game of Thrones? In this, people are angry 8 books and 7500 pages later, still. Legendary warriors spark questions among people as to what would happen if they laid eyes on each other.

This is truly a literary masterpiece on par with lord of the rings, for completely different reasons. The first book http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-Moon-Malazan-Book-Fallen/dp/0765348780

I'll warn a final time, some people struggle with the complexity. It makes me so sad when that happens, that someone doesn't get to enjoy the epic tale because of the density, but alas. I'd really suggest to stick with it. Read that first book and you'll be hooked. Lose yourself in the world, don't worry about what you think you should know, if you forget something, wiki it.

I should have done them in order. But my fave in order.

Stephen Erickson, Malazan book of the Fallen

Brandon Sanderson Mistworld

Iain M Banks, The Culture series

Everything else is distant in comparison, for me.


**Edit, formatting.

u/stankbooty · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

First off, don't believe anyone who tells you that non-fiction books are the only worthwhile books. That is blasphemy. Non-fiction might make you more knowledgeable about certain things, but fiction allows you to entertain an entirely different perspective of the world for the duration of the book. I would argue that the latter is more beneficial to your development as a critical thinker and a human being.

Secondly, it sounds like you haven't really found your genre yet. You couldn't get through all of Harry Potter, maybe fantasy isn't your thing. Try historical fiction. What kind of movies and TV shows do you enjoy? Try finding books along the same vein. Just like anything else, you're going to have to sift through a lot of stuff you don't like to find the ones you do.

I like to have at least two books going at the same time, because sometimes reading just one book gets boring. At any given time, I'll be reading one book for pleasure (I really like fantasy - so something like Malazan Book of the Fallen), and one book for merit (anything from philosophy to psychology to a travel memoir).

Lastly, try getting your reading time in right before you go to sleep. It's less stimulating than watching TV or being on the computer. You can get a few pages in when you're taking a shit, too.

u/gotpaidtowrite · 2 pointsr/PHBookClub

I just finished reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson last night, which is the first book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. It's a fantasy book that a close friend recommended to me after we'd been complaining about how GRRM is taking so long to release the next book in the series - the primary draw of this one is that there are already ten novels written in the Malazan series!

While I feel like some parts of it really drew me in, the way that the book is written is such a slog for me. The book begins in the thick of things and it was a bit difficult to get a handle on the characters and the plot lines. Right now, I'm waffling on whether I should purchase the second one, especially when there are other books in my TBR pile!

u/mamallama · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. This is the first book of the Malazan Book Of The Fallen series. it is a 10 book, super epic fantasy series. my favorite series ever. i laughed. i cried. multiple times on both accounts. all ten books are published, so no waiting. fantastic writing, this guy is super smart and it shows in his writing.


Thanks for hosting a book contest. i'm a huge bookworm.

<3

u/lopl · 2 pointsr/WoT

As others have stated, comparisons typically lead you down a road of self-induced disappointment. Try it out, if you like it, you like it, if not, put it down.

I would recommend Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen Series. It's really quite good. Others have said it can be difficult to get into, but I had no issue.

Whatever you read, enjoy it.

u/Kowzz · 2 pointsr/visualnovels

I got the first book in The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, Gardens of the Moon. I've been enjoying it so far. I'll probably be reading this series for a good bit of time considering it has ten books in the entire series.

I also got gifted some DotA 2 cosmetics from friends, and three steam games (one of which was Dark Souls 2! :D) which was nice.

u/ngtstkr · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

It's definitely a fantasy series, but try Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. It's a series that sprawls 10 epic books (the word epic is a huge understatement here).


Here's an Amazon link to the first book: Gardens of the Moon.

u/thepinaybarbie · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

Sometimes, people don't want to revisit a story they've already experienced. Plus, OP stated his local library doesn't have the GoT books and wanted something else from there.

Edit: Forgot to suggest a book... The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Steven Erikson.

u/ChainsawMLT · 1 pointr/books

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

The first book in a pretty epic series (more than 10 books). Books are awesome, if a bit long-winded at times. Giant empire, rebellion, magic...lots going on in this complex book and series. The author has a degree in archaeology or something so all the history in the world Erikson creates goes back "hundreds of millenia."

I highly recommend this book even if it does get a little dry in spots.

u/trolo-joe · 1 pointr/KingkillerChronicle

>That is the first book right?

Yep! Gardens of the Moon.

> I feel like i'm dropped in the middle and am just supposed to know who these characters are and whats going on.

That's exactly how Erikson writes. He drops you right in the middle of the story and says, "Figure it out, kids!"

And, as frustrating as that can be, you really do figure it out once you adapt to his writing style.

See - I think too often in fantasy we're forced to follow a helpless character who is figuring the world out. I mean, it's a pretty common tactic for exposition: you don't know anything about the world you're entering, and as a reader you are traditionally supposed to relate to the protagonist. So the best way to introduce you to the world is to take the protagonist and introduce him to the world.

That's how KingKiller is written, that's how Locke Lamora is written, that's how Mistborn is written, it's how HP is written...it's how nearly every book with a first-person narrative is written.

Now, for third-person fantasy, GRRM makes it easy on the reader by designating who he is following with each chapter in ASoIaF.

Erikson doesn't hold your hand like that. He just writes. And, trust me, it's a change in style, but very well worth it.

Don't get me wrong - you don't have to enjoy the Malazan series. No one is obliged to. But I can definitely relate to the frustration on trying to get into the series. It's not an easy read (at first).

But (and I sound like a broken record here) what helped me was this character sheet and even some fanart from YapAttack (I don't really like his style, but it's good to see other perspectives for characters - he's also pretty active on /r/Malazan).

I'm actually looking forward to a re-read of the series now that I know what's going on. I think I'll enjoy it much more, and I'll pick up on details that I missed. But it'll take some time.

Now I typically need a "break" after reading one book in the Malazan series.

I just did a re-read of KKC, actually!

u/drklnc · 1 pointr/hearthstone

Not sure what kind of genius she is but i bet some nice books would be awesome if she likes reading! I have been reading the Malazan series lately, nice multiple character "Game of Thrones style" fantasy novels, they are quite good. http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-Moon-Malazan-Book-Fallen/dp/0765348780

u/TheBananaKing · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Disregard all other posts.

There is precisely ONE fantasy author/series on the planet in the same league as Martin.

Steven Erikson, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Volume 1 is titled Gardens of the Moon.

It's vast, it's intricate, there's conspiracies and politics, there's elder gods, upstart gods, brilliant generals, footsoldiers, tribal warriors, ancient unhuman races, assassins, emperors, high mages, shamans, ancient undead unhuman tribal warrior shamans (no really)... dark and gritty, laced with gallows humour and surprising emotional engagement in places.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure it's available as an ebook. Buy it legit, this fucking genius deserves the money.

It's breathtaking. If you've ever read The Black Company, imagine it multiplied by Ice and Fire. If not, then hold onto your hat, it's going to be one hell of a ride.