Gardens Of The Moon Book Review : Malazan Book Of The Fallen

Malazan Book Of The Fallen
Book 1
Gardens Of The Moon

The mighty Malazan Empire strides forth, capturing all it sets its eyes on. And yet, discontent, treason and rebellion simmers even as the Empress, herself a former successful coup artist, tries to quash it. And the Gods choose their pawns and throw them into the fray with all gusto and fear. 

Having read a lot of fantasy in the past, I did not expect this to excite and thrill me as much as it did. The first few pages were confusing, especially the character index. No way I'll keep track of them all, I thought. And yet I was proven wrong.

 

The beginning is misty; you know nothing about the world: it's magics, seasons, peoples, powers unknown to you. Much like a child looking at a chaotic mess, one would say. But once the pace starts picking up you cannot stop turning the pages.

 

 

Five stars to the author's character handling, right from introducing them, giving them backstories, making the reader understand their past, their motivations, their regrets. Yet, no one knows everything; neither is anyone merely who they seem to be. If there is good or bad, it is terribly dim in the radiance of grey motivations. There is no 'protagonist', no 'hero'. Or maybe they are all heroes. They're certainly pawns, all of them, even the Gods. The author does a great job explaining the play of power: no one is unassailable, for even the gods can pay for their mistakes with death. Neither is death infallible; in a world where immortal creatures hold sway. 

I loved the handling of Gods as characters. No kingly pantheon. All fear each other, and even mortals can cause them great ...disgruntlement. Different 'species' is also very refreshing and enjoyable. With merely humans, fiction loses flavour quicker. The author has handled the various species' brilliantly. Not too many at once, but subtly introducing one by one. 

Nothing is perfect, though. What are my cons? The extremely trudging introduction will put off non-experienced fantasy readers, who will put it aside before they reach the meat of the book. Sometimes the varied races seem under-used, focusing merely on humans. Yes, I think the author corrects it later on in the series, but in this one the focus is largely on humans. The magic system is too complex to understand at first, and there is no clarity on who is a wizard and who is a mage. What separates a Barghast from a T'lan Imass? Have they been always like this? Later books delve deeper into this, but this lowers the value of this book as a standalone. The book also evokes a lot of questions one after another and gives only nibbles and sips in answer.

Gardens Of The Moon works well on two levels: as a meandering standalone high fantasy novel with loyalty, treachery, countless battles being fought on different levels, assassins and thieves and dogs and gods and queens and pawns. A thrilling read all on its own. A great first book that provides exhiliration by itself while also provoking curiosity and excitement in a reader to attack the others. I loved how no one is too weak or too powerful, everyone is a schemer, and even pawns might turn on their masters if pushed hard enough. The new magic system excites curiosity while maintaining abstraction. Good mix of male-female characters, from every bastion. I absolutely loved how there is no "good" side or "bad side": every player in the game is own his/her own side. Yet another win for this book is the subtlety with which it provides an introduction to a new world: countless continents, races, magics, loyalties and plots being woven by the genius of the author's mind. Provides everything expected of high fantasy, managing to ground a few cliches to dust in the process, while delivering a missive to the serious reader: there's more to come.