Gardens of the Moon
by Steven Erikson · first published 1999
46% recommend46% neutral8% critical
Why HN recommends it
Epic fantasy opening to the Malazan Book of the Fallen, featuring a huge cast and dense worldbuilding. It is hard going early but rewards persistence, and suits those ready for a long series.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The opening chapter in an epic fantasy masterpiece....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. Howeve
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Was a bit disappointed to see Malazan Book of the Fallen #1 - Gardens of the Moon so far down. It'd be interesting if they took the series as a whole. One example is The Lies of Locke Lamora, I think it's a good first book but almost everyone I've spoken to/read comments from agrees…
on “Show HN: Top Fantasy Reads – Fantasy books Reddit is reading” ↗…shook hands and agreed to create something better than Game of Thrones. I imagine they would have come up with something almost as good as the Malazan series. You’ll have to power through the first book (Gardens of the Moon). It is notoriously difficult - I recommend following up each chapter with commentary on Tor’s Gardens of the Moon reread. I will also guarantee that the way book 1 ends will not make sense. But keep…
on “Ask HN: Read any good books lately?” ↗Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, House of Chains, Midnight Tides, The Bonehunters, Reaper's Gale, Toll the Hounds, Dust of Dreams, and The Crippled God - aka Malazan Book of the Fallen - all by Steven…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024” ↗I'm rereading the Malazan Book Of The Fallen series. Finished Gardens of the Moon last night. It only gets better.
on “Ask HN: What books are you reading this week?” ↗Just read Locke Lamora and it was quite good. I'd add in the Malazan series by Steven Eriksson. Gardens of the Moon is the first one. Great books, but definitely a long undertaking.
on “YC's Winter Reading List” ↗You may want to try the audiobook version of Gardens of the Moon. I've been listening to it and have quite enjoyed it, but can definitely see how reading the book might be a bit of a slog. There's a lot of posturing going on, talking about how powerful so many characters…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗My recent favorite books: Epic Fantasy: The Malazan series. (Gardens of the Moon, the first book is a challenging read and has a bit of an anticlimatic end. Don't judge the series till finishing the first three books. They get easier to read starting book 2). History: The making…
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗…the list. I’m curious what you think it does that’s so good, I read the first one because a friend really liked it and I just found it competently written epic fantasy. In contrast I remember reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson and thinking I had never read that combination of Black Company style moral ambiguity and a world with deep history before, and really wanting to read more. Or A Game of Thrones where…
on “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade” ↗"The best life is the one the gods don't notice." - Steven Erikson, "Gardens of the Moon"
on “Steve Miller: The Whole Music Industry Is Fuckin' Gangsters and Crooks” ↗"The best life is one the gods don't notice." - Steven Erikson, Gardens of the Moon
on “On the internet, we’re always famous” ↗Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗I tried reading the 1st one of the series (Gardens of the Moon) not once but twice. Both times I was quickly bored and did not make it past page 50. The book (at least in its first pages) is filled with boring descriptions and uninteresting events. I've heard good…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗Gardens of the moon is sort of required for Memories of Ice. A lot of the characters pivotal in Memories of Ice are introduced in the Gardens of the Moon. If Malazan book of the fallen is for you, you'll know after reading…
on “For Roleplayers Who Start Writing” ↗Incidentally, I'm trying to listen to Gardens of the Moon on audiobook right now and I just have no idea what's going on. (It took me awhile to get into audiobooks; I had to start with books with a good first person narrative and work my way up to the third…
on “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade” ↗…possibly super super super plots. I'm only 2 re-reads in - people who are into their 4th or 5th re-read tell me they are still discovering layers. The downside is that the first book in the series - Gardens of the Moon - is ridiculously difficult to get started with. There's a read-along blog that Tor did that helped me get through it - but it's still a challenge. I had to downgrade from an audiobook to an ebook and…
on “What kind of Apple Mac did Arthur Dent have?” ↗