This is one of the scariest and interesting books that I've ever read yet. Everyone I talked to before starting this book scared me with explaining how difficult the book is to read and understand properly.

Maybe because this is a first book in the series, I didn't had many difficulties on reading or understanding this book. I just made my mind to move with the flow. The author knows what to give and when to give to the readers and I trusted the author. This made my reading more interesting.

Sure, there are many places that I felt lost and I needed confirmations and such; but I was following some podcasts and discord groups to help me on this. The writing style was also an difficult thing to get to at the beginning. Then I gone through with the flow.

The story was not at all an easy one to digest. I normally read 100 pages per day but with this one, completing a chapter needed many breaks in between. It needed more concentration and reading between the lines but for such a good book, it is perfectly ok for me to get through.

I don't want to say the usual things on my review like synopsis, characters and storylines. Most of us already knew that but I understand one thing now, that THE STORY IS JUST GETTING STARTED.

Please read the synopsis, Non Spoiler reviews and understand the complexity before starting this book. No book was for everyone.

The 4 stars is because of the much less actions. They speak highly and mighty of many people's in this book. But the actions won't justify that strength. I think it will be justified on the next books but let's see. ( )

I enjoyed the overall story, but the book was a real struggle for me to get through. There were just too many characters, places, and magics introduced too quickly with too little background and development for the story to be cohesive. I'm not sure I'll bother with the subsequent books in the series. ( )

Malazan is an astonishingly great book.* Tremendous. Many of my friends love Malazan, giving this first book in the series an average 3.81 rating (way to bring it down, Sarah Anne and Becky!), and I love it too. It was great. Hugely great.

Erikson takes the time to build the sense of each character, the workings of their daily life and the way they continued to develop over the course of the book was exquisitely detailed. The plot quickly ramps into action, with events building to a frantic pace that culminated in a moving climax. Each word carefully chosen, no detail irrelevant. The humor threaded through this book had me smiling and giggling as I read on the couch. This is one of those books you can devour in a couple of hours, it's so much fun.

*This was a Totally Not Honest review, courtesy of a loaner copy by our friends at the South Central Library System.

Initial review:

let's be honest:

never, never, ever again. Too many good books, too little time for a series this demanding, and I don't mean in a brain-stretching, feel-good kind of way. I mean in one of those professional, two-day work-seminars that is supposed to bring you 'personal growth' kind of way.

9/10

Author Steven Erikson plunks the reader right into the action and it was challenging at times to follow what was going on. Maps, lists of characters, and the appendix helped, but what helped most was to just keep reading.

As the first book in a 10 book series, Gardens of the Moon lays a lot of groundwork but there is action aplenty--intriguing characters, an ever-twisting and expanding plot, assorted magic, battles both large and small, even budding romance. The book is complex yet very readable.

Looking forward to spending more time in the Malazan universe! ( )

Must read for fantasy fans, glorious plot weave, good characters , high stakes, very deep lore and all this is just scratching the surface apparently ( )