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Gardens Of The Moon (Malazan Book of the Dead book 1) by Steven Erikson
01/04/2007 . Source: Tom Lloyd-Williams 
pub: TOR. 494 page hardback. Price: $24.95 (US), $32.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31001-5. Buy Gardens Of The Moon in the USA - or Buy Gardens Of The Moon in the UK  check out website: www.tor-forge.com
'Gardens Of The Moon' is the first book in the 'Malazan Book of the Dead', Steven Erikson's astonishing epic series that I'm not alone in considering perhaps the grandest of enterprises in the entire SFF genre. The bulk of the action takes place in and around Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities on the Genabackis continent, as the Malazan Imperial army prepares to lay siege to the city.
Above the city hangs Moon's Spawn, a mysterious floating fortress whose non-human lord, Anomander Rake, is about to make a stand. Tensions with the Malazan empire itself have lead to forces within the Imperial host try to slaughter one of its own regiments, the Bridgeburners, who've also been unfortunate enough to recruit a young woman possessed by a god and will be paving the way for the assault on Darujhistan itself. Inside the city itself, there are factions pursue their own agendas oblivious to the outside threat and gods both old and new meddling in the situation.
When it comes to plotting, Erikson doesn't take any prisoners. There's a lot of information to take in and he expects you to keep up, consequently running the risk that some readers will be put off because they're horribly confused. For those who're willing to persist, as most fantasy fans are, the result is a plot and setting of enormous complexity and depth, which in many ways is a reward in itself.
Without a single main character or group thereof, Erikson wields his cast list as a tool itself and feeds scraps of information over the book that betray a wealth of background information that most fantasy writers simply don't have. He might not have written entire languages like the daddy of the genre, but for those of us who don't care about that he's created a sophisticated and textured world unrivalled in SFF. He has characters you will find yourself very attached to because of Erikson's wry humour and the grim humanity he gives them.
The prose is strong and atmospheric, only very occasionally labouring the point, and easily enough to drive everything along. What will make you reach for the next in the series is the impression that you've had only a glimpse of something profoundly greater in terms of plot, and a lasting affection for subtly-crafted characters such as Quick Ben, Whiskeyjack and even the Son of Darkness.
Tom Lloyd-Williams
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