Steven Erikson was born Steve Rune Lundin in Toronto in 1959 and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He trained as an archaeologist and anthropologist — completing fieldwork on Indigenous sites in the Canadian Shield — before earning a graduate degree through the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He writes under a pen name adopted to avoid confusion with the American novelist Steve Erickson. The world of the Malazan Book of the Fallen has its origins not in a manuscript but in a tabletop roleplaying campaign....
Gardens of the Moon
Gardens of the Moon
Synopsis
The Malazan Empire has conquered most of the known world, and its Empress is not done. On the continent of Genabackis, the final campaign to absorb the last Free Cities has ground on for years — and at the siege of Pale, treachery within the Malazan High Command leaves the legendary Bridgeburners nearly destroyed. Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his battered squad are dispatched on an impossible mission to infiltrate Darujhistan, the last jewel of freedom, while Captain Ganoes Paran — a young nobleman turned inspector — finds himself entangled in a war between gods that has nothing to do with any empire. Above the city, the ancient fortress of Moon's Spawn floats, controlled by the unfathomable Son of Darkness, Anomander Rake. Below, a stolen child carries the attention of a god, and an Azath house holds something the gods fear. Epic in scope, disorienting by design, and utterly uncompromising in its refusal to explain itself, Gardens of the Moon drops readers mid-campaign into a world shaped by ten thousand years of war, sorcery, and betrayal. It is one of fantasy's most ambitious opening moves.
Vibe
Genres
Characters
Ganoes ParanProtagonist
Young Malazan nobleman turned army officer whose fate becomes entangled in divine schemes far above his rank.
Adjunct LornAntagonist
The Empress's personal blade, dispatched to Darujhistan to eliminate a threat that could destabilize the entire campaign.
WhiskeyjackSupporting
Veteran sergeant of the Bridgeburners, weighed down by impossible orders and fierce loyalty to his soldiers.
TattersailSupporting
Malazan military sorceress with an uneasy conscience whose readings of the Deck of Dragons begin to reveal a catastrophic design.
Quick BenSupporting
A Bridgeburner mage whose surface flippancy conceals layers of power and secrets no one is meant to know.
Subjects
Places
Edition
No cover available
Gardens of the MoonAudiobook, 2012
603 pages
Brilliance AudioLanguage: EnglishISBN: 97814692256925 editions available
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Frequently asked questions
Does Gardens of the Moon end on a cliffhanger?
While it is the first book in a long series, Gardens of the Moon provides a satisfying conclusion to its immediate plotlines and character arcs, rather than ending on a direct cliffhanger.
Is Gardens of the Moon a good starting point for the Malazan series?
Gardens of the Moon is the intended first book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, but some readers find its complex world-building and large cast challenging. Other entry points into the broader Malazan universe exist, though this is the chronological beginning of the main series.
What makes Gardens of the Moon unique in fantasy?
The book is known for its 'in media res' approach, dropping readers directly into a complex world without extensive exposition, requiring active engagement to piece together the history and motivations of its many factions and characters.