Gardens of the Moon
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. However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand... Conceived and written on an epic scale, Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement - a novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling, powerful storytelling to resounding effect. Acclaimed by writers, critics and readers alike, here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy: the awesome 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.
Where Gardens of the Moon keeps showing up
Six of our editors' lists feature this novel.
What you might want to know about Gardens of the Moon
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
An empress's army takes the city of Pale, and a battered squad of imperial sappers is dropped into a city already rotten with wizards, gods, and politics. First in the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Yes. Gardens of the Moon is famously challenging, throwing readers into a complex setting with no exposition, multiple gods, magic systems, and political factions. Most Malazan readers say the first book is the hardest, and the series clicks somewhere in book two or three.
Steven Erikson's main series has 10 books. There are several connected series in the broader Malazan universe by Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont, totaling more than 25 novels and counting.
Gardens of the Moon was written by Steven Erikson, published in 1999 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
Gardens of the Moon is 635 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Gardens of the Moon takes most readers 10 to 14 hours to finish.
Gardens of the Moon is a standalone novel by Steven Erikson, not part of a series.
Gardens of the Moon is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
