Have just read "Gardens of the Moon": can you let me know what the hell was going on?

[nikolai]

The title says it all. I've just read "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson. And I am just bewildered about what the hell was going on. I have really no idea about the motivations of the various gods that show up. Is there anywhere that explains things?

I did like the book. Erikson has managed to create a very distinctive style of fantasy. It's a very energetic read, with lots of things happening and plenty of perspective switches. But the lack of any real explanation about the background of the world makes me feel I've only a very slight grasp as to what happened. I feel almost as in the dark at the end of the book as I did at the beginning. This is - sort of - refreshing, but is also somewhat frustrating.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk on the board about the book, particularly with its recent release in the US.

 

[Pants]

GotM spoilers follow...

Are the gods' motivations the only thing that screwed with you? Wow, I was confused by a lot more!
I'm sure the most common answer will be to 'read and find out.' I just read the book and I didn't have much of a problem with the various gods as I figured that their motivations would be revealed in time. Sure, I have no idea why Ammanas and Cotillion did what the did... or what the did, but its one of those things that I've come to accept won't be revealed to me in the first book.
Oponn, it seemed to me, was just there to screw with everybody, cause as much trouble as possible. For what reason? Who knows, they're the god of luck and luck is fickle.

The things that really messed with me was the ending, the Jaghut, Ascendants, and Warrens. The ending felt to me to be a big deus ex machina and with the buildup of how terrible the Jaghut Tyrant is, he ends up getting eaten (?) by something resembling a house. What the hell.
I still am unable to distinguish the difference between a god and an Ascendant and while I have ideas of what Warrens actually are, I'm still not too sure.

I do however like the lack of the dreaded 'info dump.' It is quite nice and refreshing.

 

[myrdden]

There is definitely more explanation needed, but my guess is that the Empire under Laseen has done something to tick off the Shadowthrone. How the gods play into this, I am not sure. Oponn seems simply to be an element of chance with no clear agenda at this time.

As far as the Tyrant goes, the introduction of the Azath (sp?) which "ate" it did seem a bit deus ex machina. But the same time it was hinted that this Azath was some sort of powerful force of good that protected the world when a tremendous evil walked it. Rake, for example, didn't seem too worried about the Tyrant's return, nor surprised at the Azath's appearance. Hopefully more explanations come with the other books.

I've picked up the next book in the series 'Deadhouse Gates' but haven't had a chance to begin reading it. I have to admit, even with the many fuzzy details and unanswered questions, I am strongly hooked on the story.

 

[barsoomcore]

Keep reading, my friends. Erickson is about to blow your minds. Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are two of the greatest fantasy novels ever written. They are, simply, great literature -- forget about the "fantasy" label. Erickson is, for my money, the only fantasy writer since Tolkien to have taken the fantasy genre and used it to talk about ideas that could not be expressed or discussed in any other genre.

He's writing fantasy because there's no other possible way for him to get at what he wants to say, and it's incredibly exciting to follow him on this journey.

I envy people just coming to The Malazan Books of the Fallen for the first time.

Stay with him, my friends. He's worth your time.

 

[myrdden]

Oh I fully intend to stick with it. The first book totally captured my imagination. I'm glad to hear the next books will be worth it.

 

[nikolai]

Keep reading, my friends. Erickson is about to blow your minds. Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are two of the greatest fantasy novels ever written...

Thanks! Two questions.

(1) Do the other 4 books enlighten you about what happened in the first books? Do they clear up some of the mysteries of the first book (I suppose I mean if I re-read Guardens of the Moon after reading the series as it stands, would I have a much clearer idea of what happened).

(2) Which is the best of the five books? Could you give us your rankings of them from best to worst, and how necessary is reading them in order (they may not all be on the bookshop shelf).

I'm sure I'll read Deadhouse Gates. It's strange, I feel hooked on the series, as well as being disconcerted by how different it is from the norm.

 

[barsoomcore]

(1) Do the other 4 books enlighten you about what happened in the first books?

Yes, a great deal.

Do they clear up some of the mysteries of the first book (I suppose I mean if I re-read Guardens of the Moon after reading the series as it stands, would I have a much clearer idea of what happened).

I strongly suspect that after reading a couple more books, you WILL go back to read GotM again. And yes, it will make much more sense.

(2) Which is the best of the five books? Could you give us your rankings of them from best to worst, and how necessary is reading them in order (they may not all be on the bookshop shelf).

It is utterly necessary to read them in order. 100%. Don't even think about trying to go out of order on this one -- it won't make the slightest bit of sense.

Best to worst:
1. Memories of Ice -- possibly the best fantasy novel since The Lord of the Rings. Honestly. A gutpuncher of a book that will horrify and fascinate you simultaneously. I've never read anything like it.
2. Deadhouse Gates -- the book that converted me to Erickson's vision. Probably the book that converts everyone who becomes a fan. An astounding book, only bettered by MoI's expanded scope and deeper sense of sacrifice. And yes, to those of you who have read DG and not MoI -- it gets worse. Much, much worse.
3. Gardens of the Moon -- bizarre and twisted and a heck of an introduction to this world. The battle of Pale is turning out to be more crucial an event than first imagined...
4. House of Chains -- never gets to the emotional places the previous two books (DG and MoI) got to, and is possibly TOO complicated for most readers. It took my two passes through to get what was going on, and even then I still hadn't put it all together quite perfectly. Remains to be seen if Erickson can actually keep it all together over the course of the series.

I haven't yet read Midnight Tides so can't comment.

I reread these books regularly because there's so much going on that I just can't take it in on one pass. Information in later books reveals secrets buried in earlier books and characters show up in unexpected places, magic does the wierdest stuff ever and it's just... messed up.

I love it. It's thrilling to watch this writer strive to hold together this massive tale -- I don't know if he's going to succeed, but his ambition alone makes me cheer for him. It's inspiring.

 

[Davek]

I reread these books regularly because there's so much going on that I just can't take it in on one pass. Information in later books reveals secrets buried in earlier books and characters show up in unexpected places, magic does the wierdest stuff ever and it's just... messed up.

I think this is the key. I don't think anyone can fully understand these books after a single reading, or second, or third ...

I have read all five so far, and Midnight Tides has a different yet similar feel to it. A bit more humor in it similar to that shown by Kruppe in GotM.

I find that everytime I re-read one of these books, it starts to make more sense (in the big picture, it made enough sense the first time to capture my interest). It is not so much that I missed things the first time around but rather that Erikson's writing forces you to think, and eventually your thoughts catch up to what is being written.

 

[myrdden]

I'm sure I'll read Deadhouse Gates. It's strange, I feel hooked on the series, as well as being disconcerted by how different it is from the norm.

That's exactly how I feel about the series. I'm just glad that five of the books are out so I can jump from one to the next without waiting forever between installments (*cough*cough* A Song of Fire and Ice).

Does anyone know how many books are in the series?

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

Does anyone know how many books are in the series?

There are a planned ten books, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that change as we near the end in seven years or so. (Another good thing about this series is that they have been released at a brisk pace. But it might be two years for the next one.)