Gardens Of The Moon - Malazan Review 

Try Dashlane Premium free for 30 days by clicking here bit.ly/2kIzxM1 and then get 10% off Dashlane Premium if you decide to upgrade using my code DANIELGREENE BUY THE BOOK HERE: amzn.to/2M1Rvma

Malazan really isn't for everyone. The series requires an insane level of commitment so I understand the hesitation people have when approaching it. That said it's my favorite series of all time! And I hope it gets more love and exposure.

Congratulations on your full youtube career!

Erikson is so good at humour later in the series that I've forgotten how unrelenting the tone is in Gardens. Yes! You will meet less bad ass characters and characters you get very deep with even though you have only known them for two pages. Theres even a POV of a cow at some point. Based on your complaints for this book I can't wait to see what you think of the rest!

Someone who is huge Malazan fan, PLEASE make a channel. I'm begging you. I've been looking for one for a while and it would be a HUGE guidance to people getting into the series like myself. I'm always so overwhelmed with the books that I couldn't even get passed the second book.

Jeez there's still so many fantasy series I need to read, Malazan sounds amazing and definitely like my type of series, I just know I'll have to finish off a bunch of other series before making the commitment to start this one. Great review!

Just wait until you meet Tehol and Mr Bugg!

Absolutely love this book. Confusing and chaotic and completely unique.

Hopefully more lighthearted in the future, he says. With Deadhouse Gates looming on the horizon.

I’m on the Reaper’s Gale right now. It took me 4 tries to get through the first book...and only just managed with audiobook. I absolutely HATE the way he basically drops you into the world. No character building, no world building. Just bam. You and Tattersail are on this adventure. It honestly felt like it should have been a Book 5 of a series. Now that I’m in it, I get the world, the scope, and I *think* I know what the end goal is I’m very much enjoying it. The EPICNESS is fantastic! But geez-o-Pete....it’s hard to start!

I love this series. I stumbled upon this one while searching for another epic fantasy after finishing Wheel of Time.

All of us Bridge Burners are frothing at the mouth for more Malazan videos! Keep trodging along Daniel. Make the reviews Dammit!

The hardest series ever to start reading and I say this as an experienced fantasy reader. Erikson and more so Esslemont can be quite tiring with endless repetitive "history repeats itself" chapters. I don't much like his magic system or the battles either, so I agree that this is less about pure enjoyment. However, there is undoubtedly real emotion here and some of the best fantasy characters (Hood, Rake, etc) ever. The scope is truly epic and even though the end of the Crippled God isn't fully satisfying, it must have been incredibly hard to write.

The beginning of a new era of sweet Greene content :D

Congrats Daniel! Excited that your hard work paid off. Happy RU-vid career!!!

I'm deffinietly excited to watch your review of this series!!

I’m always impressed by the effort you put into your ads. So many youtubers just do low effort but you don’t.

I'm about to start Deadhouse Gates and I definitely agree with ur Gardens review. I'm one for massive worlds too. Also props for calling for a Malazan channel and not trying to hog the world!

Incredibly happy to see you tackling this, it's a long road but so worth it.

I'm hyped that you're commiting to finish Malazan! Currently reading through the main series for the first time (starting book 7) and each book is so distinct and interesting that I think you'll really find a lot to enjoy here. I love hopping on Reddit and YT and seeing what everyone thought after every book so I'll definitely be tuning in if you keep on doing these!

I'm glad you made this review, I found your channel because of it. im on book 7 of Malazan and because of your channel I'll work through WoT after I finish Malazan

Welcome to the Bridgeburners Daniel. You have so many wonderful new characters to meet. I actually subbed just to watch your journey, and I'll be looking forward to the next 9 videos on the topic. BTW, WoT was one of my earliest reads in the fantasy genre, so I've enjoyed your coverage of that as well. Keep up the good work.

Malazan is definitely a series that will probably stand by itself for decades to come. The unique style works really well, although the writing can be difficult. It isn't for everyone, but if you can get through it then you're basically guaranteed to love it. There's also so much to look at involving the influences on it and how it is different.

Excited to follow you as you dive in to Malazan. Certainly a graduate level fantasy series and not for the faint of heart.

Your videos on fantasy series are very well done and I hope you’ll make videos for Malazan!

I am half way through GOTM and I think exposition is done very well.I never felt like characters were explaining things to the reader,everything felt very much natural.Characters are so diverse(soldiers,mages,commanders,gods,magical beings,spies) it feels normal that they have to explain things to each other,unlike some other books where mages explain to other mages how magic works because of exposition. I think Erickson is spending too much time explaining geography and describing buildings,but not enough time describing characters. I really want to know what Malazan soldiers and their armor look like,I Imagine them like Roman soldiers. This is my second epic fantasy book so I hope it will be worth it. :)

I remember reading Gardens of the Moon a long time ago when I was still relatively new to the fantasy genre. I found it very tough to follow in the beginning and middle parts of the book but loved the ending and found the world and magic system intriguing. its definitely a writing style that doesn't hold your hand like most books. I never got passed the 2nd book back then. I might have to pick it up again soon

Daniel, I think your review is spot on. He drops you right in the middle of a hugely complex world and expects you to just keep up. The series as a whole can absolutely be a slog (this from a 30+ yr fantasy consumer). The audio books are helpful with that, they are SO well done. That being said-I have laughed out loud more during some of these books than I rarely have in fantasy novels. And I have teared up more during these books than I rarely do with other books. By the end of the series, it’s worth the journey.

Full time youtuber!! So excited for you! Congratulations :)

Yay for Malazan content!!! \o/ I have a huge crush on Anomander Rake xD Have read until book 3, I stopped... cause I got too attached to some characters that have perished, and cried until I fall asleep, and up until now, I still feel an immense hatred towards the characters that killed 'em. I don't know when I'll start reading it again. But I intent to start from book one again :D

thanks for doing malazan! im in the middle of The Blade itself and was hoping to do malazan next. also gratz on youtube careering!!

psyched for this. it just gets better

I'm on my third try with this book, what a relief to see I'm not alone in my struggle with GotM! Looking forward to a summary video 😉!

ehhhh I'm excited you're reviewing these! I usually read 4-5 books a month at the same time and was reading Malazan as well...it took me 2 years. Good luck!

PLEASE tell me you'll be doing the Ian C. Esslemont books too! The series intertwine so much and characters move in and out, and sometimes die, so often that you NEED to read both to fully appreciate them. There are guides on how best to approach reading both out there. As far as Gardens of the Moon goes, I think most Malazan fans can agree that it's a little rough, at least as far as Malazan books go. Erikson is still working things out, so there's some stuff that doesn't gel with later books and it really is a "sink or swim" type book, since you're kind of dropped into, not just the deep end of a pool, but an ocean during a storm.

Started reading Gardens of the Moon last week and the amount of information you are given in the first few chapters is insane. It's like dropping into the middle of a series and having no idea what's going on

Good to see you finally do Book 1. IMO, it's the greatest series I've ever read. And yes, I basically explain it to a few ppl as advanced fantasy. Still, a mate I recommended it to, loved it. Yea, 1 of my fave things is after my heart was broken in Book 2 and Book 3, he still managed to introduce me to these flawed but brilliant characters. Good one Daniel. Keep going with the books

Just finished reading this and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to working my way through this whole series now that I've finally finished Wheel of Time.

I'm actually really glad you're doing this. I only even heard of the Malazan books from finding your channel and the mentions of it that have come up in some videos or in comments and I realize how massive of a world it is. Personally I am a slow reader and am tackling the Wheel of Time, and the Ringworld books at the moment (if you wanted to do some sci-fi Ringworld would be a fantastic series to hear from you on by the way!), probably followed by Stormlight Archive. Wheel of Time seems to have what I've always wanted from a chosen one story, where I unfortunately was not exposed to it early enough. Harry Potter always disappointed me, Eragon I liked but didn't finish the fourth book actually, and then stuff like Tolkien is fantastic but Frodo is not an OP chosen one by any sense, and then the Shannara books have the Druid character, but not a staple protagonist across the series. Just a random comment that started as a thanks for the commitment to Malazan, because I really haven't been able to find anyone else on youtube talking about it in the way you do with WOT as you said. And also just saying how much I appreciate your channel in general as its brought so many fantasy (which I love) series on my radar that I just somehow never heard of.

It was worthwhile reading through this epic fantasy series. There will be a whole range of characters you love and who will fade away. And some of them you will encounter again. Was fascinated with the ever changing Deck of Dragons which reflects the various Houses and their Gods/Ascendents and respective Soldiers. You always wonder who will fill which place in the hierarchy of each House as the story progresses. And the system of magic in this world which is more of a Space than a Force is fascinating to uncover. All in all, a true epic that requires a slant of mind that can savor a deep and complicated plot rather than an easy and linear fantasy story telling. So good that I started reading it again. And the reread is where it truly shines.

Great review. I am currently reading it and struggling through it.

I have also only just read the first book and agree with you completely! It was really something special, a world I have not seen before, but also complicated and distant.... Will definitely try more books of this series as I do think it was well written, and had some amazing and real characters.

A timely review for me as I've just picked up Gardens of the Moon and I intend on completing the series. Wish me luck 🙂

Malazan sucks you in....it's one of the most if not the most epic fantasy series ever written.

I started reading Malazan and it’s great so far! I’m like half way through the first book. I love the bouncing perspectives because it holds my attention (ADHD lol).

Malazan is the greatest fantasy series I have ever read and I have read a lot. Look forward to your reviews

Late to the party. Just finished gardens, I'm absolutley in love, everything I could have wanted, for me at least. I like how you mention the characters being portrayed in a similar fashion to herbert's dune, totally agree and I think that's what lead me to enjoy it as much as I do.

When I read gardens of the moon I had this real sense that the story would be really served well as a graphic novel. I felt it had an Alan Moore tone. And I pictured all the bridgburners as being stocky like gears of war characters :)

Just started this book (about 100 pages in) and I am super hooked. Super hooked. I love the puzzle and constantly looking for clues as to who is what and what is going on. Like a jigsaw puzzle looking for where pieces fit and setting some pieces aside for later... so good for me. Everything is so intriguing. We'll see how I feel at the end.

Really interesting to hear your opinion. Cant wait to hear what you got to say about Memories of Ice, Midnight Tides and Toll the Hounds

Thanks for the video 🙂

So am I the only one that, while reading the series, thought/imagined that it would make a phenomenal anime-style show series?

Great review Daniel! Even as a rabid Malazan fan who's read or listened to the entire series and Ian's books 3 or 4 times each, I appreciate the fair criticism. Looking forward to your next vids.

Currently halfway through The Bonehunters, I did enjoy Gardens of the Moon in the same manner that I enjoyed The Eye of the World. I do think that Steven Erickson dose become more flexible in his tone as the series progresses. I do agree with your points concerning characters and feeling somewhat at a distance from them. All in all sound review, keep up the great work and am glad you are reading Malazan Book of the Fallen once again.

I read Gardens of the Moon with Elliot Brooks in her readalong and I gotta say I was intimidated at first, and there's a lot to learn and pay attention to, but I ended up -loving- Gardens of the Moon and I can't wait to continue the series. After stumbling through that first 100 pages or so it all just kinda came together for me and it wasn't so hard to remember who was who anymore. The books are kinda hard to find and since I want all hardcovers (I just happened to get GotM in Hardcover at the used book store and now I want my editions to be the same size on the shelf) so I'm just sniping cheaper copies on Ebay or Thriftbooks when I can, but you gotta catch them out. Q.Q Deadhouse Gates should be here before October though!

"I cannot just be the Malazan channel" - The Wheel if Time channel

Thank you for all your reviews. I' m not a high fantasy fan so I problably won't pick this up, but I started "The lies of Locke Lamora" and I'm enjoying it.

M & D Fantasy Corner is the closest I've found to a malazan channel. But I would really want one. I don't want to be the one to do it, it would be too crappy.

I started Gardens of the Moon a few years ago. Got like 3 chapters in, told myself I wasn’t ready, and went back to finish Riyria. I am curious though.

ooooh yessss someone finnaly made smthing linked to the malazan storries, please do read the hole series (well i jumped a few as they are totally in the past, but heck), the end is really rewarding, the scope and grandness of the charkters and who they are, how they came to be and the sheer madness of it all, makes it worth through and through ... even if it will take you about a year ... very much content ^_^

Such a great series

How funny i just finished wot wich i loved so much i ended up subscribing to ur channel and literaly start malazan this week! Not easy to get into it right after wot

Hey there Daniel. How are you doing? I am now on chapter 9 of the Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, and I am definitely absorbing a great deal more of this story than I did the last time. I sympathize with Rand, Matt and Perin so much. Rand is just about to head out to hunt for the Horn, and Equane and Nynieve are heading over to the White Tower. Thanks for the great review, you are doing a great job of making me want to give this series a try. Maybe I will after I get done with the Wheel of Time. I also have to get back to the Mistoborn era one series too. Also, I used my audible credit to get the latest book by Joe Abercrombie. I will let you know what I think of that series later on too.

Just when I was starting to consider this series!

I've been considering making a Malazan channel myself, since some time - but it's really more because I'm interested in thematic analysis and Malazan has such incredibly rich themes. My vision would basically be a Malazan channel to the extent that Hello Future Me is an Avatar channel... don't know how exciting that is for other people. By the way, it sounds like you've encountered Malazan fans on r/fantasy - you should try the specific Malazan subreddit: people are WAY more nice and understanding there!

Definitely a series that you have to pay attention to. I'm almost done with Midnight Tides and a lot of things are starting to come together.

Good luck. Read the first 4 are great but DENSE

I've read Gardens of the Moon, and tried the second book and only got around a third way through it. My friends continue to rave about it so I'm gonna jump in again in the new year. Wish me luck.

I’m actually going to continue reading but I took such a huge break I need to do a recap, but for now I’m going to burn through Sanderson

Legitimately loved that sponsor ad

This is one of my all time favorite series!

Daniel, your original review of _GotM_ helped me prepare for reading the series after a friend recommended it since I’m super picky about fantasy and prefer a non-one dimensional take on fantasy worlds. I’ve finished book four, _House of Chains_, at this point and will be starting the next book soon! I’ve never read anything like this and just can’t get enough!

I wanted to like this book so much but I got so lost by halfway, it was very tough going. I will have to re read it before I move on to part 2.

hahahahaha the ice cream analogy got me real good. It's actually perfect I totally understand what you mean, I'm one of those that wants EPIC and god damn this series is that!

About to start Gardens of the Moon... I'm both excited and apprehensive of starting the series since I enjoy massive scope and sprawling casts of characters but I keep hearing about how hard it is to get into.

I read Gardens of the moon and really struggled with it. I tried to work out what it was and Daniel you got it. The tone just doesn't change all that much. I got used to it to a certain degree by the end. However I didn't pick up the second book when I got my audible credit, got Joe Abercrombie's First law first book in stead. I hope I can return to Malazan some day.

Awesome. This has been on my TBR list for a while, and ive kind of been dreading it because it is so massive and if its rubbish I don't want to be committed to finishing it... Which I will because of my weird compulsive need to finish every damn book I start 🤦🏻‍♂️

Truly one of my favorite series, though it's DEFINITELY not for everyone, when it's good, it's pretty Epic AF and when it's bad, it's convoluted and Hard to read at times but Erikson is an author who improves incredibly with each book it's remarkable what he accomplishes with this series, it's monumental, despite the problems I had with these books at times they can be frustrating, but they can be incredibly rewarding, there are several cinematic moments in the books that made go 'whoa!! I want to see that on an Imax big screen' so yeah I really like these books despite The flaws.

I loooove the Malazan Series. I know it can be hard to get into and it can be confusing but I really love it. For me personally its the Fantasy-series that I enjoyed reading the most. I also really love the Humor of the series and how well it is written.

Love the script Ohio shirt during the sponsor

I’m going to read it, but I like the fact that you hardly told me anything. Thank you for not ruining it mind you this is a review and I think you did a good job reviewing it. You basically let me know that it has a serious tone throughout Without ruining anything.

You've convinced me to give it yet another try (my third...) :D

Malazan does burn you out, even though I’ve loved it. After House of Chains I needed a break to read some other books and I got 150 pages into Toll the Hounds and needed to do it again. So I’ve read quite a few books and will read a few more before I get back to it, maybe over winter break.

Hands down my favourite series in all of literature. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Coming in before the review. Please Daniel keep up Malazan, please. It is the best ever.

Just started Book Two Darujistan, i gotta agree it’s chaotic many characters pop up without any background story but i love it.

im a huge fan of epic fantasy. and even for me malazan is too much. i forced myself through 4 books before giving up for now. ill finish it, one book at a time, but i need an actual guide to keep up with whats happening.

me: is Malazan a good series? my brother: ye, by the 3rd or 4th book you will get 1000% into it and only love it more! me: third or forth...?! darn.. 3 times i have tried to start this series(and there will be a forth), but just like when you want to stop smoking, you need to mentally prepare. PS: im a veteran fantasy reader. WoT is my favorite

Thx for this

Read them all back to back years ago. The most fantastic, horrifying, heartbreaking, and funny series of any kind I have ever read. I'm currently re-reading Wheel of Time again but I will be going back to the Malazans when I'm done with that. It is a brutal series and, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the first book but it was intriguing enough for me to continue. I also loved how some books are missing characters in other books and how, in the last half, everyone and all the stories are smashed together. Love this series.

i picked up gardens of the moon on a whim i had no clue how massive the world/story, i read 3/4 of the book sadly i didn't have the time to devote to the series. but from i read i loved it so well written the world is just massive and i found the characters great too. i would defiantly agree this books not for everyone and that if u do decided to read set some time free. its still at the top for my want to reads looking forward to the other reviews of the malazan series

This books are a true Master piece. The first few books are meant to draw you in by keeping characters mysterious but soon enough you will get to know them very intimately by way flash backs, character interactions, and internal contemplation; and while the tempo does settle down the book all keep you at the edge of your sits. I read the books as they were being published and the waiting between books was excruciating because I just didn't want to stop reading. My favorite book has to be the 2nd of the series Deathouse Gate.

I highly recommend Bit warden for a password manager. It's open source, works on Windows / Mac / Linux / Android / iOS, and you can either self host or let them host it for you in Azure. Also supports multiple forms of two factor Auth. I'm in the process of transitioning to it from 1password, which only supports Dropbox sync / WiFi sync unless you get a subscription. Since Dropbox now limits me to three devices, switching is a must for me.

I'm very looking forward to this review series. As a huge fan of this series, religiously so, I can completely agree this series is definitely not for everyone XD but for those that do enjoy it it becomes one of the best if not the best series out there. It is for me anyway

I had never heard of it, although The Crippled God had already been published. I had given up on G.R.R. Martin, because he decided to write the TV adaptation first. And then I found this book. I scanned over the blurb, read the foreword and bought it. Now I'm reading Reaper's Gale and I don't think I will ever need another fantasy series.

Lol. Was just sitting here waiting on your morning video.

Yes! Malazan is my favorite.

The sponser part of the video is one of the best things I have ever seen

I'll pick it up then

New malazan fan here and I agree with everything. I wish we get to know the characters more too.