Gardens of the Moon was fantastic… aside from the fact that it took me a whole year to read it.
From countless discussions with book friends, it’s cleaGardens of the Moon was fantastic… aside from the fact that it took me a whole year to read it.
From countless discussions with book friends, it’s clear to me that Malazan is not just a casual read, it’s a commitment of time, mental energy, and emotion. It stands on a pedestal as one of the most all-encompassing series on the market and I would be doing my passion an injustice not exploring it to the fullest. I genuinely wanted to see what all the hype is about, and GotM book made a strong first impression.
But this isn’t the first time I’ve picked up this book….
Back in 2002 when I first became a bookseller, I was dazzled by the idea that I could check out hardcovers from the store for free. So I snagged a sparkling new copy of Gardens of the Moon off the shelf and started reading. I have to say, I was NOT prepared for this type of unconventional storytelling back then. I expected to meet a handful of characters and stick with them throughout the book. Erikson threw so many characters at me all at once, I quickly lost track of them all and ended up skimming for a while to see if I could find anybody familiar in the text. You know how when you’re disengaged from a book, your eyes can read for days but your mind doesn’t actually absorb anything? That was me. I was in it enough to appreciate the atmosphere of the story, but everything else was a blur.
Oh, how I wish I knew what to expect back then so that I could be standing her today saying “Malazan? I read that years ago.” But alas, I wasn’t ready.
… I still don’t know if I am.
The book requires a ton of concentration if, like me, you want to get as much out of the experience as possible. Perfectionists will have a more difficult time with this series than those who are able to go with the flow. However, the vast majority of people I’ve talked to say it’s well worth the effort (there’s practically an army of Malazan enthusiasts in my Goodreads group, Fantasy Buddy Reads. Even mention Malazan casually there and half a dozen impassioned readers will bombard you with their feels. It’s kind of inspiring). It definitely won’t take most people an entire year to get through it, but it will help considerably if you venture in knowing what you’re signing up for.
In my read, I managed to keep track of all the characters, which in itself is a miracle. The presentation is so unconventional – you’re thrust in the middle of a robust world and meant to navigate it without explanation. You just get a front row seat for all the happenings. This format is partly why I think the book makes you feel like you’re a part of the story, gets you so worked up about the characters, and sticks in your brain long after you put it down. Compound that with world-building that feels almost unrivaled, and you have a guaranteed escape. Everything disappeared around me when I picked it up. GotM is more than just a good read, it’s an EXPERIENCE.
But because of how much of a commitment it required compared to the output of just this first book, I’m saving my 5 stars for upcoming books I’ve been assured are going to rip out my soul. I can’t wait.
Thanks, FBR peeps for encouraging my initial exploration of the series (and for teasing/cheering me on as it took so long to get through… I think Petrik finished the entire series by the time I made it through the first book) and Miche, for the recent conversation that reignited me back into it. Y’all rock. <3
Recommendations: GotM is not for the faint of heart. It’s evoking in every sense of the word and a clear masterpiece of the genre. I’d recommend it highly to hard-core fantasy fans who don’t mind books that require more concentration.
Notes: comments are welcome, but please be mindful that spoilers can’t be marked in the comment sections and there are still a few of us stragglers who also want the full experience of the series. Thank you! ...more
This review is going to be more of a non-spoiler reading log. I hope you enjoy thisI now have a Booktube channel! Find me at: The Obsessive Bookseller
This review is going to be more of a non-spoiler reading log. I hope you enjoy this journey a “tad” more than I did the one in the book.
Merely mentioning Dragonbone Chair in a recent video about all the unread books on my shelves, I was bombarded with a slew of comments saying I needed to read it ASAP. So I bumped it up a few years in the priority list and gave it a go.
Of all the popular classic fantasy, I think Williams is the only one I hadn’t read something from. I was excited to dive in. But I was also aware that classic fantasy has a tendency to be a bit long-winded and that the joy is often in the journey itself rather than in the destination. I’m not a patient reader, so with comments like “it takes a while to get going,” you can see how this may not be a good match for my tastes right from the start.
But it’s a classic. And beloved by many book friends who love a lot of the same stuff I do. So I gave it a go.
Truthfully, the beginning was about what I’d expected. Very slowly paced and all about immersing the reader in the often mundane aspects of castle life. The writing immediately jumped out to me as beautiful, relaxed, and well-flowing. Like getting a warm hug from your book. I really liked that aspect, so I was content to sit back and enjoy the journey for once. Then some amazing stuff happened for about one chapter and I was hooked!
…And then the novel proceeded to take over 120 pages for X character to get from point A to point B, and I was so disengaged that I started asking, “uh.. exactly when does this get better?”
I was truthfully considering a DNF. But remembering how relatively slow Hobb’s initial Farseer Trilogy was at first, and how many people abandon it before the magic really starts happening, I felt like there was a similar situation here, and if I just kept reading, eventually I’d see why so many love this series.
But, you see, there’s one distinct difference between my experience with this series and Hobb’s. I don’t mind slow plot progression in books as long as there’s a lot of deep character exploration. I’m totally on board for that type of story. However, with the Dragonbone Chair, the characters were interesting, but I really didn’t get a ton of depth from them. Their actions went a long ways towards developing character near the end, but for most of the book I liked them but didn’t feel particularly connected to them.
The overall handling of characters was weird for me. So, we get several hundred pages more or less focused on just a handful of people. I enjoyed reading about them quite a bit. And if nothing else got a connection of familiarity with them. However, we went from a handful of characters doing not much of anything but talking, to a massive influx of new people to keep track of without much time at all to build a connection with them. It felt like I’d picked up a totally different book at about the 75% mark. I wasn’t ready to keep track of so many names, and by the time I realized I needed to, I was already a bit lost.
So the story got way more interesting towards the end of the book, but any connection I had to most of the characters got lost in the jumble. To the point where something would happen to someone and my first thought would be, “holy $#%?, I didn’t even realize they were in this scene (or existed at all, in some cases).” Oye.
Perhaps my level of disengagement near the end was a result of how passive I already felt about the book up to that point.
Here’s the thing. I feel like I’m standing back, admiring a painting called “Blue Explosion,” appreciating that it’s a brilliant work of art and more or less enjoying looking at it, but can’t shake the thought, “but, does it really need that much blue?” The Dragonbone Chair is supposed to make you feel like you’re sitting around a campfire getting an epic tale told to you. It’s supposed to be all about the journey and the lore. While I’m over here wishing the plot had been more concise and the pacing more evenly distributed. That was a really long-winded way of saying that it just wasn’t written for my personal tastes but was still very well done.
So where do I go from here? Despite the rapid-fire of characters near the end, I found myself very interested in the politics. The battle scenes were good. I liked the quest aspect, even though I still couldn’t tell you exactly who’s on it or what their individual motives are. I find myself masochisticly willing to dive into the next book to see if my issues carry over. Perhaps it will keep the same decent momentum and all I need to do is care enough to keep the characters straight.
I started this book as a Buddy Read in my Goodreads group with a bunch of people. We lost a few right out the gate, but then they started dropping like flies until only myself and two others remained. Plodding diligently. We’ve agreed we’ll need the commitment of a BR to get to the next one and it’s currently scheduled for April. I’m still not sure I want to work that hard to read hundreds more pages for a series I’m just okay about atm. But that glimmer of potential is keeping me around. For now.
Recommendations: this is a beloved classic fantasy that would be a great match for those who love Tolkien and Jordan (…I’m not one of those people). It’s also the series that inspired George R.R. Martin, and you can totally see bits of influence throughout. The writing is beautiful and it’s more about the journey than the destination. It’s perhaps is a mite less engaging than I want, but I know it will work well for more patient readers.
Dawn Cook (aka Kim Harrison) is one of my favorite authors. There was a point in my life when her Truth series (written as Cook) was my favorite fantaDawn Cook (aka Kim Harrison) is one of my favorite authors. There was a point in my life when her Truth series (written as Cook) was my favorite fantasy and The Hollows was my favorite urban fantasy. And this was BEFORE I discovered they were one and the same person. Talk about mind blown. In any case, while my tastes have evolved, I’ll still always love her works. This little duology was the only thing I hadn’t yet devoured…
And it was fun. :)
It’s one of those fantasy books that would be a great transition novel from YA to adult fantasy. It didn’t take itself too seriously and all the characters were fun and animated. I especially liked the hidden plot (involving a secret society) and hope she expands on that in the next novel.
Even so, a couple of things kept me from really loving it. For one, the main conflict of the story. I’ve read a lot of fantasy novels recently with dynamic court politics and somewhat ruthless rulers. The situation in this book involving the King and Queen was just so bubble gum and unrealistic, it made me stop taking the story seriously early on. It’s hard to describe without spoilers, but suffice to say they got themselves in a situation I don’t think would’ve ever happened if the castle was manned by guards and if the rulers actually had any common sense. They came across very naive and ignorant, and those aren’t usually characteristics I associate with kingdom rulers.
The only other bother was the love interest. Grown men don’t usually drop everything to blindly follow a stranger around indefinitely, even if she’s pretty. It made his character profile feel rather thin, as if he didn’t have anything going on before she became his whole focus. It was unrealistic, speeding up the relationship development for the sake of advancing plot more quickly, and I think the story suffered because of it.
It sounds like I’m majorly knocking the book, but really, I liked it overall and plan to continue. The issues were just too prominent not to mention, but didn’t really affect the story much more than in plausibility. I was able to just go with it and enjoy it for what it was. It definitely wasn’t bad, by any means. It just wasn’t as gritty as some of the books I’ve been preferring lately.
Recommendations: this is a light, fun read perfect for those wanting a transition between YA and adult fantasy.
I went through my entire collection of unread books and combined my highest priorities into a bookshelf on Go[4.5/5 stars] I’d call this a hidden gem.
I went through my entire collection of unread books and combined my highest priorities into a bookshelf on Goodreads. Of them all, Covenants happened to have the highest average rating among my peers. Aka, a perfect place to start.
And I was not disappointed.
This is one of those slow burn classic fantasy reads that focuses on character development and immersing the reader in the world. If you sit down and map out all of the major plot points it wouldn’t take you very long because the story was more about the journey than the destination. I enjoyed the flow of the writing so much that I didn’t even really notice this was the case until about halfway through the book.
If a book is going to be highly character-driven, those characters better be good. Rabbit was understated and relatable but also strong-willed and funny. It made for a good combination. My favorite moments were the banters between him and the other characters. Almost all of them left an imprint on my memory, which is saying something considering I don’t always retain even the names of main characters in books.
There was enough solid world-building to spark my interest, and the author did a great job expanding on it as the book progressed. It’s a cool combination of magicals and non-magicals many years after a war between them, and I liked the role the magical world had on the mundane. It explores prejudices, self righteousness, religious zealotry, and fear of the unfamiliar in ways I thought frighteningly applicable to real life. It’s a great example of how fantasy novels are just as adept at teaching empathy and understanding as “serious” fiction. As much as I enjoyed the world and the concepts, I’m not sure the author left a lot of room for expansion in future books, but we shall see.
Because I was enjoying it so much, I gave it a lot of leeway on the few “just go with it” scenes. The book isn’t perfect, but what it does well, it does well enough to compensate for the flaws. I’ll be continuing the series with delight, even if that means reading the old, nasty copy I found secondhand (my only option – book #2 was rather difficult to get ahold of). I will be wearing gloves to read it (germaphobe alert!), so that should tell you my commitment to the series at this point.
Recommendations: Covenants was a delightful surprise and one I’m glad I read. The writing style, heavy focus on character development, and memorable plot reminded me strongly of Hobb’s Farseer trilogy. The first two are only available in print format, so that might be my only holdup for recommending. Other than that, it was great!
As the writer of my all time favorite Dragon series, The Obsidian Chronicles, Lawrence Watt-Evans haVia The Obsessive Bookseller at www.nikihawkes.com
As the writer of my all time favorite Dragon series, The Obsidian Chronicles, Lawrence Watt-Evans had never failed to entertain me in the half a dozen books I’ve read from him so far. In fact, I liked him so much that I immediately went out and purchased every book he had on the market at the time – an impulse I have not yet regretted…Until now.
I have to say, for such a fantastic idea for a book, this one took a lot of time to get going. A hundred pages in, the main conflict of the story was finally hinted at… Although I don’t know that I would’ve been able to pick it out had I not read the back of the book. There was a lot of speculation and back-and-forth questioning by the main protagonist, which built great character right up front, but I think it could have been edited down a little bit without losing any of its impact. That said, it was still interesting and engaging even though not much was happening other than personal growth and discovery. I always appreciate authors who can take ordinary, everyday events and make them interesting to read about.
Then after that first hundred pages, when he finally got on the road I thought “great – now the story really begins!” The trouble is, it kind of didn’t. Sure, he was visiting new places for the first time, but it seemed like in every place he just rehashed everything that had been pounded into us before he even left on the journey. Not to mention that most of the scenes didn’t seem to add anything to the overall arc of the story. I’m a little sad to admit that I got a little bored reading it – and that saying something considering I just finished Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon (One of the most long-winded books I’ve ever read… But still strangely amazing).
I have been working really hard to live by the motto that “life is too short to read boring books” and finally decided to put it down. This was a difficult decision considering how dazzled I’ve been with his works in the past, but I’m to a point where I have so many great books just begging to be read that I will not force myself to finish anything I’m not enjoying.
Recommended Reading: although I found this great conceptually, it came across uneventful and repetitive. I really can’t see myself recommending it, and have figured out why it went out of print so quickly. I will, however, stand behind my recommendations of The Obsidian Chronicles as my all-time favorite Dragon series – which happens to be coming back in print January 2014!...more
Niki Hawkes
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