I don't think I have ever suffered through my reading like with this book. It's not like I wasn't warned. I went in fully invested and finally gave in to my FOMO of not reading Erikson before.

Some moments were great, some insane imagery, and unforgettable scenes that only great fantasy can achieve. There is a larger-than-life story here, many interesting characters, and an incredible, detailed world full of magic.

But, for a reader to enjoy these elements they need to be measured, introduced at the right time and be meaningful to the plot. This novel goes heavily in medias res, as the reader is observing whats going on through the eyes of the characters. This is not a problem in itself, but there is so much redundancy in this novel. I'd even call it bad editing.

I am very well aware that many fantasy readers love this approach, the same way many people like their food with "everything on it". I just don't.

I came across a sort of companion/guide somewhere on forums that had some maps and chapter summaries. It was incredibly helpful because many things you really don't get merely by reading the text. At least not chronologically on your first read. This is a red flag for me. You shouldn't need to have a companion or even take extensive notes in order to understand what is going on. But, in a weird way, it felt satisfying, just very exhausting.

I've been told that this book is the worst in the series and that I shouldn't give up just yet. I may read the second one when I feel patient enough. It better be good! ( )

Two years, and a lot of falling asleep, I'm finally done this book. I only finished it so I could say I'd done it. Happy now, Dan? ( )

I had high hopes and really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, it did nothing for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters, I didn't care about what happened to any of them, and I just couldn't get into the plot at all. I thought the author introduced too many characters at once, and I had a very difficult time keeping them - or the complex and intricate world-building - straight.

A friend keeps raving about this series, so I tried it again a third time (after DNF'ing it the first two times, in 2017 and 2018). This time I managed to get through the entire book, but in the end, I wished I'd spent my time reading something else. Sadly, I will not be continuing with this series. ( )

{first of 10 in Book of the Fallen, seventh in Malazan chronology; fantasy, epic fantasy, empire, war}(1999)

I see a lot of reviews saying that the Malazan series is amazing but it took me so long to get into this one, I was wondering if it was just me - but I'm hardly a novice at this (fantasy) reading game. The beginning, and even for quite a way in, was hard going; a lot of characters and situations are introduced with no prior knowledge on the readers' part. I've seen comments that it's the weakest book of the series, so I'm willing to give the second book a go ... sometime down the road.

The prologue shows us the founding city of the Malazan Empire shortly before the founding Emperor was assassinated. The story opens about ten years later as the Empress's forces are conducting a campaign on the continent of Genebackis and are about to assault the city of Pale. We meet the remains of the Bridgeburners company who are subsequently sent on to Darujhistan (jewel of Genebackis and essential to the Empress's plans) to sabotage that city; however, it is a suicide mission meant to wipe them out since they were the old guard and elite company of the Emperor.

We also meet Ganoes Paran, whom we saw as a young boy in the prologue, as he is given a special mission and sent to take charge of the Bridgeburners.

'I see you've made no effort to improve on courtesy, Captain - I admit I understand nothing of the Adjunct's faith in you.'
'Don't lose sleep over it, Topper. Now you've found me, what is the message?' The man scowled. 'She's with the Bridgeburners. Outside Pale.'
'The siege continues? How old is your information?'
'Less than a week, which is as long as I've been hunting you. In any case,' he continued, 'the deadlock is about to be broken.'
Paran grunted. Then he frowned. 'Which squad?'
'You know them all?'
'Yes,' Paran asserted.
Topper's scowl deepened, then he raised a hand and began examining his rings. 'Whiskeyjack's. She's one of his recruits.'
Paran closed his eyes. It should not have surprised him. The gods are playing with me. Question is, which gods? Oh, Whiskeyjack. You once commanded an army, back when Laseen was named Surly, back when you could have listened to your companion, when you could have made a choice. You could've stopped Surly. Hell, perhaps you could have stopped me. But now you command a squad, just a squad, and she's the Empress. And me? I'm a fool who followed his dream, and now all I desire is its end.

We occasionally follow Adjunct Lorn, second only to the Empress, who recruits Paran.

The floating mountain Moon's Spawn and its lord, Anomander Rake (an incarnation of Elric of Melniboné perhaps?), ally with Pale but are driven off by the Empress's mages and consequently strike a deal with Darujhistan.

But the gods of this world interfere; one takes possession of a young girl named Sorry with the aim of assassinating the Empress.

And the twin gods of luck and chance choose a young thief in Darujhistan. As we follow him and his friends in their everyday affairs, they help to save their city.

(If you thought that was confusing, it's more explanation than the narrative gives you. And more condensed.) Essentially, there's a lot going on. There is a vast cast of characters and races - magical, dead (but alive) and otherwise - and we're not usually given an explanation of how they fit in. On the other hand, there are dragons (always a good thing, in my book).

There are multiple threads following multiple characters which do eventually intertwine and multiple points of view - thankfully all in the third person. The big bad that the plot builds towards is rather easily defeated by another character of a race not previously mentioned which manifests, apparently, as a walking tree stump. I think. Not the worst book I've read but it took a lot of effort. And it was so loooong.

I found it something of a slog until towards the end, and it's a long, sprawling book not helped by the phrasing. A lot of it went over my head. The writing didn't flow well for me; there was still a lot of world building at 40% of the way in which throws us in to the middle of characters' lives without explanation or context to their conversations - though the action had picked up a bit by that point and once you have a few chapters under your belt you can start to string things together.

However there are flashes of humour along the way in this story, which is something I always appreciate.

Kallor said: 'I walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?'
'Yes,' said Caladan Brood, 'you never leam.'

How not to capture a city:

pull out. Find a place I know. I'll meet you there.'
'Where are you going?'
'After the saboteurs.' Kalam wiped sweat from his face. 'Pull out the city map when you can, Quick Ben.' The assassin's eyes were tight with fear. 'Check the legend on it. We've planted mines at every major intersection. It's the main valves - don't you see?' He waved an arm. 'The Greyfaces! The gas, Quick Ben!'
Kalam whirled and crossed the patio. A moment later he disappeared into the estate house.
Quick Ben stared after him. The gas? His eyes widened. 'We'll all go sky high,' he whispered. 'The whole damn city!'

With the multiple points of view I wasn't sure who the good guys were or if we're supposed to root for the Malazan empire or not. There doesn't seem to be a Pax Romana situation; conquered nations just provide canon fodder for the next expansion. I don't understand why Whiskeyjack and Dujek, who do seem to be good people, are loyal to the empire (in its current incarnation); maybe it becomes clear further into the series. The character Kruppe insists on talking to himself about his actions and only refers to himself in the third person; I could have coped with this idiosyncrasy better if it hadn't been heaped on top of the welter of others. I'm still not quite sure what 'Gardens of the Moon' refers to. In the meantime, a few of my other e-library books have expired while I was tied up with this book and I'm going to have to wait for my holds to realise again.

This narrative was long and meandering but it did start to coalesce towards the end. Worth giving a go if you don't mind being patient.

(September 2023)
3.5 stars ( )

(Yep. Never read it. Don’t laugh.) Something something epic fantasy reddit favorite.

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze. But it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand.

I really punished myself with this book. I’d heard so much about how you have to read it so carefully for detail that I began studying it like an academic text rather than reading for enjoyment, and it ended up taking me nearly a month to read. That...that just isn’t feasible in my world. I don’t have the attention span for it. Once I allowed myself to read it for enjoyment and acknowledge that I’m not going to catch everything the first time through AND THAT THAT’S OKAY, I began enjoying myself significantly more.

Do I want to read something light and fun now? Yes. Do I want to return to the world? I dunno. The fog of the first half of the book is currently hovering over my psyche. I need to remember that I need to be fair to myself and my style of reading, no matter what other people say. ( )