Gardens of the Moon - When the hell does this get moving?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

After seeing a lot of praise for the Malazan book series here, I thought I'd take a stab at it. When is this freaking thing going to get moving? I'm almost 300 pages in, and it still feels like just a bunch unconnected characters doing unconnected stuff. With no discernible main character or unifying conflict I'm starting to get frustrated.

Tell me it's going to get better! Now it feels like I'm just waiting for something to start happening.

 

[Skin]

I found it super boring as well. You have to slog through it and get to Deadhouse Gates which is a masterpiece.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Aw, I thought this thread was about the possibility of colonizing the moon and growing actual gardens on it. Because I'm all for getting that moving.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I tried getting through Gardens of the Moon and ran into the same issue you have. It's like reading a bunch of loosely connected short stories. Everyone seems to be a God or a Demon or a God-Demon and the plot is jumping around tens or hundreds of years between chapters.

It's fucking impenetrable.

 

[SpinnokDurav]

It's a difficult book to get through, that's for sure. But MBoTF is a rather big time investment and things will become more clear the further you progress in the story. It also doesn't help that it was written several years before Deadhouse Gates and Steven Erikson clearly had to find his style.
However, I promise you, if you make the investment it pays off, it really does. You might be thrown for a loop constantly but if you put in enough of your own effort and if you consciousl think about what you're reading and how it connects to the world, you'll get through it.
Hopefully, you'll stick with it because its awesomeness cannot be descibed by mere words only through the media of expressive grunts and interpretive dance.

 

[Korenith]

Each book sort of starts like that, with a load of seemingly unconnected threads that all worm their way towards a completely bonkers climax. If you want obvious central characters and a unified over-arcing plot you're not really going to get what you're after. The reason people love it is that it's a bit different to your average fantasy but the downside if you don't like it you'll probably really not like it. I recommend getting to the end of the book because his finales are always great, then make a decision whether the pay-off is worth the time investment.

 

[Elfgore]

I'm currently on my third go at that book, I plan on toughing it out. Considering I was given the entire series. I share the same complaints as you, plot seems to be everywhere, characters seem to have no connection, and there is a lot of shit being thrown at us and not being too well explained.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I have never heard of this book. But the name is Gardens of the Moon. Neither of those words present the idea of a high speed romp.

 

[The_Darkness]

If you're having trouble with Gardens of the Moon, then just skip it. Read Deadhouse Gates first. Seriously. Deadhouse Gates portrays an epic-scale depiction of a civil war, whereas Gardens is about a meandering squabble over a single city.

There are some characters from Gardens that show up in Deadhouse, but you'll pick up the important details as you go, and it doesn't include that many spoilers.

As for Gardens itself... I found that it only really gets moving when the Bridgeburners finally get into Darujhistan, which is pretty much the second half of the book.

EDIT: You'll probably want to get yourself through Gardens before reading Memories of Ice (which, like Deadhouse, is also significantly better paced than Gardens), but that's because Memories is something of a direct sequel. Otherwise, there are some good plot summaries out there.

 

[Hawki]

Never. Absolutely never. Stuff happens. But that's all it is - stuff. It feels like a book that occurs later in the series, not the start of one. Names of places, people, etc. are thrown around, but it isn't worldbuilding. It's just STUFF.

IMO, of course.

 

[Pinkamena]

Welcome to disappointment city. Population: You.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen is not a fast paced series. Anywhere it's recommended it comes with a big warning about its unconventional structure. I am currently on book 3, and by now I am hooked. Gardens of the Moon was a bit difficult to get through, but I enjoyed it. If you are already 300 pages in, why not continue? But don't expect a change in style or pace.

 

[Tawanda]

The climax is worth it though