[Burn's Bridge]

Hi everyone. New forum poster and new Malazan reader here. I just finished Gardens, and wow...what an amazing book. I don't have any questions; I'm just writing this to give the veterans an idea of what thoughts are swirling in the mind of a fellow reader who just plunged into the series. Of course, the below will contain spoilers for Gardens of the Moon - but no other book, as I have read nothing else yet. Please comment if you wish, but no spoilers for anything other than Gardens!

SPOILERS FOR ALL GARDENS OF THE MOON



Well, it was good to see that the main plot was resolved. Raest was taken down by the dragons (and Quick Ben, and a bomb, and an Azath House) so Rake could ignore it and take out Lorn's demon. The end of the book sets up the reader to look forward to the next novels as well. With Lorn dead at the hands of the Crimson Guard, the Bridgeburners defect from the Empire and split up into two parties: Kalam, Fiddler, and Crokus accompany Apsalar back to Unta, while Dujek and the rest pursue the Pannion Seer (while the Empire resists the rebellion in the Seven Cities). The Darujhistan subplots were resolved too. Rallick Nom and Murillio avenged Coll by killing Turban Orr. Vorcan failed to kill Derudan and the T'orrud Cabal. And after the confrontation with Rake, the Rope dispossesses Apsalar and Shadow appears to have left the Empire alone - at least for now.

In addition to leaving plots open for the future novels, Gardens of the Moon gives a lot of introduction to the Ascendants and mythology of the world, as far back as 300,000 years ago to the war among the four founding races. The novel leaves many questions left to be answered. Why are the Tiste Andii, Caladan Brood, and the Crimson Guard opposing the Empire? What really happened to the K'Chain Che'Malle and Forkrul Assail? What is the Crippled God, and why did the dragons chain him? If Starvald Demelain (the first Warren) was the home of the dragons, does that mean the dragons are a very old race? Why does interaction with the Elder Races seem to warp time? (Entering the Jaghut Tyrant barrow seems to warp time to when ice is still above it, and Pran Chole seems to be involved in Tattersail's soulshifting despite being 300,000 years old). Are we going to get any more information about The Cull of the nobility? What caused the Queen of Darkness (and presumably the Tiste Andii) to get lonely and give rise to Light, and how exactly did that happen? How did Kellanved and Dancer become Shadowthrone and The Rope? What kind of pact existed between Hood and Daseem Ultor, and how did that broken pact lead to Kellanved's assassination? Why did Quick Ben defect from Shadow, and why does he have so many Warrens? Who is the Pannion Seer? Why did Vorcan and Rallick get pulled into the Azath House? Is "Deadhouse" (as in, Deadhouse Gates) an Azath House? Did Kellanved get pulled into one, as the Tiste Andii seemed to imply? Is Paran the Captain of Light, as implied by the most recent Deck of Dragons reading? What's going on with Tattersail? Mallet thinks a Seer (presumably Rigga) still inhabits Apsalar; will this affect her later? Who is Icarium and why did he give the Wheel to Darujhistan? How do Kruppe's dreams affect or predict reality in such a way? Is The Eel actually Kruppe? Is Paran somehow connected to the Hounds now that his blood could transport him to the Dragnipur Warren? What's the deal with that big wagon anyway? Oh, and what happened to Doan and Ganrod now that they are in Kurald Galain - and where did Toc the Younger end up?

(Remember, please do not answer any of these questions - I am just entertaining veteran readers with what thoughts dominate my reading of the series!)

Gardens of the Moon is a great book and it was difficult for me to put down once I reached midway. I look forward to reading Deadhouse Gates next and seeing which of my questions will be answered, and which new ones will arise.

[Slow Ben]

Dude, I'm so jealous at you for getting to read these for the first time. You're in for so much awesomeness.

[Burn's Bridge]

Thank you, Slow Ben!

[Abyss]

Slow Ben, on 09 June 2018 - 12:21 AM, said:

Dude, I'm so jealous at you for getting to read these for the first time. You're in for so much awesomeness.

THIS!

[Mako2401]

Two tips for you.
1. If you follow the TOR reread, the next book should be night of Knives. don't read that book, since it will spoil things for Deadhouse Gates. Read Deadhouse Gates next.
2. Deadhouse Gates has lots of violence, rape, borderline Mel Gibson fetish kind of gore in it. Don't let that stop you , I almost gave up on the books, go through it, it serves a purpose. I just finished Deadhouse Gates and trust me, it's even better than Gardens of the Moon.

[Burn's Bridge]

That’s good to know, Mako. I stopped reading A Song of Ice and Fire with the first novel because I didn’t care for the explicitness of the violence and sexuality, despite the plot being otherwise fascinating. So I’ll read DG with one eye closed during those parts. (Metaphorically!)

[Zetubal]

Enjoy the ride

[Dolmen 2.0]

Burn, on 09 June 2018 - 10:37 AM, said:

That’s good to know, Mako. I stopped reading A Song of Ice and Fire with the first novel because I didn’t care for the explicitness of the violence and sexuality, despite the plot being otherwise fascinating. So I’ll read DG with one eye closed during those parts. (Metaphorically!)

Welcome!


You know what? I'll be honest with you, what I hated in ASoTF but love in MBotF lies right here. See both series deal with violence. Human ugliness is exposed in its many shades and colors. There's a vast range of perspectives and some of them are damn near depressing. But here's the thing: GRRM does his best to let horrible things happen and quickly just moves on. Erikson and ICE make SURE that horrible things, no matter how bad reveal an answer, in fact, they demand an answer.

This is why you need to keep your eyes open. See the bad for what it is. There's always and I mean ALWAYS a bigger thing going on and you'll really hate some of it but that will help you love the resolutions WAY more.

[Burn's Bridge]

Ah thank you Dolmen... I was put off a bit with ASOIF when the reader just has to accept tragedy and move on, at least in the novel I read. So I totally understand what you mean and it's nice to know that MBOTF is different.
I'm writing a read-along for Deadhouse Gates because I have trouble remembering the details of these novels unless I write the important stuff down, so feel free to check out that thread as well. As I become more experienced I'll try to help out users with questions for the novels I read.

[Gorefest]

The most important thing to remember is that MBotF is ultimately about compassion.

[Abyss]

Gorefest, on 10 June 2018 - 01:21 PM, said:

The most important thing to remember is that MBotF is ultimately about compassion. Also, mad crazy powerful people-things blowing shit up and 'mere' humans pulling off even crazier shit. Also, dragons.

ftfy.