Book · 1999
Gardens of the Moon
by Steven Erikson
A continent-spanning empire's mage-soldiers besiege a city that might already be doomed by gods playing a board game with human pieces.
What does Reddit think of Gardens of the Moon?
Gardens of the Moon barely registers outside r/Fantasy, and even there it isn't consensus, it's an ongoing argument the sub keeps having with itself. One comment (↑919) states the split outright: both the people who love Malazan and the people who hate it are correct. Another (↑910) ranks recommending it to newcomers among the worst habits in the sub's history, paired with Sanderson, not because the books are bad but because nobody asks for a ten-volume commitment. A third (↑841) warns specifically against using it to hook friends new to the genre. Its length becomes its own punchline elsewhere, landing in a literal word-count ranking next to Atlas Shrugged and Varney the Vampire. r/suggestmeabook and r/booksuggestions carry volume without scored opinion attached. r/Fantasy's own scored excerpts land mixed, which tracks: nobody here is neutral about it, they just disagree in both directions simultaneously.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Scale as both the selling point and the warning label
- · A fandom that argues with itself more than with outsiders
- · Brutality offered as the alternative to gentler epic fantasy
- · Gatekeeping newcomers with genre-defining door-stoppers
Common praise
- + One commenter cuts through the whole debate in a single line: both the people who love it and the people who hate it are correct (↑919).
- + Gets named as the answer when someone wants brutal, unsentimental epic fantasy instead of a Wheel of Time-style softer entry (↑1014).
- + Shows up in the same breath as First Law and Dungeon Crawler Carl when readers list out serious modern epic fantasy (↑782).
Common criticism
- − Ranks alongside Sanderson in one comment's list of the worst recommendations in the sub's history, not for quality but for how often it's dumped on unprepared readers (↑910).
- − Gets specifically flagged as the wrong pick to hand a friend who's new to the genre (↑841).
- − Its word count turns into a punchline, cited in a ranking of the longest fantasy texts ever written next to Atlas Shrugged (↑995).
Who it's for
Brutal and unsentimental over gentle and reassuring — that's the trade this series makes according to the one comparison quote in this sample (↑1014), which sets it against Wheel of Time. Come in ready for minimal hand-holding; the sub's own running joke is that suggesting Malazan to newcomers is a bad habit, not a favor. If ten volumes sounds like a lot, it's worth knowing the length itself made it onto a literal ranking of the longest fantasy texts ever published. This isn't a series people casually vouch for; it's one they're still arguing about at book nine.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
- r/Fantasy 24,441
- r/suggestmeabook 2,280
- r/booksuggestions 1,183
- r/printSF 663
- r/TrueLit 116
- r/horrorlit 45
- r/RomanceBooks 28
- r/YAlit 20
Which Reddit comments matter for Gardens of the Moon?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I've seen a lot of Sanderson hate on this sub, but I will admit that using Malazan as an example of how Stormlight is bloated is a new one.
“The entire Sword of Truth series is generally regarded as one of the worst things in fantasy. It's full of misogyny and political soap boxing. Try The Wheel of Time for an epic fantasy that isn't going to go so completely off the deep end, Malazan if you're okay with a lot of brutality but an am…
“I spent ages researching this a few years ago and came up with the following: 1. *Varney the Vampire* (1845) by James Malcolm Rymer & Thomas Prest: 667,000 words 2. *Atlas Shrugged* (1954) by Ayn Rand: 645,000 (you may argue about whether it's SFF or not, but it's listed in *The Encyclopedia of Sci…
“Both the people that love Malazan and the people that hate it are correct.
“Three things in life are inevitable: death, taxes, and both Brandon Sanderson and Malazan being recommended on every single recommendation request posted here. Not necessarily the worst books, but the top 10 worst recommendations in the history of this sub would be made up entirely of those two be…
“I think you'd like Malazan
“Don't try to introduce your friends into the genre with huge series like *Malazan* or *The Wheel of Time* (as much as I love them). Similarly, don't get mad if someone chooses not to read a series after telling them that it doesn't really take off after several novels.
“I asked for a series that pulls you in immediately and was recommended Gardens of the Moon (first Malazan). I actually laughed out loud.
“Hood's hairy balls! I love it. (from Malazan) If it's done cleverly and in the context of the worldbuidling, I think it's great. If it's just a cheap knock off of our world, I'd rather not see it.
“*Malazan Book of the Fallen*: seven continents, over 300,000 years of history, many characters alive through a big chunk of that. History for days.
“Malazan isn't complicated, it's *opaque*.
“Nobody tell OP about the Malazan series, think they might have an aneurism.
“Most of Abercrombie's First Law (especially the later books) and Malazan BOTF does that, highly recommend both if you haven't already tried those.
“I would say that Steven Erikson is up to the challenge with his Malazan series. Check that up.
“It's cliche to answer, but Malazan. The books starts in the middle of a war that's been going on for decades across multiple continents before branching out to include ancient histories thousands of years past. There is very little in the way of exposition, so you just kinda have to figure out most …
Convinced? Pick up Gardens of the Moon
Readers also mention
All books like Gardens of the Moon →Books that share discussion threads with Gardens of the Moon — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring Gardens of the Moon
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Gardens of the Moon — frequently asked
Is Malazan Book of the Fallen a good starting point for a newcomer to fantasy?+
The displayed r/Fantasy data leans no. One highly upvoted comment (↑841) specifically warns against using huge series like Malazan to introduce friends to the genre, and another (↑910) lists recommending it to unprepared readers among the sub's worst habits alongside Sanderson. It's a series for readers already committed to the genre, not an entry point.
Does Reddit agree on Malazan Book of the Fallen?+
No, and one comment says so directly: both the people who love Malazan and the people who hate it are correct (↑919). The visible r/Fantasy discussion is a live disagreement rather than a settled verdict, with the series functioning as shorthand for scale and difficulty as much as for quality.
How does Malazan Book of the Fallen compare to Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive?+
One comment (↑1285) uses Malazan as the reference point for accusing Stormlight of being bloated, implying Malazan sets the bar for scale in the genre. That's a single comparison in this sample, not a broader consensus on which series handles length better.
Is Malazan Book of the Fallen really as long as people say?+
Yes, per the displayed data. One comment (↑995) places it in a researched ranking of the longest fantasy texts ever written, in the company of Atlas Shrugged and Varney the Vampire. The length isn't exaggeration; it's cited as a measurable fact in the thread.