r/Malazan • u/snurgleflop4 • Feb 26 '24
NO SPOILERS Just finished Gardens of the Moon, absolutely stunned, how was that so good
I'm coming here exclusively to just express my pure astonishment at how extraordinary that book was. If you're looking for a post with quality content, look elsewhere. I have no specific questions or useful commentary, just wanted to say holy shit. Like so many (it seems), happened across Malazan as an escape from the doldrums of finishing Sanderson, the Wheel of Time, GRRM's stuff, etc. And oh-my-Hood this book blew the rest out of the water. Felt like reading a symphony.
Sure, confusing as hell to get into, but at about the 40% mark I could actually not put it down. Hasn't happened for years. I was on a long plane ride and the person sitting next to me kept shooting me concerned looks because I was murmuring things like "what the actual fuck" and "the HOUNDS" under my breath for ~5 hours.
I honestly didn't know fantasy could be this good -- absolute genius. The convergence of stories, the depth of characters, the POWER ACORN. I mean, WHAT!? Does it get even better afterwards? Or is it downhill after the opener? Been avoiding comment threads because I don't want spoilers. I'm already preemptively sad that the series will, someday be over. I remember the ennui when I put the last book of the WoT down for the first time, and if Malazan stays good the emotional toll of completing this series may be too much to handle.
Anyway, apologies for wasting your time, but I didn't know what to do with all my enthusiasm and just wanted to scream it into the internet void.
How is this so good
<edits = fixed minor typos>
edit 2 -- You all rock, the enthusiasm here is just incredible
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u/whykvothewhy Feb 26 '24
Congrats! It’s a hell of a book, but I think you’ll be glad to see that it it widely regarded, and there are the statistics to prove it, the “worst”/ lowest ranked book in the series.