Quote:
Originally Posted by Istvan diVega
If you really, really can't get to grips with Gardens of the Moon, then just kick it away and proceed straight to Deadhouse Gates. It's not an ideal solution and you'll be missing lots of stuff, but nothing that is absolutely crucial later on. If you find that Deadhouse Gates too is tough going, then you can safely write off the whole yarn as unsuitable for your tastes.
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It's funny you say that, because Steven Erikson in interviews has sometimes admitted that Gardens of the Moon is a rather hard introduction. He has actually recommended on some occassions to just start with the 2nd book, Deadhouse Gates, which he feels is his first "complete novel". Gardens of the Moon was written many years before Deadhouse Gate (2nd book), and it was a book that perhaps is a little too dense, a little too immersive, whereas Deadhouse Gate is a tighter, more complete novel, in his estimation.
I'm not sure I personally could recommend skipping to the second book of a series, but I can see why Erikson would recommend that in some cases, because Deadhouse Gates has such focus and power. As I said in my review, Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are powerhouse books. They kick literary ass. Gardens of the Moon is perhaps the weakest of the series, which is too bad, because I think it really takes off on the 2nd and 3rd books.
I don't know...maybe try reading Deadhouse Gates first...(though I'm silently cringing inside even suggestion such a thing)...and maybe it's as Erikson says...maybe the experience will be a much better one for you.
Also, if you want to get it another fantasy series...Glen Cook's Black Company has just now been released on Kindle in OMnibus formats, so that you can enjoy each trilogy in sequence. It's one of the best fantasies around, and actually provided much of the inspiration for Erikson's Malazan series, but it's nowhere near as dense and convoluted. It's written in a much plainer, succint, and vigorous prose, reminiscent of say a soldier writing a book about the Vietnam war from his perspective. Immersive and imaginative as hell, but a short, brutal narrative style.