Gardens Of The Moon

Written by Steven Erikson

Narrated by Ralph Lister

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent.
Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners and for Tattersail, sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, still holds out - and Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds.
However, it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand...

Conceived and written on an epic scale, Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement - a novel in which grand design, a dark and complex mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling, powerful storytelling to resounding effect. Acclaimed by writers, critics and readers alike, here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy: the awesome 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House UK Audio
• Release date: Jan 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781448178339

Steven Erikson

STEVEN ERIKSON is an archaeologist and anthropologist and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His Malazan Book of the Fallen series has met widespread international acclaim and established him as a major voice in the world of fantasy fiction. The first book in the series, Gardens of the Moon, was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award. The second novel, Deadhouse Gates, was voted one of the ten best fantasy novels of the year by SF Site. He lives in Canada.

Reviews for Gardens Of The Moon

[malexmave · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, this is kind of a strange book.

First off, I liked it. The final few chapters were brilliant, and the ending satisfying even though it is only the first of ten books (or nineteen, if you are unfortunate enough to read this series in german).

My Problem with this book is not that it is overly complex (although it is), sometimes hard to understand (although it is), or the lack of explanation for a lot of things that happen (that was actually a plus for me, once I got used to it).

So, what is my problem. To be honest, I don't know. I know that 4/5 stars feels right to me. I have no rational explanation for this (which might be because I finished it a while ago, but my PC broke so I am writing this review 200 pages into the next book).

So, now I'm doing something I usually hate: Rating a book without giving an explanation.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, but with a big asterisk. You have to be able to keep reading a book if you don't really like it at first. The magic of the book only begun at page 300 or 400 or so, and I was ready to give up on it several times. In the end, I'm glad I did not, and so far, I am enjoying book two. So, my recommendation: Set aside some time to get through the first 300 pages of the book in as little time as possible (not, like I did, 50 pages a day, or less). The book is not very long with its 500 pages, so even if you don't like it in the end, you still haven't lost a lot of time. And if you do, you can just keep reading an epic fantasy series that is actually finished.

[anemicoak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Don't let the cheesy cover of the US version fool you. If you're a fan of epic fantasy this is some of the best ever published.

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 2002)Steven Erikson's characters are great; the reader is thrown into his world from the off, expected to follow along with who's who and what's what, and while this is initially disconcerting, I realised it was part of the experience Erikson was trying to create - confusion and chaos in the heat of battle. Relationships are already established, his characters already know who they like or dislike, there's no need for clumsy explanations in dialogue of what this magical term means or what that fantastical creature can do - the reader is expected to get on and learn the hard way, it's a bit like being in room full of people speaking French having never experienced the language before (I don't do French; never learned it). In amongst this, the names were really useful as markers and helped me remember who was who; I think sometimes the authors imply something with their character names, a certain personality or habit and sometimes there may be a connection entirely by accident. The mages had some excellent ones, 'Tattersail', 'Tayschrenn', 'Hairlock'. To me, they imply mystery and power, exactly like their respective characters. The protagonist's name, Ganoes Paran, reminded me of the word 'gallows', as he is quite a dark and cynical character, often seeing things from a humorously negative perspective - this is probably an entirely personal interpretation, but it shows you the importance of a good name. The further the reader gets into the Erikson series, the more we stumble across one of the series' greatest charms; in many of the books the plot centres around the marines of the Malazan Empire, who, without going into too much detail, were all given nicknames by the recruiting sergeant Braven Tooth. The real names of the soldiers are never mentioned, and as the plot progresses the reasons for the enigmatic nicknames become apparent, each marine living up to his new title. How Braven Tooth knows the nature of each one of his recruits remains a mystery, whether this is some form of magic is not revealed, but it is just one of the series-long threads that ties this magnificent fantasy together.I have to say I think Erikson has the edge over Martin for me. It took longer for me to get into the Malazan world, but once I did, it was a total conversion and a revelation. The first book - Gardens of the Moon - is inferior to the rest of the series in terms of writing; and Erikson just throws you into the action, with nothing explained at all. It's a little frustrating at first, but stick with it. Whatever you do, don't give up before the end of the second book, which I know is a big commitment - but totally worth it. Erikson is an archaeologist and anthropologist and (like Ursula Le Guin) uses his scholarly knowledge to good effect in his books. The level of magic used is *much* higher than in Martin; there's no use pretending you're reading anything other than fantasy.

[guide2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hard book to review as the first part is just overwhelming with details and so many characters. Fortunately, the second half is better once you start to know who is who and what they're trying to achieve. But there are still many fuzzy plot points and even a bunch a new characters being thrown at you in the last new chapters. So quite an ambitious novel, but on its own, it's not great. Hopefully the next book in the series will be more enjoyable.

[liscarey · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is Volume One of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and there are an awful lot of fallen by the time you're fifty pages into the book. There are maps that I did not find necessary, a list of Dramatis Personae which is quite necessary, and a glossary at the end which is not a frivolous addition. The Malazan Empire is either about to swallow the last holdouts against its power, or start breaking up due to imperial overreach and poor personnel management of military class necessary to its expansion. This is a complex fantasy world, with a multitude of different cultures, different species, gods taking an active role in the world, etc. What's more, the characters are reasonably complex, with a plausible mixture of good and bad tendencies in at least all the major ones, and the conflicting interests between cultures and between factions within cultures are reasonably plausible, too. If there are few too many major ones, well, that's a tendency shared by many fantasy series, and at least each of these major characters appears to be worth spending some time with.

All of which makes it especially unfortunate that all these fairly interesting pieces didn't really come together, and left me not caring how many more volumes there are in the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

[weeturtle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't seem to have found this book as confusing as some other reviewers have, but I happened to have a friend well versed in all things Malazan who was likely helping me out, whether I wanted him to or not. ;)A lighter book than the following Memories of Ice, and from what portions I've read from other books, the least like a Malazan novel. Frequently compared to Game of Thrones, I would say the books series' are similar in fantasy genre, but Erikson's treatment of his content feels more subtle to me when compared with Martin's.Gardens of the Moon feels something like an introduction to the Malazan universe. I'm not far enough in the series at writing this to say for sure, but I feel that this first book shows some of Erikson's style of displaying a world still affected by circumstance. There are gods, there are heroes, prophecies, visions, etc, but not every great hero is destined to die a heroic death.It's hard to speak of the plot as it feels more like a spider web than a line. Characters are there, and they have motivations and goals of varying sorts, often personal, focused around the city of Darujhistan. Perhaps not as concise as it could be for a single book, it introduces us to characters, concepts, events, etc. that shape the rest of the series.

[vinjii-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a hard review for me because I definitely see the depth of the world building, and I can tell there's a lot to discover. But I felt lost? I felt lost despite notes, despite chapter summaries and I had the impression towards the end it just turned into a bunch of chaotic events and none of it really mattered? For me it almost felt as if I punished myself with this book. I made notes. I read chapter summaries after every chapter. It was a chore. And Erikson did not manage to make me care. A lot of what happened just happened and I wondered, why? And why does it matter? And why should I care?Maybe I should give up on the note taking, just read the second installment, see where it takes me and once I'm done, at some point revisit Gardens of the Moon. Maybe I should just give up on Malazan, I haven't made up my mind just yet.Gardens of the Moon is a complicated story. The writing is solid but not memorable. If you like epic and complicated fantasy, please do give this a try, I can see why so many readers absolutely love this and if I read it again I'll make sure to update this review.

[aagbay-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are few true masters of epic fantasy series. George R.R. Martin is one of the more recent authors to manage to create an epic fantasy series, but the list includes the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time). I truly love the grand scale and details the authors put into creating such worlds and stories. Recently, I found my way to buying Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon and began the quest to read through The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, one of the most celebrated epic fantasy series of all time. Gardens of the Moon has set the stage for a series of epic proportions and, on its on, is one of the best books I have ever read.Gardens of the Moon is the introductory book into the world of the Malazan Empire and Steven Erikson's amazing world. Similar to the Game of Thrones, Gardens of the Moon follows multiple storylines from multiple points of view. In one view, we follow the noble-born captain in the Malazan army, Ganoes Paran. In another, we follow the view of a young street thief named Crokus. While these two are the major characters in the book, Erikson also tells the story through other characters linked to Paran and Crokus. What is interesting about the book is how everything is connected. It is hard explaining this amazing fact without spoiling the story, but the sheer amount of thought needed to craft such a storyline is unthinkable and rivals that of the Game of the Thrones. In many ways, it surpasses it. The story is not as convoluted and vast as the political swamp that is the Game of Thrones, but it is just as suspenseful and unpredictable. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end and you grow to know each and every character. On its own, the story is amazing, but it also seems to be just a snippet of what is to come.The world of the Malazan Empire is created with stunning detail. Cities, towns, physical landmarks, and multitudes of animals inhabit the world created by Brooks. If you look at the maps provided before the beginning of the book, you will see just how detailed of the world he has created. Different regions or even different places are populated by a diverse group of people, similar to the mass of cultures in real life. Each group of people have unique cultural aspects that are different from others groups that bring the level of reality of the world beyond what is found in many other books like it.One of the major aspects of the book is its inclusion of magic. Gardens of the Moon and The Malazan Book of the Fallen series have a completely unique take on the aspect of magic. Brooks has blended sorcery and religion into a complex web. This blending has created a unique system of gods and magic of unparalleled complexity that I have never experienced before. The system is very confusing to explain and I do not fully understand it. This is due to the fact that the book does not even attempt to explain the rules behind such a system. It just throws you into the middle of the chaotic relationships between the gods and mortals. This problem is the only real major fault of the book, yet I find it absolutely amazing. Not only does the book pull you in with its unpredictable plot, but it stirs the curiosity to learn more about the system of magic and gods. Some people will find this way to confusing and will not enjoy the book and I would not blame them, but stick with it, and you will begin to see patterns and some image of rules behind it.Gardens of the Moon is a book unlike any other. The sheer vastness and detail of the world is enough tweak the curiosity of those looking for a challenge or looking to immerse themselves in another reality. The story is one of the most intriguing I have read so far, yet it still seems to be a snippet of a larger reality. Erikson has created the perfect book to capture readers everywhere and bring them into this amazing world.

[capetowncanada · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a good read with some really memorable characters but in the end was not focused enough. There was just to much going on, magical weapons, mage's, demons, dragons, assassin clans, the undead, gods old and new. No lie, Pinokio even showed up. A lot of great Ideas but they were developed and discarded to quickly.

[joseph_scifres-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book in Erikson's saga certainly lays the groundwork for a huge, epic fantasy tale. Was it captivating? Yes. Was the magic over the top? Of course. Did the author throw you right into the middle of a narrative with little background information. Certainly. Did I grow emotionally attached to the protagonists/antagonists? Not yet.My only 'gripe' with this book is that I have to read "Deadhouse Gates" (Book 2) before I can decide how I feel about the Malazan universe. Don't get me wrong, WOT is similar in this regard and it happens to be my favorite series of all time.Ultimately, I would highly recommend this book. My review of Book 2 should shed more light on my opinions, though.

[themjrawr · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I finished this book several weeks ago, but have struggled with how to rate it. It's very frustrating, as I was intrigued by the magic system and some of the cultures. Once I figured out what the hell was going on that is. Hence the low rating. I'm of the opinion that while info dumps are bad in your books, it's worse to just offer absolutely no explanation whatsoever, giving the impression you are deliberately trying to leave your reader as confused as possible. If I hadn't had a couple people urging me to keep going because they were certain I would enjoy it I would have tossed into a forgotten corner after two or three chapters. I may go back at some point in the future and reread, now that I have a better grasp of how the world works, but I have no pressing urge to continue with the series despite the intriguing glimpses here and there.

[irrhapsodi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Massive. Epic. Ensemble cast. At times, reading this was a drag (not because of a lack of action, rather the confusing melange of plots and character groupings thrown in here). I only persevered out of the expectation of everything somehow making sense in the end. And although threads and characters finally come together in something of a climax, that didn't magically reveal 'the reason for it all'. But the sheer scope and complexity of the world, history, cultures portrayed compelled me to pick up the next in the series.

In the end, my respect and faith in the fantasy genre was renewed. If somebody could create something completely imaginary, breathe that much artistry and reality in it as to make me feel and believe strongly in it, and craft it all into a massive tome that still seems too short...yeah, hats off. Even with zombie armies, wizard duels and puppets, godly avatars in thrall, and dragons flying overhead, it feels real.

[van_blake-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am now on Toll of the Hounds in this series. Love, love love the storytelling of Erikson. This is the first book and I was a huge fan of the Bridgeburners as soon as I was introduced to them. This is a very intricate story line with a plethora of different groups of people to follow each with very different paths so you have to pay attention. The books may be long for some, but I was right at home with this epic tale. I love the action as well as the humor sprinkled in which was a pleasant surprise. If you can push through some of the confusion this series is awesome!

[phelixbot · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting epic fantasy story with a lot of meaty characters. Tended to jump around in a somewhat hectic fashion. Events would sometimes occur in a Deus Ex Machina style.

[asha.leu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I tried so hard to enjoy 'Gardens of the Moon.' I really did. It's clear that the author has put an astonishing amount of work into his world and this book, and there are some really fascinating and original ideas in both. Yet, I found it close to impossible to give a damn about a single one of Erikson's (many, many) characters and subplots, nor how they were impacted by the complex storyline.I love a good, long, complicated book. When done well, I find myself aching for further complexity, for the author to dig deeper and deeper and explore every inch of the characters and world they have created. While reading 'Gardens of the Moon', however, what I wanted most of all was for Steven Erikson to slow down and explain what the hell was going on before moving onto yet another group of characters and subplots. This book is the bad kind of complicated, where the complexity seems to come less from the intricacies of the plot and more from deficiencies in the author's craft and an unwillingness to provide necessary exposition.Because when examined closely, the plot of 'Gardens of the Moon' isn't really THAT complicated. There's an army waging a lengthy military campaign to invade new territory, some wizards in said army dealing with several bizarre undead creatures and demon-things from other realms, the dark lord partly responsible for those creatures, and a gang of thieves operating in a city that the army is trying to invade, who come into conflict in various ways. Compared to, say, any of George RR Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' books, its all pretty straightforward. What makes it complicated is Steven Erikson's refusal to provide anything beyond the bare bones of exposition about his world and how the various factions and cities and the like are connected. I mean, yeah, if you're really paying attention, you can generally piece it all together, but by the time you've gotten your head around the current crop of characters, their motivations and the stakes that they are facing, a new set turns up and you're back at square one again. The best example of this occurs about halfway through. Already, an enormous quantity of different characters have been introduced, and by this point in the book, I felt I more or less understood who they all were in relation to each other and to the plot, and was actually starting to care about what happened to them and to be excited to find out what would happen next. Then the author suddenly shifts to an entirely new (and equally enormous) group of characters, all living in a city that hadn't appeared yet in the book. It was like starting a completely new book, and it took what felt like an eternity for any of the old crop of characters to become part of the story again. Or take the book's title, for instance, which refers to the main bad guy's stronghold, located in, well, a garden on the Moon. And that's fine - it's fantasy, very magic-heavy high fantasy, in fact, so I have no problem with a character living on the Moon, provided that it works within the book's internal logic. Whether it does or not in this case, I honestly don't know. Is this the actual Moon, as in a giant orbiting satellite with no atmosphere located hundreds of thousands of miles from the Earth, with magic providing oxygen and the like, or a mini-Earth capable of supporting life, or a much smaller satellite that's within this world's atmosphere, or some levitating chunk of rock in the sky called "the Moon", or, hell, just some random geographical location that for some reason is named "the Moon"? Your guess is as good as mine. All we know is that this dark lord-esque character lives on the Moon, and that he sends a bird-familiar-thing down from it spy on and attack other characters. Maybe this gets explained in later books, maybe not, but I don't think a few lines explaining how the magic or science behind this works is too much to ask for, especially when dealing with a something as out-there as a medieval fantasy character who LIVES ON THE MOON.Which brings me to the book's other big problem: the characters are, by and large, not particularly interesting. They aren't completely flat, and there were some that I rather liked, but for the most part, the many, many, many characters in 'Gardens of the Moon' are pretty unremarkable. It's been three years since I read it, and I honestly cannot recall a single one that made an impression on me. In the introduction to the edition I own, the author talks about his dislike of infodumping and how he intended these books to be the sort where the reader isn't spoonfed and you really have to pay attention to what is happening. He succeeded. Unfortunately, the result is a book that often feels more like working through an academic text than reading popular fiction. I dislike unnecessary exposition as much as the next reader, but there's an art to subtly working exposition and worldbuilding into a narrative, and on the basis of this book, at least, Erikson has not mastered it.I didn't hate this book. In fact, there were many, many things I liked about it. But the primary emotion I felt while reading it was continued frustration. I may still pick up the next book some day, but I can't say I'm at all disappointed at the prospect of never returning to this series again.

[somedaynovelist · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An incredible book, although it took me a second pass through to truly understand it.

[bibliogypsy1127 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm really not sure what to say about this one, except that, if you read it, PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING. Parts were really good; parts were really sloggy. I really like some characters; I really dislike others. I hate books that have huge infodumps, but this one....it could have used a few. Erikson barely gives you anything, and what he does give, he leaks in dribs and drabs. And he only gives you the barest amount of info to give you a vague idea of what is going on. The further you read, the more sense it makes and everything comes together. And leaves you with many more questions. I'm definitely interested enough to check out the second book, but unsure whether I'll make it through the whole series. I don't read many books that leave me so firmly on the fence.

[lam8rock · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very complex and quite hard to follow. I struggled to care about any one particular character (probably because of the above). If the plot had been clearer and the pace more measured I think I would have enjoyed this book. I feel like the author was in a rush to get all his thoughts onto the page, which isn't a bad thing, but because of this it doesn't come across as well edited.

[kiddboyblue · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was not my favorite fantasy novel. I felt like there was a lot going for it, but it fell short in a lot of places for me. It had all the right ingredients, war, magic, different races, epic destiny's, etc. However small things left me feeling frustrated. For example the author failed to really describe anything that was unique to his world, like different races or creatures. He would describe a beast as big and hairy...OK...and? That doesn't give !e much to go on. He described one race as dark skinned and tall; again...its hard for me to form a picture based on that. I felt like he could have given a better idea of what these different creatures and beings looked like to help me.His action scenes were great and full of perfect detail that really allowed me to get into it! I think there were too many characters, that sort of distracted from the story. Still, overall I would say it was a good fantasy novel, but not a great one. I am willing to continue reading the series so its good enough to keep me interested.

[websterhamster · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is amazing! Without being a Lord of the Rings copy, Gardens of the Moon manages to reach the height of contemporary fantasy.If you're looking for high fantasy, a la Lord of the Rings, you might be disappointed here. Gardens of the Moon isn't about linguistics or mythology the way LoTR is - it's more about the tiny, gritty details that Tolkien didn't put into his mythos. Amazing stuff.

[renbedell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I reread this book as the first time I felt like I was missing too much. It is not an easy read and requires a bit more concentration then typical other books. The main thing is that the reader is thrown right into it. There is a lot of information that gets briefly mentioned or other aspects that are not explained at all. The first time I read this book, I didn't realize that and I felt completely lost. On my reread, I took my time to really absorb everything and I loved it. The story and the characters were very captivating. The world is very interesting, especially with the magic system and deities. Although there is still a lot I don't understand, it makes reading the further in the series that more exciting.

[sanguinius8991 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book that started it all. It throws you in the deep end and expects you to swim. And, if you stick with it, you will. And you'll be glad you did. It's not the best book in the series (by far) but it's enough to get you hooked.

[andy_dimartino · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not bad. Picked this up on a friends recommendation. First 25% of the book was hard to follow but it all made more sense at the end. Enjoyed it and will pick up book 2 next.

[madcurrin_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If Zack Snyder made the Discworld into a movie, this is what it would be like: bombastic, cinematic and violent. This is a series celebrated for its scope and politics. I can see why, but found it hard to care about any of the characters. It was a slog by the end, straining towards a climax that I was less and less invested in. Maybe the next book will grab me. Maybe I'll just wait for the tv series.

[jamestomasino · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

1) Definitely dense, but with a lot of action. I think Erickson did a fine job introducing us to his world without too much exposition. Granted, it was a little confusing in parts, but by the time things really came to a head, I had it pretty well sorted out.

2) His characters are fairly strong, which is good since there are so many.

3) The balance of the "epic" scale was a little skewed. It was really hard to tell which God or God-like being was going to suddenly be more powerful. In this it reminded me a bit of Dragonball Z, with the characters suddenly powering up and showing new hidden strength, but with Malazan, it was harder to tell which was actually more powerful. Perhaps further reading will reveal that balance a bit more.

4) Meh... I'm bored of reviewing. :)

[ragwaine · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I gave this 180 pages. I really wanted to get into it. I have enjoyed some of Erikson's non-fantasy stuff a lot and this series has a reputation as being the next "Game of Thrones". Unfortunately it wasn't, at least not for me or wife. There was no Tyrion, no characters grabbed either of us with wit or originality (or both). There really wasn't a sense of who the "good" guys were and really seemed like there weren't any. There were some cool ideas and if I knew I was going to live forever I probably would have read the rest of the book before making a decision on the series, but thinking about reading another 480+ pages of this kind of tepid story just didn't appeal to either of us. So I guess if they come up with the immortality drug maybe I'll get around to this series. For now it's a no thanks.

[briandarvell_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great start to what I'm hoping is an excellent adventure. Lots of characters, interesting plot and magic, great start to what's to come. Most reviews online seem to hint that the first book is the toughest. If that's the case I'm eager to read the next. Definitely recommend to other fantasy fans.

[aneris-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved Gardens of the Moon. It touched every single positive trigger I have and then some. You even have a touch of romance thrown in.
You'll get characters that disgust you, that you hate and you cannot wait for their fall. Then you have characters that are larger than life.

It is a great feat when a book this long doesn't drag. There is always something or someone you'd be interested in. All that thanks to the way the story is presented - divided into books that are divided into chapters which consist of short scenes, each featuring different setting or a character. It never leaves the main thread of the story though. I loved the way it is written.

I didn't rush and I was prepared for being thrown into the story. You would expect a lot of info dump in this case. There isn't any and yet even with the unexplained events or characters you won't be lost in the story.

[sarah_buckley-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was dense and yet pretty amazing. I ran out and got the next two books and can't wait to read them!

[jkdavies · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well... difficult to read this without the weight of the series crowding in... plenty of interesting places, people, plots, gods, things going on. A bit overwhelming, and slightly less engaging than I'd hoped, making this read drag a little more than expected. Not sure if I will take the plunge into the rest of the series - probably via second hand books if available