Spoiler-Free
Alright. This is going to be a relatively simple and straightforward post. But before moving on, don’t forget to check out – The ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ by Steven Erikson – An introduction by a first-time reader, to get a quick background on what ‘Malazan’ is all about.
Well then, if you have previously read any edition of ‘Gardens of the Moon’ (the first novel in the ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ series) published any time after December 2007, you would most certainly have come across the introduction/preface by the author, Steven Erikson. And if you haven’t read it already, I would highly recommend that you do so before starting with the series.
Here’s the link –
Is it necessary? Well, it’s probably the best way to go about for a brand-new, first-time reader who’s still deciding or confused about starting the series in the first place (I regret not having done this myself earlier). It will help clear any doubts that you have about the series, especially about the first book, which for some notion, is seen as a “difficult” start to the series and making people somewhat hesitant to pick it up. Not only that, Erikson also very well details his personal experiences and hurdles faced during the whole process, along with his inspirations and ambitions to carry on eventually.
Here’s a quick summary of the best bits and the major points being talked about:
Ambition
There is no point in beginning something without ambition.
The need to push. Defy convention. Go for the throat.
That’s how it starts, the preface. And throughout it, you will get the idea of why Erikson is stressing on this particular point so much.
Erikson also mentions all the work he and his fellow friend and co-creator of the ‘Malazan’ universe, Ian C. Esslemont, put into creating this massive project, which was time and again either rejected, or simply not recognized as a “normal” work at the time.
We were pushing Fantasy in that sizzling, scintillating context of jaw-dropping admiration. We were, in other words, as ambitious as hell.
Ambition never goes away. It may shuffle off, grumbling, feet dragging, only to slide across into something else – usually the next project. It doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
But then, consider it from my point of view. It took eight years and a move to the UK for Gardens of the Moon to find a publisher. It took four more years before a US deal was finalized. The complaint? ‘Too complicated, too many characters. Too… ambitious.’
I would like to say that the last line being talked above is still reverberated around the fantasy community to a certain degree for some reason, whereas r/Malazan likes to think quite the opposite, and has convinced me to trust them going forward.
About ‘Gardens of the Moon’
In the years and many novels since, certain facts have made themselves plain. Beginning with Gardens of the Moon, readers will either hate my stuff or love it. There’s no in-between. Naturally, I’d rather everybody loved it, but I understand why this will never be the case. These are not lazy books. You can’t float through, you just can’t. Even more problematic, the first novel begins halfway through a seeming marathon – you either hit the ground running and stay on your feet or you’re toast.
That’s one way of putting it, I guess.
The reader I had in mind was one who could and would carry the extra weight – the questions not yet answered, the mysteries, the uncertain alliances.
I think this point needs to be stressed by everyone who’s introducing the series to new audiences, in my personal opinion. That you won’t be understanding everything that’s going on, and you needn’t worry about it either! Just go with the flow, and let the author do his thing as he’s intending it to be done.
History has proved this out, I think. Readers either bail on the series somewhere in the first third of Gardens of the Moon, or they’re still sharing the ride to this day, seven going on eight books later.
(This was penned before the 8th novel in the 10-novel series, ‘Toll the Hounds’, got published).
This was fast-paced writing, but it was also, bizarrely and in ways I still can’t quite figure, dense writing. So, Gardens invites you to read rip-roaringly fast. But the author advises: you’d best not succumb to the temptation.
I think this sums it up pretty well.
Author’s message
In writing Gardens, I quickly discovered that ‘back story’ was going to be a problem no matter how far back I went.
When challenged with writing this preface, I did consider for a time using it as a means of gentling the blow, of easing the shock of being dropped from a great height into very deep water, right there on page one of Gardens of the Moon. Some background, some history, some setting of the stage. I’ve since mostly rejected the idea. Dammit, I don’t recall Frank Herbert doing anything like that with Dune, and if any novel out there was a direct inspiration in terms of structure, that was the one. I’m writing a history and fictional or not, history has no real beginning point; even the rise and fall of civilizations are far more muddled on the front and back ends than many people might think.
That para right above just hits differently to me. Also, pointing to the direct inspiration of ‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert there. Not only that, there are multiple other references present in the preface, including that of Glen Cook and his works of ‘The Black Company’. (again, one of the inspirations).
Maybe I was aware of the swing away from Good versus Evil, but that just seemed a by-product of growing up – the real world’s not like that, why persist in making Fantasy worlds so fundamentally disconnected with reality?
And that, my friends, is one of the major reasons what this series is praised for, not only on r/Malazan, but throughout the fantasy community I feel (especially of what I’ve heard and seen). That the series has themes and characters that we can connect with our own reality, even more so emotionally.
Well, I don’t know. It’s exhausting just thinking about it. Gardens is what it is. I have no plans on revision. I don’t even know where I’d start.
Better, I think, to offer the readers a quick decision on this series – right there in the first third of the first novel, than to tease them on for five or six books before they turn away in disgust, disinterest or whatever. Maybe, from a marketing position, the latter is preferred – at least in the short term. But, thank God, my publishers know a false economy when they see one.
Gardens of the Moon is an invitation, then. Stay with it, and come along for the ride. I can only promise that I have done my best to entertain. Curses and cheers, laughter and tears, it’s all in here.
One last word to all you nascent writers out there. Ambition is not a dirty word. P*ss on compromise. Go for the throat. Write with b*lls, write with eggs. Sure, it’s a harder journey but take it from me, it’s well worth it.
Now if that doesn’t get you excited for starting the journey yourself, I don’t know what will!
And to make it even easier (as the r/Malazan sub very much did for me) … JUST PICK UP THE BOOK AND READ IT, RATHER – EXPERIENCE IT, FOR YOURSELF! Is it that difficult? Definitely not. If you like it, go ahead. If not, then maybe this wasn’t for you. At least give it a try, and don’t judge off of others’ views and opinions. Experience it for yourselves! Not really rocket science, is it?
Cheers!
