I keep trying.

[drew]

I keep trying to get into this series but I can't.

Just finished my Third attempt with Gardens...damn near made it halfway through, but I gave up the other day.

His writting style is great...awesome even. He uses language like its nobodies business, but I just can't get into the story.

I think it's because there are too many things happeneing at once.

I fought my way through thte first few chapters, knowing that I'd need background on everyone. Then the story seemed to hunker down for a while in the city of Pale.
I was just starting to get into it, and then BANG! We're now in Darjistraihghn with anonther handful of stories taking place. After a couple of chapters their, I gave up.

I feel like I'm a reading abook of shortstories that don't have any endings.

Are these books something that you just have to sit down and read straight through? Without taking anytime to do things like eat or sleep? Is their a prologue that I am missing, one where we have half a clue who the charactors are? I try to read to Glossary, hoping that it will help, and it lists a bunch of people who aren't in the book...and I'm halfway through!
I don't have a chance to read too often..sometimes only a few pages a day...I feel like I should be taking notes when I erad it.

But as I said Earlier. I DO like HOW he writes...and really I DO like all the short stories taking place, and would love to see how they all end. I just want to know, that If I can get myself through Gardens, if it will be worth it.
Do the rest of them make anysence as you read them?
Do they start to tie things together?

I still don't even know what the plot of Gardens is. The best I can make, is that this Opemm fella is just trying to have a little fun and make light with all sort of political intrigue going on. Is that even close?

[I'm Murrin]

I'm not really the best person to answer this kind of response to the books, as I never had any of the difficulty some people do getting into GotM. I'm quite comfortable with in media res; and though it took me a page or two to realise I was reading a flashback in one of the early chapters, I mostly managed to keep track.

Erikson tends to often do what you mention here. Each novel in his series is divided into four "Books", and often he'll introduce one set of characters in Book One, another in Book Two, draw them all together in Book Three, and bring it to a climax in Book Four. I did wonder when we were going to get back to the other characters when I started Book Two of Gardens of the Moon, but it turned out that the Darujhistan characters were some of my favourites of the whole book, and the city is the major setting for most of the novel.

[Farm Ur-Ted]

You're best bet is to hammer through, and if you don't understand something, don't sweat it. Just keep reading.

[drew]

Thats what Lucimay was telling me (shes actually the one who gave me the book) But its not easy reading a book that you dont know whats going on.
I feel like I picked up White Gold weilder and started reading at chapter seven.

[Waddley]

I know how you feel. I'm actually on attemt three of GotM right now as well, but this time I'm pretty sure it's hooked me. I'm about halfway through, and I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know why, but this time I actually seem to like the characters more and I think that's what's keeping me going. If there was a book named Kruppe, I'd quit everything I was doing, pick it up and not put it down till I finished it. (I really love him, is what I'm getting it.)

The only frustration is that I'm not able to visualize the characters. We meet a new one and he gives very few visual details of him/her, if he gives any at all. I know that Kruppe is fat, I know that Tattersail is a bigger girl and Sorry is kinda pretty with weird old eyes. I know that Kalam is black, and the Moon's Whatever dude is REALLY black, and that Toc is missing an eye and that's about it. I have no idea who the character on the cover of the book is, no idea what Paran or the Adjunct or Whiskeyjack look like. THAT is frustrating to me, because it's hard for me to get into books I can't visualize (probably why I like Donaldson so much) and probably why it's taken me this long to connect with the characters.

Ok, sorry for the tangent.

Um.... keep trying if you really want to, but otherwise don't waste your time on a book you're not going to get into. There are plenty of other things out there for you to fall in love with. I suppose that's the best thing I can say.

[lucimay]

i think that's Paran and Lorn on the cover, Wadds.

and Murrin! dude! i didn't even realize about the 4 book thing!!

[Marv]

Read it.

Or I'll kick your butt!

[I'm Murrin]

Ignore the covers. They generally have very little to do with the actual content of the book.

[Fist and Faith]

I feel like I'm a reading abook of shortstories that don't have any endings.

I view the first four books as one huge book. And even though it's sort of two stories going on in them, they tie together very strongly. So all of those short stories - and I do understand how you view them that way - are the result of the scale of the whole thing. The sudden change to Darujhistan happens with another city in MoI. But those cities and characters are so important for the overall story that my only complaint is that there isn't enough. Eventually, they no longer feel like different cities and peoples, but a part of the whole.

[stonemaybe]

I must say GoTM had me confused too, but the plot moved so fast, it sucked me in. If I'd started on any of the other books, I may have given up too.

Although GoTM started so so many threads it didn't seem to finish, that's what kept me reading! It seemed to combine every single idea from all the coolest fantasy books I'd ever read, gave them an intriguing widdershins twist, and had me begging for more!

[lucimay]

nicely put stone. i concur.

i'm sure you don't want me to get on a rant here but while reading erikson i lived and breathed it. i can't understand half of the subtext
nor can i tell you intricate details of the various assundry plot threads,
it's more like a world i visit and walk around in, catching snippets of
conversations here and there, watching events from outside, and at
turns, inside the inhabitants of it.

the same thing happens to me with martin.

it was erikson, tho, that made me want to play pantheon.

and regarding the covers, i like GotM best. and HoC.

[I'm Murrin]

I'll just take this opportunity to say: It's been five books, and we're finally--finally!--going to get back to Darujhistan this (next) year. Wish they would hurry printing so we don't have to wait another six months!

[drew]

Actually, Gardens being the only book I own (thanks again Luci) I didn't really like the cover...it looked more like something my wife would read (some sort of historical romance) with un slightly unshaven knight on the cover...that mized with the romantic sounding title, really surprised me when I started reading and roughly two out of every three charactors seems to be kiled.

I do like the book...and when I'm done Hitchikers...I'll pick it up again where I left off...I just needed something light and funny to read right now.

I guess I just wanted to know if I'll ever know whats going on.

[Fist and Faith]

I guess I just wanted to know if I'll ever know whats going on.

No. I believe Murrin knows a lot of what goes on in Malazan. None of the rest of us do.

[lucimay]

I guess I just wanted to know if I'll ever know whats going on.

No. I believe Murrin knows a lot of what goes on in Malazan. None of the rest of us do.

[Marv]

I guess I just wanted to know if I'll ever know whats going on.

No. I believe Murrin knows a lot of what goes on in Malazan. None of the rest of us do.

Quoted for truth.

[aliantha]

I guess I just wanted to know if I'll ever know whats going on.

No. I believe Murrin knows a lot of what goes on in Malazan. None of the rest of us do.

Quoted for truth.

Yeah, what they said. I keep thinking I'm getting a handle on it, and then Erikson switches *continents*.

I didn't notice the four-book structure, either.

We get to go back to Darujistan in the next book? That's freakin' awesome!

[drew]

I keep thinking I'm getting a handle on it, and then Erikson switches *continents*.

Yeah, one thing I found very little use for was the Map. After a while I just pretended it was once of those Fantasy books that don't have a map.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I feel comforted reading this thread. I have a copy of GotM, and have yet to read it, for much the same reasons that Drew has cited. Maybe I'll take the opportunity today to get into it - further than the 30-50 pages or so I've gotten in the last 2 times I tried.

dw

[stonemaybe]

I keep thinking I'm getting a handle on it, and then Erikson switches *continents*.

Yeah, one thing I found very little use for was the Map. After a while I just pretended it was once of those Fantasy books that don't have a map.

The map does confuse GoTM! I remember spending ages looking for places, then realising later in the series that the place I was looking for is on a different continent.