SFF Readalongs led by Kitty G discussion

Now that we've finally finished this book what are your final thoughts. Did you enjoy it? Why? What would you rate it on Goodreads? And will you be continuing with the series?
Were you happy with the ending or did you want more? Anything you can think of to chat about go ahead!

I've finished it now. Sorry I didn't post in any of the other threads or post much on Twitter, I have realised that I'm not very good at discussing books as I read them, I need to finish the whole book and reflect on it before I can put my thought together. I am also sorry to say that I didn't like it very much. It looks like most people are enjoying it, but it just didn't work for me. I've written a review here and done a video review here if any one wants more of my thoughts. I'm still going to read the discussions here as I want to know what other people think of it. But definitely not for me I'm afraid.

Katherine wrote: "I've finished it now. Sorry I didn't post in any of the other threads or post much on Twitter, I have realised that I'm not very good at discussing books as I read them, I need to finish the whole ..."

That's fair, it's certainly not a series for everyone. I know you said you weren't going to continue the series, but I would strongly advise at least sticking out through Deadhouse Gates, the second in the series. There's nearly a decade of difference in Erikson's writing between the two novels, and in my opinion, he gets exponentially better. Ultimately your call, and I wouldn't fault you for not wanting to keep going. But I'd say t least consider sticking it out for one more book.

Finished the book up today. I really liked it a lot. I'm going to be writing up a review of it tomorrow, maybe I'll post it here when I'm done. It was much better than I expected. I set my expectations low because of what I've heard about this first book being kind of the low point in the series but I really liked it. I will definitely be going on in the series.

Thank you for arranging this book group. I'll join in on the later chapter discussions when people post.

Trust me, I liked the book alot too on my first read.

It's still the worst one.

Deadhouse Gates is going to break your brain.

well, I was hanging in with this, and really quite enjoying it, in a 'what on earth is going on' kind of way, but the ending just lost me. I felt all the things coming together, all these disparate powers on the move, dragons in the sky, everything... then the moon is drifting off and we're on a boat... did I just sleep through the climax?

hah, yah that ending was a whirl wind of events.

Here is my final review if anyone wants to check it out:
http://youtu.be/fXFOsS3x_Hs

Well holy wow. That ending was literally like 'BOOM' have a load of crazy crap go on. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed this book a lot too and ended up giving it a 4* rating. However, I too was a little bit mind-blown on what was truly happening there for a bit.
I did like the way everything built up to that point. I enjoyed the scenes at the party, but after that things went a little insane.
Even so, I am really looking forward to book 2 and seeing how everything goes and seeing the difference in writing from book 1 to 2. Overall I'm glad that this discussion happened as the understanding and enjoyment I got from this book is probably vastly improved due to everyone sharing their thoughts so THANK YOU all for taking part and whether you liked or disliked the book I am really happy that everyone joined in!
I'm looking forward to more books and chat and discussions in Feb :)

My Review!

I think if the Acorn magic item(I forgot the name already but I want to say Finnas or something) was told that Lorn planted it in the estate everyone was at before it started to grow instead of a little bit afterwards, the ending would have been more clear. Just explaining that item another paragraph more about what it would do to people would have helped. There is a possibility I missed that info though.

Paul wrote: "hah, yah that ending was a whirl wind of events.

Here is my final review if anyone wants to check it out:
http://youtu.be/fXFOsS3x_Hs"

Haha, you don't even know how funny what you just said was.

I recently got a new job and moved. So I've been a bit too busy to keep up fully with the readalong. But it was great reading everyone's responses. I'm especially excited to see how everyone reacts to Deadhouse Gates.

As for the ending of Gardens, pertaining to the finnest (the acorn) that grew into a house of the Azath. The Azath are very very important. You're not meant to really know anything about the houses yet. But its something to keep in mind.

You guys should check out Jane's character video. http://youtu.be/0DZQNrQUIKs

She uses pictures of actors/actresses to talk about the story. It is great! Leo will get snubbed again by the oscar committee tho. =(

I finished reading the book about a week ago. I really liked it (I gave it 4 stars), and fully intend to complete the series this year. Unfortunately, I found that participating in discussions is not for me. I love reading everyone's posts, just not writing them myself. I will continue to follow the readalongs each month, but mostly as a silent participant.

Woohoo I just finished the book! Anyway, I gave the book 3 stars as I didn't find it a fully immersive experience... and because it was a tough read! I'm not sure if participating in discussions is for me either. Although it has been great to read all of the discussion posts as they helped tremendously.

Hello everyone!

I never actually introduced myself here because I got the book too late to take part in the discussion. However I have now finished it and liked it a lot, so I wanted to just put in a couple of thoughts and mostly ask some questions that keep bothering me, hoping that someone here is still willing to share their thoughts on the topic.

So, as I said, I really enjoyed reading this book and if the sequels get so much better as people say, I have high hopes that even the things that I didn't like will be dealt with. I liked how Erikson leaves a lot of things to be figured out by the reader itself, not just telling you every obvious thing, and how there were various complex plotlines that only came together and revealed their meaning - or the intentions of the characters - over time. But at the same time, I thought that sometimes there was a little bit too much of it. Sometimes a lot is left unsaid so that it gets pretty difficult to guess why people are doing what they do and say and how things are connected, and a little clarification would have helped.

Three things that I absolutely loved:
1. The magic. I read an excerpt of the book before I decided to buy it and as soon as the first mention and explanation of the warrens appeared I was sold. I think it's a really interesting way how the magic works and what the different ways are that people can use it, and always the hints at the elder magic and so on...
2. The deck of dragons. First it seems to be a random tarot card kind of thing though since magic is real there might be truth in it. Then we realize that it's the gods on these cards and they actually exist and interfere and a lot can be done with these cards. And then the revelation that the cards the bridgeburners play their weird game with is really a deck of dragons, somehow I found that genius! (Did you guess this before it was mentioned? I totally didn't...)
3. The bridgeburners. I loved the characters itself, especially Whiskeyjack, Quick Ben and Kalam, and also the kind of friendship and interaction they have. I do hope we see them again and I would love to hear more backstory about them, already we know that there's much more behind Quick Ben than you'd know at first glance!

So now to my questions, maybe I din't think it over enough but I also can't go read through the whole book again so please share your opinions!

- As for that deal that Quick Ben struck with Shadowthrone, where he promises to betray Harlocks location. Apparently he betrayed Shadowthrone in getting away with the deal even though Shadowthrone would usually kill his human partners... I don't really get what he did and why Shadowthrone couldn't kill him? Some special clause in the contract? Or just meaning that he alredy got away in stopping to be a priest?

- The other ting. Why did the bridgeburners rescue Harlock in the first place, but then decide to kill him anyway? He just got too powerful and started not doing what they wanted him to?

- So everyone wants to kill Crokus/the coin bearer, especially Cotillion and Lorn even though they aren't even on the same side. But he hasn't done anything that concerns their plans or have I forgotten? They just want to eliminate the pawn of a god they don't trust?

- Even though the brigdeburnes have stopped playing by the Empires plans, in the end basically officially leaving it, they went through with their plans in Darujhistan and offered the contract to the assassins. So killing all the mages should still help the taking of the city, even if not for the Malazan empire but Dujeks revolutionary army? It just seemed a bit weird to me that they would go trough with the killing - which is very Empire strategy - even though they don't believe in the empire anymore.

Well, this got a little bit long, my apoligies ;)
I am looking forward to seeing your answers! Also thank you Kaitlin for giving me the incentive to read this book, I think I found a great series in it.

1. Quick Ben is good at getting people to underestimate him. That and he sort of gets off on outwitting gods. As to why Shadowthrone couldn't touch him, it sort of has to do with the deal they just struck. Also Quick happens to have things arranged that keep him safe from Shadowthrone. Probably not the answer you wanted, but these are things that get expanded on in later books. So you'll get a clearer picture eventually.

2. They saved Hairlock as per an agreement they had with eachother. Hairlock was meant to help the Bridgeburners scout for trouble that was coming their way that they couldn't look out for themselves (such as keeping an eye on Tayschrenn). Hairlock had a pretty uniquely free reign on where he could snoop without being seen due to him traveling through Chaos instead of the conventional paths of the warrens. The only downside was that his closeness to Chaos eventually drove him insane, making him an unstable element, thus they had to get rid of him.

3. Alot of them wanting to kill Crokus is that he's a pawn of Oponn. Sorry wanted to kill him because he was somewhat aware of murder she had committed. But for the most part, no one really wanted Oponn involved in what was going on, since that introduces an incredibly unpredictable element to the proceedings.

4. If I remember, my interpretation of things concerning the Bridgeburners and Darujhistan, was that they were trying to clear the way for Dujek to take the city for when he decides to turn renegade. Beyond that, they can't really just desert. Desertion of the Malazan Empire is punishable by death. Those who desert would be hunted by imperial claws forever until they were caught. So they just have to go with it. And even if Whiskeyjack doesn't believe in the Empire anymore, he believes in his comrades, so they push on, if only just for eachother.

Glad you enjoyed the book. Hope you enjoy Deadhouse Gates.

Evan, thank you so much for answering!
So the Qick Ben/Shadowthrone thing will come up again and get more clarification, that's good to know since really, I just felt the whole time that I was just not getting it and I hate that ;)
And, well, I can see that the Bridgeburners wouldn't want to be chased by Claw for the rest of their life, didn't think of that.

[I hope you won't mind that I copy-paste the following from another thread I'm taking part in.]
I just finished this awesome and amazing book half an hour ago. I loved it. I have 2 questions though:

1. Isn't there a Darujhistan army at all and if so, where is it and its commanders? I know that Darujhistan is a city based on commerce with mostly economical and political power but I can't imagine it surviving for so many years upon years without an army. So where is that army, what with the Empire closing in and everybody knowing about it and the fate of Pale? Shouldn't the generals and commanders of such an army feature prominently on the political scene? I've grown to trust Erikson strongly but this question can't escape my mind.

2. I still haven't figured out the title of the book. What does "Gardens of the moon" refer to? Sure, we have a Moon's Spawn and we have a lot of garden action, especially at the end, but I don't get what the title is about. Is this another Erikson trick that will make sense only after reading some more books of the series?

Antonis,

1. No, I don't believe Darujhistan has a standing army. They have a militia/city guard. It is a city of mages and assassins. It is a city that can defend itself, but not in a conventional manner.

2. The title is a tricky thing. If I recall it alludes to a story Apsalar tells Crokus towards the end of the book, and I believe this story gets expanded on in a later book. Basically the title relates to a theme of innocence. Another book in the series will put it in a greater context.

Thanks for the replies.
1. I think that's the best answer I got so far. If we acknowledge that there's a considerable number of strong magical users in the city, and taking into consideration the city's remoteness and distance from other cities, then I could probably accept the lack of army.
2. I got a similar reply in another forum about that story that Apsalar recounts about a god's underwater gardens on the moon. As you say, my guess is that there's probably more info coming in later books.

Sweet, I just finished this book and I'm a little late to the party but I just wanted to quickly say my thoughts and that I will be participating, I will be just a couple (more than a couple but we are going with it) books behind!

I also was kind of lost at the end, the book as a whole I feel pretty confident on and I think I now understand how Erickson writes which is good but yeah that ending was pretty crazy. I will also admit that I might not have been paying that close attention because I was so ready for the ending.

All that aside I really loved everything about the book (besides the confusing bits) and I ended up giving it a 4.5 stars. I will so be continuing and I can't wait.

Oh and another thing, I was kind of surprised at how much Paran was involved at the end! He was probably the most grown character in my opinion!!

Sara wrote: "Sweet, I just finished this book and I'm a little late to the party but I just wanted to quickly say my thoughts and that I will be participating, I will be just a couple (more than a couple but we..."

Glad you persevered and enjoyed GOTM in the end.

Paran is a character that not many readers liked at the beginning, albeit I was an exception. Just something about him that I see potential in, and was very keen to see his growth.

Sara wrote: "Sweet, I just finished this book and I'm a little late to the party but I just wanted to quickly say my thoughts and that I will be participating, I will be just a couple (more than a couple but we..."

Yay Sara :) I'm so glad you liked it and want to continue with the series :D :D :D