A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 1

Acclaim for Steven Erikson's The
Malazan
    Book
of
the Fallen:
    'Steven Erikson is an extraordinary writer ... My advice to anyone who might listen to me is: treat yourself Stephen R. Donaldson
    'Give me the evocation of a rich, complex and yet ultimately unknowable other world, with a compelling suggestion of intricate history and mythology and lore. Give me mystery amid the grand narrative ... Give me the world in which every sea hides a crumbled Atlantis, every ruin has a tale to tell, every broken blade is a silent legacy of struggles unknown. Give me in other words, the fantasy work of Steven Erikson ... a master of lost and forgotten epochs, a weaver of ancient epics' Salon.com
    'I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of the imagination may be the high watermark of epic fantasy' Glen Cook
    'Truly epic in scope, Erikson has no peer when it comes to action and imagination,
    and joins the ranks of Tolkien and Donaldson in his mythic vision and perhaps
    then goes one better' SF
Site
    'Rare is the writer who so fluidly combines a sense of mythic power and depth of world with fully realized characters and thrilling action, but Steven Erikson manages it spectacularly' Michael A. Stackpole
    www.rbooks .co.uk/stevenerikson
    'Like the archaeologist that he is, Erikson continues to delve into the history and ruins of the Malazan Empire, in the process revealing unforeseen riches and annals that defy expectation ... this is true myth in the making, a drawing upon fantasy to recreate histories and legends as rich as any found within our culture' Interzone
    'Gripping, fast-moving, delightfully dark ... Erikson brings a punchy, mesmerizing writing style into the genre of epic fantasy, making an indelible impression. Utterly engrossing' Elizabeth Hayden
    'Everything we have come to expect from this most excellent of fantasy writers; huge in scope, vast in implication and immensely, utterly entertaining' alienonline
    'One of the most promising new writers of the past few years, he has more
    than proved his right to A-list status' Bookseller
    'Erikson's strengths are his grown-up characters and his ability to create a world every bit as intricate and messy as our own' J. V. Jones
    'An author who never disappoints on delivering stunning and hard-edged fantasy
    is Steven Erikson ... a master of modern fantasy' WBQ
magazine
    'Wondrous voyages, demons and gods abound ... dense and complex ... ultimately rewarding' Locus
    'Erikson... is able to create a world that is both absorbing on a human level and full of magical sublimity... A wonderfully grand conception ... splendidly written ... fiendishly readable' Adam Roberts
    'A multi-layered tale of magic and war, loyalty and betrayal. Complexly drawn
    characters occupy a richly detailed world in this panoramic saga' Library
Journal
    'Epic in every sense of the word ... Erikson shows a masterful control of an immense plot... the worlds of mortals and gods meet in what is a truly awe-inspiring clash' Enigma

Gardens of the Moon
    A Tale of the
    Malazan Book of the Fallen
    STEVEN ERIKSON

This novel is dedicated to
I. C. Esslemont
worlds to conquer worlds to share

Acknowledgements
    No novel is ever written in isolation. The
author wishes to thank the following for their
support over the years: Clare Thomas, Bowen,
Mark Paxton-MacRae, David Keck, Courtney,
Ryan, Chris and Rick, Mireille Theriacelt,
Dennis Valdron, Keith Addison, Susan, David
and Harriet, Clare and David Thomas Jr, Chris
Rodell, Patrick Carroll, Kate Peach, Peter
Knowlson, Rune, Kent and Val and the kids,
my tireless agent Patrick Walsh, and Simon
Taylor, one terrific editor.

Preface to Gardens of the Moon redux
    There is no point in beginning something without ambition. In so many aspects of my life I have held to that notion, and it has led to more than one fiery crash through the years. I still recall, with some bitterness, the response Cam (Ian C. Esslemont) and I received when flogging our co-written feature film and television scripts: 'Wonderful! Unique! Very funny, very dark... but here in Canada, well, we just can't budget for this stuff. Good luck.' In many ways, it was what followed by way of advice that proved the most crushing. 'Try something ... simpler. Something like everything else out there. Something less ... ambitious.'
    We'd walk out of meetings frustrated, despondent, baffled. Did we really hear an invitation to mediocrity? Sure sounded like it.
    Well,