Matt Smith’s Reviews > Gardens of the Moon > Status Update

It's insane how much is left to happen in the next 300 pages.

New podcast ain't gonna do episodes itself.

What the f*ck just happened in this book.

The thing I learned in THIS section is that this is not a book for me to read before bed or it never gets done. And also wtf is this book, Erikson.

That was a slog of a part. The start/stop of this book is not my favorite thing, but I love seeing things come together.

And Anomander Rake is fecking righteous.

The last forty pages of this book were absolutely insane. I don't remember the last time I saw what will ultimately be a blip of a footnote in a massive series that crackled with such electricity and tension. Cool and effortless and deft, which, given what Erikson just pulled off, is out-frakking-standig.

Erikson used this section to introduce an entirely new cadre of characters and political situations in an entirely new city. Basically this book is insane and I don't even know how I'm going to finish it. MY DOUBTS ARE ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN.

I read something like a hundred pages of this today and it is engrossing and really dense and some of the most insane world-building I've ever seen. I could easily do more but I have a much more important weekend coming that will detract from the reading... alas.

I did a lot of looking into and research before reading this. Mostly, it's concern about a ten book series, the fact that everyone says the first book is the weakest and a slog and a struggle.

One chapter in (that's right, the prologue and first chapter is 47 pages) and I totally see what everyone means. BUT. I've already tentatively committed to the first three at least, so... I'm in it for the long haul.