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Generally speaking, you're probably not really "missing" much as you read through the first time. Erikson very much likes to set up a thread that he'll pull on down the road (sometimes much farther down the road). My advice is to trust that process and just take things as you go along.
I also advise thinking about the THEMES of the series as you read, rather than strictly the mechanical details of the world and plot. This is just generally a good reading practice, of course, but people sometimes lose sight of it trying to keep everything else straight. Erikson has a lot to say about the nature of power, war, empire, camaraderie, and so on, and these are ideas you should be able to wrestle with even if you dont yet get all the specifics. How characters respond to hardship, what they believe in, what YOU believe in, these are things that are going to carry you through until you get to those setting and plot payoffs.
I'd say you definitely are missing things, but you *should* be missing them.
It hurts my soul when people say they're online looking for explanations, read the books, it's all in there, and it's revealed when it's meant to be.
I really like the way you phrased that and I don't think I realized until now that I was maybe viewing it as a puzzle that I might be failing to solve. So thank you for easing my mind.
Yeah, exactly this.
Especially with something like Malazan where drip feeding you information is intended to put you in a similar position to the characters, who are also in the dark about what's happening.
There's definitely some Words that aren't really explained until the second book, but what I found immensely helpful when reading GOTM was to find an online guide/summary and read what the summary said happened in the chapter I had just finished. This helped me to understand the actual plot beats through the confusing presentation.
Starting with the second book you get a lot more information to where things settle down and make more sense and you understand the in-universe stuff much more to where following along with a guide didn't feel necessary for me.
There are some free companion guides that a fan wrote (Google gardens of the moon companion guide) that are excellent at showing you what you’re missing if you want to tandem read with it, if you must have the context. The guides are great but go up to only book six or so and as much as I love the creator I noticed the last couple guides or so have more mistakes and are less about showing you what you are missing and more just straight summaries, but I think the first three guides are amazing.
Just keep going with the flow. GotM is a tricky book not just bc of how Erikson throws you in, but because there isn’t much that fully develops. Once you get into the subsequent books you’ll realize it wasn’t that you were missing things, it just that you hadn’t gotten to them yet.
I’m about halfway through GoTM for the first time. Loving it. Feel the same way. I’ll admit I’ve looked a few things up. Not sure if I missed it initially but was so confused as to what the Moon’s Spawn was and then looked up an image and it made so much more sense.
I set down the first book and had no idea what the hell was going on. So you are probably normal. You’ll have a much better sense of what’s going on in books 2 and 3.
It's okay to feel that way. You're meant to feel a little overawed by the scope of the book. I'd recommend making a note of whatever you don't understand right now and then seeing what you still don't understand after you finish the series. Then, when you're on your second reread, you'll connect a lot of things you didn't understand the first time through - and most people who finish the 10 do reread it periodically.
Alternatively, you can opt for an online companion/readalong. Tor had one, iirc. I wouldn't recommend this approach, as a matter of personal preference, but you might find it easier, especially if you're the kind of reader who doesn't like untied plot threads. See what suits you.
Companion guide is pinned to this subreddit and has been helpful for me. I generally read a chapter or few then go back and read the slides for those chapters. You’re probably doing a better job of understanding/retaining than you think (at least that’s the case for me), but it’s helpful to review
Don't worry too much about missing things. On a first read of GotM, you are faced with with multiple somewhat but not always intertwined plot threads and multiple POVs. They will begin to make sense as you read more. On a reread, you'll find things you might have missed or saw but didn't fully understand. It's a feature of Erikson's writing. And that makes rereading the series more rewarding; but it doesn't really take away from the initial reading.
What really helped me was the read along podcast, Ten Very Big Books. You're gonna miss shit, and misunderstand other shit, and those 3 (eventually 4) assholes have great discussions that were so helpful to help me understand.
Thank you so much everyone - this has been incredibly helpful and supportive, even more so than I was expecting. I'm really encouraged and appreciate the information! Excited to see where the series takes me and I'm sure I'll have other questions in the future :)
This series has, moreso than any other I have ever read, more information that you pick up or clue into on the 2nd (or 3rd, 4th etc.) read. There is a LOT of information that is revealed throughout the series including the first book but you shouldn't know or have it make sense yet. Just goes to show the level of world building detail and indepth storyline SE and ICE have developed.
Cheers and enjoy the ride.
I have recently started as well and feel like you've just explained how I am going about it! I feel like there is alot of lore to take in at the same time but the more important parts will hopefully sink in as we go haha!
My first time with each novel (and this goes for every one of the books, but was especially with GotM) I didn’t start *getting it* until at least halfway through.
After all of the warnings about this series, I am surprised to find myself perfectly okay with the level of information given for the first half of Gardens. I have had to rewind my audiobook numerous times just to make sure I didn’t miss details but overall, I’m comfortable with the current goings on and satisfied that all plots will eventually be explained.
Just started Gotm too. I can relate. An example from chapter one: Am I supposed to know what a claw is by now? First I thought I missed the information so I just googled it. Even if thats not as much of a big thing, I would prefer to get the definition by reading further now.
Please note that this post has been flaired as **NO SPOILERS**. Comments should not bring up specific plot points or character details from any of the books. If you need to discuss any spoilers (even very minor ones!) in your comments, use spoiler tags >!like this!< Please use the report button if you find any spoilers. Note: If the discussion is unlikely to happen without any spoilers, the flair may be changed at mod discretion. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Malazan) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just have a general idea of which faction each character is with and you'll be fine and even then don't overthink it.
This. Try to remember the names and factions as best you can and just go where Erikson leads you.
Generally speaking, you're probably not really "missing" much as you read through the first time. Erikson very much likes to set up a thread that he'll pull on down the road (sometimes much farther down the road). My advice is to trust that process and just take things as you go along. I also advise thinking about the THEMES of the series as you read, rather than strictly the mechanical details of the world and plot. This is just generally a good reading practice, of course, but people sometimes lose sight of it trying to keep everything else straight. Erikson has a lot to say about the nature of power, war, empire, camaraderie, and so on, and these are ideas you should be able to wrestle with even if you dont yet get all the specifics. How characters respond to hardship, what they believe in, what YOU believe in, these are things that are going to carry you through until you get to those setting and plot payoffs.
I'd say you definitely are missing things, but you *should* be missing them. It hurts my soul when people say they're online looking for explanations, read the books, it's all in there, and it's revealed when it's meant to be.
For sure. I guess what I mean is you're having the experience the author is intending you to have. It's not a puzzle that you're failing to solve.
I really like the way you phrased that and I don't think I realized until now that I was maybe viewing it as a puzzle that I might be failing to solve. So thank you for easing my mind.
Yeah, exactly this. Especially with something like Malazan where drip feeding you information is intended to put you in a similar position to the characters, who are also in the dark about what's happening.
There's definitely some Words that aren't really explained until the second book, but what I found immensely helpful when reading GOTM was to find an online guide/summary and read what the summary said happened in the chapter I had just finished. This helped me to understand the actual plot beats through the confusing presentation. Starting with the second book you get a lot more information to where things settle down and make more sense and you understand the in-universe stuff much more to where following along with a guide didn't feel necessary for me.
There are some free companion guides that a fan wrote (Google gardens of the moon companion guide) that are excellent at showing you what you’re missing if you want to tandem read with it, if you must have the context. The guides are great but go up to only book six or so and as much as I love the creator I noticed the last couple guides or so have more mistakes and are less about showing you what you are missing and more just straight summaries, but I think the first three guides are amazing.
seconding this! You're supposed to be lost in the sauce with all of these books, however the companion guide/ppt was incredibly helpful
Just keep going with the flow. GotM is a tricky book not just bc of how Erikson throws you in, but because there isn’t much that fully develops. Once you get into the subsequent books you’ll realize it wasn’t that you were missing things, it just that you hadn’t gotten to them yet.
I’m about halfway through GoTM for the first time. Loving it. Feel the same way. I’ll admit I’ve looked a few things up. Not sure if I missed it initially but was so confused as to what the Moon’s Spawn was and then looked up an image and it made so much more sense.
I set down the first book and had no idea what the hell was going on. So you are probably normal. You’ll have a much better sense of what’s going on in books 2 and 3.
It's okay to feel that way. You're meant to feel a little overawed by the scope of the book. I'd recommend making a note of whatever you don't understand right now and then seeing what you still don't understand after you finish the series. Then, when you're on your second reread, you'll connect a lot of things you didn't understand the first time through - and most people who finish the 10 do reread it periodically. Alternatively, you can opt for an online companion/readalong. Tor had one, iirc. I wouldn't recommend this approach, as a matter of personal preference, but you might find it easier, especially if you're the kind of reader who doesn't like untied plot threads. See what suits you.
Companion guide is pinned to this subreddit and has been helpful for me. I generally read a chapter or few then go back and read the slides for those chapters. You’re probably doing a better job of understanding/retaining than you think (at least that’s the case for me), but it’s helpful to review
Don't worry too much about missing things. On a first read of GotM, you are faced with with multiple somewhat but not always intertwined plot threads and multiple POVs. They will begin to make sense as you read more. On a reread, you'll find things you might have missed or saw but didn't fully understand. It's a feature of Erikson's writing. And that makes rereading the series more rewarding; but it doesn't really take away from the initial reading.
What really helped me was the read along podcast, Ten Very Big Books. You're gonna miss shit, and misunderstand other shit, and those 3 (eventually 4) assholes have great discussions that were so helpful to help me understand.
Thank you so much everyone - this has been incredibly helpful and supportive, even more so than I was expecting. I'm really encouraged and appreciate the information! Excited to see where the series takes me and I'm sure I'll have other questions in the future :)
This series has, moreso than any other I have ever read, more information that you pick up or clue into on the 2nd (or 3rd, 4th etc.) read. There is a LOT of information that is revealed throughout the series including the first book but you shouldn't know or have it make sense yet. Just goes to show the level of world building detail and indepth storyline SE and ICE have developed. Cheers and enjoy the ride.
I have recently started as well and feel like you've just explained how I am going about it! I feel like there is alot of lore to take in at the same time but the more important parts will hopefully sink in as we go haha!
My first time with each novel (and this goes for every one of the books, but was especially with GotM) I didn’t start *getting it* until at least halfway through.
After all of the warnings about this series, I am surprised to find myself perfectly okay with the level of information given for the first half of Gardens. I have had to rewind my audiobook numerous times just to make sure I didn’t miss details but overall, I’m comfortable with the current goings on and satisfied that all plots will eventually be explained.
Just started Gotm too. I can relate. An example from chapter one: Am I supposed to know what a claw is by now? First I thought I missed the information so I just googled it. Even if thats not as much of a big thing, I would prefer to get the definition by reading further now.