Match Book
Gardens of the Moon
Steven Erikson
1999 · 666 pages · Fantasy
How it reads
Gardens of the Moon is fantasy (grimdark epic fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in an invented world, in no single period, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are war, power and politics and friendship. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.
It opens a series. It ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next book ready. At 666 pages it's a real commitment. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something dark
- you want something to chew on
- you like disappearing into an invented world
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy, heartwarming or funny
- you hate waiting for a sequel
- you want something you can finish this weekend
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- fantasy
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- prolific veteran
- Setting: place
- fictional world
- Setting: time
- timeless or multiple
- Mood / feeling
- dark
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- heavy and literary
- Length
- long
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- well known
- Series vs standalone
- first in a series
- Themes
- war, power and politics, friendship
- Ending style
- cliffhanger
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
A Clash of KingsGeorge R.R. MartinShares: fantasy, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate paceThe Kingdom of GodsN. K. JemisinShares: fantasy, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The Dragonbone ChairTad WilliamsShares: fantasy, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace, cliffhanger ending
The Price of SpringDaniel AbrahamShares: fantasy, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The Ruin of KingsJenn LyonsShares: fantasy, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The mirror empireKameron HurleyShares: fantasy, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
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