notesurfer's review against another edition
DNF at 32%
Gardens of the Moon is an endless exposition of a dark fantasy world. The text is ponderous and dense, but full of interesting characters, places, politics, and creatures. The prose is never ugly, but never beautiful. The setup brings payoff, but not enough to justify the constant exposition. The scale of the plot is immense, but character development largely happens off-screen. There's just a few too many connecting threads, a few too many words in the word salad, to keep me on board. I understand how people get hooked by this world and its many players, but I need a Robin Hobb character approach to keep me invested.
Gardens of the Moon is an endless exposition of a dark fantasy world. The text is ponderous and dense, but full of interesting characters, places, politics, and creatures. The prose is never ugly, but never beautiful. The setup brings payoff, but not enough to justify the constant exposition. The scale of the plot is immense, but character development largely happens off-screen. There's just a few too many connecting threads, a few too many words in the word salad, to keep me on board. I understand how people get hooked by this world and its many players, but I need a Robin Hobb character approach to keep me invested.
radiogaze's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
hansibanansi's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
pwatson97's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A bit of a slow burn that culminates in a very satisfying ending.
sillypunk's review against another edition
3.0
It wasn't sexist, which is pretty amazing. But it was pretty batshit crazy, so there's that against it: https://blogendorff.ghost.io/book-review-gardens-of-the-moon/
enbyglitch's review against another edition
4.0
All things considered, a pretty good fantasy story. Listening to the audiobook had me thoroughly confused as to names and half the plot, but there were enough likeable characters and moments that I'm happy enough with it.
Treats race weirdly and gender a little more so, but as with some other books it does feel like it is putting a little effort toward inclusivity.
Definitely a lot of influence from The Black Company, and frankly I'll probably return to that series rather than continue this one.
Treats race weirdly and gender a little more so, but as with some other books it does feel like it is putting a little effort toward inclusivity.
Definitely a lot of influence from The Black Company, and frankly I'll probably return to that series rather than continue this one.
christoph_sander's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cbrown4652's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dtong1999's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0