Not a Review

OK, so what did I think of the book used as an example in the previous post? Well… ok - Gardens of Moon by Steven Erikson, my thoughts:

Let me first say I really wanted to like this book, as should be evident from the fact that I purchased the first three books of the series together… wishful thinking and a gamble. I have read a few reviews of Gardens of Moon and they seemed to run a full spectrum from love to hate to so-so in attitudes towards both the first book and the series as a whole. This left me with a somewhat open mind not expecting too much from the series, yet I was still anticipating a better than average read, I guess. Alas, it was not so.

Many of the things I had read about Gardens of Moon began with the caveat that 200 pages should be read before the story really comes together… and yes this is true, Erikson drops you into the story and it does take a little while to get your bearings. Well, I read 350 pages (around half), and then closed the book, most likely never to return it. I never feel bad about not finishing a book that I am not enjoying, and often drop books after as little as 50 pages in if I am not into it - many times I return to a book to give it a second or even a third chance as my mood changes - although, I never feel obligated to finish books, there are too many books out there I want to read (probably more than I can read in a lifetime, as a matter of fact) for me to worry about not finishing them all. The story was there and sort of interesting, but no characters I could really care about were present. I tried and tried to like this book, I really did, but in the end the writing left me feeling detached and uninterested.

Now, just because I did not enjoy Gardens of Moon, I still feel it has enough going for that other fantasy readers might enjoy it immensely (different stroke for different folks, you know)… it just was not for me.

Conclusion - yep, the three volumes of this series are now heading into a “to sell” or “to donate” box of books… a good reminder for all to tread lightly when purchasing books in a series - buy the first and then decide if the next book is worth your investment (unless you are grabbing them for $.50 a piece at a book sale - then, by all means, have at it, and buy buy buy).