as the Rope, a deity and patron of assassins. When Cotillion's partner Shadowthrone and Rake negotiate the Rope's withdrawal from the events of war, Sorry is freed and falls in with Crokus, a young Daru thief. Crokus has earned the patronage of Oponn, the twin Gods of Chance, who continue to meddle in the conflict for their own purposes. As the novel ends, Crokus, a Bridgeburner sapper named Fiddler, and the Bridgeburner assassin Kalam volunteer to take Sorry (now called Apsalar) back to her homeland of Itko Kan (their story continues in Deadhouse Gates). Meanwhile, Dujek and Whiskeyjack lead the 2nd Army into rebellion against Laseen's increasingly tyrannical rule. Dujek now seeks an alliance with Rake and other enemies of Malazan against a holy war called by the Pannion Seer, whose empire is advancing from the south-east of Genabackis. Elsewhere, it is confirmed that the continent of Seven Cities has begun a mass uprising against the Empire. These and other plot developments are continued in the third novel, Memories of Ice. Styles and Themes In a 2000 interview with SFSite, Erikson says that a large part of Gardens of the Moon involved the dismantling of various conventions of the fantasy genre. He admits his fascination with ambivalence and ambiguity and says that notion of evil for its own sake, with "good heroes and insipidly stupid bad guys", is boring. Reviewers have noted Erikson's penchant of avoiding "fairy tale distinctions between good and evil", with numerous factions in the novel that cannot exclusively be considered as either. Themes such as history, myth creation and war have also been considered. The Quill to Live, a literary site, notes that while the series is packed with characters and plot lines, Erikson made sure to emphasize the importance of humor, equality, diversity, cultural identity, change, hope, and the power of love, compassion, and friendship. Publication history The novel was first released by Bantam in UK and Canada as a trade paperback edition followed by a mass market paperback in March 2000. In 2004, Tor released the novel in both hardcover and paperback editions in the US. Both publishers released the novel's tenth anniversary hardcover edition in 2009. It has also been released in the audiobook and ebook formats. Subterranean Press published 500 copies of a signed numbered hardcover edition and 52 copies of a signed, deluxe bound lettered edition, illustrated by Michael Komarck, in