Gardens of the Moon is the first of ten novels in Canadian author Steven Erikson's high fantasy series the Malazan Book of the Fallen. The novel details the various struggles for power on an intercontinental region dominated by the Malazan Empire. It is notable for the use of high magic, and unusual plot structure. Gardens of the Moon centres around the Imperial campaign to conquer the city of Darujhistan on the continent of Genabackis. It was first published in April 1, 1999 and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. It received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising the tone, characters, and overarching story. The book sold over a million copies in a month. Development Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont initially devised the Malazan world as a backdrop for a table-top role-playing game. Unhappy with the lack of quality adult oriented fantasy movies at the time, the duo decided to write their own movie script using their gaming experience and the world they had created. The script, titled Gardens of the Moon, was deemed too risky and failed to sell. With interest in the script seeming nonexistent, Erikson, with Esslemont's go ahead, reworked it into a fantasy novel, which he completed around 1991–92. After meeting almost a decade of rejection, the novel was finally sold to Transworld, a division of Random House. The publisher was pleased with the work and requested additional books in the series. Using the history of the Malazan world, nine additional novels were plotted. After the publication of Gardens of the Moon, reviews spread via the internet, and Orion publications attempted to lure the writer away from Transworld. However, Transworld retained an option on additional novels in the series and offered £675,000 for the remaining nine books of the series. Plot Prologue The novel opens in the 96th year of the Malazan Empire, during the final year of the rule of Emperor Kellanved. Ganoes Paran, age 12, witnesses the sacking of the Mouse Quarter of Malaz City. Paran wants to be a soldier when he grows older, though the veteran soldier Whiskeyjack disapproves. Genabackis Seven years later, the Emperor and his ally, Dancer, have been assassinated and supplanted by the chief of the assassin corps. Empress Laseen now rules with the aid of the Claw, the imperial assassins. The story opens several years into a series of wars by the Malazan Empire to conquer the