Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with the Lord of Darkness, Anomander Rake, the Malazan Empire simmers with discontent and its legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners, and Tattersail - the lone surviving sorceress of the Second Legion - the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to draw breath and mourn the dead. But Empress Laseen's gaze has moved on and fallen upon the ancient citadel of Darujhistan, for this last of the Free Cities of Genabackis still holds out against her... However the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces are gathering, and it would seem that the gods themselves are preparing to play their hand... Acclaimed by the author's peers, critics and readers alike, Gardens of the Moon is the defining opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy - Steven Erikson's awesome sequence 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.