Pale is holding out thanks to an alliance with the powerful Anomander Rake, Lord of Moon's Spawn (a floating fortress), leader of the non-human Tiste Andii race.

A handful of surviving members of the Bridgeburners, led by Sergeant Whiskeyjack, now severely reduced in rank after Laseen's seizure of power, are sent to try to undermine the city from within.

Meanwhile, Tattersail, one of the few mages to survive the Siege of Pale, and Paran, now a Captain and the Bridgeburners' nominal commander, head toward the city to determine the reason for the increased involvement of several gods and other magical forces in the campaign.

A group of con-artists and underworld figures within Darujhistan work to oppose members of the civic government who are considering capitulating to the Empire.

The plots collide when Adjunct Lorn releases a Jaghut Tyrant, a powerful ancient being, with the aim of either damaging Anomander Rake seriously or forcing him to withdraw from the city.

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.

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.

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.

[8] 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.

[14] The novel has also been translated into multiple languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Portuguese and Turkish.

SFSite said that Erikson had created "a fantasy world as rich and detailed as any you're likely to encounter" while calling the novel engrossing and hard to set aside.

[9] Another reviewer has praised Erikson for breathing new life into the fantasy genre with his new ideas and creations, calling the novel "a work of great skill and beauty.

"[18] Salon describes Erikson as a "master of lost and forgotten epochs, a weaver of ancient epics" while praising his realistic world-building and characterization.

"[19] Gardens of the Moon also garnered praise from well-known authors in the fantasy genre, such as Stephen R. Donaldson who said "Erikson is an extraordinary writer.