62 pages • 2 hours read
Steven EriksonGardens of the Moon
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 2: “Darujhistan”
Book 2, Chapter 5 Summary
The Free City of Darujhistan is 2,000 years old. Unlike other cities, Darujhistan is lit by gas lanterns, fed by a system of copper pipes and “great caverns” of gas beneath the city. Under the cover of darkness, 17-year-old Crokus Younghand, a member of the thieving guild in Darujhistan, scopes out his next target: the D’Arle estate. He breaks into the house, stealing jewelry from the bedroom of the youngest daughter, Challice. He sees her sleeping and is taken by her beauty.
Kruppe, a thief and magic-user, has a prophetic dream. Figures in his dream tell him that he should fight to protect Darujhistan and “the youth at whose feet the coin will fall” (136). Although Crokus won’t find the coin until later in the chapter, Kruppe seems to know that the figures are referring to Crokus.
Someone is killing assassins on the rooftops. Members of Darujhistan’s guild of assassins think that the deaths are due to an internal power struggle. Actually, Moon’s Spawn’s Tiste Andii are killing the assassins so that Darujhistan’s assassins can’t be recruited to work for the empire.
After leaving the D’Arle estate, Crokus is on the rooftops when Oponn’s coin lands at his feet. He bends to pick it up, and the motion saves him from being hit by a crossbow bolt shot by one of the warring assassins. The Tiste Andii assassins nearby feel the magic power of the coin. They pursue him, but Crokus escapes.
Book 2, Chapter 6 Summary
A spymaster known as the Eel works in Darujhistan, controlling a network of informants. Although the characters don’t know this yet, Kruppe is the Eel. One of the Eel’s spies, named Circle Breaker, watches Councilman Turban Orr campaigning for the city’s governing council to declare neutrality toward the empire, with the hopes of currying favor with the incoming invaders.
Circle Breaker informs High Alchemist Baruk—one of the most powerful magic users in the city—of Turban Orr’s meeting. Crone, one of Moon’s Spawn’s Great Ravens, flies to Baruk’s home as a messenger for Anomander Rake. Crone is hundreds of thousands of years old and, like other Great Ravens, feeds on magic. Crone warns Baruk that Turban Orr will want his support on the decree of neutrality. When Orr comes to visit, Baruk declines to support Orr’s efforts.
Next, Anomander Rake visits Baruk. The two agree to an uneasy alliance as their interests currently align—both hope to keep the empire at bay.
Rallick Nom, a Darujhistani assassin, murders Councilman Lim, who is amid a clandestine evening with Lady Simtal. Rallick has a personal vendetta against Lady Simtal; readers will later discover that Lady Simtal married Rallick’s friend Coll before betraying Coll to steal his estate and title. Lady Simtal now has hired assassins to attempt to kill Coll. She has trysts with members of the council to secure her grasp on power, and Rallick wants to bring her down.
Ocelot, one of the leaders of the assassins’ guild, tells Rallick about the warring assassins and demands Rallick’s help in setting a trap for whoever is killing assassins on the rooftops.
Rallick, Kruppe, Crokus, and Coll join their friend Murillio in the group’s usual hangout, the Phoenix Inn.
Book 2, Chapter 7 Summary
In another dream, Kruppe has a conversation with K’rul, an elder god. K’rul is an ancient enough god that he is both very powerful and very limited because he has no worshippers anymore. He has awakened because an assassin died in his ancient temple in Darujhistan. He tells Kruppe that he has also been awakened to await the arrival of another ancient being. Although the characters don’t know it yet, K’rul is awaiting an encounter with the Jaghut Tyrant whom Adjunct Lorn will awaken in Book 5.
Lady Simtal is dealing with the aftermath of Councilman Lim being found dead at her house. She decides to pursue Murillio, who is known as a playboy in the noble circles. This is as Murillio and Rallick have planned; they want to get close to Lady Simtal so that they can seek revenge for Coll. Murillio uses his connections to secure invitations to Lady Simtal’s upcoming party.
Currently, Lady Simtal is having an affair with Councilman Turban Orr. They debate the merits of Orr’s neutrality efforts. Lady Simtal argues that the empire will not be gentle with Darujhistan’s nobility. Orr argues that a peaceful occupation is better than a violent takeover.
Crokus studies the strange coin that he found on the rooftop. He shows it to Kruppe, who discreetly takes a wax pressing of the coin’s image.
Kruppe meets with High Alchemist Baruk, showing him the wax pressing of the coin. Kruppe and Baruk worry about the power of Oponn’s influence, for “Oponn ha[s] a way of making ruins of the most finely wrought plans” (185). Baruk tells Kruppe that he, Rallick, Coll, and Murillio must protect Crokus since he is the Coin Bearer.
Book 2 Analysis
Book 2 introduces several major characters, centering around the ragtag group of friends who hang out in the Phoenix Inn: Crokus, Kruppe, Coll, Rallick, and Murillio. The narrative follows multiple characters’ perspectives in each chapter. This narrative device allows the author to include several complex and interwoven subplots. The narrative technique of moving between character perspectives also permits readers access to the internal thoughts of the main characters, building tension and supporting characterization. This is key to Erikson’s style, as his characters are often conflicted and secretive.
Kruppe is one of the characters introduced in Book 2 and is notable for his unique voice and diction style. Kruppe speaks about himself in the third person. He also speaks with a winding indirectness and uses elevated vocabulary. Take, for example, these lines from Kruppe’s dream in Chapter 5: “For Kruppe, whose sleight of hand is matched only by his sleight of mind? Perfect victims of confidence, claims Kruppe, every blinded by arrogance, ever convinced of infallibility. Is it not a wonder that they have survived this long?” (136). Kruppe’s diction, as a characterization technique, does much to establish Kruppe as a significant player in the underbelly of Darujhistan’s politics. People underestimate Kruppe because of his strange speaking style, taking his wandering syntax for wandering thoughts. In fact, Kruppe is well-informed, strategic, and hiding his identity as the Eel behind this shield. Kruppe’s style of magic and prophecy is unusual as are his connections throughout the city. He has a unique speaking style to match his unique character.
Book 2 further develops the symbol of Oponn’s coin when Crokus finds the coin itself and begins carrying it around. The coin, heretofore only a sound that Paran and Tattersail heard in their heads, becomes more closely associated with Oponn in Chapter 7. Crokus studies the coin, taking in its unique markings:
The first side he held up before him displayed the profile of a young man, with an amused expression [...] Crokus turned the coin. How odd! Another head, this one a woman’s facing the other way [...] The woman looked young, with features similar to the man’s, her expression held nothing of amusement, seeming to the thief's eyes cold and unyielding (176).
These are the faces of Oponn, twin gods of chance. This description of the coin furthers the reader’s understanding of the twins and their differing personalities. This characterizes the female twin—the Lady—as the cruel side of chance and the Lord as the playful side. The symbol of the coin and the multiple faces of fate reinforce the theme of Fate versus Free Will; Oponn’s coin facilitates and symbolizes the power (and unpredictability) of fate.
The progression of Rebellion Against Conquest continues in Book 2 as the author introduces the factions in Darujhistan who are attempting to either resist or prepare for imperial control. Turban Orr expresses one perspective when he states, “Darujhistan’s fall to the empire is inevitable. Better a peaceful occupation than a violent one” (170). Turban Orr is characterized as an ambitious, selfish, untrustworthy figure. The protagonists disagree with Orr and will go to great ends to defend the freedom of their city. Still, Turban Orr’s position highlights the complexity of the theme of rebellion in Gardens of the Moon; there are pros and cons to being part of a large empire, a fact that most of the characters recognize.
