Gardens of the Moon

This series is famous, or infamous, among fantasy fans.

It is said that these books are difficult, and for many people, these books are therefore a formidable opponent. I have only one response to this: don't let it bother you.

Gardens of the Moon is not difficult in the sense that the language used is complex. It's also not difficult due to complicated theories (as in the case of Neal Stephenson).
Yes, there are many characters, but that's the case in many (fantasy) series. And, this is actually the crux, Erikson simply starts somewhere in the middle of a history of an empire. At least, that's how it seems. This empire is the Malazan Empire. No background is given, nothing is explained. The prologue just starts, and as a reader, you can only let yourself be carried along in the story that Erikson is telling you. And you must trust that things will become clearer as the story progresses.
If you, as a reader, find this annoying, then this book can indeed be perceived as “difficult.” Difficult to deal with, difficult to understand, and especially difficult to accept.

I have no problem with this at all. Imagine the Roman Empire, which was immense at its peak. It encompassed countless peoples. There were local rulers, generals, intrigues, wars, assassination plots everywhere. All at the same time. Now, just imagine that you are focusing on a specific event in that vast history and span of the Roman empire. Movies and books do this all the time. It helped me a lot translating this attitude towards this book.

From the beginning, Erikson gives you the feeling that you are part of an immense epic story, even if your view of it is still very limited. On one hand, a high-level chess game unfolds where various individuals are moved around the board like pawns; on the other hand, Erikson also shows the human side.
Everything slowly converges as if it were a kind of comedy. Independent storylines intertwine, with coincidences that sometimes seem like a “deus ex machina.”
This might be a point of criticism from my side. If this were a stand-alone book, the author might have taken some shortcuts in certain respects. A deus ex machina plot device has never been my favorite. So, I also trust that some things will be woven into the story as the series progresses.

For me, after the first read, this is a 4 to 4.5-star book.
It's possible that this could increase or decrease as more of the Malazan world becomes clear.