by Ian C. Esslemont (no website found)
Tor Books
Hardcover - $25.95
Publisher's Blurb:
The small island of Malaz and its city gave the great empire its name, but now it is little more than a sleepy, backwater port. Tonight, however, things are different. Tonight the city is on edge, a hive of hurried, sometimes violent activity; its citizens bustle about, barring doors, shuttering windows, avoiding any stranger’s stare. Because tonight there is to be a convergence, the once-in-a-generation appearance of a Shadow Moon – an occasion that threatens the good people of Malaz with demon hounds and other, darker things …
It was also prophesied that this night would witness the return of Emperor Kellanved, and there are those prepared to do anything to prevent this happening. As factions within the greater Empire draw up battle lines over the imperial throne, the Shadow Moon summons a far more ancient and potent presence for an all-out assault upon the island. Witnessing these cataclysmic events are Kiska, a young girl who yearns to flee the constraints of the city, and Temper, a grizzled, battle-weary veteran who seeks simply to escape his past. Each is to play a part in a conflict that will not only determine the fate of Malaz City, but also of the world beyond …
Drawing on events touched on in the prologue of Steven Erikson’s landmark fantasy Gardens of the Moon, Night of Knives is a momentous chapter in the unfolding story of the extraordinarily imagined world of Malaz.
This book has a convoluted history. The author co-created the Mazalan world with Steven Erikson in the 90s. Erikson, of course, has gone on to make this world extremely popular. Night of Knives has been previously published by a small press along with another novel; now Tor has acquired them both. I received a copy of it last week, complements of Tor.
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2 comments:
I started to read the Gardens of the Moon series. I'm in book 2 Deadhouse Gates. I will read Night of Knives later when I have finished some more books by Steven Erikson.
Temper, the male protagonist, might be just the sort of protagonist I've been wanting to read about lately. I've grown tired of reading about teenage boys! I'll start this one when I'm finished with Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom, which has just been a hoot.
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