World Famous Comics: Night of Knives (A Novel of the Malazan Empire)
Night of Knives (A Novel of the Malazan Empire)
By: Ian C. Esslemont Publisher: Bantam Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Bantam Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 416 Publication Date: June 03, 2008 Release Date: June 03, 2008
Product Description: Malaz gave a great empire its name, but now this island and its city amount to little more than a sleepy backwater. Until this night. Because this night 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. Also it is prophesied that the Emperor Kellanved will return this night, and there are those who would prevent that happening at any cost. As factions within the Empire draw up battle lines, an ancient presence begins its all-out assault upon the island. Witnesses to these cataclysmic events include a thief called Kiska, and Temper, a war-weary veteran. Although they do not know it, they each have a part to play in a confrontation that will determine not only the fate of Malaz City but also of the world beyond...
Excellent With this book, Esslemont shows, with plenty of skill, how he and Erikson created this entire world and storyline. His characters are every bit as deep and hard-bitten as Erikson's. The plot is as gripping as Erikson's, with each of the various threads being as difficult to follow as a pack of ADHD puppies. Excellent! Why 4 stars? Personally, I reserve 5 stars for works I find (hope to find) as perfect. No 5 star awards yet.
Nice add of depth to Malaz City I enjoyed getting more insight into how a lot of shi* started, esp. as to the importance of Malaz City and the Shadow Moon (sounds kinda cheezy i know, but whatever Shadow makes everything better :P)
I was kinda hoping for more with Kiska since she was pretty cool at first, but just seemed kinda childish/weak towards the end, i guess she was supposed to have learned from all the dangerous experiences she had or something, but it just didnt work for me. I'm sure i would've been like a kid in a candy store in her situation as well, but still...
Sure there's a lot of 'powerful' characters but the point is that the Stormriders made it so that there was need for them... i mean seriously, Stormriders! And they still made a mess of things... What seems to happen a lot with the other author, Erikson's powerful convergences... a lot of lesser characters engage each other and kind of cancel each other out of being involved in the main goings-on. They get tied up while missing the real important stuff, and that pattern seems to continue here. The fisherman and his blind wife and some other characters could have used some more dimension to them, but I guess they weren't a priority.
It was nice to see more of some old characters including a little bit of the stormriders.
I'll definitely be reading the next one when i get it.
Just plain bad Seeing all the glowing reviews, and noticing the author is from my hometown, I thought I'd give it a try. The very first paragraph embodies all the problems of this book. The writing is simply terrible, from a basic grammatical and technical point of view. Too often you aren't sure what the subject of the sentence is. Too often the story goes into a flashback without making the transition clear.
But I could tolerate that if the story was any good...it isn't. First, the characters are completely shallow, with the feeblest of motivations that take far too long to be explained. Most of the book is spent mysteriously referring to some dark secret the characters have that prevents their full commitment to the situation at hand. When it's finally explained, it's worth a shrug at best.
Second, the plot feels completely arbitrary. Too many conveniently all-powerful nice people show up to save the day and then add more danger...but I finally stopped believing the characters were in any real danger whatsoever. A lot of time is spent describing some completely unstoppable force that is bearing down on the entire physical and metaphysical world, but in the end it just fades away to mist at dawn.
So, sorry hometown boy, but people should give this one a pass.
Great Malazan Tale! I live close to the Canadian border, and on a trip to a bookstore there I was pleased to find the MMPB version of this book (US release is TBD).
Esselmont co-created the Malazan world with Steven Erikson. I am here to tell you that Esselmont has the same ability to tell an engaging tale with action, detail, intrigue, etc....just as Erikson.
This book is jam-packed with action and is virtually non-stop from the beginning. The story takes place on the Isle of Malaz, in some of the earlier days of the Malazan Empire (before Surly became Laseen, Empress of the Empire). You'll meet a couple new characters, but will also come across some familiar ones too. The entire book takes place in one night in Malaz City - The Shadow Moon.
If you were curious about how some of the Malazan characters in Gardens of the Moon (Erikson's 1st in his series) got where they were, pick this book up. I highly recommend this book to any Malazan fan out there!
Impressive I did not believe anyone could step up and write quite the way Erikson does. Esslemont has done a fantastic job. Jumping straight into Malaz City I believed. This is more of a prequal (SP?) to other Malazan books but with the authors own flavor. I highly recommend this work to ANYONE that reads Eriksons books.
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