Night Of Knives : (Malazan Empire: 1): a wonderfully gripping, evocative and visceral epic fantasy

The Malazan Empire - vast, omnipotent and unforgiving . . . The small island of Malaz and its city may have given this great empire its name, but it is now little more than a sleepy, backwater. Or usually it is. Tonight, however, things are different. Tonight the city is on edge, a hive of desperate, sometimes violent, activity as its citizens hurry to and fro, 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 all manner of 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 that happening. As factions within the empire draw up battle lines, a far more ancient and potent presence prepares for an all-out assault upon the island. And there will be witnesses to these cataclysmic events, including Kiska, a young thief who yearns to flee the city, and the grizzled, battle-weary veteran Temper who simply wants to escape his past. It seems that each has a part to play in a confrontation that will not only determine the fate of Malaz City but also of the world beyond . . .