With the action taking place over the space of a single night, the bestselling Night of Knives expands on events touched on in the prologue of Steven Erikson's landmark fantasy Gardens of the Moon, and is thrillingly momentous - and essential - chapter in the epic, unfolding story of the extraordinarily imagined world of Malaz and its empire.

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 . . .