Via Emerald City, we learn that Ian Cameron Esslemont, Steven Erikson’s collaborator on the Malazan Empire setting and author of the small-press-published Night of Knives (which tells the tale of Dassem Ultor around the time of the deaths of Emperor Kellanved and Dancer), will now be published through Bantam UK. They will be republishing Night of Knives in hardcover, and then will be releasing Esslemont’s next Malazan book, The Return of the Crimson Guard, something Malazan fans will definitely be looking forward to.
Press release below the cut.
The John Jarrold Literary Agency has sold world rights in two fantasy novels by Canadian author Ian Cameron Esslemont to Simon Taylor at Bantam UK, for a good five-figure sum.
Esslemont created the world of Malazan together with Steven Erikson whose novels in this world are already bestsellers for Bantam UK and published successfully across the world. Esslemont֒s first short Malazan novel, NIGHT OF KNIVES, was published by UK small press PS Publishing in 2004. Now it and his next, major novel, THE RETURN OF THE CRIMSON GUARD, will see mainstream publication from Bantam.
In his introduction to NIGHT OF KNIVES, Steven Erikson said: Readers of my own work will recognise the world, its atmosphere, its darkness; they will see the characters in NIGHT OF KNIVES as simply more players woven into the same tangled tapestryђ. Following this theme, Esslemonts next novel picks up the story of the Malazan Empire not long after the events of EriksonҒs latest book, THE BONEHUNTERS. Eriksons first Malazan novel, GARDENS OF THE MOON, began life as a jointly-written film script, since when both authors have worked on the background, history and characters of the world.
Bantam are planning to publish NIGHT OF KNIVES in the UK as a hardback in spring 2007.