War and betrayal, magic and myth collide in this, the tumultuous fifth chapter of Steven Erikson's magnificent The Malazan Book of the Fallen.After decades of internecine warfare, there is peace . . .The tribes of the Tiste Edur have at last united under the Warlock King of the Hiroth. And so, yes peace – but it has been exacted at a terrible price: a pact made with a hidden power whose motives are at best suspect, at worst deadly.To the south, the expansionist kingdom of Lether, eager to fulfil its long-prophesied renaissance as an Empire, has enslaved its less-civilized neighbours with rapacious hunger. All, that is, save one – the Tiste Edur. And it must be only a matter of time before they too will fall.Or so destiny has decreed.Because ancient forces are awakening. The impending struggle between these two peoples is but a pale reflection of a far more primal battle – a confrontation with the still-raw wound of an old betrayal and a craving for revenge at its seething heart . . .‘Marvellously gripping . . . a riveting read, punctuated as ever with pockets of humour and fantastically individual characters’ SFCROWSNEST**Cover may vary**