Night of Blood

Dragonlance: The Minotaur Wars #1

by Richard A. Knaak

The first title in a new hardcover trilogy from New York Times best-selling author Richard A. Knaak. This direct follow-up to the recent best-selling War of Souls trilogy deals with the minotaurs, a species with which the author is particularly associated in the minds of Dragonlance fans. This series will move the minotaur species to the forefront of the Dragonlance world, and since this is the first hardcover title that deals directly with the world-changing fallout at the end of the War of Souls, it is both a key title for Dragonlance fans and an excellent entry point for new readers.

Genres: Dragonlance, Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Richard A. Knaak is the bestselling author of Dragonlance novels, the Dragonrealm and Black City Saint series (his own creations), six novels for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series, and six works in the Warcraft universe. He has also written several non-series fantasy books.

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a huge fantasy reader; I would view myself more as a casual reader. I see something that looks interesting, and I may pick it up. At any rate, this trilogy seemed interesting, so I went ahead and picked it up at my local public library. I am glad I did. It was engaging from the start, and the first book gave me the desire to continue.

In the land of minotaurs, a bloody coup puts a new emperor on the throne. Hotak, the new ruler then proceeds to make an alliance with the ogres, who are the minotaur's historical enemies, so he can carry out his conquest ambitions. He is aided by his consort, who is the head priestess of a new cult and who has ghosts at her command. These ghosts aid her in finding dissidents and traitors. Meanwhile, a nephew of the deposed emperor manages to survive, and a rebel general strives to put up a revolt against Hotak. That is the plot of this book in very simple terms. There is a big price that Hotak has to pay for his alliance; it is not revealed until the end of this book. The author does a good job in that regard of keeping that small detail a secret.

Overall, I found the book appealing because in some ways it reads like some Roman Empire novel. There is the corrupt emperor (the deposed one in the book), the usurper (who by the way, may be a ruthless tyrant, but apparently can at least run the empire), his wife who is plotting behind his back, his children (some competent, some not). You get the idea. You get not only the action story but the plotting as well. I found this first book to be entertaining, and it was pretty fast paced. If you are a quick reader, you will probably get through it fast. If you like fantasy books, this may be a good choice for you. If like me, you have not read books in the Dragonlance series, this may be a good entry point. I think I may try out others. I am certainly reading the rest of the this trilogy.

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since reading the first minotaur books written by Richard Knaak, I have been thirsty for more, captivated by the character of Kaz. Since his last book, "Land of the Minotaurs," however, I have yet to be inspired or impressed by his minotaur stories. "The Minotaur Wars - Volume 1: Night of Blood" begins by introducing many characters and promptly killing them. More characters are introduced and they too are killed off. The few who are not killed, are not heroic or especially inspiring, lacking the depth of character of their predecessor, Kaziganthi de-Orilg. I did not become attached to a single one, and truthfully, it felt like a role play with too many participants. In the end you are rooting for a few characters, simply because they have survived, yet the book ends on several sour notes, leaving the reader discouraged and disappointed in the outcome. Obviously this is only part of the story since there are at least two more volumes, but I am not expecting any good heroes to rise out of this mess anymore.

I suspect that Richard Knaak role plays (D&D or something similar) with others and uses those interactions to write his books. I suspect that perhaps in the first books the players involved were better balanced and more creative, complementing each others' characters with their own in a fun and compelling manner (Taz adds a nice streak of humor, Huma a very positive light). Perhaps in the following books that circle of players was broken or Knaak was forced to write more on his own without those original creative minds to bring balance to his gritty, serious characters. Whatever the recipe, it is not the same as the original, and I miss Kaz.

[Trae Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong Minotaur sociology and ecology elements and character development. I would have preferred a little more action, but Knaak does a fantastic job making it hard to choose sides among the Minotaurs themselves, which always makes a story better in my opinion.

[Scott Block · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another race on Krynn heard from. My first introduction with minotaurs was with Mina during the War of Souls. It was fun to get a broader picture on their ways of life and war.

[Phil Jervell · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this series minotaurs intrigued me as a race nice to get peak at the race.

[Patrick Leitzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start to a good trilogy about a race you don't hear too much about

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night of Blood
"Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!"

A Dragonlance novel that focuses on a lesser written-about race of the Dragonlance universe that takes place around the same time as the War of Souls trilogy, which started with Dragons of a Fallen Sun. And, like most (or, if you're cynical, all) Dragonlance novels, this is fun but brainless popcorn fantasy.

This book in particular, with its snarling bovines on the cover wielding axes and set against a fiery background, is the literary version of a slasher film. There is a basic plot in here, even if it is just setting up the plot of the other two books in this trilogy, but the real main point of the book is "look at all of these entertaining deaths" and watch as pretty much every named character dies either in some spectacularly gory fashion or through some elaborate Final Destination punishment involving the controlled spirits of the damned. But with minotaurs, I guess. So your targets are all cow people with horns.

Plot goes as such: There's a corrupt emperor who let the empire fall into debauchery and decay. A general, named Hotak, leads a coup and slaughters most of the heads of state in one night (a night of blood if you will) and establishes himself as emperor. The writing tries to portray the new emperor as some complex shade of grey - being all "Hey maybe Hotak is a cool dude despite the killing since he's getting rid of this guy and all" - but since his wife is a corrupt head of a church and is also a necromancer that's using ghosts to murder people long-distance, you realize "oh right, this guy is probably the bad guy".

Oh, but don't worry, readers! Some nephew of the old emperor named Faros escaped the massacre because he conveniently chose that day to get drunk and gamble, so he's our main protagonist and he will definitely take down these bad guys in Book 3 maybe sorta. That's usually how these Dragonlance trilogies work after all. And, since it's Book 1, Faros spends most of the book stuck in a mine somewhere in the classic "hero gets enslaved and forced to work in some mines for several months, which will basically burn all of the body fat and make him all muscular and heroic" plot while we watch yet more heads of state and merchants get murdered.

In addition to Faros, there is also Rahm, who is a general of the previous emperor and commander of a ship and of a motley crew of fellow minotaurs trying to start a rebellion. I feel that, in a way, Rahm is the true hero of the novel - and probably should've been the hero considering the other choice is Faros - and even has a magical artifact that saves him from being killed by ghosts.

Without giving too much away, don't root for anyone who isn't named Faros or Rahm, because anyone else is probably going to end up dead. The somewhat more competent servant of Faros who saves his life a couple times? Dead. A really cool pirate minotaur with tattoos and a fun accent? Oh, he dies. The really cool gladiator fighter who single-handedly beats all odds and fights both six armed guards and a two-headed manticore beast and gets 12 pages dedicated just to how good of a fighter he is? Dies from his wounds, whoops. Rahm's wife? She literally appears in a chapter just to die of mysterious circumstances.

This book is a bloodbath and depending on your state of mind, you're either going to find this entertaining or wish that the plot would just get on with it. I myself was kinda on the fence with it because while some of the deaths are really cool and include some really interesting magical spells, they don't really tell you much other than "Hotak is a bad dude" or "Hotak's wife who commands the dead is a bad dude".

I, personally, had enough fun with it to continue reading to the second part of this trilogy. Perhaps this series does get better and this is just one big extended prologue of death and destruction, but for now, I give it three horns up.

Oh, and really don't bother with the glossary. It really doesn't help and is just like "this named character is from this clan".

Highlights

*Cow is considered the worst thing to call a minotaur. Cow is a racial slur.

*My favorite death was the "death" of a rich, greedy merchant who has his gold and money animated and formed into a detailed rotting corpse of one of his old shipmates he let fall overboard off a merchant ship and then eaten by sharks. The gold, emerald, and ruby golem is able to breathe rotting corpse smell and terrifies this merchant so badly that he's rendered in a catatonic stupor for the rest of his life, basically "killing" him.
This is why I was okay with this book being like 70% people dying. Sometimes you'd run into a death scene this creative and it made it worth it.

*At the same time, one chapter is dedicated to a disgraced guard named Kyril who spends about 12 pages fighting a two-headed manticore in the arena while fighting off six armed guards at the same time, and then dying, which kinda felt like a waste of time. So it's a toss-up between "these deaths are cool" and "well I just met this minotaur just to see him die, what a waste".

*Between the focus on clans and the mention of kilts strewn throughout the book, I think minotaurs are supposed to be the fantasy equivalent of Scots?

*I forgot to mention this guy in my review, but the main leader of the ogres, Golgren, is the type of ogre who is smart, dresses fancy, files his tusks down small, and bathes, therefore he gets a lot of jokes leveled at how "feminine" he is. It's bad, but luckily it doesn't crop up much since this book mainly just sets him up as a thing that will be dealt with in a later book.
Also I feel like "ogre that rejects basic ogre instincts to appear more human" is something that has appeared in Dragonlance before, but I can't remember where I've seen it.

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I read a Dragonlance book. Still, even knowing that it's a trilogy and so it won't wrap up at the end, I felt like this book was all over the place. There were so many characters we would follow, some for pages and some for paragraphs at a time. I also had a hard time becoming invested in any of the characters such that I didn't have any real motivation to find out what was going to happen. There were a handful of good aspects about the story, but not enough to make me want to pick up the next book.

[Ľudmilka Babkovičová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prvá polovica knihy bola nudná. Ako hovorí samotný názov knihy, odohrávajú sa medzi minotaurami samé bitky, vraždy,.. no, očakávala som viac. Weis a Hickman nastavili latu poriadne vysoko. Uvidím, kde sa ocitnú Knaakove Minotaurie vojny.
Koniec sľubuje zaujímavé pokračovanie. Som zvedavá, ako sa vyvinie postava Farosa.

[João Batista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, a story with the origin of minotaurs, and their first king, Ambeoutin, and their code of honor. But a coup d'etat changes forever the way of minotaurs. Are they the children of Destiny? Elsewhere, ogres fighting humans will face the children of destiny... or be allied with them?
Slow, actionless reading, different from an RPG campaign.

[Marc Colombina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to provide all the main characters with significant, coherent storylines in a novel of this length.

[Gemma Fasheun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like reading this book even if took me long time I don't regret it and hopefully soon I'll read the second volume.

[Alec · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to a trilogy. I am ready to start the the next one and see where the story goes.

[RedFred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent fantasy, but not hugely engaging.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow start but worth it.. I kept turning pages and can't wait to read book two

[Timothy McNeil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel that even the two stars is generous, but somewhere past the halfway point Knaak gives up on awkward insertions of exposition (or at least limits them to somewhere near the level of acceptability) and lets this abbreviated tale of murder, mayhem, backstabbing, and revenge start to take shape. Mostly, I blame WoTC for the shape of this book. Perhaps they (and Knaak included) wanted their own version of the intrigues that provide the backdrop to Frank Herbert's Dune or seems to be the whole of the tale in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. (Michael A. Stackpole's use of similar devices in his BattleTech novels would probably be a better example to measure against, as both as bounded to the game world's from which they sprung. Where Stackpole managed to develop most of his characters in short order, Knaak seems content to do rough sketches of a few and reinforce them sporadically.)
This is a book that probably should have been close to 600 pages. It would have allowed for explaining the world and history of the minotaurs through the actions of the characters rather than odd proto-chapters. Likewise, characters could have been developed to the point where the reader would not have to reference the glossary in the back to make sure who the character was. At the same time, a lengthier, more balanced telling of the story would have allowed for a better sense of time and hardship for the characters. Everything in this version feels rushed an incomplete.
There is a workaday story going on, one that is mildly interesting once the distractions are dealt with.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic story was good, rebels striving to overthrow an evil dictatorship, but the book is let down by weak characters and some poor plot points.

Firstly none of the characters have strong personalities, most in fact are weak and uninteresting. Because of this you don't care what happens to them and harms the book overall.

Another problem is the huge amount of killing, okay so it is a book of minotaurs, but too many times a character is introduced only to killed a couple of pages later. This makes you not want to get invested in any character that is introduced because you don't know how long they will last. Also most of these killings have little to do with the story.

In some ways the evil characters act in a better way than the good ones. The evil ones only kill those who are strongly plotting against them, the good ones will quite happily kill prisoners and opponents who down and saying "I yield", this makes the good characters less likeable.

There are a couple of plot twists but I didn't find any of them surprising.

Overall this was an interesting story let down by characters without personalities and over use of meaningless killings.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for a fantasy tale strictly about the race of minotaur, then Night of Blood by Richard A. Knaak is the book for you. I did like reading about both Faros and Rahm, but also was at a loss as to whom I was supposed to be voting for.

What I never got out of this book was who the main character was that I was supposed to latch on to. This left me confused for most of the story. Was it good that Chot had been overthrown? After all, he had let the race of minotaurs decline as he lived his life of luxury. If Faros is the main character, why isn't more of the story about him?

As for General Rahn, who I also liked, is he the main character? After finishing the book, I still am not sure. The book starts off with the bloody night that ends Chot's rule, then moves along rather slowly until the last 70 or so pages, when the action finally picks up.

Night of Blood would appear to be a builder for what is to follow in The Minotaur Wars series. I only hope that the story focuses a little more on the main characters and gives the reader someone to cling on to. I do look forward to seeing what happens in the next book, Tides of Blood.

I rated this book a 6½ out of 10.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start to the minotaur wars is brought about by the coup staged by hotak and his priestess wife on the previous emperor!! many who supported the previous regime where wiped out viciously and those that fled where followed by the dead, the puppets of the priestess of the forerunner religion!! the dead obeyed her to the letter, killed silently for her and carried news to her of their whereabouts!! Some who were caught were sent as slaves to work the cruel mines, but a revolt got most of these killed except for one a young noble nephew to the previous emperor who had seen all his family wiped out and needed vengeance! also rahn a soldier from the previous rule who has managed to get away to the island of petarka and who is desperately wanted by hotak and his wife!! an alliance has now been forged with the ogres who were previous enemies of the minotaurs and who many even of hotak's regime cannot abide!! where they to find out that hotak had given minotaur slaves to these ogres to work the mines in the ogre lands all hell would be let loose!!

[Tabitha Tomala · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just dragged. I normally love all the Dragonlance books (minus Murder is Tarsis), but I cannot for the life of me connect with any of the characters. The scene with the ogres when all they did was talk ogre, um hello! Translation please? That enter chapter was a waste. Not to mention the following scene with them chapters later where they talk about some agreement and never tell the read what the agreement is!
There are way too many scenes of what Nephera's undead can do, really we don't need a hundred pages of filler detailing ever last traitors death. Give a few examples of her power and be done with it.
The three main story lines don't even have enough detail! The group in the mines you barely hear about and I found I enjoyed them the most. I will attempt book two but if its a flop I won't bother with the third.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book set in the world of Dragonlance. This book explores the realm of minotaurs. General Hotok stages a coup with aid from his wife and this book explores his attempt to stay in power.

I liked this book but it didn't blow me away. The author did a great job describing minotaurs and their society. I enjoyed how he portrayed minotaurs as warriors and their society is determined by this ideal. The problem with this novel is the development of the characters. There are so many characters that the reader has a tough time identifying with anyone. I am hoping that the second book concentrates on a smaller number of characters and the main storyline. I did enjoy the main storyline as it reminded me of ancient times with different figures vying for the throne.

If you are looking to explore the world of minotaurs, this book is the book for you.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished another great read in Knaak’s minotaur cycle and the first book in his Minotaur Wars trilogy. Hotak leads a bloody coup to usurp the throne for himself and his family, leaving only a scattered handful of rebels to press back against his rule. I read this directly following Reavers of the Blood Sea (in the Chaos War series), and while not imperative, I would recommend reading them in order. In Night of Blood, Knaak continues to flesh out the Minotaur Empire, and I like his spin on their response to the gods’ disappearance at the end of the Chaos saga. Be prepared for some gruesome deaths in this book! I didn’t mind the violence as it always felt appropriate to both the minotaurs themselves and the particular events of this story. I’m very much looking forward to reading the next entry in the trilogy and seeing more of Golgren!

[Kereesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

While i love Knaak's writing style, this impartial overview history narrative doesn't give me much characters to enjoy or even connect with. Although I will be reading the rest of the trilogy, I hope it does get better

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris, Main patron, July 2015, 4 stars:

An emperor is overthrown & an empire reinvigorated. A dark religious cult comes to power & only a few minotaurs that hold to the old ways of honor stand against them all. Book one of the Minotaur Wars is a fun, action filled read.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as interesting as the main series. I had a hard time staying focused

[Tim Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book, surprisingly. I usually like these kind sof novels, but wasn't sure how I'd relate to "Minotaurs", but actually quite well it turns out. Quick, fun read, first of a three part series.

[Paul Bushey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok I did not want to finish the trilogy

[Alexander Faria · Rating 3 out of 5]

No se ... empezo interesante... decayo y luego me volvio a interesar.. veamos los libros que vienen a ver si suben la calificacion

[Douglas Sandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. Has many similarities to Marcus Aurelius and Commodus.