Rob Steen

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

The events of the legendary Night of Knives as so mentioned in The Shades of Magic trilogy are finally revealed. A night so mysterious and deadly that it is only mentioned once, briefly in conversation, and all we know about it is that only one person survived the entire night; Maxim. In The Night of Knives, the second graphic novel volume, we find out what really happened and the sinister events that happened behind the myth. We get to see Maxim becoming the king we know from the trilogy and glimpses of his sons in him as he fights for survival when the odds are completely stacked against him. While Maxim seems nothing like Rhys and Kel in The Shades of Magic trilogy, this volume begins to show that the two generations really aren’t that different and while he may have seemed strict with them, perhaps it was because he saw some of himself in them quite often.


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Prince Maxim continues to struggle to gain the respect of his soldiers and so he signs up for the magical challenge the Night of Knives. But greater dangers than the deadly challenge wait in the wings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this narrative, which continues to explore Maxim's back story. I found the challenge this time made for more compelling reading than the prior volume. However, deciphering what precisely is happening during some of the magic fight sequences remains difficult to decipher (although I always find fights a bit difficult to sort out in static image format). Definitely recommended for fans of the Shades of Magic series, whether or not you read or enjoyed the prior comics volume.… (more)