The eighth book in Erikson's acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen fantasy sequence
It  is said that Hood waits at the end of every plot, every scheme, each  grandiose ambition. But this time it is different: this time the Lord of  Death is there at the beginning...
Darujhistan swelters in the  summer heat and seethes with portents, rumours and whispers. Strangers  have arrived, a murderer is abroad, past-tyrannies are stirring and  assassins seem to be targeting the owners of K'rul's Bar. For the  rotund, waistcoat-clad man knows such events will be dwarfed by what is  about to happen: for in the distance can be heard the baying of hounds.
Far  away, in Black Coral, the ruling Tiste Andii appear oblivious to the  threat posed by the fast-growing cult of the Redeemer - an honourable,  one-mortal man who seems powerless against the twisted vision of his  followers. 
So Hood waits at the beginning of a conspiracy that will  shake the cosmos, but at its end there is another: Anomander Rake, Son  of Darkness, has come to right an ancient and terrible wrong...
Archaeologist and anthropologist Steven Erikson's debut fantasy novel, Gardens of the Moon,  was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award and introduced fantasy  readers to his epic 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen' sequence, which has  been hailed 'a masterwork of the imagination'. This River Awakens was  his first novel, and originally published under the name Steve Lundin.  Having lived in Cornwall for a number of years, Steve will be returning  to Canada in late summer 2012. To find out more, visit www.malazanempire.com and www.stevenerikson.com