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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I love the Shades of Magic world so much, every dip back into it is a joy. ( )

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. ( )

Second bundle of The Steel Prince comic books, the Night of Knives continues the back story of King Maxim Maresh of A Darker Shade of Magic fame. This forging story tells the tale of how, as Prince Maxim, he fared in the trial of the Night of Knives. ( )

I'm only reading this because the first volume is a graphic novel nominee for the Goodreads Choice Awards, I had checked both volumes out of the library at the same time, and they are very short, so why not read both? I have not previously read any books in the Shades of Magic series or by the author. This is the second book of a trilogy of graphic novels adapting a single sentence from one of the novels.

The protagonist remains unlikable but may be becoming a trifle less headstrong. The art remains muddy and obscures the action. So when the young prince decides to tackle some annual magical challenge we see him walk through a series of doors and do...something...that lets him advance to the next door. And then suddenly there is a villainous Antari magician, which might be scary if I had any idea what the hell Antari means here. Since the prince becomes king in the novels, I think you can guess how little a problem the magician turns out to be.

Meh. ( )