Kingdoms of the Night [Mass Market Paperback]

Allan Cole (Author), Chris Bunch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1996

KINGDOMS OF THE NIGHT
Ever since Amalric Antero returned from the legendary Far Kingdoms, bringing with him magic and riches, the people of Orissa believed they lived in a golden age. Even Amalric did not suspect the truth: that dark forces from another world threatened his beloved city.
Then a beautiful stranger arrived claiming to be the great-granddaughter of Janos Greycloak, master-wizard and betrayer of Amalric's youth. And Amalric learned that the idyllic lands he had thought were the Far Kingdoms were not--and that the real Far Kingdoms, the Kingdoms of the Night, were all that stood between civilization and unimaginably evil powers from another world.
But now the strength of the Kingdoms was flagging. Only someone with a stout heart and a legacy of magic flowing through his veins--someone like Amalric Antero--could hope to unravel the secrets of the Old Ones and lock the door between realities once and for all. And so Amalric set out, with little more than his wits and the magic of another Greycloak, to find the Kingdoms of the Night...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sequel-itis takes hold of Cole and Bunch as they rehash much of the ground already covered in the enormously popular earlier books in this series (The Warrior's Tale, etc.). Lord Amalric Antero, who narrates, has grown old and tired of life, but he is revitalized by the appearance of Janela Kether Greycloak, the beautiful granddaughter of his deceased fellow explorer Janos Greycloak. Janela convinces Amalric to join her in yet another quest for the Far Kingdoms, claiming that Amalric's original journey never actually led him to the wondrous land where sorcery would be made quantifiable and accessible to all. So once again the dashing adventurer, accompanied this time by Janela, takes to the high seas, retracing much of the trail detailed in The Far Kingdoms and pursued by both his vengeful son and a rather ineffectual magician. While this novel features less conflict, purpose and plot, as well as fewer new or interesting settings, than the earlier volumes, Cole and Bunch use their enchantingly breezy style to excellent effect, with witty anecdotes lulling the reader into believing that some sort of rousing adventure might be taking place after all.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Cole and Bunch finish one of the most satisfactory recent fantasy trilogies, the saga of Amalric Antero and his kin. Amalric, now an aging widower whose sister Rali (of The Warrior's Tale) has vanished and who thinks all is well, is visited by the great-granddaughter of his old, sorcerous mentor, Janos Greycloak. It turns out that the Far Kingdoms (the Kingdoms of the Night) have not, as was thought, been found after all. Those kingdoms remain key to the survival of Amalric's city, Orissa, in the face of growing dangers, so Amalric must go questing once more in a dark-toned, even grim, tale that sees him succeed only at a high price. Cole and Bunch bring readers all the virtues they have previously displayed as they deftly balance world building, characterization, action, believable magic, and simple, sound use of the English language to produce a conclusion that, like its predecessors, is highly recommended. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Del Rey (March 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345387325
• ISBN-13: 978-0345387325
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,888,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ALLAN COLE is a best-selling author, screenwriter and former prize-winning newsman. The son of a CIA operative, Cole was raised in Europe and the Far East. For details see Allan's website at www.acole.com. Here's what critics have said about Cole's work: The Sten Series: Landmark science fiction -Publishers Weekly; When The Gods Slept: Page turner of the year - Locus; The Far Kingdoms Series: Glorious... Swashbuckling - Locus; A Reckoning For Kings: Classic war novel - SF Chronicle; Lucky In Cyprus - A haunting, enlightening experience - BookLoons.com; A Cop's Life: Must read by anyone with a badge - Philadelphia Fraternal Order Of Police.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kingdoms of the Night, October 30, 2006

By 

Washington Irving (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kingdoms of the Night (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a bit surprised at the negative ratings this book has recieved. Yes, it has less "t and a" than the first, but it explores some interesting new planes. The descriptions some of the magical goings-on where transcendant, facinating. There was a greater sense of history here, both with the charecters and the destination itself. They change a bit of their already popular style to incorperate playing with the rules of space and time, and its finale was amazing. No, not quite as good overall as The Far Kingdoms, but i would say at least equal to the excellent Rali books.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Kingdoms of the Night, March 15, 2005

By 

not4prophet (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kingdoms of the Night (Anteros) (Hardcover)

What can we really say about "Kingdoms of the Night?" It is what it is, and readers of the first two books in the Antero saga will know by now whether they like this stuff or not. Anyway, here we find Amalric old, crusty, and grey-haired, waiting for death while the world goes on without him. His servant and bodyguard Quatervals convinces him to come to a ship naming ceremony in Orissa, where he finds hints of trouble brewing among his family and elsewhere. Soon Janos Greycloak's great-granddaughter Janela shows up, and before you can say argosy they're off on a world-spanning adventure to the far kingdoms, which turn out to be even farther than previously thought.

In any case, most fans, I presume, read this series for three things: huge actions sequences, whopping magic, and hot sex. In a survey of these three departments, I see plenty of opportunity for disappointment. The first two-hundred pages or so are a drag, too much talk and too little fighting. After that things do pick up somewhat, but still I found most of the battles scenes lacked intensity. Cole and Bunch do find some redemption in the grand finale, however. The magic, well, it's there, if you like that sort of thing. And the sex? Mostly off screen this time, though perhaps that's for the best, given how old our friend Amalric is by now.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you like lots of demons ..., July 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Kingdoms of the Night (Mass Market Paperback)

I did like the Far Kingdoms. It was written very well, and whereas in other books the heroes go of to get some gold from some dragon, these ones just got off to discover new countries. The second part was still readable, but this part is one of the books I didn't finish. I got up to about the half, but the whole plot was demons popping up on every corner, and the protagonists exorcising them. Perhaps this plot changed, but I simply was to bored to read on