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Product Description
Product Description
In Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle, Matthew Stover created a new kind of fantasy novel, and a new kind of hero to go with it: Caine, a street thug turned superstar, battling in a future where reality shows take place in another dimension, on a world where magic exists and gods are up close and personal. In that beautiful, savage land, Caine is an assassin without peer, a living legend born from one of the highest-rated reality shows ever made. That season, Caine almost single-handedly defeated–and all but exterminated–the fiercest of all tribes: the Black Knives. But the shocking truth of what really took place during that blood-drenched adventure has never been revealed . . . until now.
Thirty years later, Caine returns to the scene of his greatest triumph–some would say greatest crime–at the request of his adopted brother Orbek, the last of the true Black Knives. But where Caine goes, danger follows, and he soon finds himself back in familiar territory: fighting for his life against impossible odds, with the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance.
Just the way Caine likes it.
Thirty years later, Caine returns to the scene of his greatest triumph–some would say greatest crime–at the request of his adopted brother Orbek, the last of the true Black Knives. But where Caine goes, danger follows, and he soon finds himself back in familiar territory: fighting for his life against impossible odds, with the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance.
Just the way Caine likes it.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've been eagerly awaiting Stover's return to the Overworld universe and I was not disappointed. Great story, great writing, great book, Stover delivers once again. Now I can't wait for the next one.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
18 reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Caine Strikes Again -- and Again!
15 Oct 2008
Format:Paperback
Caine Black Knife is the third book in Matthew Stover's exceptional Acts of Caine series, following Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle. The premise of the series is that a couple hundred years in the future, earth's primary entertainment is the ultimate in reality programming: people live and experience the exploits of "actors" who are transferred to another dimension that is, essentially, your standard fantasy world. Caine was an immensely popular actor, smart and violent; the first two books dealt with one of his Adventures and its fallout on both worlds.
Caine Black Knife picks up several years later, and treats us to two intertwined stories: Now, Caine is older, maybe a bit wiser, maybe a bit more mellow, but no less intelligent and no less dangerous. As he ends up involved in danger and intrigues in new settings, we flash back to the Adventure that made him a star: we see a younger, more narcissistic, self-absorbed and violent Caine making a name for himself, setting the stage for events to come. Caine runs into some characters we've met before and plenty of new ones, comes up against new threats from two worlds and makes a few new friends along the way. It's fascinating to see this character at two very different stages of his life, unmistakably himself in each, yet incredibly different in outlook, in the choices he makes.
Matthew Stover is a great writer of intelligent, exciting fiction that refuses to be confined to a single genre, stories that engage your imagination and make you think even as they provide nearly non-stop action, and make no mistake: Stover's action sequences are nonpareil, brutal and detailed without losing coherence or energy. Every book in this series is fresh and new; Stover never settles for offering just more of the same, and Caine Black Knife stands proudly by its predecessors as a great novel and part of one of the finest sff series on shelves today.
Caine Black Knife picks up several years later, and treats us to two intertwined stories: Now, Caine is older, maybe a bit wiser, maybe a bit more mellow, but no less intelligent and no less dangerous. As he ends up involved in danger and intrigues in new settings, we flash back to the Adventure that made him a star: we see a younger, more narcissistic, self-absorbed and violent Caine making a name for himself, setting the stage for events to come. Caine runs into some characters we've met before and plenty of new ones, comes up against new threats from two worlds and makes a few new friends along the way. It's fascinating to see this character at two very different stages of his life, unmistakably himself in each, yet incredibly different in outlook, in the choices he makes.
Matthew Stover is a great writer of intelligent, exciting fiction that refuses to be confined to a single genre, stories that engage your imagination and make you think even as they provide nearly non-stop action, and make no mistake: Stover's action sequences are nonpareil, brutal and detailed without losing coherence or energy. Every book in this series is fresh and new; Stover never settles for offering just more of the same, and Caine Black Knife stands proudly by its predecessors as a great novel and part of one of the finest sff series on shelves today.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Caine's Back!
23 Nov 2008
Format:Paperback
In Caine Black Knife, Caine's thrown back into the festering mess that is the conflict between his homeworld, Earth, and the mythic-like Overworld. At the same time, we are given snips of the adventure that made him a super-star "Retreat from the Boedeken." The contrast between the young and old versions of Caine are remarkably noticable, and at the same time, they are obviously the same man. It really provides a nice effect.
I'm a longtime fan of Mr. Stover's work, and in all honesty, have absurdly high expectations for the quality of his books. Caine Black Knife meets my expectations 100%. My only question, now is, when's the next one coming out?
I'm a longtime fan of Mr. Stover's work, and in all honesty, have absurdly high expectations for the quality of his books. Caine Black Knife meets my expectations 100%. My only question, now is, when's the next one coming out?
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Violent and Profound
27 Oct 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Matthew Stover's third book in the "Acts of Caine" series is a good one. Stover does an impressive job of aging Caine and demonstrating the difference in perspective between the character at 25 and the character now in his middle fifties.
Hari/Caine is in Overworld to aid his Ogrillo blood brother (sort of a cross between a gorilla and an Ogre)Orbek. Orbek has been imprisoned and is sentenced to death for defying his "betters" and Caine feels it is his duty to save the life of the young Ogrillo as a younger Caine was responsible for the downfall of the Ogrilloi and the Black Knife clan in particular. There are really two stories going on here: one in "real" time and the other in the form of a recording of "Escape from the Boedecken" (mentioned in "Heroes Die" but never fully explained); this is the adventure that made a young Hari Michaelson (Caine) a star and also the Genesis of the current problems that a mature Hari must now try to fix.
The Caine novels are heavy with extreme violence and gore and liberally peppered with (ahem) very "adult" language. But the novels are also heavy with insightful social commentary on the nature of government, freedom and caste. This is thinking persons Fantasy/science fiction and there is no way to read these books without asking questions about the state of our own freedoms and the world around us. Stover's fiction is eye opening, but it's also great entertainment. The end of "Caine Black Knife" leaves us with a promise of more Caine to come. I hope that it's true.
Buy this one and read it.
Hari/Caine is in Overworld to aid his Ogrillo blood brother (sort of a cross between a gorilla and an Ogre)Orbek. Orbek has been imprisoned and is sentenced to death for defying his "betters" and Caine feels it is his duty to save the life of the young Ogrillo as a younger Caine was responsible for the downfall of the Ogrilloi and the Black Knife clan in particular. There are really two stories going on here: one in "real" time and the other in the form of a recording of "Escape from the Boedecken" (mentioned in "Heroes Die" but never fully explained); this is the adventure that made a young Hari Michaelson (Caine) a star and also the Genesis of the current problems that a mature Hari must now try to fix.
The Caine novels are heavy with extreme violence and gore and liberally peppered with (ahem) very "adult" language. But the novels are also heavy with insightful social commentary on the nature of government, freedom and caste. This is thinking persons Fantasy/science fiction and there is no way to read these books without asking questions about the state of our own freedoms and the world around us. Stover's fiction is eye opening, but it's also great entertainment. The end of "Caine Black Knife" leaves us with a promise of more Caine to come. I hope that it's true.
Buy this one and read it.
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