IAN CAMERON ESSLEMONT was born in 1962 in Winnipeg, Canada. He has a degree in Creative Writing, studied and worked as an archaeologist, travelled extensively in South East Asia, and lived in Thailand and Japan for several years. He now lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, with his wife and children. His novels Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne and Blood and Bone are all set in the fantasy world of Malaz that he co-created with Steven Erikson.