Born in Winnipeg in 1962, Ian Cameron Esslemont has 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. He has a creative writing degree and his novels Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne, Blood and Bone and Assail are all set in the fantasy world of Malaz that he co-created with Steven Erikson.

His latest novel, Dancer's Lament, begins an exciting new series that is set in the same extraordinarily imagined world.