Rating: 
Summary: Great addition to a great series
Review: Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Richard Knaak has a great start to this new series. The prologue is basically a short history of the minotaur race, but the first chapter is an action packed, bloody coupe. It portrays Minotaurs as a very Romanesque society and gives some interesting vantage points from their view point as well. He is very descriptive, but not overly descriptive (as Jordan can sometimes get.) The book has a great flow to it, and some very intersting turns of events. Definatly a must read for any fan of the series. But even if you have not read any of the other books, I still think this book could stand on its own for most fantasy readers.
Rating:
Summary: Great addition to a great series
Review: Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Richard Knaak has a great start to this new series. The prologue is basically a short history of the minotaur race, but the first chapter is an action packed, bloody coupe. It portrays Minotaurs as a very Romanesque society and gives some interesting vantage points from their view point as well. He is very descriptive, but not overly descriptive (as Jordan can sometimes get.) The book has a great flow to it, and some very intersting turns of events. Definatly a must read for any fan of the series. But even if you have not read any of the other books, I still think this book could stand on its own for most fantasy readers.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting and disappointing read
Review: Dragonlance is the long-lived (and some would say long-suffering) fantasy line originally based on a series of game supplements for the Dungeons and Dragons RPG. There are dozens and dozens of novels in this series, but none of them need to be read prior to this one to understand what is going on. Still, knowledge of Richard Knaak's other novels (The Legend of Huma, Kaz the Minotaur, Land of the Minotaur) may help the reader grasp some references in this book, though such occurrences are rare and have little impact on the main plotline.
NoB is one of Knaak's most polished Dragonlance novels. While The Legend of Huma (a wonderful read) had many rough sentences and didn't always flow well, NoB has no such problems. It is, in fact, a testament to how much Knaak has improved as a writer - my hat is off to him for this.
Where Knaak fails is in his portrayal of minotaurs - the focus of the novel. The characters we get are humans in bulls' clothing - they have horns and fur, but they don't ACT differently than humans (a far cry from how every other novel in the series has portrayed them). They tend to be greedy, dishonorable, cowardly, and just plain duplicitous - the character Ardnor will tend to conjure mental images of Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator) rather than a powerful creature of fantasy and legend. Most of the time, the physical differences aren't even taken into account - clothing choices often wouldn't fit over a minotaur's irregular-shaped head, horns are never used in combat, etc... There is even a minotaur DANCE - which is described exactly as a human dance would be. More effort should have been put into making this once interesting race unique.
Short version: This book might be interesting to fans of the Dragonlance series, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
Rating: 
Summary: Good start...
Review: For those who remember Richard A. Knakk, he was the authour of one of the greatest Dragonlance books ever The Legend of Huma. Knakk is back and to no one's surprise he covers the minotaur race... in full detail this time around.The first book mainly focuses on the political aspect of the minotaurs but Knakk does a fairly good job of it. I'll be honest however, the first 100 or so pages are rather tedious (as Hotak sets up his empire) and you wonder if there will be any action to come. But it comes I guarantee you! The last part of the book is especially enthralling and I had a very hard time putting it down. I can't wait to read Tides of Blood as it seems NoB was just a warm-up for what's to come. A must have for Dragonlance readers.
Rating:
Summary: Is this Krynn...or what?
Review: I fell in love with Richard Knaak after he wrote the Legend of Huma. In that book, he was able to humanize the minotaur race through Kaz. Unfortunately, I was not able to read the sequel, Kaz the Minotaur. This book however, fails me, a fan of the Dragonlance sage. And I mean, I have a read a lot of dragonlance books from Dragons to the Kagonesti to the War of Souls. I can devour one book in one sitting. In The Night of the Blood however, I have to drag myself to finish it. And right now, there's no compelling reason for me to further read on the series. I think the reason lies on the race. I believe that one of the foundations of the dragonlance is magic. Whether it be Fizban, Dalamar, Magius, the silver dragons, Elven mages, Raistlin, Fistandatilus, etc. - a book should have magic. If there's none, might as well read a John Grisham of Michael Crichton book. This one however, concentrates too much on the politics and deceit of the minotaur regime - which is not uncommon to what we see in corrupt governments all over the world - which made me think, am I reading a Robert Ludlum novel. Thus, the fantasy world Krynn that we come to love is not present. No dragons. No elves. Not even kenders who give the readers comic respite. The race is only about minotaurs...and to a certain extent, for now, the ogres. The novel is just a pure testosterone-filled book. And it's about to get a notch higher when the ogres become more apparent in book 2. The legend of Huma is much better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Is this Krynn...or what?
Review: I fell in love with Richard Knaak after he wrote the Legend of Huma. In that book, he was able to humanize the minotaur race through Kaz. Unfortunately, I was not able to read the sequel, Kaz the Minotaur. This book however, fails me, a fan of the Dragonlance sage. And I mean, I have a read a lot of dragonlance books from Dragons to the Kagonesti to the War of Souls. I can devour one book in one sitting. In The Night of the Blood however, I have to drag myself to finish it. And right now, there's no compelling reason for me to further read on the series. I think the reason lies on the race. I believe that one of the foundations of the dragonlance is magic. Whether it be Fizban, Dalamar, Magius, the silver dragons, Elven mages, Raistlin, Fistandatilus, etc. - a book should have magic. If there's none, might as well read a John Grisham of Michael Crichton book. This one however, concentrates too much on the politics and deceit of the minotaur regime - which is not uncommon to what we see in corrupt governments all over the world - which made me think, am I reading a Robert Ludlum novel. Thus, the fantasy world Krynn that we come to love is not present. No dragons. No elves. Not even kenders who give the readers comic respite. The race is only about minotaurs...and to a certain extent, for now, the ogres. The novel is just a pure testosterone-filled book. And it's about to get a notch higher when the ogres become more apparent in book 2. The legend of Huma is much better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Great read...
Review: I started reading Dragonlance years ago, with one of Knaak's books. Because of his writing style I was hooked onto the series. I admit that my interest has been waning because of some of the latest 'side-story' novels have not been up to par, but this book, combined with Weis and Hickman's War of Souls Trilogy, has renewed my faith in the series. I don't wish to give too much of the story away, but the inside jacket does say most of what I'll type. From the insurrection within the Minotaur Empire, this new trilogy sets off a bang. Knaak has a talent for both portraying Knights and honour (from his previous novels dealing with the Knights of Solamnia) and with showcasing a Romanesque type of society, much like the Minotaur Empire. The scenes that take place within the Great Circus brought to mind certain scenes in the Roman Colosseum from the movie Gladiator, flush with trap doors and feral beasts. Of course, this being the first part of a new trilogy, it does end with a cliffhanger, but I don't mind too much. The main character definitely developed throughout the course of the story, from the drunk and revelling son of a distant Imperial relative to a young man (minotaur) who has turned dourly introspective on himself and his currect situation. All in all, I was quite impressed with this novel.
Rating:
Summary: The first step into a new age and new world.....
Review: If you're a fan of the world of Dragonlance then Knaak shouldn't be a new name to you. He's written some shorter stories that have been compiled with Margaret Weis. For any who are not familiar with the world of Dragonlance & Krynn, then I suggest you go read "Dragons of an Autumn Twighlight: Chronicles Book 1" by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. This is the first book in the next stage of Dragonlance, the Age of Mortals. The God's are no more and now it is up to the people of Krynn to watch out for their own. This book takes a very specific look at a race that hasn't very much been explored or even mentioned in Dragonlance History. "The Minotaur Wars - Volume 1 - Night of Blood" is just the first book in the 3 part series and while this does end at a cliffhanger it's worth it. The book specifically deals with the inter-relations and civil war disputes of the Minotaur nation as it struggles to set itself right among the other races of Krynn. This book explores much about the race of Minotaurs: politics, religion, social structure. The only negative thing that I might mention about this book is that it inter-slice many different scenes and at times might seem a bit overwhelming, though this is done for the end result, which is weaving many different story lines as they are merged into one towards the end. I like it quite a bit and would suggest this book as a must for any fan of Dragonlance.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel
Review: Knaak has done it again. Proving that he is the all knowing about Minotaurs. This book delves deeply into their, culture, heritage, lives and their world. The character development is phenominal. The plot is superb. I eagerly await the remaining 2 volumes to see where the story goes. The elves better watch out! Faar Kivan
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel
Review: Knaak has done it again. Proving that he is the all knowing about Minotaurs. This book delves deeply into their, culture, heritage, lives and their world. The character development is phenominal. The plot is superb. I eagerly await the remaining 2 volumes to see where the story goes. The elves better watch out! Faar Kivan
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