Product Description

The penultimate volume in The Conclave of Shadows from worldwide bestselling author Raymond E Feist. Featuring one of the most fascinating characters and scenarios ever created in the genre. The series promises to become one of the great all-time classics in the field. Once absolute ruler of his nation Kaspar, former Duke of Olasko, has been cast into exile. Abandoned in the wilds of a continent on the other side of the world and left with nothing but his wits and determination, he must fight merely to survive. Armed with guile, cunning and an iron will, he starts his odyssey with a single goal: to return to his home and revenge himself upon the man who cast him down, Talwin Hawkins. But fate has other plans for Kaspar, and as he struggles against adversity, he encounters dangers greater than any he had imagined. More is at stake than he realised and Kaspar is but a single player in a far greater game than he imagined, for pitted against the Conclave of Shadows are the agents of the Dark Empire, a looming menace that threatens not only Kaspar's homeland, but the entire world of Midkemia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4899 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
'Feist's plot races along at break-neck speed! distressingly addictive.' Guardian 'File under guilty pleasure' Guardian

About the Author
Raymond E. Feist was born and raised in Southern California. He was educated at the University of California, San Diego, where he graduated with honours in Communication Arts. As well as his bestselling Riftwar novels, he is co-author (with Janny Wurts) of Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire.

Customer Reviews

Great, but not a conclusion
Another great book continuing the Conclave of the Shadows trilogy, but as you get halfway through you start to wonder how they're possibly going to resolve everything before the end. The answer is they don't, it basically ends with a big cliffhanger. I deliberately hadn't bought the first book of the Darkwar saga as i knew the saga wasn't complete and i hate getting part-way through a series and then realising you're going to have to wait a year or more for the author to write the next book, but i've ended up reading half a series anyway as clearly the Darkwar saga continues the story and the two sagas should be read together. If you haven't started the Conclave series yet, I'd suggest waiting for the Darkwar one to be complete and then getting both lots or you'll be left hanging off that cliff waiting for the continuation like i did...

The FSFH Book Review says:
The conclusion of the Conclave Of Shadows trilogy. Well, I say 'conclusion' but more accurately it's just the last book of the trilogy, seeing as how the story isn't concluded at all.

By the end of this book you'll realise that the three books of this series are intended to set the scene for Feist's next series (supposedly the last of the Midkemia/Kelewan series'), the Darkwar Saga.

The story here follows Kaspar of Olasko in his exile in Novindus, where he learns some important life lessons and finds himself burdened with a dark artifact from another world.

Feist remains an excellent writer and this book is very easy to read and appreciate. However, once again there's a feeling of shallowness to the plot, particularly in relation to Kaspar's linear and somewhat contrived quest to rid himself of the Talnoy.

There is a counterbalance to the book's faults in the scenes involving further discussion of the nature of the Gods. Some might find these a boring break in the action, but I love Feist's tangents to explore these concepts.

Another good thing is the new enemy introduced; the cruel Dasati and their (all but) invincible warriors, the Talnoy. The way this new threat is established will leave you in no doubt that the Darkwar Saga will feature a struggle every bit as compelling as those in the Riftwar and the Serpentwar.

Yet another winner
Once again, Ray Feist has turned out a great story.... following on immediately from "King of Foxes", the story starts out with Kaspar, the exiled former Duke of Olasko, as he seeks to survive in the land of Novindus, half way around the world from his home. During his battle to make his way home, he meets three fellow Midkemians, and joins them in their strange quest...

There is a very interesting, almost sub-plot in this story, as we see Kaspar, decidedly the bad guy in the previous book, take a long hard look at himself and change his thoughts and feelings, and in some places it's not hard to envisage him as the "reluctant hero"...

There's also a welcome return of old characters Pug, Magnus, Miranda and Tomas, among others. This is a fast paced book that you will not want to put down, with a gripping story and an ending that leaves you wanting more...