From Booklist
The third volume of Conclave of Shadows shifts focus from Tal Hawkins, who has overcome Kaspar, duke of Olasko, and wrought quite thorough vengeance upon him. But the ex-tyrant of Olasko is a survivor, though he first appears to have no other virtues. He makes shift as a farmhand, then as a common laborer, and while looking at the world from underneath, detects a good many things not visible from higher quarters. One, or maybe several, of these is a menace compounded out of dark magic of a sort thought buried too far in Midkemia's past to be threatening. Feeling loyalty to Midkemia, or at least to the portion of humanity living there, Kaspar uses his hard-bought knowledge to begin fighting the menace. The complexity of characterization here may surprise some, though not those who have followed Feist's work over the years and seen steady, across-the-board improvement in it. A must, of course, for rapt readers of Talon of the Silver Hawk (2003) and King of Foxes [BKL Ja 1 & 15 04]. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Exile's Return (Conclave of Shadows Series #3) FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
After more than a dozen bestselling novels set in his signature realm of Midkemia, Exile's Return -- the third installment of Raymond E. Feist's Conclave of Shadows saga (Talon of the Silver Hawk and King of Foxes) -- is arguably his best work to date.
After a former tyrant is exiled to the other side of the world and comes in contact with an artifact practically radiating evil, his epic quest to destroy the relic leads him to jaw-dropping epiphanies that will turn Midkemia upside down! When Kaspar, the former Duke of Olasko, finds himself suddenly deposited in a vast foreign desert, he must use every ounce of cunning to survive. After barely escaping a band of nomadic bandits, the once notorious despot is reduced to working as a farmhand for his sustenance. But then he's given an opportunity to do the unthinkable: something selfless and heroic.
While most fantasy series can't go four or five novels without growing stale and redundant, it's remarkable that Feist's already lengthy Midkemia sequence has not only continued its high level of storytelling mastery but has gotten better with every new installment. By regularly introducing new characters, exploring previously unrevealed lands, and uncovering more of Midkemia's rich history, Feist keeps his realm as breathtaking and vibrant as when it was first revealed in 1982's Magician. With a cast of surprisingly complex characters, consistently brisk pacing, and the most explosive plot twists Midkemia has ever seen, Exile's Return is Feist at the very top of his craft. Paul Goat Allen
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The evil Duke of Olasko is lord no more—vanquished by his nemesis Tal Hawkins, the Talon of the Silver Hawk. Saved by a mage's intervention from certain death, the once-feared despot has been reduced to an exile's existence, forced to wander the harshest realms of the world he once enslaved.
Conclave of Shadows: Book Three
Only days ago, Kaspar, the powerful Duke of Olasko, had great armies at his command and was feared by nations. Now, half a world away from home, he is separated from his former seat of power by merciless deserts, forbidding mountains, and vast oceans. The fall of the tyrant is complete, his dark dreams of vengeance overwhelmed by the daily struggle for his very survival. But Kaspar's prodigious skills and cunning provide him the opportunity he seeks, guarding merchant travelers returning to the other side of the world and back to his homeland.
Yet there is a larger drama that will entangle the broken dictator. An evil more devastating and deadly than any encountered in Midkemia for centuries seeks entrance to the land—the mystical tool of a dark empire hungry for conquest and destruction—and Kaspar has inadvertently discovered the key.
The man responsible for the slaughter of countless men, women, and children must now assume a far stranger and most unlikely role—that of hero—if his world is to survive. For dire peril is advancing daily, and a long-slumbering malevolence is awakening to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting and unprepared. Suddenly, Midkemia's last hope is a disgraced and exiled duke whose history is written in blood, and who now must wield his sword as her champion ... if he sochooses.
About the Author:
Raymond E. Feist's previous novels include the first two books of Conclave of Shadows, Talon of the Silver Hawk and King of Foxes; Magician; Silverthorn; Faerie Tale; Prince of the Blood; and The King's Buccaneer; as well as the four books of his New York Times bestselling Serpentwar Saga: Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King, and Shards of a Broken Crown; and the three books of his Riftwar Legacy: Krondor: The Betrayal, Krondor: The Assassins, and Krondor: Tear of the Gods. Feist lives in Southern California.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The tyrannous Kaspar, Duke of Olasko, has been banished from Midkemia-but he might be able to get even. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Another entry in Feist's long-running Midkemia fantasy (Krondor, 2001, etc.). Kaspar, deposed Duke of Olasko, is magically exiled to the far side of his world and left in chains to be captured by nomads. He escapes and after several adventures joins up with a group of traders who want his help transporting a magical artifact: a suit of armor inhabited by some dormant but malignant entity that has caused the deaths of some 20 of their company. Intent on returning home to exact revenge on his deposers, Kaspar declines to join them, but the armor holds a geas over the traders, and having touched it, he is also under its power. In the western mountains, a powerful god tells Kaspar that the armor is a war machine from a hostile plane; the god teaches him to control it, but convinces him that its continued presence in this world bodes utter destruction. Kaspar must return with it to Olasko and consult the Conclave of Shadows, a powerful group of sorcerers who may be able to counteract its evil. Home at last, Kaspar learns that his dukedom is in good hands and realizes that he has no more desire to take revenge for his exile. His ordeals have cured him of the arrogant ambition that forced his enemies to depose him. Now he must win their trust to find the Conclave and neutralize the threat posed by the armor. After Kaspar joins forces with the Conclave, the story ends with one threat defused and an even greater one looming. Well-paced storytelling by a veteran entertainer.
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