Customer Reviews

Exile's Return (Conclave of Shadows 3)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We are taken back to the continent of Noviandus (sp?), homeland to the Serpent War saga books, the place of Kaspar's exile after being defeated by Talwin Hawkins in the last book. As part of the series, this veers off to take a look at life through Kaspar the bad guy rather than following the exploits of the hero. Kaspar is unawares that he is on a self-redemption excursion in his attempt to return to Olasko. We meet a few new characters but more importantly, we learn about the Talnoy and the Dasati. By the end of the book, past characters are present and there's a cameo by Tomas from the Riftwar Saga. It's a good adventure and redemption story but fairly typical as those stories go.

While I enjoyed "Exile's Return", this book doesn't complete the Conclave of Shadows. Rather, like "The King's Buccaneer" was to the Serpentwar Saga, "Exile's Return" is a transitional book to the upcoming Darkwar Saga which is hinted at in this book as making the Riftwar look like a playground fight. The ending scene is a cliffhanger of things to come and you can easily visualize what they are seeing. Overall, good book but can't stand alone and is a setup for the upcoming Saga.

While this book is labeled as part three (ie the finale) of the Conclave of Shadows trilogy it's really just one more step in a story that continues into the Darkwar set of books. It's likely that the publisher is the reason why this is part three rather than a standalone book as it is easier to sell a trilogy than a two book series and a standalone novel. Technically, this book is a continuation of the previous two books, only from a completely different point of view.

This book focuses on the previous book's villain, Kaspar of Olasko. Transported by magic to Novindus a continent on the other side of the Midkemian world (that we first encountered in the SerpentWar series) we find that Kaspar isn't as bad a fellow as he was portrayed to be in the first two books. This change of personality is the result of Kaspar escaping the influences of the evil magician he employed as an advisor. Everything that went on during his time under the magician's influence is a bit hazy and Kaspar isn't really sure why he did some of the things he did. Unlike real politicians though Kaspar ends up taking full responsibility for his actions despite said influence and so ends up adequately filling the role of a good guy in this book.

In this book we follow Kaspar in various adventures that end up embroiling him (surprise!) in the defense of the world itself. Feist employs this world destruction gambit to once again bring Pug back into play along with Tomas and a host of other familiar characters from the Riftwar that never die. It remains to be seen how the story will play out as this book is really just the introduction of the world destroying plot.

While the book overall has good pacing and is a decent page turner it doesn't measure up as well to the first two books in the series. Kaspar isn't as interesting a character as Tal was in the first two books of the series. While Kaspar gets more fleshed out in this book his character still lacks some depth compared to Tal.

Exile's Return is about average for Feist which is why it gets a three star. It follows a formula that is eminently readable, but at this point a bit overdone.

Exile's Return, Book 3 of the Conclave of Shadows, sticks a wrench in what turns out be a very entertaining trilogy. The first two volumes (Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes) were written from the perspective of protagonist Talwin Hawkins. What makes Exile's Return unique, and a little surprising, is that it's written from the perspective of Kaspar, one of the major villains from the 1st two books. Initially, I had trouble accepting the transition. I had really grown to like Talwin, and the sudden departure from his character was startling. However, once the tale starts flowing, things begin to make sense and I really found myself captivated by the new exploits of Kaspar.

Exile's Return starts off directly (same day, actually) after King of Foxes. While I won't give any spoilers to ruin your enjoyment, let me say that all the characters that made the first two books excellent are present for this one. The setting, however, is very different. An entirely new continent is developed, giving Feist a new vessel for his creativity. Action and intrigue are layered throughout the book, and the reader should feel very involved. It is not easy to put down.

I have two gripes. First, the ending sequence (battle, if you will), is not as grand as it was built up to be. If fact, it seems very rushed, and I was left thinking, "That's it!?" Not that is still doesn't have the intended impact, it just isn't very long or developed. Secondly, the ending is a little more opened ended then I would have liked for the finale to a series. In fact, it really seems like a fourth book should be added. Feist is planning to continue the story in his next series (Darkwar saga), but still, the end of a series should be the END of the series.

Feist is a great writer, and his world is alive and vigorous. I recommend this series wholeheartedly. Just be prepared for a finish that leads into his next series.

Exile's Return by Raymond Feist is billed as the conclusion to the Conclave of Shadows trilogy. However, once the reader finishes the book, they will realize that this book does not conclude anything. It is merely a bridge book to another trilogy that Feist is currently writing called the Darkwar Saga. Based on that I was a little let down that there was no conclusion to the Conclave of Shadows trilogy. I have no problem with authors ending one trilogy to start another one, but there needs to be some closure for the former. Otherwise readers will be left feeling cheated, which is how I felt after reading the last page of this novel.

The plot of this book is a complete 180 from the first two in this trilogy as well. The first two books were written from the perspective of Talwin. Suddenly, this book is written from the perspective of Kaspar who was essentially Tal's enemy in the first two. This switch is a little confusing for awhile, but was done to further the plot of the books and keep the story going. There are not really to many subplots within these pages. It's a pretty straight forward linear plot where the characters provide a lot of the information for the reader instead of making the reader think a little about what is going on. There are some minor plot twists, but nothing that will alter the book.

The characters have, for the most part, already been developed in previous books so it seems that Feist doesn't feel the need to continue that development. Rather, they now just try to solve all the worlds problems. Not continuing to develop the characters is a double edge sword. On one hand the reader know exactly what the characters are thinking, doing etc. Yet, they characters can quickly become stale and redundant This is the case for me when I read about Pug, Tomas, and the rest of the all powerful characters. They have been in so many books, and vanquished so many foes... it just doesn't add suspense anymore. They just are... this is partly a reason why I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, it was about Tal and that was fresh and new.

I did not enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed past Feist books. The events of this books seem like they could have been condensed into a couple chapters if Feist really wanted to. Overall, this seems to be a must read for fans if they are going to understand the events that will transpire in the Darkwar saga, however, the casual fan who has read nothing else by Feist will find this book lacking. This could also be a case of Feist having to live up to what he has done thus far. It is inevitable that there will be a lull in something, maybe that is what this trilogy was for Feist. I hope he can regain his magic and take us back to the greatness we have come to expect.

None-the-less I am too invested in this story to stop now and will certainly read the following books.

This one could have been titled Kaspar's redemption. Most of the book is used to show Kaspar as something other than the evil man he was in the first 2 books of the series. Thrown into exile, he must find himself and redeem himself as events force him back to his own realm. The star of the first 2 books Talon makes an appearence near the end of the story. The is well written, and will please most Feist fans. The only problem I have is that the story was basically a set up for the next trilogy. The books ends on a cliffhanger that leads right into his new series. I wouldn't have packaged it as part of trilogy with the first 2 books. Other than that minor thing, it is an enjoyable read.

I was looking forward to more of Tal. Now we have a whole book dedicated to his enemy Kaspar? I didn't care for that. Shouldn't a trilogy sort of follow the same people. If the author wishes to add a book with another perspective, maybe add an additional one and call it Book 2b or something.

It was okay as far as the book itself goes, I just couldn't get over the Kaspar point of view. It did further the story and the ending wasn't what one would expect either. It sort of leaves you hanging in several spots that I understand will be dealt with in a subsequent series.

Feist is always enjoyable, even this book.

While the series lacks some of the depth of the original series set in Krondor, it carries Feist's distinctive writing flavor. It continues the series spanning saga, the never ending battle between good and evil, and revisits some of our favorite characters from the original (Pug, Thomas) etc.

Reading this book jogged my interest in the Feist saga enough to prompt me purchasing the 2nd in the saga (which I had missed), and the trilogy that would immediately follow this book in the over all timeline.

If you like Feist, I'd recommend it.

"Book 3" is a glaring misnomer of Exile's Return. "Beginning of a new set" would be more appropriate. Billed as the conclusion of Conclave of Shadows it is terribly disappointing. Not only does it almost completely abandon the main characters of the first two books excepting the former Duke, it makes the least likable character it does retain the focus of the book. Perhaps if the Duke hadn't been such a black and white bad guy in the preceding books it might have been easier to believe his rehabilitation. Without any hint of conscience or conflict in him before, his complete change of heart is improbable at minimum. The conclusion is not only no conclusion at all, but the lead-in to it is too poorly developed to leave you any desire to find out what comes next, in other words, to pursue an actual conclusion to the story.

That said, his writing style is very readable and the pace was right. If you approach this book as a standalone, you might well enjoy it. My disappointment and frustration at the inaccurate description of what I should expect left too strong a taint for me to enjoy Exile's Return at all.

It is a shame that Feist continues to let his readers down. After the Riftwar and Serpentwar sagas, I guess there was no place to go but down. I have read both sagas about 5 times and you could not pay me to read the conclave trilogy again. This trilogy appears to be writtin in 3 hours much like a bad sequel to a great movie. Tal Hawkins in the first book was a different spin and mildely entertaining, but this book is supposed to be the setup to a great finish, not a decent start to a painful conclusion. The last 2 books were so lackluster that I found it difficult to even finish them. Mr. Feist...please take a vacation and maybe you will get your swing back.

I read all three books and they were all right but not some thing I will read again, at least I don't think so.