Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Transition book, April 11, 2006
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
About average for Feist. Not the conclusion of the story., October 5, 2006
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great, though incomplete, conclusion, March 28, 2006
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.
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