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benlundns's review against another edition
4.0
It is done. I picked up book 2 a few years ago, grabbed books 1 and 3 for a $1 each on Amazon, and read it on and off over the year. I have to say, it was better than I expected it to be. According to the blurbs the first book was Marco's "debut novel". While definitely more grounded then some fantasy out there, there is very little overt magic, and much more focus on intrigue and politic-ing the over all series is a pleasant read. The final book, is a little too much paint by numbers, with many things happening simply because they have to, with no real reason why, but it is still enjoyable to read the characters arc to the conclusion. I liked this series, I liked this new author, if anything more from him surfaces, I will make an honest effort to check it out.
mw2k's review against another edition
3.0
Doesn't wrap stuff up as nicely as I would've liked, but an otherwise fine conclusion to a better than average fantasy series.
nick_borrelli's review against another edition
5.0
This review is for the entire Tyrants and Kings series (The Jackal of Nar, The Grand Design and The Saints of the Sword). I stumbled upon these books when I was working at Borders about 15 years ago. Back then I wasn't as serious as I am now about the content of what I read, so I admit that I picked up the Jackal of Nar because it had a really cool cover. After reading it I was blown away by how good it was. At the time I was just getting into fantasy, but I had read enough to know that I wanted to keep reading. Anyway, fast forward 15 years later and I decided to reread this series with a more discerning reading palate to see if it still holds up to what I remember all those years ago. And guess what.....it does! One of the things that makes this series so good and makes it work where other fantasy books fail is that the characters evolve and change so much over the course of the series. Just when you think you have a character figured out, they do something totally out of left field that you didn't see coming. Richius Vantran is one of the most unlikely of "heroes" as a protagonist. Constantly examining himself and his decisions, there is a vulnerability there that is easy to relate to. The setting of the story is also one that I was instantly attracted to. The almost steampunk-like city of Nar is such a compelling locale to be placed in the center of a fantasy story. That's another reason why I like this series so much, Marco throws out all of the usual conventional fantasy templates. There are no endless quests here - only excellent political intrigues and a fantastic story that will keep you turning the pages until your wife yells at you to come to bed. If you haven't read John Marco before, that is your loss. The good news is that you can redeem yourself by picking up the Jackal of Nar, start there, and continue to read everything he has published since then. The guy should have way more notoriety than he has. Hopefully that will change as he continues to put out amazing books.
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