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A review by stijn
Exile's Return by Raymond E. Feist
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Boy, oh boy, how do I review this? On one hand, this is a single novel, but on the other hand, it finishes a trilogy. So let's do this review in two: first as a single novel, second as part of a trilogy.
The novel itself
Exile's Return follows Kaspar, the former Duke of Olasko, as he is stranded at the other side of the planet. As his journey back progresses, he finds something from another dimension, and is forced to deal with it, delaying his return home.
I liked Kaspar as a protagonist: he is reasonably skilled, and uses those skills in places he wouldn't have thought he could use them. I especially liked how he recognized and dealt with despair in one of his companions.
I didn't like how, in the last part of this novel, Kaspar became a spectator and Pug became the new protagonist. The former duke lost agency, he couldn't use his skills anymore, and was merely driven by this thing from the other dimension. As such, I didn't find him fully redeemed, which was obviously the goal of this novel. This isn't helped by the fact that Leso Varen controlled the duke in the event before this novel, and since the wizard was killed in the previous novel, this control is gone. We, the readers, have not seen the duke before he had been controlled, and as such, there isn't much to redeem him for.
Its place in the trilogy
As for its place in the trilogy, that is a real mess. Talon Of The Silver Hawk was pure setup for the second novel, with no story thread which spanned more than a chapter for most of the novel. King of Foxes then followed Tal on his quest for revenge, which he succeeds in. That is strange for the middle book of the trilogy, but whatever. The author could have said that Leso Varen was not truly killed, so the last novel could focus on killing this wizard once and for all.
But no, the third installment of this trilogy focusses on a new protagonist and introduces elements that are (hopefully) resolved outside this trilogy. It gives me the feeling Conclave of Shadows is just a bridge between two other trilogies, which isn't helped by the obvious references throughout this novel to events that happened prior in this world.
However, besides the nagging feeling that Conclave of Shadows wasn't meant to introduce you to this immense book series, I somehow enjoyed reading this book. It however failed as a conclusion to a trilogy.
The novel itself
Exile's Return follows Kaspar, the former Duke of Olasko, as he is stranded at the other side of the planet. As his journey back progresses, he finds something from another dimension, and is forced to deal with it, delaying his return home.
I liked Kaspar as a protagonist: he is reasonably skilled, and uses those skills in places he wouldn't have thought he could use them. I especially liked how he recognized and dealt with despair in one of his companions.
I didn't like how, in the last part of this novel, Kaspar became a spectator and Pug became the new protagonist. The former duke lost agency, he couldn't use his skills anymore, and was merely driven by this thing from the other dimension. As such, I didn't find him fully redeemed, which was obviously the goal of this novel. This isn't helped by the fact that Leso Varen controlled the duke in the event before this novel, and since the wizard was killed in the previous novel, this control is gone. We, the readers, have not seen the duke before he had been controlled, and as such, there isn't much to redeem him for.
Its place in the trilogy
As for its place in the trilogy, that is a real mess. Talon Of The Silver Hawk was pure setup for the second novel, with no story thread which spanned more than a chapter for most of the novel. King of Foxes then followed Tal on his quest for revenge, which he succeeds in. That is strange for the middle book of the trilogy, but whatever. The author could have said that Leso Varen was not truly killed, so the last novel could focus on killing this wizard once and for all.
But no, the third installment of this trilogy focusses on a new protagonist and introduces elements that are (hopefully) resolved outside this trilogy. It gives me the feeling Conclave of Shadows is just a bridge between two other trilogies, which isn't helped by the obvious references throughout this novel to events that happened prior in this world.
However, besides the nagging feeling that Conclave of Shadows wasn't meant to introduce you to this immense book series, I somehow enjoyed reading this book. It however failed as a conclusion to a trilogy.