Exile's Return (Conclave of Shadows) (Hardcover)

Exile's Return is largely set on the continent of Novindus and follows the travails of the former Duke of Olasko, none other than Kaspar (the exile of the title), as he strives to regain a life for himself. Feist's real skill is in his description of his fantasy world and in the creation of great characters, and Exile brings this skill to the fore again in a way I have not seen since King's Buccaneer, one of the author's earlier works.

Kaspar is brought to life in this book as we understand the man now freed from the influence of the evil sorceror, Leso Varen. However, Kaspar's fate seems inextricably tied to that of the Conclave of Shadows, and it isn't long before the former Duke is tasked by the Gods themselves with seeking out the secret organisation with a legacy from the Dragon Lords reign that will challenge even the mighty Pug and company.

In summary, this is a great book full of pacey plot, intriguing characters and dialogue and above all, a return to form in terms of quality.

A must-have for all fans of fiction/fantasy - even if you fell out with Feist a while ago. This is his best work in years!

Kaspar, the former Duke of Olasko before being deposed by Talon, has been exiled to a strange continent on the other side of the world for his crimes. He is left penniless, almost naked, and he is quickly set upon by bandits when he appears there by dimensional shift. Kaspar uses his wits, however, and quickly turns the tide on his captors, escaping into the wild. As he makes his way across the continent, he thinks about his predicament and what led to his downfall, including the lies and sorcery committed by the man who he deemed advisor, Leso Varen. He is determined to return to Olasko and avenge himself on Talon. However, circumstances get him involved in an artifact from another world, leading him to enlist Talon's help in contacting the Conclave of Shadows for assistance. In the process, Kaspar learns that there is more to life than power, and that he hasn't necessarily led a good one. Too bad that the process of learning that could kill him, and the rest of Midkemia.

My review of King of Foxes criticized Feist heavily for the way the story portrayed women; basically, they were nothing but sexual objects throughout the story. Feist avoids that pitfall this time, mostly by not having any female characters in the book. The two who are in it, however, are much stronger (though very minor). Johanna is a woman whose husband has disappeared after going to the nearest town for market. While she doesn't do a whole lot in the book, we can see that she is quite determined to keep the farm that she and her son occupy successful, despite the fact that there are only the two of them. Kaspar admires her greatly, thinking back to the way he used to treat peasants in Olasko (when he could be deigned to notice them at all). There is nothing romantic about their relationship at all, and he leaves her farm a better man for it. I really liked her and what Feist did with her. The other female character is the wife of the head wizard in the Conclave, and she doesn't do a lot, but at least she acts like a normal woman.

Most of the characters in Exile's Return are fairly thin, but they serve their purpose well in the story. Kaspar is the protagonist, and this is his story of redemption. He realizes that he was deceived a great deal by Varen, and that Varen is still a big danger to the world. He begins doing the right thing when he is compelled to by the magic around the artifact being carried by the group of men he falls in with, however, that magic eventually disappears and he still finds himself doing the right thing. A great deal of the first part of the book, especially when he's dying of thirst, is taken up with his thoughts on what happened, his determination to kill Talon, and the realization of what he had done. Thankfully, Feist avoids having him come to all the right conclusions immediately, as his determination for vengeance still rings brightly for quite a while. Kaspar is even more interesting than Talon was in the first two books, which is saying something.

The plot isn't the most unique out there, but it serves its purpose as sword and sorcery. The conclave is a bit clichéd, very reminiscent of the wizard councils in various Dungeons & Dragons books, traveling hither and yon through teleportation. The artifact that they have in their possession is kind of interesting, an unstoppable force that shows our heroes how tough it will be if more of those artifacts come into this world. I haven't read the Riftwar saga, so I hope that Feist isn't repeating himself with the rifts opening up keyed to the artifact they have. There's certainly a lot of action, or at least talking about action, throughout the book, so it isn't very deep. Once Kaspar's internal struggles with his philosophy are through, the book pretty much just plows through the plot without a lot of characterization. That does make it a fun read, however, just not very thought-provoking.

This is my first Feist series, and I'm very happy to say that, despite the numerous references to past books, you don't have to read any of them first. Feist does a very good job of filling the reader in along the way, giving just enough information to tell us what happened without dwelling on it too much. Only somebody who has read them can say whether they are too detailed or not, but I valued it.

Fans of Feist will probably love this book, and I definitely think it's better than King of Foxes. If you like some straightforward adventure, then this will appeal to you too. Just don't expect to think a lot.

David Roy

The first part of the story is a voyage of self discovery by Kaspar, he gradually starts to come to terms with what has happened to him and gains some insight as to why he acted the way he did. This realisation is very uncomfortable for him on several different levels.

This is however only the first part of the story, it continues with Kaspar meeting up with Flynn and his companions and the mysterious object they are transporting, then finally re-introduces us to some old friends, Pug, Tomas, Nakor et al.

This story is the introduction to a new and even more deadly threat to Midkemia, to find out more read the book, you will not be disappointed.