In the mountains of Midkemia, a boy came brutally of age in blood and in terror. And now he lives for one purpose alone ... revenge!
An exceptionally skilled swordsman, youngTal Hawkins was the only survivor of the massacre of his village -- rescued, recruited, and trained by the mysterious order of magicians and spies, the Conclave of Shadows. Now one of the secret society's mostvaluable agents, he gains entrance into the court of Duke Olasko, the bloodthirsty and powerful despot whose armies put Tal's village to the sword, by posing as a nobleman from the distant Kingdom of the Isles. But the enemy is cunning and well protected -- in league with the foul necromancer Leso Varen, dark master of death-magic -- and to gain the Duke's trust and confidence, Tal Hawkins must first sell his soul.
The whole of the magnificent Riftwar Cycle by bestselling author Raymond E. Feist, master of magic and adventure, now available in ebook
Talon, last of the Orosini tribe, has been transformed by the Conclave of Shadows from a trusting young boy to a dashing nobleman. He is now Talwin Hawkins, Roldem’s premiere swordsman, and he has one desire – to avenge the massacre of his family.
Two of the culprits are already dead by his hand, but Tal will not rest until he uncovers the reason for the murders and punishes their architect. But the Conclave demands its membership price: he must investigate Leso Varen, a magician of terrible power. To do this means service to the sorcerer’s master, Duke Kaspar of Olasko.
He must swear loyalty to the very man he suspects of slaughtering his family, even if it means tracking down the Duke’s enemies – the members of the Conclave and Talon’s own friends.
King of Foxes is the second book of Raymond E. Feist’s trilogy Conclave of Shadows. The third and final book in the trilogy is Exile’s Return.
Description:
In the mountains of Midkemia,
a boy came brutally of age in blood and in terror. And now he lives for one purpose alone ... revenge!
An exceptionally skilled swordsman, youngTal Hawkins was the only survivor of the massacre of his village -- rescued, recruited, and trained by the mysterious order of magicians and spies, the Conclave of Shadows. Now one of the secret society's mostvaluable agents, he gains entrance into the court of Duke Olasko, the bloodthirsty and powerful despot whose armies put Tal's village to the sword, by posing as a nobleman from the distant Kingdom of the Isles. But the enemy is cunning and well protected -- in league with the foul necromancer Leso Varen, dark master of death-magic -- and to gain the Duke's trust and confidence, Tal Hawkins must first sell his soul.
The whole of the magnificent Riftwar Cycle by bestselling author Raymond E. Feist, master of magic and adventure, now available in ebook
Talon, last of the Orosini tribe, has been transformed by the Conclave of Shadows from a trusting young boy to a dashing nobleman. He is now Talwin Hawkins, Roldem’s premiere swordsman, and he has one desire – to avenge the massacre of his family.
Two of the culprits are already dead by his hand, but Tal will not rest until he uncovers the reason for the murders and punishes their architect. But the Conclave demands its membership price: he must investigate Leso Varen, a magician of terrible power. To do this means service to the sorcerer’s master, Duke Kaspar of Olasko.
He must swear loyalty to the very man he suspects of slaughtering his family, even if it means tracking down the Duke’s enemies – the members of the Conclave and Talon’s own friends.
King of Foxes is the second book of Raymond E. Feist’s trilogy Conclave of Shadows. The third and final book in the trilogy is Exile’s Return.
**
From Publishers Weekly
After destroying the vicious mercenary Raven and partially avenging his people wiped out in 2003's Talon of the Hawk, Tal Hawkins, last of the Orosini, sets his sights on the person who ordered the massacre, Kaspar, Duke of Olasko, in bestseller Feist's latest stirring fantasy. But to get close enough to Kaspar to exact his revenge, he must first win the duke's confidence—and accomplishing that may cost Tal his soul. Devoted fans will welcome the author's focus on Roldem and the Eastern Kingdoms, lands that barely figure in earlier books set in Midkemia. The unstable political landscape of the Eastern Kingdoms provides fertile ground for intrigues the like of which have not been seen in the Kingdom of the Isles. Despite his internal conflicts, Tal, an archetypal swashbuckling hero who's unbeatable with a sword, a brilliant tactician and handsome enough to make the ladies swoon, ranks among the least interesting of the characters who populate this part of Midkemia. Far more complex are the supporting cast, chief among them Petro Amafi, a former assassin and Tal's retainer; Quint Havrevulen, Kaspar's Special Captain who took part in the raid on the Orosini; and Kaspar himself—all of whom assume unusual depth as the plot progresses. The novel's relentless pace and explosive climactic battle will ensure another crowd-pleaser for Feist to add to his already impressive resume.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
The second Tal Hawkins novel (after Talon of the Silver Hawk * [BKL Ja 1&15 03]) expands the saga in Feist's usual deft fashion. Tal is now high up among what might be called the agents of the Conclave of Shadows and assigned to the duke of Olasko, his mortal enemy for destroying his family and people. To be effective, Tal must further disguise himself to enter the duke's service and there ferret out his secrets and find his weak points. Readers who remember how quickly Tal rose in Talon of the Silver Hawk will stop complaining that he hasn't earned the pleasures and privileges he then enjoyed once they get far into this book. Olasko's manners and morals would make the Waffen SS blanch, and they go totally against Tal's principles. Eventually, he rebels, betrays himself, is cast into the Fortress of Despair to die, and manages to escape in another sweating ordeal leading to a not-unexpected cliffhanger ending. The well-balanced pair of protagonists make this a particularly solid achievement for Feist. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*