Review of KING OF FOXES by Raymond E. Feist

CONCLAVE OF SHADOWS BOOK TWO

EOS, April 2004

Talon of the Silver Hawk, also known as Talwin Hawkins, swore to avenge his people's death. Already he has killed the mercenary captain who directed the assault. Next in his sights are the Duke who funded the expedition and the Duke's military leader. But death is not enough. Talwin wants to make the men suffer--as he has suffered. Only their complete destruction is enough. Unfortunately for Talwin, the Duke is protected by a powerful magician and even Talwin's magical friends cannot confont him openly. Talwin can get some help, but mostly he is on his own.

Talwin arranges a disgrace to force himself into the Duke's service and then waits for the Duke to betray him, as he is certain will occur. Then, he will be free to turn on the Duke himself. In the meantime, he serves as a war captain and assassin to the Duke, furthering the Duke's ambitions as he attempts to unite a powerful country around himself.

Author Raymond E. Feist (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Feist) creates a fascinating world (KING OF FOXES is set in the same universe as Feist's earlier Riftwar/Krondor novels) and Talwin makes an engaging and complex hero. Fans of TALON OF THE SILVER HAWK (see our review) will be delighted to see Talwin continue to grow. I thought, however, that Feist could have given Talwin a more clever plot to come into the Duke's service (surely the one he picked would have raised more suspicion than it avoided), and made him more morally torn by the assassination assignments. Talwin does finally suffer from moral growth, and certainly endures enough physical suffering to make him a sympathetic character, however.

KING OF FOXES really should be read as part of a series. If you haven't read TALON yet, I recommend that you start there. Only the context of the earlier novel makes KING OF FOXES as enjoyable as it is.

Three Stars

Reviewed 12/26/03

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