"Saved by a mage's intervention from certain death, Kaspar, the evil Duke of Olasko, is lord no more -- reduced to an exile's existence and forced to wander the harshest realms of the world he once enslaved."

Merciless deserts, forbidding mountains, and vast oceans now separate the once powerful despot from his former seat of power -- his dark dreams of vengeance overwhelmed by the daily struggle for survival. But there is a larger drama that will entangle the broken dictator. An evil devastating and deadly seeks entrance to the land -- the mystical tool of a dark empire hungry for conquest and destruction -- and Kaspar has inadvertently discovered the key. Suddenly, Midkemia's last hope is a disgraced and exiled duke whose history is written in blood, and who now must wield his sword as her champion . . . "if" he so chooses..

Reviews

Overthrown by the vengeance-seeking warrior Tal Hawkins, Kaspar, the former duke of Olasko, is banished to a faraway land where he survives by laboring as a common farmhand, ever seeking a way back home. On his journey, he discovers that an evil empire in a land outside Midkemia aims to invade the world and claim power. Now the deposed tyrant must become a hero or risk the loss of his world. Continuing the tale begun in Talon of the Silver Hawk and King of Foxes, Feist's latest book offers a story of redemption and heroism featuring an unlikely hero-a villain who discovers a higher calling. This classic fantasy should find a welcome audience among the author's fans and is suitable for both adult and YA fantasy collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.