Despite some slow patches and stilted dialogue, the third book in bestseller Feist's Conclave of Shadows fantasy series is a better read than its two predecessors (2003's Talon of the Silver Hawk
and 2004's King of Foxes
), thanks to its focus on the most interesting character in the saga to date, Kaspar, the deposed duke of Olasko. Having been banished to the far continent of Novindus by the victorious Tal Hawkins at the end of King of Foxes
, Kaspar struggles to return to Olasko and reclaim his kingdom. But when Kaspar stumbles across a pan-dimensional relic, his desperate fight to survive soon becomes something much more. In Kaspar, the author has created another complicated and compelling protagonist, and the promised return to prominence of longtime favorite characters Nakor and Pug will have Feist fans eagerly awaiting the next installment. Agent, Jonathan Matson. (On sale Mar. 29)
