Harper Voyager publishes the paperback version of The Firemane Saga Volume Three: Master of Furies. Raymond E. Feist is an international bestselling writer of dark fantasy fiction – perhaps best known for his Riftwar and Serpentwar books. He has captivated and enthralled readers for forty years, with his compelling storylines and well-rounded characters. His first book, Magician, was voted in the top 100 novels of all time, and is an epic that fans return to again and again. Master of Furies follows King of Ashes, and Queen of Storms, in the Firemane trilogy...

When one of the established five kingdoms is invaded, the King of the legendary Firemanes is slaughtered, thereby ending the line. However, unknown to the aggressors, his baby son is spirited away to another land to a strict organisation that trains youngsters to be assassins, agents and spies. Suspecting nothing of his past, Hatushaly forms a bond with the female Hava and another boy. Their destinies are to be inextricably linked. Declan Smith is a blacksmith’s apprentice who quickly gains the status of Master Smith when he becomes one of a rare few who can forge an unbreakable sword using the secret sand of a hidden location. He builds his own forge at Beran’s Hill and takes a wife, only for the inhabitants to be massacred by invaders. With his wife dead, Declan vows to track down and destroy the raiders – a sentiment shared by Baron Daylon Dumarch, whose family is slain whilst fleeing the area. Whilst certain parties suspect the existence of a living Firemane offspring and strive to identify him as a target, the objectives of Hatushaly, Hava and Declan converge on a hidden island where riches through piracy and resources through intelligence networks are collected for the fightback to save their lands. Furthermore, certain individuals are in place to reveal to Hatushaly his true identity and to train him to use his inherent powers of the furies – which involves travelling along and manipulating the filaments of energies which power all existence. That is when a curious half-serious, half-idiosyncratic robed figure arrives seemingly out of thin air to bring forward Hatushaly’s training and to warn those on the island that the true threat they face is by far the greatest the world of Garn has ever faced.

The above synopsis from memory covers all three books and so should bring prospective (or forgetful) readers of the Firemane Saga up-to-speed. I have avidly followed Raymond E. Feist’s literary career from Magician (one of my favourite books) up until Magician’s End – more than 30 books later (I have a signed hardback copy of both of these extraordinary reads). All of these stories have been set on or around the world of Midkemia (including the Kelewan Empire books). Who can forget such lovable characters as Pug, Jimmy the Hand, Martin Longbow, and Amos Trask? That is why when it was announced these entertaining reads had come to an end and there would be a completely new trilogy, I was one among many fans who were far from happy. It undoubtedly helps that I read the hardback copy of this upon its release. Perhaps it is because of this previous love of Pug and co. that I found King of Ashes – the first of the Firemane Saga – so hard to get into. It seemed somewhat slow compared with the veritable plethora of previous tales which had seemed to read themselves. However, sometimes you have to invest yourself in a book for it to slowly plant its seed and flower. This third volume is definitely the strongest of this trilogy and, if anything, Hava – who becomes an expert at stealing enemy ships – and Declan (a swordsman as well as a smith) are stronger characters than the main protagonist, Hatushaly. Regular followers of Feist’s excellent books will overjoyed at the brief return of a loved character from earlier books, thought to be lost. Here’s hoping the Midkemia stories continue with Pug’s son, Magnus.

8

Ty Power