The Saints of the Sword

February 1, 2001
In the third volume of Tyrants and Kings, Emperor Biagio of Nar is only slightly less ruthless than before, yet now he is intriguing and scheming for peace! Indeed, he is willing to betray his own fleet to make peace with the sorely tried seafarers of Liss, and he taps Alazrian Leth, bastard son of the governor of Aramoor, for a secret mission to Lucel-Lor. The core of the novel is Alazrian's coming-of-age on this mission as he meets most of the many characters introduced in this book's two predecessors, develops magical powers (including healing and mind reading), and participates in the climactic battle against his own grandfather, Tassis Gayle, the mad ruler of the Eastern Highlands. Tyrants and Kings is more a tribute to Marco's fertile imagination than to his narrative technique, and Tassis Gayle isn't a sufficiently formidable opponent. But readers who relished what has gone before won't be unhappy with this continuation, which may be the series' conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)