From Publishers Weekly
The fourth and final volume in Duncan's fantastical Handful of Men trilogy takes plodding steps, as any event of importance from previous volumes ( The Stricken Field et al.) is tediously recapitulated at great length here. Prolixity also leads to confusion as the reader almost immediately encounters characters--a woman and a boy--who believe, erroneously, that those nearest to them are dead. Matters get more complicated, if no more interesting, from there. Fans who have followed the convoluted exploits of King Rap of Krasnegar, the curious Emperor Shandie, the delightful Eshiala, the vulnerable Princess Kadolan and the other Forces for Good through earlier volumes may enjoy their continuing antics, though here they are delineated in prose that makes even the most pyrotechnic of them seem dull.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
The fourth and concluding volume of Duncan's saga A Handful of Men begins just as Rap of Krasnegar's new career as the leader of resistance to the mad dwarf sorcerer Zinxio starts looking more and more futile. Like any proper fantasy hero's, however, Rap's abilities, as well as those of his hardy band of followers, are, by book's end, equal to wresting victory from the jaws of defeat and restoring something resembling peace to the sadly battered land of Pandemia. Duncan's latest deserves the same description as its predecessors: full of standard fantasy elements handled with thought and respect for the reader's intelligence. It also deserves and is likely to receive the same favorable reception. Fantasy collections, take note.
Roland Green
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
