Emperor and Clown

"Emperor and Clown" is the fourth volume and climax of "A Man of his Word" which is itself the first of two marvellous fantasy quartets. The titles of the four volumes of "A man of his word" are taken from Keats' "Ode to a nightingale" and the words from the poem perfectly match the themes of the books. The lines which inspired the titles are as follows - "The voice I hear this passing night was heard In ancient days, by Emperor and Clown .... ... The same that oft-times hath Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam of perilous seas, in Faery lands forlorn" The four books of this quartet are The Magic Casement Faery Lands Forlorn Perilous Seas Emperor and Clown These four books tell one complete story and are best read in this order. There is a sequel quartet, set 15 years later in the same universe, which is called "A handful of men" and has its titles taken from Masefield's poem, "Tomorrow." The four books in that story are The Cutting Edge Upland Outlaws The Stricken Field The Living God All eight books are set in a world of Gods and Sorcerers, where magic abilities are conferred by the knowledge of words of power. The descriptions of magic powers and how they work are far more effectively and consistently thought through than in the typical fantasy novel, and as the hero and heroine travel through a strange and diverse world a picture both of that world and the serious threat which it faces gradualy takes shape. At the start of "Emperor and Clown", the loyal stableboy Rap fought his way from the other side of the world to rescue Inos, rightful Queen of Krasnegar, and arrived just too late. Inos, who was told by a God when she was a child that she must "trust in love" took this to mean that she should marry the Sultan of Zark, Azak. Rap arrived just after the wedding and saved Inos and Azak from an evil sorceress, but his reward was to be thrown into prison by Azak. The sultan then took Inos to Hub, capital of the Empire of the Imps. But when Inos arrives at Hub, the great events which have been unfolding become clear: only Inos and Rap can avert a terrible disaster. The original editions of the "A man of his word" quartet had beautiful covers painted by Don Maitz, and the books would almost have been worth buying for these covers if they had not also comprised a beautiful story.

Emperor and Clown picks up where Perilous Seas left off, with Queen Inos of Krasnegar married to the cursed Sultan Azak of Zark. Inos hopes that Azak will help solidify her right to rule the tiny kingdom of Krasnegar, but she soon discovers that Azak is nowhere near as easy to manage now that Rap has killed the Sorceress Rasha. To make matters worse, the curse that Rasha placed on Azak is still there - he still cannot touch another woman without burning her. Humiliated, but determined to make Inos his, Azak and Inos set out for the capital of the Impire to beg the Imperor's aid.Meanwhile, Rap is being tortured in Azak's dungeon because it is obvious that he has feelings for Inos. Inos has no idea that he is there, as Azak promised her that he would be released. However, Rap's faithful friends are not about to let Rap die in some desert dungeon in the middle of nowhere. Once free, Rap isn't sure what to do. He was so sure that Inos would need his help and that they would return to Krasnegar together once he found her, but now she was married to the handsome, powerful sultan - what would she need with a homely, faithful stableboy? Still, Rap had promises to keep and prophecies to fulfill so he too set out for the heart of the Impire. All too soon Rap would find himself battling the crazed jotunn raider Kalkor, meddling in the Impire's politics and finding himself one of the most feared men alive...Emperor and Clown is the fourth and final book in A Man of His Word series and it was a riveting conclusion. I found myself racing through the book, desperate to find out what happened to Rap, one of my favorite heroes who is not exactly a hero. Inos has finally become an interesting character so I didn't find myself skimming through her sections as I sometimes did in the past, which helped pick up the pace quite a bit. A few new secondary characters were introduced along with the regular bunch which kept the story fresh and new. We also got to see the heart of the Pandemian Impire, which was quite interesting. I have to admit that the ending was a shocker and I wasn't necessarily pleased with the way it ended, but I guess there was really no other way. The ending aside, this is the still the best and most exciting book in this series! A masterful conclusion to a lovely epic fantasy series.

Pandemia is one of my favorite worlds. I read Dave Duncans A man Of his word series ten years ago, and I have owned a copy of it ever since. Whenever I feel the need to return to my Favorite fantasy series of all time, I just start with Magic casement and keep on reading. I am now just finishing reading "A living God" (the last book in his pandemia series) for the sixth time and the entire series just keeps on getting better. Read all eight books set in pandemia and just hope that Mr. Duncan writes another dozen. Emperor and clown may be my favorite of all of the pandemia books.

Well, as I already stated in my earlyer review for the first part, Dave is an exceptional fella. I have never known another writer, who writes so well and has received so little fame for it. It should be about the time for more...On with the appraisal - a long time ago I grabed 3rd and 4th part from some shop and after reading them I just couldn't put away the idea to buy myself the first two. Usually, when you know the end, you don't want to read the first parts cause it's boring, but "A Man of His Word" is certainly not the case. And now, after just having finished the series once again, it still amazes me. The fact that the story never grows bad. And the heart-beat of the story is so high that at some moments you think your's will deffinetly stop right then, but you can't set the book aside.Actually I can't even find the right words to describe my feelings concerning the book. You have to check out the series yourself. It's worthy it, I can swear!

It seems that in a lot of fantasy series I read, the first book is excellent, the middle one or two are all right (sometimes exceptional) and the final book is good, but not quite in the way that I'd hoped. Something happens that is too predictable, or so unpredictable that it's unbelievable.This didn't happen with the "A Man of His Word" series. The first book, _Magic Casement_ drew me in, and _Faery Lands Forlorn_ and _Perilous Seas_ continued the story at an almost absurdly high level. And _Emperor and Clown_ is by far the best of all of them. The characters- Rap, especially- come to an ending that was hard to foresee, especially in some particulars, but at the same time *right* for who they are and what they do.Several months after I first read this book, I went through the series again, and _Emperor and Clown_ enthralled me as much as it did when I first read it. Read it yourself.You won't be disappointed.