From Publishers WeeklyBest known as the creator of Forgotten Realms, the Dungeons & Dragons-based heroic fantasy series, Greenwood continues to give his audience exactly what they want stereotypical heroes and villains caught up in predictably dirty schemes full of violence, magic and PG-13 humor in this sequel to 2000's The Kingless Land. The Four gruff warrior Hawkril, sly thief Craer, grumpy healer Sarasper and beautiful sorceress Lady Embra Silvertree assisted Kelgrael Snowsar to assume the throne as the rightful "Risen King" of Aglirta, yet there are still plenty of lords who'd rather see someone else in his place. To quiet their complaints, Snowsar decrees that he will hold a "recoronation" at the start of the new year, after everyone has decided which side to take, for or against him. Meanwhile the king sends his faithful Four off to recover the missing fourth Dwaer-stone, a magical gem that, when added to the three they already possess, will give the king and his allies the power to defeat any enemy. Of course the Four immediately become the target of every bad guy in the realm, even as Snowsar busies himself with avoiding assassins at every turn. A choppy, haphazardly constructed story speeds along from one unnecessary side trip to another. While new readers looking for an undemanding, fast, furious read may find this book a reasonable way to kill an hour or two, they're unlikely to come back for more. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistThe sequel to The Kingless Land (2000) establishes that the troubles of that land, Aglirta, are by no means over. The Dwaerindim Stones have lifted the curse of the Sleeping King, but the feudal magnates, long accustomed to having their own way in the matter of private wars and armies, also have abundant resources and few scruples about using them to preserve their position. Some of those resources are magical and threaten to provoke a situation beside which the curse is petty. Hawkril the warrior, Craer the thief, Sarasper the healer, and Embra Silvertree the Lady of Jewels have to match wits and weapons against the ruthless feudality and to seek out a powerful magical secret whose possession confers the rule of Aglirta--or worse. Greenwood's background in game-related fiction shows again, but so does his singular sense of humor, and his world-building skills compensate for occasional slow pacing. Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Publishers WeeklyThe creator of the Dungeons & Dragons based Forgotten Realms series (Elminster, etc.) offers conventional heroic fantasy fare in this third and probably final volume in the Band of Four series. The warrior Hawkril, the thief Craer, the healer-wizard Sarasper and the sorceress Lady Embra Silvertree continue to entertain as well-drawn, if sometimes slightly tongue-in-cheek, archetypes. They have their work cut out for them when they discover that giving the kingless land of Aglirta a "Risen King" has not quashed ambitious barons who desire the throne for themselves, enemies who want vengeance on the Four personally, or the scheming, literally scaly priests who wish to bring back the Serpent and rule or ruin the world. As the stakes rise, the Four rapidly lose their sense of humor and the action becomes genuinely gripping, as well as fast and bloody. The cast of characters at the back is essential to avoid confusion, even if one has read the two previous books, The Kingless Land (2000) and The Vacant Throne (2001). After the fall of Flowfoam Castle and the confrontation between the Dragon and the Serpent, not everybody the reader has come to care for is left standing, while the role of the shape-changing Koglaur as deus ex machina remains a puzzle. Game-oriented fantasy fans and new converts to the genre through the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring should be satisfied, but those hoping to find another Terry Pratchett would do best to seek elsewhere. (Mar. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From BooklistThe title of the third volume of the Band of Four saga refers to the advance and near-triumph of the servants of the Serpent. In addition to those, the formerly kingless land of Aglirta now faces usurpation and tyranny at the hands of a powerful warlord, whose challenge divides resistance to the minions of the Serpent at the worst possible time. Enter the Band of Four--Hawkril the warrior, Craer the thief, Sarasper the healer, and Lady Embra Silvertree the sorceress--to oppose Serpent and warlord, highly if not unexpectedly successfully. Yet the end of this book leaves room for further volumes by Greenwood, whose previous work has included plenty of game-related fiction. The originality and wit he displayed in that work is even more evident in this saga, and indeed there is little that is generic about any aspect of either this book or the series of which it is a part. Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Orivon Firefist was captured as a six-year-old child by the Nilfghar—the dark elves—who attacked his village by night on one of their surface raids.Fifteen years later, he was a moon-pale, scarred, muscular giant of a man, who spent his days at forgework for a dark elf family. He had been trained (and flogged and ordered about) by the beautiful Tsarnarra, a lash-wielding matron who is icily cruel, but proud of the slaves that she has trained. Through all of this, Orivon's spirit had never been broken and he rose up and opposed his underworld tyrants. He has successfully returned to the surface world home that he thought only existed in his most distant dreams. But the score is far from settled. Years of oppression and new revelations of the dark deeds of his former captors only fuel his forge of rage. And the fact that their evil still permeates the underworld only intensifies his desire for a dark vengeance.

Product DescriptionThe long-anticipated return of Elminster, the most famous mage in the Forgotten Realms®--now in paperback! Elminster, the most famous wizard in the Forgotten Realms, has foiled countless world-spanning threats, leaving a trail of powerful enemies behind him. Now that the Spellplague has robbed Elminster of much of his power, those enemies are coming out of the shadows, whetting their blades, and preparing to hunt him down. About the AuthorED GREENWOOD is the creator of the Forgotten Realms® fantasy world setting and the author of more than 170 books that have sold millions of copies worldwide in over two dozen languages. In real life, he's a Canadian librarian who lives in the Ontario countryside with his wife, a cat, and far too many books.