Tomes of Spellcasting

Welcome to the land of mystery, where the impossible is possible, and the improbable the reality. Join me as I investigate worlds filled with magic and meet the souls that wield this wondrous powers.

W A R N I N G !

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Title: Master and Fool
Author: J. V. Jones
Publisher: Warner Aspect
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 1996

Kylock's and Baralis' dreams of empire have come to fruition, but only after a horrendous slaughter that spans the north of the continent. Another heir to Bren exists, however, and he can disassemble the empire...if he survives. For Melliandra carries the Duke of Bren's son, and now the struggle is to see she can keep her son safe while her faith-stricken Knight of Valdis, Tawl, the 'pocket Nabber, and the former baker's boy, Jack, are on a quest to demolish once and for all the power of the seers of Larn. But do they have a chance at survival when the greed of Tyren of Valdis, the power-lust of Baralis, the madness of Kylock, and the political machinations of Tavalisk of Rorn--not to mention the not inconsiderable power of the seers of Larn--conspire with and against each other to attain dominion over all?

Master and Fool concludes the Book of Words trilogy, and it is everything I could have hoped for! Now we see magical exploits that were, thankfully, lacking in the first two books. It's good to see Jack finally in control of himself, which to me now justifies inclusion of sorcerous material. He wasn't in control of himself before, so having him making any such attempts would have completely ruined the text. He's still not in control, I guess, but at least now he has a purpose to fulfill and a need to act instead of simply experimenting or lashing out blindly. I think it's a good call on the author's part.

Sometimes it was difficult to remember that Tawl isn't all that much older than Jack, and that Jack is only about nineteen or twenty years old. Tawl's constantly calling Jack "the boy" (although the usage is understandable considering he's been thinking about "the boy" ever since he accepted the quest from Bevlin) can become distracting at times. It's even harder to remember that Melliandra isn't all old either. And it is extremely difficult to remember that Kylock is the same age as Jack! Talk about mastery over the written word! The author pulls the whole thing off splendidly!

This is J.V. Jones' third book, and like its predecessors it is long: 645 pages! Some scenes occasionally dragged on, but others that went on over a dozen or so pages moved so quickly that you don't notice. The comic relief from the first books is minimized here, but that's okay, because I didn't want comic relief, not now that everything was finally coming to a long-awaited resolution! I wanted it so much I read the book in three days, only stopping to eat, sleep, work, and go to school!

Rating: Thumbs up! Stunning conclusion to a stunning trilogy and every word's worth it!

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