King of Foxes is the second novel in the Conclave of Shadows series, following Talon of the Silver Hawk. In the previous volume, Talon has gained his manhood name, but at the same time has lost everyone he loved to a band of raiding mercenaries. He later discovered that the raid was led by a man called Raven, who had been hired by Duke Kaspar of Olasko. Talon was rescued by agents of the Conclave of Shadows and he himself became an agent in order to gain vengeance for his lost tribe. The Conclave provided weapons training and he become an accomplished swordsman. They also provided him with a false identity as Squire Talwin Hawkins, a minor Kingdom noble, and covertly sponsored him in the Tournament of Masters at Roldem. Winning the tourney, Tal gained the title of the world's greatest swordsman.
After the tournament, he turned down an offer to join the court of Duke Kaspar, for he has the Duke's minions to destroy first. Instead, he started looking for Raven and found that the mercenary was planning another raid on the mountain tribes. Hiring another mercenary troop, Tall prepared a trap for Raven in one of the tribal villages. Although Raven escaped the ambush with several men, Tall followed behind and killed them all.
In this novel, Tal is now ready to attack the two remaining targets in his planned vengeance, Duke Kaspar and Quentin Havrevulen, commander of the Duke's army. Tal returns to Roldem after an absence of two years and resumes his social rounds. Not entirely by coincidence, the Duke is visiting his cousin, King Carol. Tal hopes to join the retinue of the Duke without appearing too obvious, so he again turns down the Duke's offer of a position. However, after spectacularly embarrassing Prince Matthew, a vainglorious bore, at sword practice, Tal allows Kaspar to save him from the fury of the prince and thus becomes a Captain in service to Kaspar.
The Duke has a beautiful sister, Lady Natalia, who takes an interest in Tal. Although not a participant in her brother's political affairs, Natalia is a political plum that the Duke is holding back for the best possible suitor. In the meanwhile, Natalia gets her pleasures wherever she can and Tal is one of her favorite pleasures.
The Duke also has a very powerfully necromancer, Leso Varen, as an advisor and, possibly, as a puppetmaster. According to those near him, the Duke has changed for the worse since Varen joined his court. Pug has had fought Varen before and knows that the magician will be very hard to overcome within the Duke's castle.
In this story, Tal has to survive his service to the Duke without breaking his oath until such time as the Duke betrays him. Moreover, he has to find a way past the strong defenses of the Duke's citadel. Furthermore, he has to find a way of breaking Varen's magical defenses.
Tal also has to watch out for his servant. The Conclave has reassigned the ever efficient Pasko and Tal has promoted Amafi, his bodyguard, to valet. Since Amafi has already had long experience as an assassin, Tal can certainly use his services, but betrayal is always a possibility.
Like most of his novels, the author has produced a detailed slice of the history of the Kingdom and its neighbors. The social interactions are fascinating, but the fights are fewer and further apart than in the first novel. The characters are interesting, but their motivations are only hinted by their actions; even Tal's thinking and emotions are revealed at a fairly superficial level.
There is quite a bit of discussion of food and wine in this segment. Such mentions are not totally irrelevant. Enjoy them for the insight they provide into Tal's character per se, but note that they will also convey one of the few real touches of humor in the story.
This novel ties up most loose ends for this segment. However, the story strongly hints that an evil power is still at work behind the scenes.Buy "King of Foxes (Conclave of Shadows, Book 2)"
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