The Belly of the Wolf

Nazhuret, years later, leanrs of the death of his friend, the king, and immeditaely finds himself on the run with his daughter, headed into the confusion of a civil war. On his way he encounters an aristocratic dueling artist and talks to the dead, who often talk back.

Towards the end of this, I lost a bit of respect for our hero - his dislike of the King's son is one thing, but his memory of the King striking the eleven year old boy violently for being rude to Nazhuret's daughter is rather disturbing and ugly and doesn't seem to bother him overmuch. MacAvoy undercuts her heros' virtues with blind spots. On the whole, though, this adventire of an exasperated old man trying to stop a war that could conceivably end with him being made show more king, is another terrific read. show less

Ahh. Ahh. That is all I can say -- a satisfied sigh.

What a fantastic, satisfying end to the series. Every note is pitch perfect. This is a composition crafted with consummate care. We get adventure from a reluctant hero, a study of patient composure from our protagonist, who has aged since the first few books, leading to a touching capstone for the series.

This third and final book is surely the high point of the series. I thought the series started off slow, but it slowly snuck up on me, until by the end I was hooked. Read the whole series, so you can experience a brilliant piece of writing.

The last part of Nazhuret's adventures. He's an aging father with an adult daughter and an assassin on his trail. Loved it. MacAvoy does a wonderful job of writing her character into late middle age. I adored the depiction of Nazhuret as a man of wide experience and simple needs who would really rather be left to his own emotional and personal concerns and NOT become a guru thank you very much. Just loved his growing exasperation as he tries to work past the continual interruptions of hero worshippers who want to set him up as their cryptic wise man, and political factions who want to use him either as a figurehead or a scapegoat. Although its comical its not farcical. The fate of kingdoms hang on whether this simple man will allow show more himself to be used and by whom. show less

This final book in the series takes place many years later. King Rudof, Nazhuret's old friend, has died in mysterious-seeming circumstances and civil war appears to be breaking out in Velonya. Nazhuret, accompanied by his daughter, Nahvah, comes out of his semi-retirement as a professor in a small country nearby to return to Velonya to see if he can sort things out. Convinced that Rudof's son may have murdered his father, he seeks to murder him, but then things aren't quite what they seem. Nazhuret has been widowed seven years, and during the journey homeward, a romance brews up in an unlikely quarter. Overall I have to say this third book lacked the drive or coherence of the first two, but many features of it were pleasing, among them show more the way MacAvoy just plunges you in, a new country here, different customs there. She's very good too at the characteristics of people in different locales. They are a solid read, better than many, could be rated at 3 3/4, but overall four stars is fine. show less

I didn't remember hardly any of this third book in the series. When I got to the end of the series I realized that I had a made-up memory of Nazhuret being captured by the Naiish and getting to know their culture inside out. Wonder where that came from. Realized that the Zaquosh word for nobility is paistye (hut crusher) which sounds like the word the Khaleesi uses for 'master' when she is busy freeing the slaves of Meereen to join her army (season 4). Freaky!
Mostly long journeys on horseback and an unconsummated later life romance. It seems like it will be consummated but it's not on the page. I was very charmed by this the first time I read the book. This time I thought old Dinaos was a bit much. The resentment Nazhuret feels toward show more the creator of the spiritual teaching base on his own writings is very funny. show less

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