In this final volume of the 'Lens of the World' trilogy (in the US named 'Belly of the Wolf' for reasons explained below, but for some reason renamed as 'Winter of the Wolf' in the UK) we have jumped ahead about twenty five years after volume two. A shame rather, as I felt there were a lot more fascinating stories that could have been told about these characters, instead of which my favourite in the series has been dead for four years when the story starts. There is a slight continuity glitch, as despite the age of Nazuret, the narrator, being stated more than once as fifty-five - and he did state that he and King Rudof were about thirty in book 2 - he has a twenty-eight year old daughter who wasn't even conceived at the time of book 2.

Unlike the first two volumes, this is not told in a epistolary style. Nazuret and his daughter Nahvah have set up home in a small country far from the scenes of his youthful escapades but danger follows him once again when a powerful old friend is apparently murdered. When they take ship to try to return to the land where Nazuret grew up, having heard that a rebellion has started with him as the excuse - a man called Jeram had unofficially published Nazuret's letters to Rudof (which form the content of volume one of the series) and called it 'The Belly of the Wolf' after the meditation technique he was taught by his mentor. A whole cult has now grown up who practice this technique and it seems, take it further as at least one of them can project a kind of astral body of himself as is seen later in the story. War is brewing again, including civil war against the rebels, and Nazuret is drawn into politics despite himself in order to try to prevent it. En route they meet a rather odd duke who is an artist but also has a reputation for duelling and killing people for the fun of it, and are repeatedly in danger.

I enjoyed the story but again not as much as volume one of the series. Apart from the almost-lack of Arlin and total lack of Rudof, there was a lot more mystical strangeness - dead people such as Nazuret's old mentor Powl appearing, astral projection, and a sea serpent which appears to Nazuret while on a sea voyage, seems likely to be significant - certainly the cover on the version I read indicates that - but then goes away again and is just a red herring, no pun intended. Also I couldn't warm to the character of his daughter. So the rating for this is more like a 3.5 stars which I have rounded up to 4. ( )

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 the creator of the spiritual teaching base on his own writings is very funny. ( )

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 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. ( )

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 himself to be used and by whom. ( )

ereader ebook