The Belly of the Wolf concludes in fitting style the saga of Nazhuret: warrior, moral philosopher and scientist, who rose from his humble position us a young orphan, was educated as an apprentice warrior and eventually assumed a position as the trusted right hand to the King of Vestinglon.A now aged Nazhuret is living in exile in Canton, with his daughter Nahveh, when he learns of the death of his friend, King Rudof of Velonya. Alerted to the potential troubles back in his homeland, he decides to journey back to Norwess to intercede in a rebellion led by his old rival Duke Mackim and fomented by a demagogue who, paradoxically, is using Nazhuret's own writings as a treatise for disobedience.Following his destiny to preserve peace in his land of birth, Nazhuret embarks on a voyage and faces new dangers to his body as well as to his sense of honor. Along the way his daughter disappears, and he forms an unlikely alliance with Count Dinaos of Lowcanton, an assassin and diplomat, debates with ghosts, and battles sea monsters, winter-starved wolves, and his own best instincts when he feels forced to murder the new king, his old friend's own son Benar. Yet even as he returns home, he realizes the steps he must take to save his kingdom from the ruin of civil war.As in the previous volumes in this series, R. A. MacAvoy here creates near perfection in the marriage of voice, character and brilliantly imagined setting to produce a fantastical work of subtle power. An elegiac conclusion to this extraordinary series, The Belly of the Wolf will join the rest of the Lens of the World to become one of the great works of fantasy to be written in our time. Read Less