Emperor and Clown

A Man of His Word #4

by Dave Duncan

The saga of Inos and Rap comes to its thrilling conclusion in the final Man of His Word novel from “one of the leading masters of epic fantasy” (Publishers Weekly).   While Queen Inos and her new husband, the cursed Sultan Azak, head to the capital city to beg the emperor’s aid, Rap is imprisoned and tortured in the sultan’s dungeons. But a third magic word gives him power beyond his wildest dreams, allowing him to escape. Struggling with his newfound abilities—and his feelings for Inos—he follows after her.   With his faithful companions, Rap will find himself battling old enemies, fulfilling prophecies, and navigating the empire’s politics, forging his own destiny as one of the most feared men in the kingdom.   “If it’s traditional fantasy adventure with a bit of nudge-nudge wink-wink you’re after, Dave Duncan is your go-to guy. ”—SFReviews.net “Duncan takes all the trusted fantasy ingredients, meticulously prepares them and brings them together with skill and relish. . . . The series bears resemblance to Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy.” —Fantasy Book Review “Duncan’s unique concept of goblins, fauns, and imps adds a new twist to this imaginative fantasy adventure. Recommended.” —Library Journal

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy, Romance

474 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds were more satisfying than the real one, he published more than 60 novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical.

He wrote at times under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for "D'ye Ken Whodunit?")

His most successful works were fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and seven books about The King’s Blades. His books have been translated into 15 languages, and of late have been appearing in audiobook format as well.

He and Janet were married in 1959. He is survived by her, one son and two daughters, as well as four grandchildren.

He was both a founding and honorary lifetime member of SFCanada, and a member of the CSFFA Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

[9/10]

Master Rap the stableboy and the exiled princess Inosolan have been traveling towards each other without much success for the last two books in the series. It was about time they finally got together in the same place, and this place is the true hub of the world of Pandemia, the capital of the Impire, residence also of the four warlocks who control the use of magick. After all the slow build-up in the previous books, this encounter needed to be extraordinary, and Dave Duncan delivered the goods in spectacular fashion, mixing palace intrigue, warmongers, feuds between warlocks and more than a fair share of romance. Rap and Inosolan together will bring down the whole social edifice of Pandemia and built it back up from scratch in a new shape.

How did they manage it? Well, Inosolan didn't do much except being pretty, headstrong and prone to getting into trouble. It is Rap who is the true hero of the story so far although Inos gets her chance to woo the reader in the last chapters of the epic, as she returns to rule her tiny kingdom of Krasnegar, and gets involved finally in the magic system . Rap stands out as an old-fashioned type of hero, he has an instinct for choosing between right and wrong, for rejecting firmly the 'dark side', most of all for remaining true to the promise he made to keep faith with Inosolan and help her regain her kingdom. One of his companions, Doctor Sagorn, has this to say about Rap:

I have come to appreciate Master Rap. Even for a faun he is ... 'tenacious' would be the politest term. He is steadfast and honorable. I owe him much.

Another of his aquaintances, Princess Kadolan, has more insight into his personality and motivations, mainly about his interest in Inosolan that goes way beyond the call of duty:

He has fought his way past warlocks and sorcerers and dragons, out of jails and castles, jungles and pirate ships, through storm and shipwreck to reach her side. And I think in return he would happily serve her as ostler for the rest of his days.

It is obvious to all readers that love is in the air, and for me this romantic angle is one of the main appeals of the series. After spending so much time watching how all kinds of obstacle stand in their way including Inos getting married to her sultan just to spite Rap , I was really glad to reach the stage where Rap and Inos finally meet and admit they have feelings for each other, even if the author still makes them work hard at their 'happy ever after'. The happy ending is actually not guaranteed, only the depth and the sincerity of the emotion. To illustrate his point, Duncan inserts yet another of his Easter eggs, a fragment of a famous poem by Yeats - "When You Are Old" -

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
and loved the sorrows of your changing face.

This is the best novel in the whole series for me. It has everything I enjoy in epic fantasy: spectacular duels with sword and sorcery, storming of castles in the middle of the night, treason in the throne room of the empire, wizards fighting their battles by proxy, unexpected twists and turns in the faste of our heroes and, finally, a return of the Gods who set the whole circus in motion. Rap raises to the occasion, and is no longer timid and quiet about injustice and cruelty, speaking truth to power at the highest level, to the Gods themselves:

Healing babies, relieving famines, stopping wars? Oh, very worthy! But who made the babies sick in the first place? Who blighted the crops and started the wars? When prayers are answered You expect thanks. When things go wrong anyway, that is because we mortals are wicked. You have the game stacked so You can score in both goals, can't you? The nice things are Your blessings, and the bad things are our sins!

How could I not cheer him on, and wish for him to reach safe harbour?
The best indicator that this has become one of my favorite series, with its good parts and even its less acomplished scenes (like the poor handling of the Gods issue), is that I was really loath to let it go. I want to know what happens next, I want to spent more time in the company of Rap and his friends, I want to learn more about Pandemia. Duncan once again finds the perfect quote to capture the emotion:

The play is done; the curtain drops,
Slow falling to the prompter's bell:
A moment yet the actor stops,
and looks around, to say farewell.
It is an irksome word and task ...
Thackeray, The End of the Play.

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best book in the series, and I am glad I was able to muddle through books 2 & 3 because this book made it worth the agony.

So, IMHO Book 1 & 4 are the best, unfortunately you cannot skip 2 & 3 without missing alot of important information.

I started this series because I was looking for a fantasy read with some romance, and in truth, it is not a romance book, but the two MC's falling in love is the driving theme. The problem is, that it takes the heroine till about 25% into this one that she realizes she loves Rap, and by then it was too late.. or so she thought.

For once I will not give away spoilers but I will say that the stupid heroine FINALLY becomes likable and strong in this one.

I loved the hero throughout the series and it was his character that made me stick it out. I am glad I did because we finally get the HEA which was a great relief after suffering for so long.

The characters were well developed and 3 dimensional, the pace was a lot faster in this book than the others and I only skimmed the unnecessarily detailed and repettitve parts.

I would rate the series overall as a 3.5 because I am actually going to miss the world and the characters..odd really. I may even consider re reading these books again, and will posibly try more books from this author in the future.

Safety-Torture, violence. Virgin Heroine and unknown if hero is virgin, but could be possible. No mention of any other women or past sexual experiences.

[Emil Söderman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, this series went to hell quickly.

First half proceeds pretty much from where the previous ones left of, solving the current political issues a bit early, but whatever.

Then it takes a weird turn into the metaphysical, and spends a couple of hundred pages of people not saying why they're doing stuff. It's incredibly frustrating. First of all it was brought about by the author breaking the rules of his own magic system for the purpose of his main character. Which is one of my least favourite tropes ever, but that's not too bad, there's some genuinely cool concepts of alienation and "with godlike power then what?" going on.

But no, then the book whimpers out in a cookie-cutter happy ending. Overall the series is a showcase of wasted potential: There's a ton of neat ideas that aren't followed up, some interesting character and political dynamics that are ignored, and all in favour of some pretty lacklustre and cookie-cutter stuff.

[M.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Duncan’s 1991 novel, “Emperor and Clown” is the last book in his A Man of His Word fantasy series. It is a lot like the series overall: a light, enjoyable fantasy mixing the original and the derivative, but also lacking sufficient depth to make it truly memorable.

(This review is part of my “Nostalgia” series, where I infrequently revisit a small collection of fantasy novels in my possession—most of which I inherited when I was younger—to determine if they hold up decades later and are worth keeping.)

In the final act of the series, the story threads of Rap and Inos finally come together in the imperial capital of Hub, unifying with the sorcerous cold-war narrative that had been building in the background since “Faery Lands Forlorn”. The story promises to provide answers with respect to the divine intervention of the first book, the fate of the Inos’ kingdom, and the will-they/won’t-they romantic narrative of a stable boy (albeit one with incredible powers by this point) and a queen.

Duncan’s writing style has a notable efficiency that propels the narrative along in a fairly breezy manner. Having done most of the work establishing the main characters in previous books, the finale serves to pull together a series of set-piece events. The new introduction of the palace intrigue in the imperial capital of Hub is so broadly sketched such that it never feels like more than artifice. The characters are the same as ever (a point worth returning to for the series overall) and there is little growth to speak of and many of the characters outside of the protagonist rarely feel fleshed out.

The book is mostly denouement, hitting its climactic moments early on. As such, the eventual return to Krasnegor is reminiscent of the return to the Shire in the Lord of the Rings, where it it ostensibly a motive force for the protagonists, but has a jarring tonal shift with stakes that are so much smaller (and so easily resolved) compared to what has come before that it feels like an extended epilogue.

In the end, while the series as a whole is a fun, light read with some innovative elements, this final book cements my impression that it is not completely satisfying. For example, the motivating factor of the gods (which acted as a catalyst in the first book and are revisited countless times throughout the other three books) seem poorly explained and raise more questions than they answer. By the final chapters of the book the characters haven’t undergone much development (or have even reverted to those we met at the beginning) despite the many adventures and years that have passed since the opening pages and are still defined by a single trait or aspect.

Even so, I’m happy to keep the series in my collection and recommend it for fantasy readers looking for a pleasant read with a lighter touch.

[Dawn Prickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was shaping up to be the best book in the series. For the first 200 pages I couldn't put it down! Excitement, political intrigue, battles to the death, huge sorcerous battles going on, it was great! Then when the book was reaching what felt like the natural and exciting climax of the entire series, the book took an immediate turn into left field. What followed were several chapters of "summing up" what had already happened, long winded passages of how everyone was horribly miserable, skimpy little descriptions of Rap fixing so many wrongs in the world, and a truly horribly rushed recovery of a kingdom. The love story was always a bit forced because, well, Inos was a bit of a spoiled twit and I wasn't sure what Rap saw in her. I'm not sure if Duncan intended for the last 150 pages to be another book and squashed it onto the end of this one, or if he really wasn't sure what to do with all of the loose ends and just stumbled through it. Either way, you can do better Dave. It was still a masterful world, and I truly love Rap and all of his adventures. I just wish you hadn't thrown that ending together there.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

He looked very earnest, but Rap had always sounded pompous when he tried to tell lies. Not enough practice, likely.

Finishes the Man of His Word series. Medieval fantasy analog universe. Tightening noose of time and circumstances. Accelerating pace of action coupled with certainty of impending doom and opposing hope.

That is what grandchildren are for — so that the old may also dream, a promise of a future in return for the lost past.

A fitting end to this series. Duncan supplies a satisfying conclusion to this book and series. A series of increasingly higher-stakes climaxes.

Whatever else he was — and she had an extensive list of his shortcomings on the tip of her tongue at the moment — Master Rap was a man of his word.

[Levi Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick review (12/30/22).
4.5 stars rounded down to 4.

A bit dicey at the end there, but it came together quite well I'd say.

I have discovered a bit of partiality on my part for stories of this sort through the course of this series. True magic antics, minor politics, sappy romance, high adventure, and fun action.

Would I recommend the series to everyone? No, probably not. It isn't as spanning in scope as other fantasy epics. It shows its age and immaturity at times as well. It has a hokey and unrealistic romance at the core of its plot.

Regardless, I find A Man of His Word quaint and honest--a nice fantasy distraction that never seems to struggle to be more than what it is or was meant to be. For a series I hear nothing about and one that seems to fly under the radar, it is an astonishingly fun read.

[Sean Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true fairy tale ending and an absolutely perfect way to go about it, I must say I didn't quite see how it was going to go. Though in typical Duncan style it made perfect sense and everything's come full circle once again.

This is one of the only times I've felt that an ending of Duncan's is 100% spot on, I think. the Seventh Sword was very neatly done, though perhaps a little too obvious, and the Great game ending felt a bit rushed. This was sheer perfection, and very happily so.

[Micheline Ryckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far, one of my most favourite adult fantasy series’ ever. Magical, adventurous, at moments unsettling and yet romantic too! The ending is perfection. Highly, highly recommend this series!

[Rick English · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time that I have read a full quartet series one after the other at least not for a long time. But the charming writing style and the characters kept me interested. There were some really tense moments in the four books. The outcome, which I won't give away, was somewhat predictable but enjoyable anyway. I like Mr Duncan's style. Since he passed away I'm not expecting any follow up

[David Montgomery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars is probably too harsh for this book, but I felt disappointed by how it wrapped things up. A lot of characters and plot points who had been big deals in the second and third book were casually left unresolved in a way that felt disappointing, while the Hub storyline developed and resolved rather too quickly. But a bigger challenge was that viewpoint characters finally leveled up to the top of Duncan's magic system, which had the effect of making them nearly omnipotent and omniscient — a writing challenge to which he did not entirely rise. Instead, he repeatedly fell back on the lazy technique of having viewpoint characters simply keep secrets from the readers; they now knew too much, and sharing them would have weakened the plot. So Duncan used cheap tricks to write himself out of this corner. It was also oddly paced, with its main plot climaxing two-thirds of the way through, and then a long, extended denouement with more than a hint of deus-ex-machina.

I still enjoyed the series a lot, primarily for its innovative system of magic. The main characters were largely rote, though some of the supporting characters were more interesting — especially the "sequential" quintet and Sultan Azak (though mostly in the middle two books — I was disappointed with how his storyline resolved here). Duncan's use of cultural analogues — there are Fantasy Vikings, Fantasy Arabs, Fantasy Romans, and (most problematically) Fantasy Native Americans — was also a technique that feels much less original than when the series was first written. Not high art, but well-done pulp fantasy.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Done! I had to steal an hour by parking one kid in front of the TV and letting the other sleep on me to finish this book at last. Worth it!

What I remembered as the big climax happened around two thirds into the book. After that it got a bit frustrating because Rap and Inos were circling around each other for a third of the book. That part could have been edited a bit tighter and I think the book would benefit. A lot of threads were tied up but there was just too much pointless back and forth. I did remember the conclusion and it had been mixed with the two thirds climax so it was, again, nice to still be surprised during a re-read.

Overall I greatly enjoyed the entire series. The writing is nice, but I think the books could be shorter and would be even better.

[Sbuchler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: High Fantasy

I liked the resolution to this series very much, and it wasn't nearly as bitter-sweet as the ending of the Seventh Sword series or the King's Blades series. In fact, the only bitter-sweet thing about it was that as a reader I was rooting for Rap to gain super-duper sorcerous power but the character himself rather objected to gaining such power.

[Nance Roepke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Duncan has written two series with many of the same characters. The first series is A Man of His Word and the second is A Handful of Men. Because the two series are contiguous and share the same characters I am just going to review them together.

The first book, Magic Casement, from the first series was one that I liked and would have rated a 4 probably. I thought of it as a well-written YA fiction. The main characters in the book are teenagers and Duncan does, in my opinion, a very good job of expressing through the characters the feelings and viewpoint of teenagers even today. So I continued to read the series and Duncan did a poorer job of expressing the characters as they got older. But the progression of their growth and their stories was pretty well done and overall I would have given the series a 3.5.

While the first series was adventurous it was also more character-driven. The second series, which takes place 15 years after the first, is less character-driven and more political. Meaning political in terms of the disputes between the different regions and races. It could have been an excellent series based on that but it really wasn't.

The series is made up of all the mythical creatures devised by our world. Well, probably not all of them but a great deal. There are goblins and Jinn and pixies and fauns and trolls and so many more, including some I had never heard of. In addition, there are different locales inhabited by the different races. For example, the Jinnq live in awhat would be the Middle East today. (If you like world building, you probably wouldn't like that. It helped me to place some of the races and locales.) For me, given all the races, and their various characteristics, and their various locales, I found it exceedingly confusing. I don't know if that's because I needed a scorecard or if it was because the author made them sort of a muddle or whether I'm just not too bright, but I had trouble keeping track of all the players. And I should say, that there were a lot more players in this series than there were in the first series. And, in the first, the characters stayed together most of the time. They might have passed through a number of different locales but they did it together. In this series the characters were in pretty much all the locales but they went separately. So the stories would jump around between characters and locales. And sometimes a couple characters would come together and then they would separate, later coming together with different characters.

Finally, the climax and finale are a total mishmash. Seems that Duncan wanted to tie everything together in a pretty little bow in a very big hurry. As a result, the bow was squished and untied in places and just ugly. So if I were rating just the second series, I would give it a 2.5 and that might be generous.

In summary, I had to give the two series an overall 3. I really couldn't give it less since I read all 8 books. But if I had to do it over again, I would read the first series but not the second.

[Scott Marlowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating



Review

*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***

Let me say this outright: this was a tough book to finish. Really, it was a tough series to finish. It showcases a unique magic system, main and supporting characters of various non-human races (with nary a human in sight), and tells a story that encompasses many kingdoms and lands (nearly the entire known world, really). It’s grand storytelling from someone I’ve long considered a grandmaster of the genre. Yet something is missing in this series and certainly in this final book. For me, getting through it was difficult.

From looking at other reviews on Goodreads, it would seem I am in the minority in my opinion. That’s perfectly fine with me. Not every book resonates with every reader the same way. Also, I have enjoyed all the other books I’ve read by Duncan, so I really wanted—expected even—to like this series, especially since I’d heard and read many good things about it. So where did it go wrong?

First, there’s the main characters, or rather one of them: Inosolan. Inos had some great potential which I felt was never fully realized. She begins the series as a naïve princess whose picture perfect life is thrown asunder when she is stripped of her kingdom and the protection it affords her. She comes to realize the world is a much harsher place than she could have imagined, and herein lies the beginning of a story arc where I expected (and wanted) her to rise up and take charge in a big way. Instead, she mostly seems to accept her fate with a level of capitulation which I found dissatisfying and unpalatable.

Then there’s Rap, who I admired for his honesty and fortitude, but ultimately grew tired of because he just never seemed to seize the day in the way which I expect main characters to do, especially in the final book in a series. He’s come a long way from simple stable boy, but even after much character growth he still seems to lack the conviction necessary to save the day.

As for the story, while it does end nicely, it takes a really long time to get there. This book, like the others, is most definitely not a page turner, so prepare to dig in for some time to get through it.

I’m downgrading Emperor and Clown by one rocket compared to the previous three books in the series because, above those others books, it should have been the one to rule them all with a climatic, spectacular finish. Instead, it was a fizzle. Two rockets is all I’m giving this last book. The series as a whole is good, but not great, and certainly not good enough that I feel it needs to be on every serious fantasy reader’s reading list.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh. Clearly I am an old curmudgeon, because almost all the reviews are 5 star and glowing, while I have just been banging my head against the wall. I think I rated the first two books 3s, the third as a 4 because it finally seemed like it was going somewhere. And then it didn't. Resoundingly and painfully, it didn't.

2000 pages of bloody-minded slogging later, and the characters haven't developed. At all. Although Duncan keeps *telling* us how much they've changed, he's not showing it. Inos continues to do little and think less. Rap is ok, but so two-dimensional you really can't feel his pain.

The plot is... a mess. And just gets worse and worse. So much happens that makes little sense, and is logically unnecessary. So much of the whole series just feels that way - unnecessary. Wandering in circles, continually coming close to something exciting or complex or challenging and then - just wandering off again without a good look. And come the end, the final fixing of Krasnegar has got to be the most boring and least satisfying overthrow I've ever read.

All in all, a great frustration. I put so much time into this series and determinedly kept with it because it feels like it has so much potential. So many times I thought "Cool! I can't WAIT to see what he does with that!" And then he... doesn't. Duncan raises so many ideas for potentially great characters and unexpected plot directions; unique world building; political and magical systems that could demand challenging choices and trade-offs - - - but somehow it all just sits there, flat, unexplored and going to waste. sigh.

[Stuart Macmartin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bit of romantic drivel but a satisfying close to the series. I’d half guessed the big secret which is satisfying: ha! I knew it! But still some surprise.

And the final surprise was a good one: complete surprise but inevitable in retrospect, just as they all should be.

Unlike some movie trilogies, the ending was clearly known by the author (at least in broad strokes) when he wrote the first book. But this is really one huge novel split into 4 parts, and I got it as the complete series.

Marred by a princess with no training being the obvious choice. Politically she was the only choice, but how did she learn to be effective? If this made me think of reducing the number of stars to 3, one look at the clock changed my mind. It’s really late.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the slow story of the first three books, things are getting a bit better in the last one of the series. There are a lot more things happening, and it get's more and more interesting. The rescue of Rap from the jail was thrilling in a way I hadn't experienced before in the series, and it kept being exciting when they reached Hub.

However, I still can't get over the fact that both Inosolan and Rap are so dim-witted at times, and don't listen to each other now that they finally meet again. The golden thread throughout the books has been that Rap and Inos are in love and that they want to meet again, and when they finally do they both act really tactless at times.

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The adventure continues to Hub, and finally Inos comes to her own and returns to Krasnegar as its queen. She settles into trying to return the little kingdom back to a state of well-being, with the help of Rap. But there is still a problem which keeps the two of them apart, which Rap can't explain, and neither can I or that would be a major spoiler.

[Sean Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far the best book of this four book series. All the plotlines of the series amazingly came together when up until this volume everything just kind of meandered with seemingly little direction. I just wish the entire series had been on a par with this final book. Now, at last, I finally understand Rap's character, which I like very much, and why he acts the way he does!

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion. I was worried after four books I would feel like I needed more from the story, and there is more that could be told, but it feels complete. I haven't read books so fast in 20 years! Great read.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a really fun series. Great fantasy with a unique magic system. Fun characters. Some of them stood out, some of the minor characters blended a bit. There was definitely some re-tracing of steps on the journey that got a bit old, but overall, a series worth reading.

[Sherrill Nilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently reading the last few pages very slowly because I don't want this series to end. It may take me several days. But they will be good days, and I'll laugh and cry.

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadably abysmal SHIT.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great finale to this journey

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The middle two books in this series were a little slow but the ending here made it worth it.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendously satisfying finale. I had forgotten how anti-conventional it is — is there no power Rap will not spurn?

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

see review of Magic Casement

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the adventure to reach the happy end.

[Vader · Rating 4 out of 5]

re-read
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish