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Lens of the World #3
The Belly of the Wolf
After the death of King Rudolf, Nazhuret journeys back to his homeland to intercede in a rebellion led by an old student, but soon finds himself involved with a diplomatic assassin, conversing with ghosts, and battling sea monsters. Reprint.
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
About the author
R.A. MacAvoy
18 books201 followersRoberta Ann (R. A.) MacAvoy is a fantasy and science fiction author in the United States. Several of her books draw on Celtic or Taoist themes. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1984. R. A. MacAvoy was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Francis and Helen MacAvoy. She attended Case Western Reserve University and received a B.A. in 1971. She worked from 1975 to 1978 as an assistant to the financial aid officer of Columbia College of Columbia University and from 1978 to 1982 as a computer programmer at SRI International before turning to full-time writing in 1982. She married Ronald Allen Cain in 1978.
R.A.MacAvoy was diagnosed with dystonia following the publication of her Lens series. She now has this disorder manageable and has returned to writing. (see http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/non...)
R.A.MacAvoy was diagnosed with dystonia following the publication of her Lens series. She now has this disorder manageable and has returned to writing. (see http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/non...)
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 26, 2017
I've already said most of what there is to say about the trilogy as a whole. This last installment leans more on the mystical components than the previous two, and readers who want everything explained to them will be disappointed. I saw one review that said MacAvoy is big on putting elements of Zen into her books, and you can see that here -- you can live an experience or you can try to understand an experience, but you can't always do both. Sometimes you just have to accept the ineffable and "go with the flow". I yearned for more explanation in some places, but that was very much not MacAvoy's intention. This isn't "Weird" fiction, but it certainly is Zen in that you can't analyze everything rationally.
And referring back to those layers of experience I mentioned in my previous reviews, I was especially amused by one of the premises here. You remember those letters that Nazhuret wrote to the king, the ones that made up book 1 and told the story of Zhurrie's early life and training? Yeah, now those letters have been published as a book without his permission, and they have been used as the foundation of a new religion/cult/school of mysticism, with Nazhuret revered as its spiritual father. And Nazhuret is livid about it, and he repeatedly complains that his new "followers" don't understand anything and keep getting everything wrong, and how dare they appropriate his life in the first place. All of which cracked me up -- adding yet another layer of interpretation to the widening gap between perception and reality. Interestingly, though, despite supposedly not understanding anything, the followers have also surpassed him in some ways, and have some abilities that he never did -- showing that "understanding" doesn't always mean what you expect it to.
Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned much about how MacAvoy plays with gender throughout the trilogy. We've got an important female character living as a man (not trans, she just couldn't have the same freedoms if she lived as a woman) who is sometimes thought to be a eunuch, a man who cross dresses when the occasion strikes (and sees it as "becoming" a woman, rather than just pretending to be one), an actual eunuch, scattered gay characters of varying importance, and . This all adds to the perception-vs.-reality theme of the trilogy in interesting ways, and at times becomes quite amusing to boot (as when ).
In sum, I loved the whole series. I'll definitely have to do a reread one of these days. My one real complaint: the production on the audio of book 3 was lousy, and you could frequently hear where splices were made to insert corrected passages (I think there's a word for that -- where a reader goes back and rereads segments -- but I can't think of it at the moment). Pretty annoying.
I'm tempted to give these books 5 stars as a series, and I may do that after a reread. For now, about 4 1/2 and rounding down just because I very rarely give out all 5.
And referring back to those layers of experience I mentioned in my previous reviews, I was especially amused by one of the premises here. You remember those letters that Nazhuret wrote to the king, the ones that made up book 1 and told the story of Zhurrie's early life and training? Yeah, now those letters have been published as a book without his permission, and they have been used as the foundation of a new religion/cult/school of mysticism, with Nazhuret revered as its spiritual father. And Nazhuret is livid about it, and he repeatedly complains that his new "followers" don't understand anything and keep getting everything wrong, and how dare they appropriate his life in the first place. All of which cracked me up -- adding yet another layer of interpretation to the widening gap between perception and reality. Interestingly, though, despite supposedly not understanding anything, the followers have also surpassed him in some ways, and have some abilities that he never did -- showing that "understanding" doesn't always mean what you expect it to.
Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned much about how MacAvoy plays with gender throughout the trilogy. We've got an important female character living as a man (not trans, she just couldn't have the same freedoms if she lived as a woman) who is sometimes thought to be a eunuch, a man who cross dresses when the occasion strikes (and sees it as "becoming" a woman, rather than just pretending to be one), an actual eunuch, scattered gay characters of varying importance, and . This all adds to the perception-vs.-reality theme of the trilogy in interesting ways, and at times becomes quite amusing to boot (as when ).
In sum, I loved the whole series. I'll definitely have to do a reread one of these days. My one real complaint: the production on the audio of book 3 was lousy, and you could frequently hear where splices were made to insert corrected passages (I think there's a word for that -- where a reader goes back and rereads segments -- but I can't think of it at the moment). Pretty annoying.
I'm tempted to give these books 5 stars as a series, and I may do that after a reread. For now, about 4 1/2 and rounding down just because I very rarely give out all 5.
August 8, 2018
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.
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.
January 9, 2011
This completes the Lens of the World series and does so wonderfully. The first time I read the book I was startled by the gap between it and book two, twenty-five years or so, long enough for many favorite characters of the series to have died. But that's exactly what makes this series remarkable, that we get a chance to see the changing of the world and the next generation assuming their place in it.
Nazhuret is a wonderful character, one of the few Taoist heroes in Western fiction. (The author might call him a Zen hero, or not a hero at all; I wouldn't know.) The setting is a fascinating Renaissance world like and unlike our own, just familiar enough to be easy, strange enough to keep up a steady flow of discoveries.
Navvie and Timmet are intriguing and I would love to have stories of them too, but the writer did not yield to temptation there. MacAvoy leaves me both satisfied and hungry for more, an amazing feat.
Nazhuret is a wonderful character, one of the few Taoist heroes in Western fiction. (The author might call him a Zen hero, or not a hero at all; I wouldn't know.) The setting is a fascinating Renaissance world like and unlike our own, just familiar enough to be easy, strange enough to keep up a steady flow of discoveries.
Navvie and Timmet are intriguing and I would love to have stories of them too, but the writer did not yield to temptation there. MacAvoy leaves me both satisfied and hungry for more, an amazing feat.
March 20, 2015
3.5 stars.
The Belly of the Wolf is the third book in R.A. MacAvoy’s LENS OF THE WORLD trilogy. My review will spoil some of the events from the first two novels, Lens of the World and King of the Dead, so you might not want to read it before reading those books. If you have already read and enjoyed those two previous novels, I feel certain that you’ll like The Belly of the Wolf, too. It’s similar in style and tone and there’s a little bit more action in this one.
It’s been many years since the events of King of the Dead, in which Nazhuret and Arlin (again) saved their country from tragedy. Now Nazhuret is 55 years old, Arlin is dead, and their daughter Nahvah is a grown woman with a fascination for pistols. Father and daughter are living a quiet ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The Belly of the Wolf is the third book in R.A. MacAvoy’s LENS OF THE WORLD trilogy. My review will spoil some of the events from the first two novels, Lens of the World and King of the Dead, so you might not want to read it before reading those books. If you have already read and enjoyed those two previous novels, I feel certain that you’ll like The Belly of the Wolf, too. It’s similar in style and tone and there’s a little bit more action in this one.
It’s been many years since the events of King of the Dead, in which Nazhuret and Arlin (again) saved their country from tragedy. Now Nazhuret is 55 years old, Arlin is dead, and their daughter Nahvah is a grown woman with a fascination for pistols. Father and daughter are living a quiet ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
December 29, 2014
The Belly of the Wolf is the third book in R.A. MacAvoy’s LENS OF THE WORLD trilogy. My review will spoil some of the events from the first two novels, Lens of the World and King of the Dead, so you might not want to read it before reading those books. If you have already read and enjoyed those two previous novels, I feel certain that you’ll like The Belly of the Wolf, too. It’s similar in style and tone and there’s a little bit more action in this one.
It’s been many years since the events of King of the Dead, in which Nazhuret and Arlin (again) saved their country from tragedy. Now Nazhuret is 55 years old, Arlin is dead, and their daughter Nahvah is a grown woman with a fascination for pistols. Father and daughter are living a quiet ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
It’s been many years since the events of King of the Dead, in which Nazhuret and Arlin (again) saved their country from tragedy. Now Nazhuret is 55 years old, Arlin is dead, and their daughter Nahvah is a grown woman with a fascination for pistols. Father and daughter are living a quiet ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
February 9, 2023
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 king, is another terrific read.
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 king, is another terrific read.
December 1, 2012
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.
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.
April 18, 2024
I enjoyed this book more than "King of the Dead" but a little less than "Lens of the World". From the last book to this one, Nazhuret has aged about 30 years, so he is a relatively old man, and has a 27 year old daughter who seems to a re-representation of her mother, Arlin, from the previous books. The daughter seems to be there primarily to re-introduce the character of Arlin while tweaking a few things having to do with her character and personality. (Arlin was a gambler and an impressive fighter. The daughter is a doctor, not nearly as impressive a fighter, but an inventor who develops a breech-loading pistol to defend herself.) This book has much more mysticism than previous books in the series as Nazhuret spends much time talking with the spirit of his wife and comes across what appear to be reincarnations of Arlin's favorite horse and of a wolf that always followed him around. (As such, the reader would definitely want to read this series in order or much of the dialog with dead or reincarnated characters would be really confusing.) The characters still were not terribly well developed but the story flowed better than the last book, maybe because it was quite a bit shorter. Altogether not a bad series, but not really a great one either.
March 21, 2022
The writing is lyrical. The story, compelling, but sometimes, some scenes seem insufferably long. The character of Nahvah and her interactions with her father are the most interesting thing about this story, so when the author abruptly drops her out of the tale, it was disappointing - and switching to her POV in the end was a little confusing at first. All-in-all, an interesting read and series, but probably would benefit from some editing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2020
Alternate UK title: THE WINTER OF THE WOLF. A now aged Nazhuret, living in exile with his daughter, learns of the death of his friend, King Rudolf of Velonya, and decides to journey home to intercede in a rebellion lead by one of his former students. During Nazhuret's absence, his daughter disappears.
September 12, 2017
This is my favorite of the Lens of the World series. Unfortunately it's also the last one. (sigh) It's my third time reading it, and I'm taking it to the county fair next week (the whole series) so someone else can enjoy it.
February 13, 2023
Not as good as the first two in the series. Satisfying, but the plot felt kind of like a formula used to crank out a sequel. Three characters from the first two books were not present, and though the new characters were interesting, I felt the loss of the close friends -- as did our protagonist.
April 29, 2025
The belly of the wolf
A very interesting end to the story Nazhuret. He has had a daughter and King Rudof has died. Nazhuret returns to the kingdom to stop a war which he succeeds in and the new king rules. A good end to the chacter.
A very interesting end to the story Nazhuret. He has had a daughter and King Rudof has died. Nazhuret returns to the kingdom to stop a war which he succeeds in and the new king rules. A good end to the chacter.
February 24, 2021
Interesting and unusual series. Very good writer.
June 26, 2022
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Twenty or so years on, Nazhuret's partner Arlin has died, leaving him to carry on in a foreign land with his daughter. But now his old friend and liege Rudof has been assassinated, and there is pressure for Nazhuret to take the crown.
Review
I wish I could say this excellent trilogy ended as well as it began. And it does end well, but without the originality of the first book, Lens of the World . While the second book, King of the Dead , began ten or so years after the first, this one starts twenty or so years further one. It deliberately calls back some of the key elements of those books, but never does much with them.
Magic and mysticism, somewhat distant an uncertain elements of book one, and only slight closer in book two, suddenly come much more to the fore, but without any attempt at explanation. Protagonist Nazhuret doesn’t consciously call on magic as he did in book two, it just happens, and more often than not, happens to him. It brings back key (and some non-key) characters, seemingly for no other reason than to tip its hat to them and to confound Nazhuret. It’s an unsatisfying method for a theme handled much more elegantly in earlier books.
This book also relies heavily on a history of the intervening years – a history that we’re not privy to. Even though its consequences conceptually drive the plot, all we get is the occasional hint here or there – even at the end, when knowledge is key. Even when we do seemingly know all the history, Nazhuret acts in ways that seem distressingly counter to his character or that have little foundation in prior years.
Despite those lapses, character is the strong point of the book. MacAvoy draws out Nazhuret’s intriguing introspection and adds some new, equally interesting characters to offset those that have fallen by the wayside (partner Arlin and King Rudof). I wish that she had worked as hard at setting these up as she did in having them act. Count Dinaos, for example, arrives suddenly, fully formed as an (apparently) well-known assassin who, jarringly, turns out to have many other roles as well, none of which are well signaled. He’s a bit of a stand-in for Nazhuret’s former mentor Powl in many ways, but it’s never really clear how he got there. Similarly, the actual resolution of the political issues the plot hinges on is something of a muddle.
I want to be clear that this is still a good book, and a decent conclusion to the trilogy. My disappointment is that, given MacAvoy’s skill and her success with the first books, this could have been much better. As it is, the series fades out more than it really resolves its plot.
Summary
Twenty or so years on, Nazhuret's partner Arlin has died, leaving him to carry on in a foreign land with his daughter. But now his old friend and liege Rudof has been assassinated, and there is pressure for Nazhuret to take the crown.
Review
I wish I could say this excellent trilogy ended as well as it began. And it does end well, but without the originality of the first book, Lens of the World . While the second book, King of the Dead , began ten or so years after the first, this one starts twenty or so years further one. It deliberately calls back some of the key elements of those books, but never does much with them.
Magic and mysticism, somewhat distant an uncertain elements of book one, and only slight closer in book two, suddenly come much more to the fore, but without any attempt at explanation. Protagonist Nazhuret doesn’t consciously call on magic as he did in book two, it just happens, and more often than not, happens to him. It brings back key (and some non-key) characters, seemingly for no other reason than to tip its hat to them and to confound Nazhuret. It’s an unsatisfying method for a theme handled much more elegantly in earlier books.
This book also relies heavily on a history of the intervening years – a history that we’re not privy to. Even though its consequences conceptually drive the plot, all we get is the occasional hint here or there – even at the end, when knowledge is key. Even when we do seemingly know all the history, Nazhuret acts in ways that seem distressingly counter to his character or that have little foundation in prior years.
Despite those lapses, character is the strong point of the book. MacAvoy draws out Nazhuret’s intriguing introspection and adds some new, equally interesting characters to offset those that have fallen by the wayside (partner Arlin and King Rudof). I wish that she had worked as hard at setting these up as she did in having them act. Count Dinaos, for example, arrives suddenly, fully formed as an (apparently) well-known assassin who, jarringly, turns out to have many other roles as well, none of which are well signaled. He’s a bit of a stand-in for Nazhuret’s former mentor Powl in many ways, but it’s never really clear how he got there. Similarly, the actual resolution of the political issues the plot hinges on is something of a muddle.
I want to be clear that this is still a good book, and a decent conclusion to the trilogy. My disappointment is that, given MacAvoy’s skill and her success with the first books, this could have been much better. As it is, the series fades out more than it really resolves its plot.
July 14, 2025
2025 reread.
————
I enjoyed this a lot more than the last time I read it and the last time I e I read I enjoyed it a lot. Nazhuret has matured into a fearsome travelling adventurer/aristocrat, despite not wanting to have adventures or be an aristocrat. This time, he is joined by two surrogates for Powl and Arlin (his companions of the previous books) as well as another surrogate, this time for Rudof, king of Velonya, another character who played a major part in the first two books. His some, Bernard, takes on his role here. In a lesser writer I might think that they were trying to tweak a formula, but MacAvoy manages to make this novel about the not-so-peaceful transition of a kingdom to a new heir a meditation on getting older and finding that the world stays the same, even if you find parts of it completely unrecognisable.
A rather lovely conclusion, light on plot (like most of MacAvoy’s novels) but a delight when it comes to character and incident.
————
I enjoyed this a lot more than the last time I read it and the last time I e I read I enjoyed it a lot. Nazhuret has matured into a fearsome travelling adventurer/aristocrat, despite not wanting to have adventures or be an aristocrat. This time, he is joined by two surrogates for Powl and Arlin (his companions of the previous books) as well as another surrogate, this time for Rudof, king of Velonya, another character who played a major part in the first two books. His some, Bernard, takes on his role here. In a lesser writer I might think that they were trying to tweak a formula, but MacAvoy manages to make this novel about the not-so-peaceful transition of a kingdom to a new heir a meditation on getting older and finding that the world stays the same, even if you find parts of it completely unrecognisable.
A rather lovely conclusion, light on plot (like most of MacAvoy’s novels) but a delight when it comes to character and incident.
April 27, 2015
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.
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.
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January 9, 2010ereader ebook
October 18, 2012
The general plot kept me reading. However, I still feel that the author is working so hard to be mysterious that it is just distracting, at least to me.
September 7, 2013
The last book in MacAvoy's terrific fantasy trilogy narrated by the character Nazhuret, who turns out to be bisexual as well as multiracial. Such a strong, wry voice. Oh yeah!
September 12, 2016
I loved this series. This book was a bit shorter and less complex than book 1 and 2, but still good.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews