The Scepter's Return

Scepter of Mercy #3

by Dan Chernenko, Harry Turtledove

After centuries of failing to reclaim the Scepter of Mercy, their only protection from the fallen god known as the Banished One, two kings must put aside their differences on a common quest to accomplish the task, in the sequel to The Bastard King and The Chernagor Pirates. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Dan Chernenko is a pseudonym used by Harry Turtledove for the The Scepter of Mercy Trilogy.

Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.

Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.

Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within the genre he is known both for creating original scenarios such as survival of the Byzantine Empire or an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by many others, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme with scenes of combat happening throughout many of his works

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great ending to a strong trilogy! By far the best book in this series, everything comes together at last! I ended up pulling an all nighter to finish this one! Without giving anything away, all plot lines come together for a thrilling finaly! The Scepter of Mercy, The Banished One, and the succession of the throne of Avornis! Need I say more?...

[Bill Ramsell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most tedious of all.

I've been very flip with my opinions of this trilogy, and to be honest, I would have stopped after the first book if I hadn't bought the entire set.

The general concept behind this story is a good one (you can read a synopsis on the book's main Goodreads page). Unfortunately the villain is cartoonish and ineffectual, and the good guys spend a lot of time agreeing with each other at great length, which becomes boring very quickly.

The main reason for my unhappiness is that the background, the history, what characters feel about each other, and what they're planning to do is stated, re-stated, re-re-stated, recapitulated, stated again, and again, and again, and again...ad nauseam. It was physically tiring to read the last 50 pages.

It's clumsy and annoying. I feel this may be an earlier work of Mr. Turtledove, because I've enjoyed his other work.

That's my humble opinion.

[Blind Mapmaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 Unfortunately a relatively lacklustre end to an entertaining and interesting series. The ending was foreshadowed in the last part and the steps there are just not that thrilling. Kudos for telling the story until its actual conclusion. I liked that part better than most of it. Just lacks the general spark of the series, though.

[Islam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s ok

[Dani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring.

[Deren Kellogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brief review of "The Bastard King" really applies to the entire trilogy. I have to go on a minor rant about the publisher. The first two novels were listed as being by "Dan Chernenko." So naturally, when I went looking for the third novel, I looked in the C's in the fantasy/SF section of my local bookstore, and could never find the darn thing. One day, while just browsing the shelves randomly, I found "The Scepter's Return," except it was listed as being by "Harry Turtledove, writing as Dan Chernenko" and so was filed under T. I had no idea Chernenko was actually Turtledove. Note to publishers: if you're going to use the pen name use it on ALL books in the series; don't switch 2/3rds of the way through!!!

[Igor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This last book of the Scepter of Mercy Series was a big disappointment for me.
You can see the plot ending at the second book already, and that is just how it is going to end. There are no twist, no sudden revelations. The writer just drags the readers along on a tale that remains much the same from the first two books to finally reveal what is long suspected.
I didn't enjoy the other books much either by the way. 3 stars for the first, 2 stars for the second, 1 star for this third. Maybe when you liked the other, you will like this one too.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this fantasy series a lot. At first I felt like I was missing some background (and would love a map!) but the characters are well-drawn, multi-dimensional...not just all good or bad. The story line hangs together pretty well over the three books, and there are some interesting plot twists and turns. I think there are more stories to be told of this world, its gods and its peoples. I hope there's more to come!

[Mae Gong]

Ever read the last book in a series in just a handful of hours -- not because it was that great, but because you really wanted to finish with the story and characters and put it away? This is that book. It's well written, but just not my cup of tea.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun series. Semi-lame ending.