Dubbed as the final series of the Riftwar Trilogy, A Kingdom Besieged by Raymond E. Feist is the first novel of the Chaoswar Saga that finalises a variety of themes which have been running throughout the series and not just from the Riftwar storyline. The story begins 10-years after the conclusion of the Demonwar Saga (At the Gates of Darkness - Published 2010) which saw the Demon King Dahun destroyed by the Magician Pug and his conclave of shadows. But questions were raised, why was the Demon King so desperate to flee his realm?

As opposed to the powerful ensemble of characters from the previous novel, A Kingdom Besieged begins in a similar to vein to that of the original novel, Magician which focuses on brothers Hal and Martin ConDoin from Crydee, distant relatives to the Royal family. Like a young Pug and Tomas, they have lived a relatively peaceful life in the Western Kingdoms until the unthinkable happens. Kesh have launched a full scale invasion of the West with Crydee as their launching point.

As Martin attempts to defend the keep from its second invasion in over 100 years, brother Hal has been forced into hiding in the Kingdom of the Isles due to a rumoured assassination plot. With these new characters such as Martin, Bethany and Nazir, it’s wonderful to see another perspective on this universe as you see their perspective which makes things more appealing to you as a reader. Feist is definitely playing his A-game here.

Meanwhile, Jim Dasher (Upright Man of Krondor) and Sandreena, Knight-Adamant Sergeant of the Order of the Shield of the Weak  are on separate missions to gather information about this new invasion, only to stumble upon some disturbing news that when linked together could threaten the very existence of every being on the planet. However for some unknown reason, the powers that be are distracted from the coming war and Pug, still mourning the death of his wife Miranda decides to rebuild the Villa where she was slain by demons, with the help of his son Magnus.

Elsewhere, the mages Amirantha and Gulamendis, experts in demonology continue their investigation into the destruction of the demon realms and the truth about why the Demon King Dahun was so desperate to enter the mortal realms with the oncoming darkness. More concerning are the demons Child and Belog who have an awareness that only the most powerful Demon Kings possess and their resolution, including the final few pages of the novel will shock even the most devoted of Raymond E. Feist fans.

Although I enjoyed the previous novel, At the Gates of Darkness more, the beginning of the final chapter of the Rift War harkened back to a simpler time in the Midkemia universe. As I read every chapter in the book, there were several unexpected shocks carefully littered throughout the book that only enhanced my enthusiasm of finishing the book to find out what happens, especially the story of Child.

Even though many of the existing characters from previous novels took a smaller role in the story, I'm sure the yet to be published novels, A Crown Imperilled and Magician's End will nicely conclude this thrilling storyline. For fans of Feist, I would recommend this book but be warned, there is a considerably amount of politics and back history included the story that for me, only assisted in building the tension and the ending that I never expected in my wildest dreams. Wow... what a read!