John Marco has brought his Tyrants and Kings trilogy to a satisfying conclusion in The Saints of the Sword. Richius Vantran and his mortal enemy Emperor Renato Biagio return for this final installment in the trilogy, however this time the tables have turned and Biagio is seeking to ally himself with Vantran. Once again Biagio has a scheme and, though not as grand in scope as in The Grand Design, his plan seems pretty close to impossible. Can he get the ever troublesome and fierce Admiral Nicabar out of the picture and gain naval support for his venture? Will he be able to convince Richius Vantran that he has changed for the better in order to form an alliance bringing Vantran and the Triin into battle with the reclusive Highlanders in a battle against Talistan in order to stave off the possibility of world war?

As in the previous two books in the series, Mr. Marco does an excellent job weaving his plot and filling his story with interesting, multi-layered characters. The story is fairly quick paced with a lot of action and Mr. Marco has created some wonderfully vivid scenes throughout the book that will stay with the reader for quite some time.

Being a huge fan of the series, I would be overjoyed to see a fourth installment. However, I feel that this book does an excellent job of wrapping things up in the end and is a very satisfying conclusion to an excellent trilogy. ( )

THE SAINTS OF THE SWORD was the third book of the Tyrants and Kings trilogy and I was very sorry to see the series end. John Marco has created a very plausible fantasy realm with very early technology (flame cannons, poison gas, etc.) and a touch of magic. He focused on political intrigue and naval military combat and did it very well.
Overall, this was an excellent book. It wasn't quite as mysterious and edgy as THE GRAND DESIGN, but was a quick page-turner none the less. The idea of Biagio as the hero took some getting used to. I was somewhat disappointed by the end of the book. It seemed that the loose ends were tied up very quickly, some angles being taken care of in a two page chapter. For being the end of a trilogy I expected there to be more emphasis on the partings. Perhaps this means there will be more to come of land of Nar. I certainly hope so!

This book isn't quite as full of intrigue, plot twists, and second guessing as THE GRAND DESIGN was, but it is a wonderful read and a fantastic ending to a brilliant and fresh trilogy. John Marco has a style all his own and I'm looking forward to reading his next book, THE EYES OF GOD. ( )