Cover of Return to Nevèrÿon

Return to Nevèrÿon

core novel 1994 Return to Nevèrÿon

Record

First published1994
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.03 (403 ratings, collected 2026-08-28)
Page count291
First-edition ISBN9780312911386
Internal chronology4

Synopsis

Return to Nevèrÿon gathers three interconnected tales set after Gorgik's campaign has succeeded in abolishing slavery throughout Nevèrÿon, turning the story's attention to the difficult question of how a society should absorb and support the newly freed population it has created. One thread follows Gorgik himself recounting the political challenges of this transitional period to a young companion within the walls of an abandoned castle, while another traces the earlier life of a man named Clodon before he took on a false identity, illustrating the kind of impersonation and opportunism that continues to spring up around Gorgik's name and reputation. Taken together, the tales examine the aftermath of liberation as much as the struggle to achieve it, following the personal and political consequences that ripple outward once slavery's formal end leaves open the harder work of remaking Nevèrÿon's society.

Where it sits

Notes

  • From the series record (Return to Nevèrÿon): A four-volume sword-and-sorcery sequence, the first collection placed third in that year's reader poll for best fantasy novel and was nominated for the American Book Award and the Prometheus Award; the author later received a career life-achievement recognition from the World Fantasy Awards.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.

  • Reading order, within the series Return to Nevèrÿon: position 4 of 4: previous Flight from Nevèrÿon (1985)

Sources

← Return to Nevèrÿon dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.