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RAYMOND E. FEIST
I have placed "sizzler
ratings" next to books read, even if the review
hasn't been added at this time.
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KRONDOR
TEAR OF THE GODS (2000) |
Sub-category:
Fantasy
Plot: A pirate raid in
the high seas suddenly leads to a rampage of violence in
Krondor. Jimmy has just met the new Court Magician, Jazhara,
a Keshian noble who has studied under the infamous magician,
Pug. Before even reaching the palace after Jazhara arrives
in Krondor, they are swept up in the violence - what is
it the name of? After a night of destruction, it is revealed
that the ship was carrying the valuable 'Tear of the Gods'
for the Temple of Ishap. Without the new Tear of the Gods,
the world will be plunged into a decade where the power
of the Gods is weakened. Jimmy, Jazhara and a few others
set off to retrieve the jewel from the sunken ship.
Comment: What is going
on here??? Feist used to have complex plots with lots of
twists and turns layered with wizardry and intrigue. This
book was like the first one in the Krondor series - practically
devoid of any story and just one simple linear story line.
Worse, this was a singular story line with so many 'fortuitous
twists of good luck' that before I was half way through,
I was scrambling to read Raymond E. Feists acknowledgment
to see if an excuse was buried in there. Yep - he had just
gone through a nasty divorce... However, despite this, if
Feist is basing these stories on a computer game version
of his books, then he needs to back off plots for the game
and go back to what he used to do best - writing complex
fantasy novels! If his aim is to focus increasingly on the
game, then I shall be slipping to buying the second hand
version of these books...
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KRONDOR
THE ASSASSINS (1999) |
Sub-category:
Fantasy
Plot: Fresh back from saving
the Kingdom for immenient destruction, Prince Arutha finds
that all is not well in Krondor. Many of Krondor's criminals
are being randomomly killed and the result are eerilie quiet
streets through which more sinsiter criminals roam. Arutha
enlists his squire, James, to return to his hold haunts in
the sewers and find out what is happening. Meanwhile, an innocent
hunting party led by Duke of Olasko suddenly turns into deadly
business when the hunt for a black leopard begins.
Comment: For me, the most
exciting thing about this book was reading the last page and
learning that Feist has prepared a new, revised edition of
his first book, Magician, which includes 15,000 words of ommitted
text. But I digress... It took a while for me to warm to this
book (approximately163 pages actually), but the pace did eventually
pick up and I was able to comfortably finish the book off
in one night. However, as I read that all important last page,
it did lead me to reflect on how Feist's books have detriorated
from rich chracters and spectacular plots to almost a mechanical
formula with the characters merely going through the motions
for Feist to get some semblance of a story out.
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KRONDOR
THE BETRAYAL (1998) |
Sub-category:
Fantasy
Plot: Based on the game,
Betryal at Krondor, the story opens with Squire Locklear,
saving a moredhel, an elf of The Dark Path. Gorath wishes
to tell the Prince of Krondor that a Great Evil (Murmandamus),
thought vanquished in the Rift War, has been resurrected.
As Locklear escorts Gorath to Prince Arutha, he is assisted
by Owyn, a magician of the Greater Path who requires a lot
more training.
Comment: This is merely
a feeble attempt to suck the core out of the game and re-create
the essence in a novel by Feist (he insists in his Author
notes that this is a not a novelisation of the game...). Betryal
at Krondor may be a complex game, but as a novel, it is
simplistic and linear with none of Feist's usual page-turning
compulsion. The story focuses entirely on Owyn and Gorath,
with a series of 'coincidences' that I have not had the misfortune
to read since I attempted to read The Celestine Prophecies.
There is a latent attempt by Feist to interject 'diverging
plot lines' in the second half of the story, by slipping in
1-2 page description of the battle Jimmy the Hand fights in
the north. However, if you succeed in getting this far, the
effort is nothing but feeble.
In summary, this should NOT be the first Feist book you read
as this is his unparalleled worst!
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SHARDS
OF A BROKEN CROWN (1998) |
Sub-category: Fantasy
Plot: This is the final
book in the Serpentwar Saga. The Emerald Queen's Army is
in tatters across the western half of Kingdom; her General's
no longer bound by Demon leashes are all vieing to lead
the fragmented groups of men. Eric von Darkmoor, Roo Avery,
Pug, Jimmy and Dash are called to use their respective talents
to reclaim Krondor and the western Kingdom for the young
Prince Patrick. As the Kingdom fights to reclaim what is
rightly theirs, it is soon apparent that the Keshians to
the south also want the land, and that the dregs of the
Emerald Queen's Army have more treacherous ideas and assistance...
Comment: This novel started
off slowly under the guise of a well written tale of men
at war. However, Feist builds the tale and eventually you
are gripped by the mystery, magic and intrigue behind the
war.
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RAGE
OF A DEMON KING (1997) |
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