This Raymond E. Feist link will list everything of his that Amazon.com has for sale.
The second book in the Riftwar Legacy, Krondor The Assassins suffers from some of the same problems that afflict all second books. It has to advance the story and keep the reader interested, but it can not answer the questions or resolve the problems from the first book since there has to be something to write in the last book. Fortunately, Ray is well able to handle those kinds of problems. He starts some threads that we have learned the results of in the Serptant War books, he gives us a bit of a mystery and a solution to it, and he continues the main story into the third volume leaving us wanting more. This is not the best thing Ray has written, but it is well above the average.
This was REF's first series, and he started off with a bang. Basing his world on an RPG world, but making significant changes, Ray managed to write of characters and events you wanted to know more about. His clean style fit the story he was telling, with the plot building well from the orphan boy in the keep kitchen in Magician to the world threatening climax in A Darkness at Sethanon. And despite the fairly standard plot, there are plenty of twists and surprises to keep things interesting.
A counterpoint to the mainly Midkemia point of view in the Riftwar Saga, the books about the Empire are almost a case study in intricate and devious political intrigue, mixed with the complexities of a society ruled more by honor than by law. The growth and development of Mara from a novitiate of a religious order to the ruling matron of the Empire is fascinating reading. The solutions to the complex puzzles and difficulties that result from the workings of honor and its permutations in the society are in themselves devious and unexpected. But they are set out in clear prose that makes it fairly easy to follow while keeping the puzzles from overpowering the many characters.
The latest excursion to Midkemia from Feist is not his best. It is based on the Computer Fantasy Role-Playing Game from a few years ago titled Betrayal At Krondor. While the game was based on Ray's work and he had input to it, he was not the primary plotter or author. This was a definite handicap when it came time for him to write the book. He managed to take the fairly short, but convoluted storyline from the game and make it into an enjoyable read. The next two books in the Riftwar Legacy should be even better, since REF is doing both of them from scratch. Oops, rather he is doing the next book from scratch, with the third based on the game Return to Krondor.
Not really part of a series, these two novels of Midkemia finish off some things from the Riftwar series and introduce new characters and situations used in the Serpentwar series. The main characters in the books are Jimmy and the sons of Arutha. They mostly deal with the growth and development of the boys into the men that will rule the Kingdom in later years. Well handled and fun to read, the chance to revisit old friends is an added bonus.
This is REF's latest series dealing with Midkemia. We meet some old friends and make some new ones as we explore the globe and visit far off exotic lands. Not to mention some far off dimensions. Starting off as a fairly basic adventure story, things quickly get darker, with serious consequences looming in the distance.
This is the newest Midkemia book from Ray and it lives up to his usual standards. Well-rounded characters that we care about, who follow their own paths. The plot follows logically from the earlier books in the Serpentwar series of books and does a nice job of wrapping it up. Some characters from the series are not onstage very much, but that is because their time onstage has mostly passed. One rather nice note is the reemergence of Pug on center stage for a large part of the book. Some parts of the story seemed rather rushed, but they were in a place where events were supposed to be rushing by.
All in all, a very satisfying conclusion to the latest trip to Midkemia. There were a disappointing number of typos and mistakes that a copy-editor should have caught. Hopefully these will be fixed for the next printing. If you are a Feist fan, you don't even need to wonder about picking this up. If you are just starting out, don't start here, go back to Magician and enjoy exploring a new world.
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