Oh, Raymond E Feist with your sprawling Riftwar saga, how do I love thee? Well, not hugely with this effort. When Ray started his epic I eagerly devoured Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon; the one-off novels and the serpentwar saga. I have read damn near everything set in this world and I love it but, I have to say that this book is underwhelming and far too reliant on people remembering characters from the previous books. With King's Buccaneer and Prince of the Blood, you still had Arutha, Jimmy and co. but it didn't feel like you had to have read those novels in order to proceed. Likewise with the Serpentwar Saga, long time readers of the series could drift in and fall into the plot without feeling the weight of baggage. The later books and this one in particular feel bogged down. The endless parade of world-ending plots feels a little bit wearisome and while I appreciate the addition of Sandreena (I think that's how you spell it) her backstory is lazy.
Pug is always good to read but there isn't the connection that Feist has placed in him before. He feels like a placeholder and in fact so do most of the characters and the book in general. It feels like this addition could have been skipped over without detriment to the overall story. It's short and despite yet more peril landing on Midkemia, it still feels bland.
I didn't hate it despite the above, but I didn't love it. There's no-one like Arutha or Martin Longbow or Jimmy. For that matter there isn't an Erik Von Darkmoor or Roo. The characters are pale shadows of greater creations. The new Upright Man is called Jimmy and is an imitation of his ancestor.
It's still Feist and I would give him a pass because I love his world, but the Demonwar part 2 is disappointing.
***
Pug is always good to read but there isn't the connection that Feist has placed in him before. He feels like a placeholder and in fact so do most of the characters and the book in general. It feels like this addition could have been skipped over without detriment to the overall story. It's short and despite yet more peril landing on Midkemia, it still feels bland.
I didn't hate it despite the above, but I didn't love it. There's no-one like Arutha or Martin Longbow or Jimmy. For that matter there isn't an Erik Von Darkmoor or Roo. The characters are pale shadows of greater creations. The new Upright Man is called Jimmy and is an imitation of his ancestor.
It's still Feist and I would give him a pass because I love his world, but the Demonwar part 2 is disappointing.
***
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