Shadow of a Dark Queen was quite a bit better than I was expecting, I'm happy to report!
My journey with reading Raymond E. Feist - a familiar name amoShadow of a Dark Queen was quite a bit better than I was expecting, I'm happy to report!
My journey with reading Raymond E. Feist - a familiar name among fantasy readers in the 90s - has been quite interesting. Starting with Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master, and the two following novels, Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon, I found them enjoyable fun adventure fantasy, but definitely products of their time. The characterization was a little simplistic, female characters appeared on the sidelines, mostly as princesses fretting about their lovers as the men went on heroic adventures, and while the world-building was impressive and there were a lot of plot threads laid out (some surprisingly only just now beginning to bare fruit in Shadow of a Dark Queen), the initial story was a pretty by-the-numbers coming-of-age fantasy tale meets sword and sorcery, akin to A Wizard of Earthsea or The Dragonbone Chair, and paling somewhat in comparison to both.
And then I read The Empire Trilogy, starting with Daughter of the Empire which Feist co-wrote with Janny Wurts, and was astounded by how good it was, and how modern it felt, given that the first entry was published in 1987. It reminded me a lot of the best of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series: extensive world-building featuring an interesting and non-Western culture, interwoven within a compelling story following a fantastic female lead, with believable progression of her belief structure and the political shifts within her society.
And then, I read the Krondor's Sons duology, which continued the original series with Feist writing by himself again. I was pretty disappointed with the first volume, and enjoyed the latter. So a mixed bag.
Shadow of a Dark Queen continues the main story, and I'm happy with the start of this new series. Every one of the previous books featured a noble of some kind as the lead, and that's refreshingly not the case with Erik, who is raised in a small village as the apprentice to a drunken blacksmith, and very much reminded me of Perrin from Wheel of Time starting out. Due to being a part of the rather justified murder of a noble, he gets pulled into serving in a false mercenary company that is actually essentially a special operations group commissioned by the Prince to investigate the stirrings of an immense foreign army across the ocean from his homeland, a laThe Dirty Dozen.
I noted pretty early on that it seemed like the quality of Feist's prose had improved in some indescribable ways, and there's been a tonal shift too. Whereas the earlier books had lots of harrowing battles and whatnot, things still felt pretty "clean". This book surprisingly reminded me of Deadhouse Gates at times, given the desert setting and the structure of a large army brutally engulfing scattered cities.
While there are still few female characters to be found, a few chapters are devoted to the mysterious Miranda who is seeking out Pug, the powerful sorcerer and main character of the original series. I bet she'll focus more in the later books, and I liked their interplay.
Overall, this was a good high fantasy adventure book, and I'm excited to see where things go in the next entries. I started reading Magician for a bit of nostalgia and for a bit of wanting to read simpler things, but I'm finding myself pleasantly surprised by the increasing quality of the Riftwar Cycle as I go....more
A very satisfying end to (the first half of) a series that didn't quite live up to my high hopes for it, based on its reputation and the strong beginnA very satisfying end to (the first half of) a series that didn't quite live up to my high hopes for it, based on its reputation and the strong beginning, but one I'd nonetheless recommend to those that enjoy high fantasy and want to experience something outside the usual bounds of the Tolkien-influenced stuff.
Loose plot threads were tied up, things were revealed and explained, and the action moved faster than the middle entries.
I'll certainly read the second half of the series, but probably not before next year, and book 5 ends with some degree of finality.
I enjoyed this much more than the previous book in this duology, Prince of the Blood. A fun adventure with some characters that grew on me (Nakor is mI enjoyed this much more than the previous book in this duology, Prince of the Blood. A fun adventure with some characters that grew on me (Nakor is my second favorite Feist character, after only Mara).
Keeping this short, this checks all the marks for a good swords-and-sorcery novel. An evil death cult of serpent priests, ship battles and piracy, thrilling sword battles, questionable unsavory allies, strange foreign cities, and the like.
It has the accompanying issues that swords-and-sorcery often do - women are sidelined compared to men (also, a scene near the end where one of the four younger male lead characters mentions how neatly things worked out, with each of them ending up paired with one of the four women, had me groaning a bit), and there's certainly a bit of the Western protagonists gaping at the barbaric ways of the foreign city they find themselves in - but I didn't find myself cringing nearly as much as I did with Prince of the Blood.
I thought this was a good continuation of the larger plot that Feist started in the prior books, whereas most of Prince of the Blood felt pretty standalone. I've had to get used to the way that Feist will jump forward years in between books, resulting in side characters dying of old age and former protagonists growing older and fading to the background....more
I'm kinda sad that this series isn't grabbing me more than it is. It's imaginative and unique, and the writing is perfectly fine. I think I just don'tI'm kinda sad that this series isn't grabbing me more than it is. It's imaginative and unique, and the writing is perfectly fine. I think I just don't connect with the characters.
But it's still certainly a good series! Looking forward to the conclusion of Corwin's story in book 5....more
I'm being generous giving this four stars, but between pleasant nostalgia and it being better than I thought it might be after all this time, four staI'm being generous giving this four stars, but between pleasant nostalgia and it being better than I thought it might be after all this time, four stars it is....more
In book one, we follow a prince, Boric, captured as a slave in a foreign and hostile desert land, as he daringly escapes his bonds A Tale of Two Books
In book one, we follow a prince, Boric, captured as a slave in a foreign and hostile desert land, as he daringly escapes his bonds with the help of an unlikely band of companions. A street urchin named Suli (who reminded me of Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in the best way), the archetypical and very funny wise-madman-trickster named Nakor, and the beleaguered, experienced mercenary Ghuda (gouda?) Bule who can't believe he got pulled into all of this. We watch this motley band narrowly avoids several scrapes and escapes from imprisonment and certain death more than once.
In book two, we follow another prince, Erlund, as he stays as a guest in the palace of the neighboring empire of Kesh to celebrate its Empress' 75th birthday. We watch as he gawks at the nudity of the exotic and nubile palace servants, as he and his companions enjoy baths (and more) attended by the same (many times!). We read of the palace intrigue occurring at Kesh for which he has become an unwitting pawn, understanding little and effecting less, apparently distracted by the all the exotic nudity on display.
These two narratives come together, as you might expect, but until they do, what a contrast.
Honestly this book was a bit of a disappointment to me for several reasons, even though I did still end up (mostly) liking it. Feist really stressed the foreign/exotic/"other" nature of the Kesh, and man, was that section weirdly horny. I get it, they're all running around topless wearing only a sarong, after the 5th time you don't need to tell me again, I'll just assume it.
And especially after coming from the preceding Empire trilogy that Feist wrote with Janny Wurts, which featured an extremely interesting non-Western European society, I'm a little disappointed that Feist opted to mostly go with low-hanging exotic titillation stereotypes when featuring an empire that was inspired by Egyptian/Parthian history. Even with my intention to read and enjoy these older fantasy works as products of their time, this one had some issues.
In case it's not clear, I thoroughly enjoyed the sections featuring Boric's adventures. I also enjoyed the ending, and so I'm ending on a positive note, hopeful that I'll enjoy the next one more. The King's Buccaneer has a promising title, if nothing else, and Feist has earned my trust after 7 very solid books.
Five stars for an extremely satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that's become one of my surprise favorites in recent memory. I'll probably reread this Five stars for an extremely satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that's become one of my surprise favorites in recent memory. I'll probably reread this one in the future, and I don't do that often.
I've been giving out a lot of five-star ratings lately and I don't tend to do that. It's just that all the books I've been reading have really been hitting for me. Mistress of the Empire, the conclusion of The Empire Trilogy, thankfully continues that trend.
Whereas the stories of Daughter and Servant focused on Mara maneuvering within the intrigue of the "Game" of the Tsuranni houses, the stakes of Mistress involve the very fabric of the Tsuranni society: their rigid codes of honor, castes, slavery, and gender roles, to name a few. I mentioned in my first book that slaves were a part of Tsuranni society. Within that book, they weren't really focused on, as Mara didn't really notice them anyway. In the second book, Kevin, a slave from Midkemia whom Mara comes to love, causes Mara to begin questioning things she has accepted about Tsuranni society. And events early on at the start of Mistress bring them to the forefront - Mara finds herself disgusted by how little value Tsurannis place on human life, and believes she must rebuild her culture. It's a believable progression from the start of the series, and is an exciting premise to conclude on.
This book begins quite a bit darker than the previous two.(view spoiler)[A child dies very early on, and a few chapters later, Mara suffers a miscarriage due to an assassination attempt. (hide spoiler)] It's because of this that I'd hesitate to recommend it to some people in my life, no matter how good I think the series is. These events are crucial to the plot, and I don't think the story could be told without them happening, but they might be too much for some people.
I liked how much "screentime" the supporting characters (Lujan, Arakasi, Hokanu) got in this book, too. Lujan was probably my favorite of the three, and he and Hokanu had really satisfying character arcs. Arakasi stayed one of my favorites, though his sudden "love at first sight" turn felt a bit forced to me, and somewhat conveniently matched to Mara's learning to place more value on human life. But that's minor quibble for me. As another quibble, I felt that (view spoiler)[how easily Jiro ended up going down was a bit of a surprise to me (hide spoiler)].
So, yeah. Mara was as badass as always, and while this might be my least favorite of the series, it was nonetheless a really solid conclusion that represented a believable progression for both the story and the characters of Mara, Hokanu, and Lujan, among others. I'm sorry to see it end! I'll read more by Feist (and Wurts, who I'm not familiar with) but I'm afraid it won't be the same. Ah well....more
Three stars for a less-exciting continuation of what started in book one, and a solid ending.
I don't like travel scenes in most books, especially fantThree stars for a less-exciting continuation of what started in book one, and a solid ending.
I don't like travel scenes in most books, especially fantasy. There are a lot of them in The Guns of Avalon. So many that I was pretty certain this would be a two star review before I got to the end. Corwin travels from Shadow to Shadow, and in deference to people who might not know the "thing" about Amber, I'll not describe the scenes (entire chapters!) in detail, but suffice it to say that travel is a key aspect of Amber. I enjoyed the entirety of book 1, which certainly had a lot of it (though I feel like less than this one), but there was a lot of novelty that kept it interesting for me. Zelazny describes the traveling in detail, and he does it well, but there's just so much. It seems to me that passing scenery is given more description than Avalon or Amber.
So, yeah, there were definitely large portions of this book that I didn't enjoy. But there were good characters introduced, and I really enjoyed reading Corwin's interactions with his family, and I'm excited to see where the story goes in the next book. I also foresee significantly less travel!
Five stars for a fast-moving, well-plotted fantasy filled with guile and intrigue that was written significantly better than Feist's preceding RiftwarFive stars for a fast-moving, well-plotted fantasy filled with guile and intrigue that was written significantly better than Feist's preceding Riftwar series.
I was looking forward to this, but didn't know what to expect from it. I've been reading a lot of fantasy from the 80s and 90s lately. And while I have thoroughly enjoyed my little detour - some of them rereads, most of them new - I've found that I enjoy the books best when I make an effort to meet them on their own terms, and understand that they are products of their own times. And so I started Daughter of the Empire assuming a book that was a little better, and less focused on adventure, than the preceding Riftwar series.
I had encountered the Tsurani people and their world Kelewan in Riftwar and remembered the chapters in those books leaving me intrigued, as I thought the Tsurani was a fully-realized society, even if the writing describing them felt a little stilted. Feist says that the Tsurani are based on Japan during the Tokagawa Shogunate, China during the Sung Dynasty, a bit of Korea, a touch of Zulu, and some things cribbed from the Aztecs - and that all blends together for something that feels quite unique. And since Riftwar bounces between Midkemia, a pretty standard medieval fantasy world, and Kelewan, which is anything but, it was a little jarring within those books. I was a little apprehensive of a series taking place fully within the confines.
Fortunately I need not have worried. Daughter of the Empire was much more comfortable in Kelewan than Magician ever was and I loved the setting and the plot right from the start. Mara, daughter of the respected House Acoma, is minutes away from being formally pledged to temple service when one of her father's servants notifies her that her father and elder brother have been killed due to treachery, and she is now the Lady of House Acoma. With only a skeleton crew of soldiers and a few trusted advisors, she must not only survive the coming months but take revenge on the House that set about her family's betrayal.
Mara is a heroine that you'll root for (though her transition from temple servant to clever and brave Lady of a House is maybe a bit fast - she only struggles for a chapter or two before coming fully into her own) and I liked her supporting cast, too. The narrative arc of this book is incredibly well-plotted, with very few slow points, as Mara sets about recruiting soldiers and securing her House's position, all while maneuvering the court intrigue to win against her House's enemies, and it comes to a satisfying conclusion.
I mentioned having to accept a book on its own terms. I meant that in terms of the style of prose and structure of the plot (80s fantasy tends to be either LotR-style fetch quests, coming-of-age stories, or sword-and-sorcery adventure), etc, and I can typically tell when a book was written as a result. If I hadn't known that Daughter of the Empire was written in 1987, I would have guessed it was written within the last 15 years. The writing is superior to Riftwar and I wonder how much of that is due to Wurts, and how much of it is Feist improving. Early on it reminded me of the earlier Stormlight Archives books by Sanderson, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
But, along those lines, there are certainly aspects of this book that might keep people from enjoying it. Without spoiling the details, Mara suffers physical abuse at the hands of her husband. It is not graphic nor does it last long, but it's there. It's also largely glossed over, which may bother some readers even more. Additionally, slaves feature prominently in the Tsurani society. Mara is a product of that society and has no compunctions using their "services", and at one point orders the death of several slaves who happen to be present when she learns critical information, so as to prevent them from possibly sharing it with anyone. Within the narrative of this book it's noted but not particularly egregious.
So with those qualifiers, this is a solid fantasy book that I think most fans of the genre will enjoy. You'll get more out of the series from having read Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master (there are two more books in the Riftwar series but they don't feature Kelewan), but you could also read it without having read them....more
A somewhat generous 4 stars on the strength of the excellent final novella ("Ill Met in Lankhmar"). I was less entertained by the first two, but they A somewhat generous 4 stars on the strength of the excellent final novella ("Ill Met in Lankhmar"). I was less entertained by the first two, but they did well in introducing the characters.
This had been recommended to me by a friend (years ago... sorry!) and I didn't quite know what to expect. I knew it involved a tall barbarian named Fafhrd and a smaller thief/wizard named Grey Mouser, and was in the "swords & sorcery" subgenre, like Conan. I was assuming Fahfrd would be the grim laconic type and Grey Mouser would be the more conniving. In actuality they're both clever, opportunistic rogues, tending toward daring hijinks as readily as they do their utmost to shirk troublesome responsibilities and expectations placed upon them by others. The tone of this toes the line between light-hearted and dark, and it often surprised me. I also appreciated that there was more continuity of the story than I remember from what I've read of Conan. I'm adding the next collection to my ever-growing TBR pile.
Instead of me going on any longer, I'll link to the excellent reviews by Bill Kerwin and carol, who describe the books better than I could....more
I actually liked this one more than the first, despite there not being a whole lot of plot.
I liked that Rhy and Kell's relationship was more fleshed oI actually liked this one more than the first, despite there not being a whole lot of plot.
I liked that Rhy and Kell's relationship was more fleshed out, Alucard (interesting name to use) was a good addition, and Lila coming into her own more was fun. I can see the criticism that this one doesn't have a whole lot of point plot-wise, but I didn't mind.
Good narration from Kate Reading and Michael Kramer!...more
Thoroughly entertaining. A bit heavier than the previous book, but not so much that it got away from the spirit that the first one established.
While Thoroughly entertaining. A bit heavier than the previous book, but not so much that it got away from the spirit that the first one established.
While I liked the twists and reveals (though I did figure out one of them long before Wax did, which is not particularly believable to me given that Wax is pretty sharp), I'm not sure it flowed as deliberately as most of Sanderson's other books. But that doesn't mean I wasn't entertained throughout!
Great narration by Michael Kramer as always, though his voice for MeLaan was... I don't know. It sounded like a 40-year old dude who's been straight as an arrow for his entire life deciding to try his hand at cross-dressing at a dive bar or something.
Anyway uh, that aside, loved it! On to the next and final book....more
Perhaps a bit overlong (the impending threat of an assault and a siege that never seems to have that much an effect wears a little thin), I neverthelePerhaps a bit overlong (the impending threat of an assault and a siege that never seems to have that much an effect wears a little thin), I nevertheless enjoyed this quite a bit. I liked getting to know Sazed better, and Vin and Elend both developed into more interesting characters than they were in the first novel. I wish (view spoiler)[ OreSeur/TenSoon (hide spoiler)] got more time as a point of focus because he and Vin's interactions were probably my favorite (though I really liked Tindwyl and Elend, too).
I was less interested in Zane and never for a minute (view spoiler)[believed that Vin would be with him or whatever Sanderson was kind of trying to set up, though the unlikelihood of that pairing might have been intentional. (hide spoiler)]
2024 update: Bumping this up to 5 stars. I think about this book a lot 3 years later and I'm finally starting the third one.
---
I thoroughly enjoyed th2024 update: Bumping this up to 5 stars. I think about this book a lot 3 years later and I'm finally starting the third one.
---
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be starting the next in the series, City of Blades, right away.
Wonderfully complex yet still approachable, and with a very original setting (to my eyes) that is refreshingly not European. Characters I was happy to cheer for - the extremely competent Shara, her "secretary" Sigrud, and the military governor Mulaghesh, and especially Vohannes Voltrov.
The titular Bulikov was a character of its own. I pictured it like a cross between the video game Dishonored's Dunwall and Fallen London, from the web game, and it breathed real atmosphere into every scene.
While this is largely "just" an espionage/mystery novel with a very unique and compelling setting, it does spend some time dealing with concepts of empire and cultural identity as well as featuring a very compelling queer character who deals with a multitude of internal and external conflicts in an absolutely believable way.
I also want to say that coming off of the very well-crafted but very dreary Traitor Baru Cormorant (which was a solid book, but not for me), it was refreshing to read a protagonist that was likable and a genuinely good, believable person in Shara. I loved her motivations and the way she treated those around her, her bravery, and her cleverness.
Ending spoilers: (view spoiler)[This is about a 4.25 or so for me. I liked the story from start to finish, but I thought the ending didn't quite land for me (though I loved all the post-climax stuff that set up book 2), and I have mixed feelings about Vohannes' end. I'm also taking away like .25 stars for Sigrud not being quite as well-developed/featured as I would have liked - and that's more in the "left me wanting more" category, so not much of a complaint. (hide spoiler)]...more
Despite the fact that Assassin's Apprentice checks nearly all the boxes for the first novel of a generic fantasy trilogy - a young boy (check), born oDespite the fact that Assassin's Apprentice checks nearly all the boxes for the first novel of a generic fantasy trilogy - a young boy (check), born of royal blood (check), possessing strange and forbidden powers (check), begins training (check) in a variety of skills and arts that will aid him as the King's assassin - it somehow manages to never come across as old hat. I think this is due to Robin Hobb's deliberate, precise writing style, and because while using familiar genre tropes, she manages to come up with a unique plot filled with just enough mystery, intrigue, and sympathetic characters for it to succeed admirably in spite of its heavy use of convention.
This is a series that I have no doubt will get stronger as it goes, and I'm looking forward to reading all the connected books eventually....more
I wanted and expected to like this more than did, but I'm still going to give it a "good" rating of 3/5, though I did consider a 2.
Theft of Swords is I wanted and expected to like this more than did, but I'm still going to give it a "good" rating of 3/5, though I did consider a 2.
Theft of Swords is a very "clean", simple, trope-and-cliche-embracing fantasy novel(s) that I probably would've appreciated more 15-20 years ago. As it is, I can appreciate the author's intention of presenting likable, characters that are immediately familiar - I saw a post by him where he said one of his goals was to present characters that came across like "old friends" - but it never really grabbed me.
You've got the amazingly skilled, do-gooder Hadrian who is better with a sword than trained knights. You've got Royce, whose eyesight is better than anyone else's, who is more nimble than others, who is often rather disgusted by Hadrian's displays of charity. They both have mysterious pasts that are hinted at, and I did like the two of them and how they interacted. But I never really felt that the world they lived in was real, and had only a minimal investment in the story. And I wasn't very interested in most of the side characters in either of the two books.
I've read in many, many places - including from the author himself (though not said in so many words) - that Theft of Swords is probably the worst of the three Riyria Revelations books, because he intentionally interspersed world-building throughout, and wanted to gradually increase the stakes and the scale of the story with each book. I think I'll give the next one a shot, but probably not especially soon. And I'd still recommend this to without hesitation to friends of mine that like fun adventure stories that aren't as heavy and angsty as the fantasy books that most often appeal to me....more
This is a very unique book. It is a mostly light-hearted, fantasy tale akin to The Princess Bride or Stardust, but much more unconventional. Hughart iThis is a very unique book. It is a mostly light-hearted, fantasy tale akin to The Princess Bride or Stardust, but much more unconventional. Hughart is an aficionado of Chinese lore and Bridge of Birds is built upon it. It follows the adventures of Number Ten Ox and Li Kao, who have to find The Root of Power to save the village of Ku-Fu's children, who has been (accidentally) poisoned by Pawnbroker Fang and Ma the Grub.
It is often very funny, and very rarely overly serious, but it isn't at all trite. While there are some characters that initially appear only as little more than gag devices, they often reappear and are given unexpected depth. I was definitely struck by how pretty several passages (including what might have been? a real-world passage by a Chinese peasant to his deceased young daughter that was transcribed by Hughart) were. And I could never say that something that comes together at the end as well as this did was anything short of lovingly written.
There's two more novels in this series, and Hughart planned to write more, but had poor relations with a rotating cast of publishers. Now that I've read Bridge of Birds, I'm sorry for our loss....more
Loading...
