disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.

Like a venerable patriarch, Magician stands at the head of a great tribe of fantasy writing. When Raymond Feist's enormous novel was published, critics called it "the best new fantasy concept in years", and Feist has refined and explored that concept over a dozen novels. His "concept" was to bring together two (and later, more) whole, intricately realised fantasy worlds. Midkemia is a Tolkienian realm, a European- Medieval series of kingdoms in which magic is prominent, and where men share the earth with dwarves and elves. Feist's genius was inventing another sword and sorcercy realm based more closely on eastern models, the Empire of Tsuranuanni, as vast as Ancient China, as formalised and devoted to the arts of war as a samurai Japan. A magical rift in time-space brings these two worlds clashing together, and the young boy Pug and his soldier friend Tomas are thrown into the ensuing maelstrom of invasion and epic battle, before embarking on a more fundamental magical journey towards the very roots of evil itself. Feist's two sequels to Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon complete the richly conceived Riftwar Saga, and Feist has gone on to chronicle other aspects of his invented worlds. With Janny Wurts he wrote the Empire trilogy, which charts the rise, through the rigid patriarchy of the Empire of Tsuranuanni, of a remarkable female heroine, a woman who eventually reaches the heights of the imperial throne itself Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of Empire. More recently he has returned to the world of Medkemia, and to his hero Pug, with the Serpentwar saga, beginning with Shadow of a Dark Queen and continuing with Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown. Heroic Fantasy is a crowded-enough field, but Feist stands out in it for his sheer inventive power, the scope and range of his narratives, the diversity of his characters and his thundering battle sequences. Start reading here, and you may find yourself unable to stop until you have followed the saga right up to date. --Adam Roberts

disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.


fun with elves and dwarves, 04 Dec 2008
Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Unashamedly on the bandwagon, 14 Nov 2008
As with many other reviewers, I read this book on a fairly regular basis, and perhaps the simplest and best recommendation I can make is that it hooks me and surprises me every time.

If you're looking for a classic fantasy masterwork then read this book, but be warned, you'll find yourself comparing to it every other fantasy book you read.

Out Tolkien's Tolkien, 15 Sep 2008
This certainly has to be one of the masterpieces of fantasy literature. At first it feels a bit like the Sword in the Stone but soon this is left behind as you enter an amazing story set across two worlds. With boys that become heroes and find themselves the greatest forces that their worlds have known. It has all that is required of epic fiction and while it is not the finely crafted work of Tolkien but it takes fantasy to a new level, defined by breakneck pace with a well crafted story.

Truly Epic, 30 Jun 2008
Where to begin? Having only recently been introduced to the works of Feist, I now count myself a fan of sorts. This book is a wonderful introduction to his works, and is gripping from start to finish. The word epic doesn't seem to do this justice- where many authors would be content with creating one living, breathing fantasy world, Feist has given us two in the form of Midkemia and Kelewan, along with enough characters to grace several trilogies. Magician follows the intertwined destinies of Pug and Tomas as they make the transition from lowly court boys to powerful beings of almost legendary status. That the journey never once appears farcical or unbelievable is testament to Feists fantasy writing. This book will leave you yearning for more Feist.

Magic!, 06 May 2008
This is the best fantasy book I have ever read - I think it is a LOTR beater! It would make a fantastic movie, however I don't think anything would come close to the text. Characters are really well developed, the storyline is great, with every world and scene lavishly detailed. I would recommend this to anyone.

Silverhorn is the sequel to Magician, which, like a venerable patriarch, stands at the head of a great tribe of fantasy writing. When Raymond Feist's enormous novel was published, critics called it "the best new fantasy concept in years", and Feist has refined and explored that concept over a dozen novels. His "concept" was to bring together two (and later, more) whole, intricately realised Fantasy worlds. Midkemia is a Tolkienian realm, a European-Medieval series of kingdoms in which magic is prominent, and where men share the earth with dwarves and elves. Feist's genius was inventing another sword and sorcercy realm based more closely on eastern models, the Empire of Tsuranuanni, as vast as Ancient China, as formalised and devoted to the arts of war as a samurai Japan. A magical rift in time-space brings these two worlds clashing together, and the young boy Pug and his soldier friend Tomas are thrown into the ensuing maelstrom of invasion and epic battle, before embarking on a more fundamental magical journey towards the very roots of evil itself. Feist's two sequels to Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon complete the richly conceived "Riftwar Saga", and Fiest has gone on to chronicle other aspects of his invented worlds. With Janny Wurts he wrote the "Empire" trilogy, which charts the rise, through the rigid patriarchy of the Empire of Tsuranuanni, of a remarkable female heroine, a woman who eventually reaches the heights of the imperial throne itself Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of Empire. More recently he has returned to the world of Medkemia, and to his hero Pug, with the Serpentwar saga, beginning with Shadow of a Dark Queen and continuing with Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown. Heroic Fantasy is a crowded-enough field, but Feist stands out in it for his sheer inventive power, the scope and range of his narratives, the diversity of his characters and his thundering battle sequences. Start reading here, and you may find yourself unable to stop until you have followed the saga right up to date. --Adam Roberts

disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.


fun with elves and dwarves, 04 Dec 2008
Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Unashamedly on the bandwagon, 14 Nov 2008
As with many other reviewers, I read this book on a fairly regular basis, and perhaps the simplest and best recommendation I can make is that it hooks me and surprises me every time.

If you're looking for a classic fantasy masterwork then read this book, but be warned, you'll find yourself comparing to it every other fantasy book you read.

Out Tolkien's Tolkien, 15 Sep 2008
This certainly has to be one of the masterpieces of fantasy literature. At first it feels a bit like the Sword in the Stone but soon this is left behind as you enter an amazing story set across two worlds. With boys that become heroes and find themselves the greatest forces that their worlds have known. It has all that is required of epic fiction and while it is not the finely crafted work of Tolkien but it takes fantasy to a new level, defined by breakneck pace with a well crafted story.

Truly Epic, 30 Jun 2008
Where to begin? Having only recently been introduced to the works of Feist, I now count myself a fan of sorts. This book is a wonderful introduction to his works, and is gripping from start to finish. The word epic doesn't seem to do this justice- where many authors would be content with creating one living, breathing fantasy world, Feist has given us two in the form of Midkemia and Kelewan, along with enough characters to grace several trilogies. Magician follows the intertwined destinies of Pug and Tomas as they make the transition from lowly court boys to powerful beings of almost legendary status. That the journey never once appears farcical or unbelievable is testament to Feists fantasy writing. This book will leave you yearning for more Feist.

Magic!, 06 May 2008
This is the best fantasy book I have ever read - I think it is a LOTR beater! It would make a fantastic movie, however I don't think anything would come close to the text. Characters are really well developed, the storyline is great, with every world and scene lavishly detailed. I would recommend this to anyone.

Terrifying fantasy - not for bedtime reading, 15 Sep 2008
Some reviewers complain about the pace of the book after the break-neck speed of Magician but this is a different type of novel. This combines terror with fantasy and for me the characterisation of evil is what makes this such a powerful book. It is much darker than the magician which is very swords and sorcery. This is a book about menace and it would not work if you raced along frantically.

A satisfying follow up to the wonderful Magician, 30 Jun 2008
It was always going to be difficult to follow on from Magician, which was a truly astounding read, but Feist has made a worthy attempt. Don't expect anywhere near the truly epic nature of his debut novel, Silverthorn's scope is far narrower both chronologically and geographically. In fact this would almost work as a standalone book, and doesn't seem to fit in the same saga as Magician. That said, the characters are lovingly portayed as always. Feist takes the spotlight away from the main characters in Magician- a move that might upset some fans- and instead focuses on Arutha, Laurie, and Jimmy the Hand. We follow them on their journey into the 'lions den' so to speak, the only place they can find the antidote to the poison dart which has struck the Princess Anita!

Good for its time, 16 Apr 2008
As an example of early Feist work, it is very good and follows magician nicely. I would only ever read this particuarly trilogy from the author and wouldn't bother with the rest.

It is just plain escapist fantasy that was relatively unusual for its time. I am not convinced that it would have been as successful in the present enviornment.

Gripping!, 18 Dec 2007
Silverthorn is the second part of the Riftwar saga and is another belter from Feist. Where Magician was an epic story that spanned many year's, Silverthorn is a much shorter tale but is also packed with non stop action.

Set a year after the previous novel, Jimmy the Hand take's centre stage early on and stumble's into an assassination attempt on Prince Arutha's life. This turn of event's culminate's in Anita being struck with an bolt which carrie's the poison 'Silverthorn'.

The race is on to find an antidote for the poison and to find who is behind these attack's. The search goes from Krondor, Sarth, Elvandar and deep into the Northland's in another gripping tale of good versus evil.

Great charecter's, amazing scenery and a strong plot, Feist give's reader's another great story from the world of Midkemia.

A Heroic, white and shiney Prince!, 01 Dec 2007
I like the "Magician" better, but this sequel is also ok. It is taking a different path from the Magician story, only merging again at the end. It is a story of a Prince who is trying to save his Princes. Pretty intense, almost scary many times.
Not as good as the previous book, a little bit more classic story.

A Darkness at Sethanon completes the "Riftworld saga" which started with Feist's Magician. When Raymond Feist's enormous novel was published, critics called it "the best new fantasy concept in years", and Feist has refined and explored that concept over a dozen novels. His "concept" was to bring together two (and later, more) whole, intricately realised Fantasy worlds. Midkemia is a Tolkienian realm, a European-Medieval series of kingdoms in which magic is prominent, and where men share the earth with dwarves and elves. Feist's genius was inventing another sword and sorcercy realm based more closely on eastern models, the Empire of Tsuranuanni, as vast as Ancient China, as formalised and devoted to the arts of war as a samurai Japan. A magical rift in time-space brings these two worlds clashing together, and the young boy Pug and his soldier friend Tomas are thrown into the ensuing maelstrom of invasion and epic battle, before embarking on a more fundamental magical journey towards the very roots of evil itself. Feist's two sequels to Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon complete the richly conceived "Riftwar Saga", and Fiest has gone on to chronicle other aspects of his invented worlds. With Janny Wurts he wrote the "Empire" trilogy, which charts the rise, through the rigid patriarchy of the Empire of Tsuranuanni, of a remarkable female heroine, a woman who eventually reaches the heights of the imperial throne itself Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of Empire. More recently he has returned to the world of Medkemia, and to his hero Pug, with the Serpentwar saga, beginning with Shadow of a Dark Queen and continuing with Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown. Heroic Fantasy is a crowded-enough field, but Feist stands out in it for his sheer inventive power, the scope and range of his narratives, the diversity of his characters and his thundering battle sequences. Start reading here, and you may find yourself unable to stop until you have followed the saga right up to date. --Adam Roberts

disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.


fun with elves and dwarves, 04 Dec 2008
Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Unashamedly on the bandwagon, 14 Nov 2008
As with many other reviewers, I read this book on a fairly regular basis, and perhaps the simplest and best recommendation I can make is that it hooks me and surprises me every time.

If you're looking for a classic fantasy masterwork then read this book, but be warned, you'll find yourself comparing to it every other fantasy book you read.

Out Tolkien's Tolkien, 15 Sep 2008
This certainly has to be one of the masterpieces of fantasy literature. At first it feels a bit like the Sword in the Stone but soon this is left behind as you enter an amazing story set across two worlds. With boys that become heroes and find themselves the greatest forces that their worlds have known. It has all that is required of epic fiction and while it is not the finely crafted work of Tolkien but it takes fantasy to a new level, defined by breakneck pace with a well crafted story.

Truly Epic, 30 Jun 2008
Where to begin? Having only recently been introduced to the works of Feist, I now count myself a fan of sorts. This book is a wonderful introduction to his works, and is gripping from start to finish. The word epic doesn't seem to do this justice- where many authors would be content with creating one living, breathing fantasy world, Feist has given us two in the form of Midkemia and Kelewan, along with enough characters to grace several trilogies. Magician follows the intertwined destinies of Pug and Tomas as they make the transition from lowly court boys to powerful beings of almost legendary status. That the journey never once appears farcical or unbelievable is testament to Feists fantasy writing. This book will leave you yearning for more Feist.

Magic!, 06 May 2008
This is the best fantasy book I have ever read - I think it is a LOTR beater! It would make a fantastic movie, however I don't think anything would come close to the text. Characters are really well developed, the storyline is great, with every world and scene lavishly detailed. I would recommend this to anyone.

Terrifying fantasy - not for bedtime reading, 15 Sep 2008
Some reviewers complain about the pace of the book after the break-neck speed of Magician but this is a different type of novel. This combines terror with fantasy and for me the characterisation of evil is what makes this such a powerful book. It is much darker than the magician which is very swords and sorcery. This is a book about menace and it would not work if you raced along frantically.

A satisfying follow up to the wonderful Magician, 30 Jun 2008
It was always going to be difficult to follow on from Magician, which was a truly astounding read, but Feist has made a worthy attempt. Don't expect anywhere near the truly epic nature of his debut novel, Silverthorn's scope is far narrower both chronologically and geographically. In fact this would almost work as a standalone book, and doesn't seem to fit in the same saga as Magician. That said, the characters are lovingly portayed as always. Feist takes the spotlight away from the main characters in Magician- a move that might upset some fans- and instead focuses on Arutha, Laurie, and Jimmy the Hand. We follow them on their journey into the 'lions den' so to speak, the only place they can find the antidote to the poison dart which has struck the Princess Anita!

Good for its time, 16 Apr 2008
As an example of early Feist work, it is very good and follows magician nicely. I would only ever read this particuarly trilogy from the author and wouldn't bother with the rest.

It is just plain escapist fantasy that was relatively unusual for its time. I am not convinced that it would have been as successful in the present enviornment.

Gripping!, 18 Dec 2007
Silverthorn is the second part of the Riftwar saga and is another belter from Feist. Where Magician was an epic story that spanned many year's, Silverthorn is a much shorter tale but is also packed with non stop action.

Set a year after the previous novel, Jimmy the Hand take's centre stage early on and stumble's into an assassination attempt on Prince Arutha's life. This turn of event's culminate's in Anita being struck with an bolt which carrie's the poison 'Silverthorn'.

The race is on to find an antidote for the poison and to find who is behind these attack's. The search goes from Krondor, Sarth, Elvandar and deep into the Northland's in another gripping tale of good versus evil.

Great charecter's, amazing scenery and a strong plot, Feist give's reader's another great story from the world of Midkemia.

A Heroic, white and shiney Prince!, 01 Dec 2007
I like the "Magician" better, but this sequel is also ok. It is taking a different path from the Magician story, only merging again at the end. It is a story of a Prince who is trying to save his Princes. Pretty intense, almost scary many times.
Not as good as the previous book, a little bit more classic story.

The best one!, 19 Sep 2008
Of all Feist's books, this one for me is still the best one. It bettered Magician, and it's pale sequal. It had, probably one of the best battle scenes in a fantasy book I have ever read and all the characters you had grown to love from Magician. Superb.

Satisfying finale to a wonderful saga, 30 Jun 2008
A Darkness at Sethanon is the final piece in the jigsaw where the Riftwar saga is concerned, and if you have read Magician and Silverthorn already, this is essential reading. Don't be put off by the fact that Silverthorn appeared a standalone book- unrelated and paling into significance alongside the majestic 'Magician', as many loose ends (some that you didn't even know were there) are tied off in this finale.

Pug, Tomas, Arutha, Jimmy and a host of endearing characters face their biggest test yet- how to overcome the dreaded 'Enemy'.

Good Fantasy book, 02 Feb 2008
It is good overall. I read all the books of this saga without getting bored. However, it is a kind of mixed soup, you have a middle-earth kind world with magic and magicians, there is also alien invasion, also gods, a part of the book is on the outerspace, there is time travel...
To me the writer mixed it all different fantasy elements, so everybody can find a piece they like. Not my favorite

Enjoyable end to the Riftwar saga!, 26 Dec 2007
A Darkness at Sethanon is the final book of the Riftwar triology and finishes off one of my favourite fantasy saga's.

The book start's roughly a year after the event's of Silverthorn, the Nighthawks have returned to Krondor and once again Arutha and his companion's must travel north to face Murmandamus, but this time they go to kill him.

When it comes to action and adventure there's none better than Feist. Amazing battle scenes in the Northland's, the brilliant end of Armengar, the return of old heroes, Pug and Tomas and their race to find Macros the Black. It's a very well written and detailed book, the descriptions are brilliant and will keep you interested throughout.

4 stars for this book but overall the Riftwar trilogy deserves the full 5 stars!

No one in these books farts?, 28 Jul 2007
3rd book, After i read this book i bought and read everything Mr Feist has read.. I hope he enjoys my money.
This book is a return to the more epic scope of Magician. Although not so good as magician it is far more engrossing than Silverthorn. Still absolutely awesome fight scenes, and battles. Very likeable cast. If you don't like it when the good guys always win then dont buy this book. If you like it when the good chaps absolutely batter the naughty blokes then buy this!!!

disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.


fun with elves and dwarves, 04 Dec 2008
Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Unashamedly on the bandwagon, 14 Nov 2008
As with many other reviewers, I read this book on a fairly regular basis, and perhaps the simplest and best recommendation I can make is that it hooks me and surprises me every time.

If you're looking for a classic fantasy masterwork then read this book, but be warned, you'll find yourself comparing to it every other fantasy book you read.

Out Tolkien's Tolkien, 15 Sep 2008
This certainly has to be one of the masterpieces of fantasy literature. At first it feels a bit like the Sword in the Stone but soon this is left behind as you enter an amazing story set across two worlds. With boys that become heroes and find themselves the greatest forces that their worlds have known. It has all that is required of epic fiction and while it is not the finely crafted work of Tolkien but it takes fantasy to a new level, defined by breakneck pace with a well crafted story.

Truly Epic, 30 Jun 2008
Where to begin? Having only recently been introduced to the works of Feist, I now count myself a fan of sorts. This book is a wonderful introduction to his works, and is gripping from start to finish. The word epic doesn't seem to do this justice- where many authors would be content with creating one living, breathing fantasy world, Feist has given us two in the form of Midkemia and Kelewan, along with enough characters to grace several trilogies. Magician follows the intertwined destinies of Pug and Tomas as they make the transition from lowly court boys to powerful beings of almost legendary status. That the journey never once appears farcical or unbelievable is testament to Feists fantasy writing. This book will leave you yearning for more Feist.

Magic!, 06 May 2008
This is the best fantasy book I have ever read - I think it is a LOTR beater! It would make a fantastic movie, however I don't think anything would come close to the text. Characters are really well developed, the storyline is great, with every world and scene lavishly detailed. I would recommend this to anyone.

Terrifying fantasy - not for bedtime reading, 15 Sep 2008
Some reviewers complain about the pace of the book after the break-neck speed of Magician but this is a different type of novel. This combines terror with fantasy and for me the characterisation of evil is what makes this such a powerful book. It is much darker than the magician which is very swords and sorcery. This is a book about menace and it would not work if you raced along frantically.

A satisfying follow up to the wonderful Magician, 30 Jun 2008
It was always going to be difficult to follow on from Magician, which was a truly astounding read, but Feist has made a worthy attempt. Don't expect anywhere near the truly epic nature of his debut novel, Silverthorn's scope is far narrower both chronologically and geographically. In fact this would almost work as a standalone book, and doesn't seem to fit in the same saga as Magician. That said, the characters are lovingly portayed as always. Feist takes the spotlight away from the main characters in Magician- a move that might upset some fans- and instead focuses on Arutha, Laurie, and Jimmy the Hand. We follow them on their journey into the 'lions den' so to speak, the only place they can find the antidote to the poison dart which has struck the Princess Anita!

Good for its time, 16 Apr 2008
As an example of early Feist work, it is very good and follows magician nicely. I would only ever read this particuarly trilogy from the author and wouldn't bother with the rest.

It is just plain escapist fantasy that was relatively unusual for its time. I am not convinced that it would have been as successful in the present enviornment.

Gripping!, 18 Dec 2007
Silverthorn is the second part of the Riftwar saga and is another belter from Feist. Where Magician was an epic story that spanned many year's, Silverthorn is a much shorter tale but is also packed with non stop action.

Set a year after the previous novel, Jimmy the Hand take's centre stage early on and stumble's into an assassination attempt on Prince Arutha's life. This turn of event's culminate's in Anita being struck with an bolt which carrie's the poison 'Silverthorn'.

The race is on to find an antidote for the poison and to find who is behind these attack's. The search goes from Krondor, Sarth, Elvandar and deep into the Northland's in another gripping tale of good versus evil.

Great charecter's, amazing scenery and a strong plot, Feist give's reader's another great story from the world of Midkemia.

A Heroic, white and shiney Prince!, 01 Dec 2007
I like the "Magician" better, but this sequel is also ok. It is taking a different path from the Magician story, only merging again at the end. It is a story of a Prince who is trying to save his Princes. Pretty intense, almost scary many times.
Not as good as the previous book, a little bit more classic story.

The best one!, 19 Sep 2008
Of all Feist's books, this one for me is still the best one. It bettered Magician, and it's pale sequal. It had, probably one of the best battle scenes in a fantasy book I have ever read and all the characters you had grown to love from Magician. Superb.

Satisfying finale to a wonderful saga, 30 Jun 2008
A Darkness at Sethanon is the final piece in the jigsaw where the Riftwar saga is concerned, and if you have read Magician and Silverthorn already, this is essential reading. Don't be put off by the fact that Silverthorn appeared a standalone book- unrelated and paling into significance alongside the majestic 'Magician', as many loose ends (some that you didn't even know were there) are tied off in this finale.

Pug, Tomas, Arutha, Jimmy and a host of endearing characters face their biggest test yet- how to overcome the dreaded 'Enemy'.

Good Fantasy book, 02 Feb 2008
It is good overall. I read all the books of this saga without getting bored. However, it is a kind of mixed soup, you have a middle-earth kind world with magic and magicians, there is also alien invasion, also gods, a part of the book is on the outerspace, there is time travel...
To me the writer mixed it all different fantasy elements, so everybody can find a piece they like. Not my favorite

Enjoyable end to the Riftwar saga!, 26 Dec 2007
A Darkness at Sethanon is the final book of the Riftwar triology and finishes off one of my favourite fantasy saga's.

The book start's roughly a year after the event's of Silverthorn, the Nighthawks have returned to Krondor and once again Arutha and his companion's must travel north to face Murmandamus, but this time they go to kill him.

When it comes to action and adventure there's none better than Feist. Amazing battle scenes in the Northland's, the brilliant end of Armengar, the return of old heroes, Pug and Tomas and their race to find Macros the Black. It's a very well written and detailed book, the descriptions are brilliant and will keep you interested throughout.

4 stars for this book but overall the Riftwar trilogy deserves the full 5 stars!

No one in these books farts?, 28 Jul 2007
3rd book, After i read this book i bought and read everything Mr Feist has read.. I hope he enjoys my money.
This book is a return to the more epic scope of Magician. Although not so good as magician it is far more engrossing than Silverthorn. Still absolutely awesome fight scenes, and battles. Very likeable cast. If you don't like it when the good guys always win then dont buy this book. If you like it when the good chaps absolutely batter the naughty blokes then buy this!!!

A good second novel in the Darkwar trilogy., 02 Sep 2008
This is the second book in the Darkwar Trilogy, now for a bit of the story.

In this novel we see Pug and his allies trying to save the world of Kelewan from the twisted mage Varen and his alien allies the ruthless and blood thirsty Dasati who through the worship of their dark God yearn for war and slaughter, but among these blood thirsty warriors are a small band who worship the White and for many years these followers of the whit have waited for a prophecy to be fulfilled, as Pug readies to travel to the Dastai with his son Magnus and his long time friend Nakor and Nakor's new Allie Bek in time to stop the destruction of his world and all he holds dear.

This is another great book in the Darkwar trilogy, plenty of action and adventure, well worth any fantasy lover reading.

I hope the review was some help to you.

Tad and Zane, 03 Apr 2008
in this series he seems to mix up tad and zane alot and get things completely wrong from earlier series' anyone else notice?

Nothing happens and yet not boring..., 01 Nov 2007
How strange is my relationship with the work of Raymond E. Feist.

Feist fans think his best work is Magician. I'm not a fan of it, but I did absolutely love Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon. Not only were they action-packed, but they had great stories as well, and together they make up some of the most exciting fantasy I have ever had the pleasure to read.

But nothing else Feist has ever written has excited me. His Serpentwar saga was boring and hellishly drawn out, and now we have the Darkwar series, which I continue to read hoping that it will capture my imagination the way his early books did.

I'll deal with the positives of Into A Dark Realm before I go onto what was wrong with it. What I will say about it is that, as is usual with Feist, it's a good story (apart from one unnecessary and detractive subplot). It is in no way boring, certainly, and there are some reasonable revelations which expand the scope of the plot. It also explores in detail the culture of the Dasati, which was interesting to read about. By the end I still wanted to read on, I have to say.

But even so, that excitement of Silverthorn and Sethanon isn't there. IADR is better than "Flight of the Nighthawks", which was pretty boring in some places, but unbelievably there is not a single action set-piece in the whole book. The ending, certainly, is perhaps the only ending of a fantasy book I've read where none of the last few chapters contain any kind of action sequence. Given that we're supposed to be on the verge of the Darkwar here, shouldn't there be a bit more excitement?

It also has the same major flaw as its predecessor FOTNH, in that it spends a lot of time TELLING us that there is a great threat to two worlds, but no time at all actually SHOWING us the extent of this threat. Instead, there is an awful lot of TALK about how dangerous the situation is, but we've yet to see it for ourselves. Perhaps the third book in the trilogy will open the floodgates, but I think by that point it will be too late as Feist hasn't built up any suspense for it, as we have not been made to genuinely feel that there is any danger at all. In Silverthorn, Feist presented us with constant danger from Murmandamus' forces and creatures, so that even though we didn't see him, we knew he was a threat. That's not the case here. I think Feist has somewhat wasted the plot that he had.

But this isn't a terrible book by any means, and it did actually keep me just about interested despite the fact that nothing particularly exciting ever happens in it. I keep reading Feist hoping that he will return to the action-adventure of the early Riftwar series, but so far I have been repeatedly disappointed. That is why I don't hold out much hope that Wrath of a Mad God is going to redeem the series.

disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.


fun with elves and dwarves, 04 Dec 2008
Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Unashamedly on the bandwagon, 14 Nov 2008
As with many other reviewers, I read this book on a fairly regular basis, and perhaps the simplest and best recommendation I can make is that it hooks me and surprises me every time.

If you're looking for a classic fantasy masterwork then read this book, but be warned, you'll find yourself comparing to it every other fantasy book you read.

Out Tolkien's Tolkien, 15 Sep 2008
This certainly has to be one of the masterpieces of fantasy literature. At first it feels a bit like the Sword in the Stone but soon this is left behind as you enter an amazing story set across two worlds. With boys that become heroes and find themselves the greatest forces that their worlds have known. It has all that is required of epic fiction and while it is not the finely crafted work of Tolkien but it takes fantasy to a new level, defined by breakneck pace with a well crafted story.

Truly Epic, 30 Jun 2008
Where to begin? Having only recently been introduced to the works of Feist, I now count myself a fan of sorts. This book is a wonderful introduction to his works, and is gripping from start to finish. The word epic doesn't seem to do this justice- where many authors would be content with creating one living, breathing fantasy world, Feist has given us two in the form of Midkemia and Kelewan, along with enough characters to grace several trilogies. Magician follows the intertwined destinies of Pug and Tomas as they make the transition from lowly court boys to powerful beings of almost legendary status. That the journey never once appears farcical or unbelievable is testament to Feists fantasy writing. This book will leave you yearning for more Feist.

Magic!, 06 May 2008
This is the best fantasy book I have ever read - I think it is a LOTR beater! It would make a fantastic movie, however I don't think anything would come close to the text. Characters are really well developed, the storyline is great, with every world and scene lavishly detailed. I would recommend this to anyone.

Terrifying fantasy - not for bedtime reading, 15 Sep 2008
Some reviewers complain about the pace of the book after the break-neck speed of Magician but this is a different type of novel. This combines terror with fantasy and for me the characterisation of evil is what makes this such a powerful book. It is much darker than the magician which is very swords and sorcery. This is a book about menace and it would not work if you raced along frantically.

A satisfying follow up to the wonderful Magician, 30 Jun 2008
It was always going to be difficult to follow on from Magician, which was a truly astounding read, but Feist has made a worthy attempt. Don't expect anywhere near the truly epic nature of his debut novel, Silverthorn's scope is far narrower both chronologically and geographically. In fact this would almost work as a standalone book, and doesn't seem to fit in the same saga as Magician. That said, the characters are lovingly portayed as always. Feist takes the spotlight away from the main characters in Magician- a move that might upset some fans- and instead focuses on Arutha, Laurie, and Jimmy the Hand. We follow them on their journey into the 'lions den' so to speak, the only place they can find the antidote to the poison dart which has struck the Princess Anita!

Good for its time, 16 Apr 2008
As an example of early Feist work, it is very good and follows magician nicely. I would only ever read this particuarly trilogy from the author and wouldn't bother with the rest.

It is just plain escapist fantasy that was relatively unusual for its time. I am not convinced that it would have been as successful in the present enviornment.

Gripping!, 18 Dec 2007
Silverthorn is the second part of the Riftwar saga and is another belter from Feist. Where Magician was an epic story that spanned many year's, Silverthorn is a much shorter tale but is also packed with non stop action.

Set a year after the previous novel, Jimmy the Hand take's centre stage early on and stumble's into an assassination attempt on Prince Arutha's life. This turn of event's culminate's in Anita being struck with an bolt which carrie's the poison 'Silverthorn'.

The race is on to find an antidote for the poison and to find who is behind these attack's. The search goes from Krondor, Sarth, Elvandar and deep into the Northland's in another gripping tale of good versus evil.

Great charecter's, amazing scenery and a strong plot, Feist give's reader's another great story from the world of Midkemia.

A Heroic, white and shiney Prince!, 01 Dec 2007
I like the "Magician" better, but this sequel is also ok. It is taking a different path from the Magician story, only merging again at the end. It is a story of a Prince who is trying to save his Princes. Pretty intense, almost scary many times.
Not as good as the previous book, a little bit more classic story.

The best one!, 19 Sep 2008
Of all Feist's books, this one for me is still the best one. It bettered Magician, and it's pale sequal. It had, probably one of the best battle scenes in a fantasy book I have ever read and all the characters you had grown to love from Magician. Superb.

Satisfying finale to a wonderful saga, 30 Jun 2008
A Darkness at Sethanon is the final piece in the jigsaw where the Riftwar saga is concerned, and if you have read Magician and Silverthorn already, this is essential reading. Don't be put off by the fact that Silverthorn appeared a standalone book- unrelated and paling into significance alongside the majestic 'Magician', as many loose ends (some that you didn't even know were there) are tied off in this finale.

Pug, Tomas, Arutha, Jimmy and a host of endearing characters face their biggest test yet- how to overcome the dreaded 'Enemy'.

Good Fantasy book, 02 Feb 2008
It is good overall. I read all the books of this saga without getting bored. However, it is a kind of mixed soup, you have a middle-earth kind world with magic and magicians, there is also alien invasion, also gods, a part of the book is on the outerspace, there is time travel...
To me the writer mixed it all different fantasy elements, so everybody can find a piece they like. Not my favorite

Enjoyable end to the Riftwar saga!, 26 Dec 2007
A Darkness at Sethanon is the final book of the Riftwar triology and finishes off one of my favourite fantasy saga's.

The book start's roughly a year after the event's of Silverthorn, the Nighthawks have returned to Krondor and once again Arutha and his companion's must travel north to face Murmandamus, but this time they go to kill him.

When it comes to action and adventure there's none better than Feist. Amazing battle scenes in the Northland's, the brilliant end of Armengar, the return of old heroes, Pug and Tomas and their race to find Macros the Black. It's a very well written and detailed book, the descriptions are brilliant and will keep you interested throughout.

4 stars for this book but overall the Riftwar trilogy deserves the full 5 stars!

No one in these books farts?, 28 Jul 2007
3rd book, After i read this book i bought and read everything Mr Feist has read.. I hope he enjoys my money.
This book is a return to the more epic scope of Magician. Although not so good as magician it is far more engrossing than Silverthorn. Still absolutely awesome fight scenes, and battles. Very likeable cast. If you don't like it when the good guys always win then dont buy this book. If you like it when the good chaps absolutely batter the naughty blokes then buy this!!!

A good second novel in the Darkwar trilogy., 02 Sep 2008
This is the second book in the Darkwar Trilogy, now for a bit of the story.

In this novel we see Pug and his allies trying to save the world of Kelewan from the twisted mage Varen and his alien allies the ruthless and blood thirsty Dasati who through the worship of their dark God yearn for war and slaughter, but among these blood thirsty warriors are a small band who worship the White and for many years these followers of the whit have waited for a prophecy to be fulfilled, as Pug readies to travel to the Dastai with his son Magnus and his long time friend Nakor and Nakor's new Allie Bek in time to stop the destruction of his world and all he holds dear.

This is another great book in the Darkwar trilogy, plenty of action and adventure, well worth any fantasy lover reading.

I hope the review was some help to you.

Tad and Zane, 03 Apr 2008
in this series he seems to mix up tad and zane alot and get things completely wrong from earlier series' anyone else notice?

Nothing happens and yet not boring..., 01 Nov 2007
How strange is my relationship with the work of Raymond E. Feist.

Feist fans think his best work is Magician. I'm not a fan of it, but I did absolutely love Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon. Not only were they action-packed, but they had great stories as well, and together they make up some of the most exciting fantasy I have ever had the pleasure to read.

But nothing else Feist has ever written has excited me. His Serpentwar saga was boring and hellishly drawn out, and now we have the Darkwar series, which I continue to read hoping that it will capture my imagination the way his early books did.

I'll deal with the positives of Into A Dark Realm before I go onto what was wrong with it. What I will say about it is that, as is usual with Feist, it's a good story (apart from one unnecessary and detractive subplot). It is in no way boring, certainly, and there are some reasonable revelations which expand the scope of the plot. It also explores in detail the culture of the Dasati, which was interesting to read about. By the end I still wanted to read on, I have to say.

But even so, that excitement of Silverthorn and Sethanon isn't there. IADR is better than "Flight of the Nighthawks", which was pretty boring in some places, but unbelievably there is not a single action set-piece in the whole book. The ending, certainly, is perhaps the only ending of a fantasy book I've read where none of the last few chapters contain any kind of action sequence. Given that we're supposed to be on the verge of the Darkwar here, shouldn't there be a bit more excitement?

It also has the same major flaw as its predecessor FOTNH, in that it spends a lot of time TELLING us that there is a great threat to two worlds, but no time at all actually SHOWING us the extent of this threat. Instead, there is an awful lot of TALK about how dangerous the situation is, but we've yet to see it for ourselves. Perhaps the third book in the trilogy will open the floodgates, but I think by that point it will be too late as Feist hasn't built up any suspense for it, as we have not been made to genuinely feel that there is any danger at all. In Silverthorn, Feist presented us with constant danger from Murmandamus' forces and creatures, so that even though we didn't see him, we knew he was a threat. That's not the case here. I think Feist has somewhat wasted the plot that he had.

But this isn't a terrible book by any means, and it did actually keep me just about interested despite the fact that nothing particularly exciting ever happens in it. I keep reading Feist hoping that he will return to the action-adventure of the early Riftwar series, but so far I have been repeatedly disappointed. That is why I don't hold out much hope that Wrath of a Mad God is going to redeem the series.

A great first book, Feist brings back some of our old favourites., 31 Aug 2008
This is the first of Feist's new trilogy, and as with all of his previous works this is a brilliant work of Fantasy Fiction, now for a bit of the story.

In the first novel of this trilogy we see Pug and his usual allies with a few new faces battling the evil forces of the fallen God and his mage Varen and the deadly NightHawk assassins as they try to bring the Empire Of Great Kesh to the bring of civil war, and all that stand in there way are a few brave souls, Pugs two sons and their friends, we also see faces from the past, Eric Von Darkmoor, Talwin Hawkins and and the former Duke Of Olasko Kaspar doing battle to save the world from dangers of the dark God and his minions.

As always Feist's work is brilliant, the only down side for me was that my favourite character Eric Von Darkmoor was only included in a few pages , I hope in the following books he will make more of an appearance, other than that an amazing new story from what promises to be an amazing new trilogy, I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

I hope this review was of some help to you.

Great trilogy, when put in perspective, 29 Aug 2008
I have only previously read the Riftwar Saga, so I have no reference for how Feist has written his books since then.

This first book is a little disappointing, however only because its really building the storyline for the more exciting second and third books, which pick up the pace a bit. I agree with other users who put that Midkemia has been explored out, so without spoiling, he gets around this further along in the trilogy.

The character building is another thing that wasnt deep enough, as you are introduced to the cast, given a page or two of history, and off you go. Its almost as if he was in a hurry to finish and you never really get to connect with the characters.

I bought the trilogy together, and ready them all in the same week during my holidays, and regardless of the flaws I have to say it was definitely enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who likes previous Feist material, or even just a fantasy genre fan. Just dont expect the depth of Magician or anything by Robin Hobb or Geroge R.R. Martin!

Feist is back to his best!!, 22 Oct 2007
Fantastic book, which I was unable to put down - Feist is definitely back to his best.
It has everything which made him great for those stalwart fans and will most certainly gain some new ones with this book and series (having also read "Into a Dark Realm" - which is bloody brilliant!!)

I highly recommend this for any Feist or fantasy fan...can't wait for March 2008

Bored, 26 Jul 2007
Enjoyed it but.....I enjoyed his earlier books (magician) better.

He is a bit like david gemmell reptitive.

Getting better after a drop in quality of previous books, 30 Mar 2007
Personally I felt the conclave of shadows books that precede this are the wealest of the Midkemia novels. Not that they are bad but merely average, here Feist takes the story he has been building slowly and changes up a gear. It feels more epic, there is a greater sense of urgency and more importantly a ripping yarn.
If you have never read one of Feists books stop reading now and look up magician, this is not the place to start. It is familiar territory, action, intrigue, magic and murder. The usual staples are here as are many familiar faces, while I make this sound like feist by numbers I should say that part of the appeal of reading an ongoing saga is the familiarity with the world and its populas.
If you have read feist before you won't be disappointed.

disappointing, 25 Oct 2008
as a long time feist fan i bought this to see what happens to the characters next. if you are not a fan id advise you ignore this. it is a shadow to feists previous works (like magician).

the number of inconsistencies is a bit annoying. memorable parts from earlier series are contradicted often.

then there are the terrible typos and errors throughout the book.

i actually returned my copy to the shop i bought it from and got a full refund. i found it funny how in the email i received from this retailer there was a typing error at a key point. reminded me of the book.

feist can do better than this last effort. he has proven so. so why does he put out poor quality books like this. . .

Best for a long time!, 12 Oct 2008
The last few Feist books, whilst all very good, have had the feel of "smaller" novels without the grandeur of scope that the Magician or Serpentwar series had.

This is back to the things that brought us to Midkemia and Kelewan in the first place. Vast empires, lots of magic and feeling of scale - the feeling of the Riftwar. Huge of scope - this is a rollicking ride with a stupendous ending.

There could be at least two full books in this one and I look forward to the 20th anniversary "directors cut"

Read it, and then like me - read it again.

Enjoy!

An exercise in cynical publishing, 24 Sep 2008
This volume has never been proof-read by anything or anyone with a level
of consciousness above that of an amoeba; at best it was processed through an automated grammar and spell checker; it's full of typographic errors, it's full of incorrectly utilised words, it has missing words, it has repeated words, it has .... the list goes on.

Worst of all these errors are persistent and frequent. It's a rare page that doesn't have one error or another, many have several.

One expects and allows for the odd mistake or typo, but this is at the
level which - if one is in the least bit sensible of language -
utterly destroys the enjoyment and readability of the work.

Frankly, I'm exceptionally disappointed in Harper Collins, and I'd expect Mr Feist to be equally disappointed and angry. One wonders if the US editions of the work suffer in the same manner.

Don't buy this unless you're extremely patient and even-tempered.

Oversized Book, 18 Sep 2008
Be warned: this book is oversize and will not fit many book cases (23cm x 15cm where other books in this series are about 18cm x 11cm). I am returning this one and will await a normal sized copy being released (I hope).

A compelling finale, 15 Sep 2008
I have to say, I put off reading both the Conclave of Shadows and the Darkwar saga due to relatively poor reviews, having read and loved Magician over 10 years ago and the Serpent War about three years ago.

Although I would concur that the series isn't as heavyweight as the previous ones, for those that love Feist's work, Wrath of a Mad God presented a compelling finale to what is essentially a six book series marketed as two x three books, and once again revealed a series of twists and turns that surprised and shocked, making me want to go back again to read Magician again and certainly making me ready to read his next books.

The Conclave was interesting but really a set up trilogy, Flight of the Nighthawks likewise, but I found both Into a Dark Realm and Wrath of a Mad God un-put-down-able and WOAMG in particular had one of the best climaxes of the whole Riftwar Saga series.

Others may not agree, but I'd say make up your own mind and if you're a fan, I'd go for it with no questions asked.

If you're never tried Feist before, of course, start at the beginning - Magician is still one of the best books written in fantasy, all the other books afterwards just extend the pleasure.


fun with elves and dwarves, 04 Dec 2008
Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Unashamedly on the bandwagon, 14 Nov 2008
As with many other reviewers, I read this book on a fairly regular basis, and perhaps the simplest and best recommendation I can make is that it hooks me and surprises me every time.

If you're looking for a classic fantasy masterwork then read this book, but be warned, you'll find yourself comparing to it every other fantasy book you read.

Out Tolkien's Tolkien, 15 Sep 2008
This certainly has to be one of the masterpieces of fantasy literature. At first it feels a bit like the Sword in the Stone but soon this is left behind as you enter an amazing story set across two worlds. With boys that become heroes and find themselves the greatest forces that their worlds have known. It has all that is required of epic fiction and while it is not the finely crafted work of Tolkien but it takes fantasy to a new level, defined by breakneck pace with a well crafted story.

Truly Epic, 30 Jun 2008
Where to begin? Having only recently been introduced to the works of Feist, I now count myself a f