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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pretty good! A 3.5 overall. Weaker than the first in the series, but by no means a poor book. I devoured it in less than a day.
Feist's issues with pacing are still present in this book - a major issue with the first - but significantly less so.
The plot felt underwhelming, focusing on a gradual build-up. This didn't feel like a fantasy story, more the first half of a bildungsroman, but I believe it set groundwork which will carry through to the rest of the series, and without this book a piece would be missing. I wish this story had been a b-plot to another story though, or even several. This book's b-plot was by far more exciting and I'd prefer it to have been the main storyline.
As in the first book, the major strength of this writing is in the characters. Roo got a lot of flesh to his character, and it was very intelligently done. I can't say I like him, but I can say he's a complex and well-created character. They all are, in some way, and this is where Feist's true strength lies.
Another of his strengths, world building, was less evident here. However, this didn't feel like a slip, more of a narrative choice - the narrator of most of the novel isn't really interested.
A *lot* of gratuitous sex, but thankfully nothing obscene.
I'll also point out that mine is a twelfth printing and was filled with typographical mistakes, wrong words, punctuation errors - things an editor or proofreader should have picked up, or that should have been ironed out within the first five printings at least. I kept a pencil behind my ear to mark them all.
So, overall, a good book, and I intend to continue reading this series. Should you pick it up? If you like fantasy, yes.
Feist's issues with pacing are still present in this book - a major issue with the first - but significantly less so.
The plot felt underwhelming, focusing on a gradual build-up. This didn't feel like a fantasy story, more the first half of a bildungsroman, but I believe it set groundwork which will carry through to the rest of the series, and without this book a piece would be missing. I wish this story had been a b-plot to another story though, or even several. This book's b-plot was by far more exciting and I'd prefer it to have been the main storyline.
As in the first book, the major strength of this writing is in the characters. Roo got a lot of flesh to his character, and it was very intelligently done. I can't say I like him, but I can say he's a complex and well-created character. They all are, in some way, and this is where Feist's true strength lies.
Another of his strengths, world building, was less evident here. However, this didn't feel like a slip, more of a narrative choice - the narrator of most of the novel isn't really interested.
A *lot* of gratuitous sex, but thankfully nothing obscene.
I'll also point out that mine is a twelfth printing and was filled with typographical mistakes, wrong words, punctuation errors - things an editor or proofreader should have picked up, or that should have been ironed out within the first five printings at least. I kept a pencil behind my ear to mark them all.
So, overall, a good book, and I intend to continue reading this series. Should you pick it up? If you like fantasy, yes.
a bit of a side story that only seems to advance the story line a bit, but maybe I'll see how it fits in better after reading the next book.... This book focused on my least favourite character from the last book (Roo)and his advance as a merchant. There were fun parts of the book, but not the usual adventure of the other books in the series.
This is book 2 of the Serpentwar Saga, which itself is a series in the epic Riftwar Cycle, which I discussed a little in yesterday's post.
We follow Rupert "Roo" Avery, predominantly, one of the characters from the previous book, as he seeks to become the richest man in the Kingdom. As a result, this becomes a book that focuses on commerce more than action (though it does have some great action sequences).
I didn't expect to enjoy pages and pages of characters trying to get the upper hand on trade deals, but I did. Feist wrote some incredible intrigue into Roo's get-rich-schemes, with opposition attempting to ruin him and others preferring to see him skewered.
Roo was also written as a flawed character. He has a great mind for trade but struggles in other areas. As a husband he is inattentive, as a friend he is somewhat selfish, but he somehow remains likeable, and I felt he showed some good development as the story came to a close.
Other characters were great, too. It was a treat to meet characters like Duke James - formerly Jimmy the Hand - again. We also got to follow Erik, protagonist of the previous book, as he dealt with the consequences of their previous quest. What worked so well in this book is that we didn't ignore events on Novindus; we got to see the story progressing there as well as Roo's commercial ambitions.
Feist delivers solid world-building, engaging characters, and tense encounters. The pacing is fantastic, and Feist doesn't hang around in a limited time frame; sometimes months have passed between scenes or chapters, but it never feels like we've missed anything.
I am biased, as Feist is one of my absolute favourites. I used to struggle with the length of his chapters, but after reading the Witcher books they didn't feel so bad after all. My only complaint was that some things towards the end felt like they were wrapped up a little too conveniently, but there were some major implications set up that make me look forward to the next book in the series.
We follow Rupert "Roo" Avery, predominantly, one of the characters from the previous book, as he seeks to become the richest man in the Kingdom. As a result, this becomes a book that focuses on commerce more than action (though it does have some great action sequences).
I didn't expect to enjoy pages and pages of characters trying to get the upper hand on trade deals, but I did. Feist wrote some incredible intrigue into Roo's get-rich-schemes, with opposition attempting to ruin him and others preferring to see him skewered.
Roo was also written as a flawed character. He has a great mind for trade but struggles in other areas. As a husband he is inattentive, as a friend he is somewhat selfish, but he somehow remains likeable, and I felt he showed some good development as the story came to a close.
Other characters were great, too. It was a treat to meet characters like Duke James - formerly Jimmy the Hand - again. We also got to follow Erik, protagonist of the previous book, as he dealt with the consequences of their previous quest. What worked so well in this book is that we didn't ignore events on Novindus; we got to see the story progressing there as well as Roo's commercial ambitions.
Feist delivers solid world-building, engaging characters, and tense encounters. The pacing is fantastic, and Feist doesn't hang around in a limited time frame; sometimes months have passed between scenes or chapters, but it never feels like we've missed anything.
I am biased, as Feist is one of my absolute favourites. I used to struggle with the length of his chapters, but after reading the Witcher books they didn't feel so bad after all. My only complaint was that some things towards the end felt like they were wrapped up a little too conveniently, but there were some major implications set up that make me look forward to the next book in the series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Starts out slow for me, coming off the previous book that was even slower. This one did pick up the pace and interest toward the end. The jumping around did bring me out of the story a bit, and it felt very abrupt to me. I will continue this series and see how things come together. It seems that is how these books are, can drag and sometimes I don't see the point until he brings it all around together to make sense. This does end on somewhat a cliffhanger so there were many things left unsatisfied that I hope will have a worthwhile conclusion in the next couple books.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes