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psoglav's review against another edition
3.0
UKUPNA OCENA (overall rating) - 6/10
Radnja (story) - 6/10
Likovi (characters) - 7/10
Pripovedanje (writing style) - 8/10
Okruženje (setting) - 6/10
Radnja (story) - 6/10
Likovi (characters) - 7/10
Pripovedanje (writing style) - 8/10
Okruženje (setting) - 6/10
tristanv's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
jamsl94's review
3.0
The setting of Kesh is really interesting however the twins development and a major death is kinda rushed.
ellyrarg's review
3.0
Infinitely better written than the rift war legacy books (the twins character growth for one. Nakor’s silliness for another). Didn’t love the Jimmy/Gamina pairing (and didn’t believe the love at first sight/shared all the things in a magical moment and now they’re inseparable). It felt false, and like a plot device so her skills could be used in Kesh. Very blah.
Still frustrated that despite being chronologically before the prince of blood, the unanswered questions from the rift war legacy books are still outstanding. As if Jimmy would go off to Kesh not worried about where the demons and nonexistent crawler came from?! Very very blah.
Still frustrated that despite being chronologically before the prince of blood, the unanswered questions from the rift war legacy books are still outstanding. As if Jimmy would go off to Kesh not worried about where the demons and nonexistent crawler came from?! Very very blah.
isaac_petherbridge's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sqeeker's review
4.0
- Wholly cow Goodreads! That synopsis is long!
- I love that I got to read about Arutha and Anita's kids. The twins are very different but very similar to their father and mentors. I really enjoyed their character development. They started out as spoiled royal brats, but their trials and journey turned them into men!
- Seeing James and Locklear as adults was fun. They turned out just as I knew they would. I wish Jimmy the Hand still got to spy and do thief stuff, but I suppose he has his duties now.
- It was fun to see James fall in love and marry! I was especially pleased with whom he married!
- There were a few deaths to some very beloved characters in this book, and I was sad, shocked, and mad! How could Feist do this!?!? Gah!
- I loved meeting Borric's companions. Suli won my sympathy and heart. Ghuda was a great swordsman that I think Borric really needed to help him become a man. Nakor made me laugh!
- The culture in Kesh was fun to experience. I don't approve of all their traditions, but the exotic culture was fun to learn about and see.
- There was quite of a bit of love making in this book. It wasn't explicit, but it is enough to make one blush.
- I didn't realize this was the revised version of the book. I've never read the original, and I'm really curious about how different it is.
- I feel like this story wrapped up nicely, so I'm curious about what the second book has to offer!
- I love that I got to read about Arutha and Anita's kids. The twins are very different but very similar to their father and mentors. I really enjoyed their character development. They started out as spoiled royal brats, but their trials and journey turned them into men!
- Seeing James and Locklear as adults was fun. They turned out just as I knew they would. I wish Jimmy the Hand still got to spy and do thief stuff, but I suppose he has his duties now.
- It was fun to see James fall in love and marry! I was especially pleased with whom he married!
- There were a few deaths to some very beloved characters in this book, and I was sad, shocked, and mad! How could Feist do this!?!? Gah!
- I loved meeting Borric's companions. Suli won my sympathy and heart. Ghuda was a great swordsman that I think Borric really needed to help him become a man. Nakor made me laugh!
- The culture in Kesh was fun to experience. I don't approve of all their traditions, but the exotic culture was fun to learn about and see.
- There was quite of a bit of love making in this book. It wasn't explicit, but it is enough to make one blush.
- I didn't realize this was the revised version of the book. I've never read the original, and I'm really curious about how different it is.
- I feel like this story wrapped up nicely, so I'm curious about what the second book has to offer!
kenlaan's review against another edition
3.0
A Tale of Two Books
In book one, we follow a prince, Boric, captured as a slave in a foreign and hostile desert land, as he daringly escapes his bonds with the help of an unlikely band of companions. A street urchin named Suli (who reminded me of Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in the best way), the archetypical and very funny wise-madman-trickster named Nakor, and the beleaguered, experienced mercenary Ghuda (gouda?) Bule who can't believe he got pulled into all of this. We watch this motley band narrowly avoids several scrapes and escapes from imprisonment and certain death more than once.
In book two, we follow another prince, Erlund, as he stays as a guest in the palace of the neighboring empire of Kesh to celebrate its Empress' 75th birthday. We watch as he gawks at the nudity of the exotic and nubile palace servants, as he and his companions enjoy baths (and more) attended by the same (many times!). We read of the palace intrigue occurring at Kesh for which he has become an unwitting pawn, understanding little and effecting less, apparently distracted by the all the exotic nudity on display.
These two narratives come together, as you might expect, but until they do, what a contrast.
Honestly this book was a bit of a disappointment to me for several reasons, even though I did still end up (mostly) liking it. Feist really stressed the foreign/exotic/"other" nature of the Kesh, and man, was that section weirdly horny. I get it, they're all running around topless wearing only a sarong, after the 5th time you don't need to tell me again, I'll just assume it.
And especially after coming from the preceding Empire trilogy that Feist wrote with Janny Wurts, which featured an extremely interesting non-Western European society, I'm a little disappointed that Feist opted to mostly go with low-hanging exotic titillation stereotypes when featuring an empire that was inspired by Egyptian/Parthian history. Even with my intention to read and enjoy these older fantasy works as products of their time, this one had some issues.
In case it's not clear, I thoroughly enjoyed the sections featuring Boric's adventures. I also enjoyed the ending, and so I'm ending on a positive note, hopeful that I'll enjoy the next one more. The King's Buccaneer has a promising title, if nothing else, and Feist has earned my trust after 7 very solid books.
2.75 stars.
In book one, we follow a prince, Boric, captured as a slave in a foreign and hostile desert land, as he daringly escapes his bonds with the help of an unlikely band of companions. A street urchin named Suli (who reminded me of Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in the best way), the archetypical and very funny wise-madman-trickster named Nakor, and the beleaguered, experienced mercenary Ghuda (gouda?) Bule who can't believe he got pulled into all of this. We watch this motley band narrowly avoids several scrapes and escapes from imprisonment and certain death more than once.
In book two, we follow another prince, Erlund, as he stays as a guest in the palace of the neighboring empire of Kesh to celebrate its Empress' 75th birthday. We watch as he gawks at the nudity of the exotic and nubile palace servants, as he and his companions enjoy baths (and more) attended by the same (many times!). We read of the palace intrigue occurring at Kesh for which he has become an unwitting pawn, understanding little and effecting less, apparently distracted by the all the exotic nudity on display.
These two narratives come together, as you might expect, but until they do, what a contrast.
Honestly this book was a bit of a disappointment to me for several reasons, even though I did still end up (mostly) liking it. Feist really stressed the foreign/exotic/"other" nature of the Kesh, and man, was that section weirdly horny. I get it, they're all running around topless wearing only a sarong, after the 5th time you don't need to tell me again, I'll just assume it.
And especially after coming from the preceding Empire trilogy that Feist wrote with Janny Wurts, which featured an extremely interesting non-Western European society, I'm a little disappointed that Feist opted to mostly go with low-hanging exotic titillation stereotypes when featuring an empire that was inspired by Egyptian/Parthian history. Even with my intention to read and enjoy these older fantasy works as products of their time, this one had some issues.
In case it's not clear, I thoroughly enjoyed the sections featuring Boric's adventures. I also enjoyed the ending, and so I'm ending on a positive note, hopeful that I'll enjoy the next one more. The King's Buccaneer has a promising title, if nothing else, and Feist has earned my trust after 7 very solid books.
2.75 stars.
kevinscorner's review against another edition
4.5
Prince of the Blood is the first book in the third Riftwar/Midkemia subseries and was just a whole lot of fun. Immature twin Princes Borric and Erland, sons of Prince Arutha, are sent to the empire of Kesh as ambassadors from the Kingdom of the Isles for the Empress’ Jubilee celebration to learn responsibility and do a bit of growing up accompanied by familiar faces Locklear (Locky) and James (Jimmy the Hand). But it isn’t smooth sailing as they are separated by betrayal and have parallel coming-of-age journeys to overcome a conspiracy that reaches the highest level of the Empire.
This book may not have the epic world-ending story of the Riftwar Saga nor the brilliant politics and sweeping romance of the Empire Trilogy, but Prince of the Blood offers a fun adventure that is fast-paced, action-packed, and easy to read and follow. There’s something charming about these smaller stories with lower stakes that serve to fill out the world more. I really liked added dimension of a pair of twins going through parallel experiences as one is on a race against the clock to flee capture while the other must navigate a political maze full of intrigue and twisty plots.
*Apparently there’s an author’s preferred edition that the author rewrote I didn’t know about, but I think my copy is still the original version.
This book may not have the epic world-ending story of the Riftwar Saga nor the brilliant politics and sweeping romance of the Empire Trilogy, but Prince of the Blood offers a fun adventure that is fast-paced, action-packed, and easy to read and follow. There’s something charming about these smaller stories with lower stakes that serve to fill out the world more. I really liked added dimension of a pair of twins going through parallel experiences as one is on a race against the clock to flee capture while the other must navigate a political maze full of intrigue and twisty plots.
*Apparently there’s an author’s preferred edition that the author rewrote I didn’t know about, but I think my copy is still the original version.
korvien's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0