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erigilly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
thereadingmum's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Another great, swashbuckling installment of the Riftwar Cycle. This time it follows the trevails of Borric and Erland, Arutha's twin sons as they travel to Kesh for the Empress's 75th birthday. Only they are beset on the way there and Borric is taken by bandits and presumed dead. Coming back to Midkemia after reading the Empire trilogy with Mara in Kelewan and back to mainly male protagonists, I enjoyed it but feel there is a bit of a formula with Feist's books. Not that I'm complaining. It's like watching an action comedy. They're all pretty much the same when you boil them down, but we still love them. It seems as if the books set on Midkemia are a bit more G-rated, but that may be my imagination. It was interesting seeing the empire of Kesh and the type of people portrayed. I loved Nakor and found him the most loveable character in the series thus far.
joabroda's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
3.5
Reading through the entire world of Feist's Midkemia with a fantasy buddy, and having a great time with it. This is our 8th book, and we have not lost the enthusiasm yet.
Taking place about 20 years after The Rift War, the twin princes of Kronder are off on a diplomatic mission to the Southern Lands of Kesh. Being young, impulsive and lacking any inkling of diplomacy, you just know trouble lies ahead. The world of Kesh has similarities to the Middle East and Africa and the court intrigue keeps the book moving at fast pace.
This book lacks the in-depth character studies, and seemed remedial in compared to past books. However, still a good escape and I am happy to move on.
Taking place about 20 years after The Rift War, the twin princes of Kronder are off on a diplomatic mission to the Southern Lands of Kesh. Being young, impulsive and lacking any inkling of diplomacy, you just know trouble lies ahead. The world of Kesh has similarities to the Middle East and Africa and the court intrigue keeps the book moving at fast pace.
This book lacks the in-depth character studies, and seemed remedial in compared to past books. However, still a good escape and I am happy to move on.
charkar's review against another edition
4.0
After reading and adoring The Riftwar Saga I was so hyped for this book and went into it excited to read more from Feist and see some of my favourite characters again. And while I feel like it mostly delivered - the writing was still of superb quality, Jimmy the Hand was front and centre, and the action kept me turning the pages - I do feel like this fell a little bit short. Not to say it was a bad book by any means, it just didn't live up to the hype I'd created for myself and I found myself wanting for more in certain areas.
The main issue I had with this was the main character. Or rather characters, plural, as we follow Arutha's twin sons - Borric and Erland. From the get go I found the boys distasteful and didn't enjoy reading about their laddish escapades and how they mocked their younger brother. It left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth that couldn't be washed away, even after the growth they displayed. Because I will commend Feist for that - the boys we end the novel with aren't quite the boys we started it with. I feel this is more the case for Borric, given all he went through, and I find myself much preferring him to Erland, who I felt didn't show the same levels of growth.
I did also feel that the pacing was a little off throughout this. We spend a lot of time journeying through the desert in Prince of the Blood, and if there's anything slogging through the Dark Tower series has taught me it's that I don't like desert journeys. The ending in comparison to the large amounts of travel felt rushed and as if it was a bit of an oversight. I was satisfied with the ending, I just wish it was given a bit more time rather than 'they left the city, they were home, the end'.
But nevertheless, this is yet another solid instalment in Feist's world. His writing is absolutely fantastic, the perfect blend of descriptions, action, complexity, and easiness that never fails to draw me in. His books may be on the longer side of things but, once again, I found myself flying through this and hanging off every word. I especially enjoyed the fight scene in this - I genuinely think Feist may be my favourite author for combat - and I truly felt the tension of each scenario our characters faced.
Once again I can't wait to dive back into the world of Midkemia and see what's in store for the conDoin family next.
The main issue I had with this was the main character. Or rather characters, plural, as we follow Arutha's twin sons - Borric and Erland. From the get go I found the boys distasteful and didn't enjoy reading about their laddish escapades and how they mocked their younger brother. It left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth that couldn't be washed away, even after the growth they displayed. Because I will commend Feist for that - the boys we end the novel with aren't quite the boys we started it with. I feel this is more the case for Borric, given all he went through, and I find myself much preferring him to Erland, who I felt didn't show the same levels of growth.
I did also feel that the pacing was a little off throughout this. We spend a lot of time journeying through the desert in Prince of the Blood, and if there's anything slogging through the Dark Tower series has taught me it's that I don't like desert journeys. The ending in comparison to the large amounts of travel felt rushed and as if it was a bit of an oversight. I was satisfied with the ending, I just wish it was given a bit more time rather than 'they left the city, they were home, the end'.
But nevertheless, this is yet another solid instalment in Feist's world. His writing is absolutely fantastic, the perfect blend of descriptions, action, complexity, and easiness that never fails to draw me in. His books may be on the longer side of things but, once again, I found myself flying through this and hanging off every word. I especially enjoyed the fight scene in this - I genuinely think Feist may be my favourite author for combat - and I truly felt the tension of each scenario our characters faced.
Once again I can't wait to dive back into the world of Midkemia and see what's in store for the conDoin family next.
vickieee94's review against another edition
2.0
After re-reading the riftwar saga so many times and loving it I was really looking forward to reading about Arutha's sons. Sadly I was disappointed. The plot moved too quickly and the twins weren't particularly likeable. I was left dissatisfied with the whole story which is a shame
benm's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
sarahsbranham's review against another edition
3.0
The men in this book just keep falling in love right and left - it's seriously distracting and makes it not my favorite of the Feist books. But since there's 30something books in the Cycle, I'm not surprised there are a few I don't dig as much as the rest.
ambrosia_and_axes's review against another edition
3.0
I like Raymond E. Feist's writing, I really do. This one was just a little off for me. I read a reissued ebook version of it, which had additional story added to it, and I strongly encourage reading the updated version. That being said the story seems to lack the "all or nothing" vibe of the other stories that leave the fate of the known universe in the balance. At the same time, it feels like his first attempt at writing a smaller scale story, with more personal stakes. It isn't, the mistress of the empire series was but that was also a co-author type dealio. I dunno. Fun book once you get into it and the main characters stop being such annoying pricks, but you can also be safe skipping it.
hadaad's review against another edition
Sure, it was five years ago, but how can I not remember anything from this book?