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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
yet another fast paced and enjoyable read. Always a reliable choice when you just want to be swept away for a while. A few of the same old characters with some new ones mixed in.
This is sword and sorcery brain candy. It's very genre formulaic and that can be entertaining at times. However, this book returns to Feist's form as women are portrayed mostly as whores harridans, or sexpots. This just fouled the book for me to a certain extent. The main character is interesting and I liked a lot of the side characters so I will continue the series, but the female character piece does bother me.
My Feist read continues, this time with Shadow of a Dark Queen, the first book in The Serpentwar Saga.
This was my first time reading this book, despite my love of Feist's work.
Shadow of a Dark Queen follows a young blacksmith called Erik. Following a life-changing event, he and his friend Roo are plunged into a plot that could decide the future of Midkemia.
For across the Endless Sea, dark forces are gathering...
As I have said in other Feist reviews, I am biased in favour of anything he writes. He is one of my favourite authors, and his books have been a major inspiration for my own creativity.
I will, though, start by saying that it took a while for us to reach any shadows of dark queens. As you start reading, you are told that Book One is Erik's Story, and this is 100% true.
The events are told almost entirely from his perspective. There are a few from the pov of other characters, and these certainly add to the story, but Erik is our main protagonist.
Reading about Erik's experiences is genuinely enjoyable, even through the darker moments. In many ways, it helped me feel more immersed in a scene; most of what Erik has to deal with during the story is completely new to him, so there is plenty of description and dialogue to provide context to the reader in an organic manner.
The story as a whole was great. It did a lot to set up what is yet to come in The Serpentwar Saga whilst also providing great characters, entertaining interactions, and fantastic action.
I hope the rest of the series is just as good as this one.
This was my first time reading this book, despite my love of Feist's work.
Shadow of a Dark Queen follows a young blacksmith called Erik. Following a life-changing event, he and his friend Roo are plunged into a plot that could decide the future of Midkemia.
For across the Endless Sea, dark forces are gathering...
As I have said in other Feist reviews, I am biased in favour of anything he writes. He is one of my favourite authors, and his books have been a major inspiration for my own creativity.
I will, though, start by saying that it took a while for us to reach any shadows of dark queens. As you start reading, you are told that Book One is Erik's Story, and this is 100% true.
The events are told almost entirely from his perspective. There are a few from the pov of other characters, and these certainly add to the story, but Erik is our main protagonist.
Reading about Erik's experiences is genuinely enjoyable, even through the darker moments. In many ways, it helped me feel more immersed in a scene; most of what Erik has to deal with during the story is completely new to him, so there is plenty of description and dialogue to provide context to the reader in an organic manner.
The story as a whole was great. It did a lot to set up what is yet to come in The Serpentwar Saga whilst also providing great characters, entertaining interactions, and fantastic action.
I hope the rest of the series is just as good as this one.
Not much happened, sure, it is the first of four, but it felt very empty.
Very complicated, I barely made it thru the first chp. Im not a LOTR, GOT fantasy lover lol
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly I read this almost 17/18 years ago so I am not sure I remember it clearly but I know I enjoyed it but I wasn’t blown away. The Daughter of the empire spin off was better. This felt a bit like standard sword and sorcery set in some generic past. Must go back and see how much of this is true.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated