Reviews

Shadow of a Dark Queen by Raymond E. Feist

nerdofdoom's review

Go to review page

2.0

This book I liked, made me read more. then I realized I think he is a terrible writer. But I couldn't stop!

STOP PUBLISHING BOOKS, THEY SUCK.

hananhn's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I would've enjoyed this book more if I didn't put it away for a while.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

julieabe89's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was fabulous developments in the Saga. I need the next book to know what's going to happen with the Serpent War. It's getting so intense!

danjercat's review

Go to review page

4.0

Feist can't do wrong by me, and it still is awesome the second time through. The serpentwar saga is probably my favorite series of his after the first four books.

gallydoll's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jmartin31545's review

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

r2pete2's review

Go to review page

adventurous
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

bloomy4's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ld153's review

Go to review page

5.0

LOVE RAYMOND E FEIST!!!! I think he is one of my favourite authors. I went on a day trip to Wellington with my little sister in January and we went into this cute little second hand book shop. I found 2 books by Feist for really cheap so I grabbed them. I then started reading this series and it was great (I also found the rest of this series off trademe, bought the whole series for less that NZ$20 in total woop woop).

This book follows Erik, the bastard son of a noble. Erik's half brothers hate him, his mother wants him to be acknowledged as his father's son, and all Erik really wants is to become a blacksmith. Things do not go as Erik plans. Erik ends up running from the law with his best friend Roo.

Erik and Roo accidentally get caught up in a plot to save the world. There is a mysterious woman called Miranda, Pug of Stardock shows up, a man called Nakor, Calis (the half-elf, half-human) and a variety of other characters emerge in this book. It was great, Feist sure knows how to create a write a story that will keep you guessing on what possibly could happen. Can't wait to read the rest of the series :)

duffypratt's review

Go to review page

3.0

Feist does The Dirty Dozen. A group of condemned prisoners embark on a suicide mission to aid their country. Will they succeed? Will any survive? Well, this is Feist, so you know from the outset that the major players will all survive, but that some likable secondary characters have been outfitted with the red shirt of death.

The set-up, and the carrying out of the training and then the plan, are all done well here. The characters are likable, and a few of them are even interesting. Nakor, the master magician who does not believe in magic, plays a major role, and he is always fun, even if his bag of endless oranges can get old.

The basic idea is that the group needs to infiltrate the enemy, learn what lies at the heart of a growing threat, and then somehow escape to get word back to the powers that be. In some ways, all of that ends up being too easy, except for the escape part, which manages to be harrowing.

The main power that am here, is Pug. And this becomes a basic flaw. Feist seems always to be tempted by doing a Pug ex Machina, and without revealing the details, that is something of a problem here too. Worse, the crew go to all these lengths to gather intelligence for Pug when it seems abundantly clear that Pug doesn't need them, and he has better ways to get the same information. That would be OK, if there was some sort of irony to it, but I'm not even sure that Feist understands the difficulty.

Even with those criticisms, I found this to be a competent and mostly enjoyable fantasy. It's thoroughly mainstream and lacks surprises, but its a pleasant read, and I am already half way through the next book (which I am liking more).