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A review by charkar
Prince of the Blood by Raymond E. Feist
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.