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A review by sahcloudy
A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E. Feist
4.0
There were some fantastic things in this conclusion to the riftwar saga, some of which I'm on the fence about.
Whilst it was lovely to be reunited with the Pug and Tomas, the original duo of this series, something felt a little off. Their individual paths had gone so diversely to the other it was hard seeing them as close as they had once been. Though that uncomfortable feeling comes more from nostalgia to what actually felt off. Both boys have grown into men possessing unfathomable power, with no equals save the gods. I'm thankful that Raymond didn't 'god-mod' them heavily by inserting tonnes of beautiful, galactic descriptions and also including world building mysteries to deter one from feeling Pug and Tomas too over powered.
This book felt truer to the riftwar saga than Silverthorn, as it contained more of the original cast. In saying that Arutha and Jimmy the Hand were some of my favorites and it hurt not seeing them again as much.
The female/feminine inequality was more prominent in this book. If only for the fact that it tried including woman for the first time. It's not a case that the characters and their personalities were terrible but felt wrong. As though Raymond could've done without giving them all this bravado in an attempt to hide the fact that the majority of the woman involved where just love interests - 'A rose by any other name'.
The story itself was slow paced and were I not already in love with the characters I would've been slightly annoyed at the lack of action/movement. This book has a lot of description, which - thankful to my already attained attention via Magician and Silverthorn - didn't bother me. I loved the complete obliteration of this worlds limits and boundaries in the second half. Finding out how big and wide this world truly is excites me to read the rest of the books based in it.
All in all a good read, nice finish, just a few things I found personally off.
Whilst it was lovely to be reunited with the Pug and Tomas, the original duo of this series, something felt a little off. Their individual paths had gone so diversely to the other it was hard seeing them as close as they had once been. Though that uncomfortable feeling comes more from nostalgia to what actually felt off. Both boys have grown into men possessing unfathomable power, with no equals save the gods. I'm thankful that Raymond didn't 'god-mod' them heavily by inserting tonnes of beautiful, galactic descriptions and also including world building mysteries to deter one from feeling Pug and Tomas too over powered.
This book felt truer to the riftwar saga than Silverthorn, as it contained more of the original cast. In saying that Arutha and Jimmy the Hand were some of my favorites and it hurt not seeing them again as much.
The female/feminine inequality was more prominent in this book. If only for the fact that it tried including woman for the first time. It's not a case that the characters and their personalities were terrible but felt wrong. As though Raymond could've done without giving them all this bravado in an attempt to hide the fact that the majority of the woman involved where just love interests - 'A rose by any other name'.
The story itself was slow paced and were I not already in love with the characters I would've been slightly annoyed at the lack of action/movement. This book has a lot of description, which - thankful to my already attained attention via Magician and Silverthorn - didn't bother me. I loved the complete obliteration of this worlds limits and boundaries in the second half. Finding out how big and wide this world truly is excites me to read the rest of the books based in it.
All in all a good read, nice finish, just a few things I found personally off.