Title: Prince of the Blood
Author: Raymond E. Feist
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Year of publication: 1989
Rating: 3,5 stars

Set twenty years after the events so brilliantly told in his Riftwar Saga, Prince of the Blood follows the intrigues and adventures that erupt when a group of powerful nobles attempt to overthrow the Empress of Kesh, ending her bloodline and bitterly dividing the court. In the centre of the conflict are two princes of Krondor, Boric and Erlund. When Boric is captured and learns of the plot to kill them both, he escapes and makes a desperate journey back to the court to warn of the traitors’ plans – which, if they were to succeed, would start a war that would tear the Empire apart.

With Prince of the Blood, Feist takes a rather firm step away from epic warfare, elves, wizards and the like, and instead tells a tale of treachery, plots to destroy an empire and the clash of cultures. It’s something new for Feist, and a rather large step away from the fantasy genre, so it’s only the question if he can pull it of. The answer is yes, despite some character flaws and minor plot issues.

The main protagonists in this less-fantasy-like story than the other novels in the Riftwar Series, are Borric and Erland, sons of our dearly beloved Arutha conDoin. Although well-educated and skilled swordsmen, they spend most of their time gambling, chasing after girls and starting unnecessary quarrels. Not exactly what one would expect from princes of the Kingdom. There is nothing charming or even amusing about their conduct either, and to be honest they are not likeabe people; in fact, how anyone could get along with them is still a mystery to me. Needless to say neither of the twins actually conquered my heart, and by the end of chapter two I was sort of hoping they would just die, and that would be the end of it. Spoiled, immature and lacking any leadership qualities – or any qualities whatsoever – I was convinced there was no hope for them left. That is, until they were sent to the Empire of Kesh and soon found themselves in actual peril. A wake-up call much needed, in my opinion.

Another thing that annoyed me endessly was the generic personality of Borric and Erland. Being twins doesn’t exactly mean that you’re 100% alike, although these two definately are. And at the same moment Borric starts his journey of personal growth, encouraged by less than enjoyable circumstances – for example, his descent into slavery, and the numerous assassins chasing him – Erland decides it’s time to grow up a little too, although the circumstances he finds himself in are much more enjoyable, and less likely to actually cause character development. It was quite obvious throughout the story that the supporting characters, especially Baron James (our oldest and most dearest friend Jimmy the Hand) and Baron Locklear had much more interesting personalities, and Borric and Erland still have a lot to learn if they ever want to be King of Rillanon and Prince of Krondor.

Apart from those two hideous figures, the story in itself was quite enjoyable. Drifting away from the original concept of the war between Midkemia and Kelewan, Feist now focuses on the more internal conflicts between the Kingdoms and the Empire of Kesh, which may very well lead to a clash between cultures that could cause an inevitable, but rather devastating war. The large differences between Kesh and the Kingdoms reminded me a lot of the difference between West and East in our modern-day society. However, Feist portrays this culture clash well, and the story of treachery surrounding the Empire of Kesh is well-developed, interesting and original, ibecause it is something else than a great, epic war for once.

Even though his protagonists aren’t my favourite people in the world, and the story relies largely on the supportive characters, this novel does offer everything you can expect from Feist: an exciting adventure, original plotline, schemes and treachery, journeys of self-discovery, and the reappaerence of some of our old friends of the other novels in the Riftwar Series. Definately not my favourite Feist novel, but still a lot better than half of the fantasy books out there. In short, Prince of the Blood is a story about coming-of-age, about young men growing up to be heroes, and everything that could possibly go wrong while trying to achieve that.

Title: A Darkness at Sethanon
Author: Raymond E. Feist
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Year of publication: 1986
Rating: 4,5 stars

A Darkness at Sethanon is the stunning climax to Raymond E. Feist’s brilliant epic fantasy trilogy, the Riftwar Saga. Here be dragons and sorcery, swordplay, quests, pursuits, intrigues, stratagems, journeys to the darkest realms of the dead and titanic battles between the forces of good and darkest evil. Here is the final dramatic confrontation between Arutha and Murmandamus – and the perilous quest of Pug the magician and Tomas the warrior for Macros the Black. A Darkness at Sethanon is heroic fantasy of the highest excitement and on the grandest scale, a magnificent conclusion to one of the great fantasy sagas of our time.

Wheras Silverthorn, this novel’s predecessor, fails to grasp both the magnificence and originality of the first novel in these series, Magician, A Darkness at Sethanon does manage to meet the expectations. It is a trully wonderful adventure, and not only does it rise up to the challenge, it goes beyond that. Powerful characters, a land on the verge of war, creatures that only appear in your darkest nightmares and the faith of the world resting on the shoulders of a few heroes. It sounds like the classic fantasy formula, but Raymond E. Feist twists it around and turns it into something new, fresh an exciting.

Warning: The content below may contain spoilers for Magician and Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist!

Arutha conDoin, Prince of Krondor, is once again called upon to travel with his unlikely band of followers, who include a couple of bards; a Duke who is also his brother; a thief; a squire and a tribesman, as they learn that the evil demon Murmandamus has been amassing a gigantic army in the North lands. They must try to stop this from happening ofcourse, and upon doing so, they need the help of old allies – which asks for the reappareance of the protagonists of the first book in the series, Tomas and Pug – and new friends, whom they find in the unlikely form of former enemy Guy de Bas-Tyra.

It does take a bit for the book to get back to the level established by Magician, but when it finally does, it is in a most grand fashion, with the defence of fortress-town Armengar making for a frantic and exciting affair in which 7,000 or so town soldiers attempt to keep tens of thousands of Murmandamus’s invaders at bay. The battle for Armengar is one of the best-told, most thrilling battles in fantasy literature, and even those among us who are not exactly jumping up and down in their seats when they imagine an alliance of heroes clashing with a horde of demons, I am certain will still enjoy the way Feist writes this heroic battle, with a focus on human emotions, sacrifices and all those things that turn ordinary people into heroes.

Once again, after his remarkable appereance in Silverthorn, Jimmy the Hand comes back to steal the show. As witty, sarcastic and clever as ever, he thwarts plots to kill Arutha, secudes many and more teenage girls, and provides more wisdom than an entire king’s council. Arutha conDoin, by nature quiet, thoughtful and serious, shows more leadership qualities than you would give him credit for, and Amus Task, the retired pirate with a a rather enjoyable sense of humor, turns out to be valuable sidekick in the war against Murmandamus. Feist’s characters grow into their roles, a growth which is shown especially in this book, as they each stand up to take the part they were supposed to play. Not only does he offer outstanding characters, but Feist also produces believable, well thought through character development, and a plotline with more suspense and originality than any other fantasy novel in the last decade. With A Darkness at Sethanon, Raymond E. Feist proves he is trully a master of the genre.

The story has, except for the great characters which I already mentioned, a fast-paced, thrilling plot that will keep you glued to your seat. As he gathers all the cast members for the final showdown, and ends with an epic fight even Tolkien would be jealous of, Feist delivers the last part of one of the best fantasy series ever, with style and grandeur. It can’t possibly get any better than this.

Title: Silverthorn
Author: Raymond E. Feist
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Year of publication: 1985
Rating: 4 stars

Although not as magnificent as Magician, neither in volume nor in plotline or character development, Silverthorn does stand its own in fantasy literature, maybe not when considered on its own, but definately when reviewed as part of the Riftwar Saga. By switching his perspective from the previous main characters Thomas and Pug, to former supportive characters Arutha, Laurie and Jimmy the Hand; Feist made an excellent choice that benefits the story massively. Gone are our over-powered leaders (although they do appear occassionally for brief appearance, and Pug even has en entire side-story going on) and welcome our normal, human characters!

WARNING! The following may include spoilers for those who have not read Magician by Raymond E. Feist.

With Magician finishing with end of the Riftwar between the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan, it appeared that finally peace would arise. However, as Silverthorn picks up the tale shortly afterwards, we find that the rifts may have introduced a far greater threat to Midkemia, as a new evil begins gathering Moredhel (dark elves), goblins and vigilantes under his banner – this entity, known as Murmandamus, has the ability to resurrect his dead followers and use destructive magic unlike anything even the most powerful of magicians had ever witnessed. The plotline is way darker than Magician (walking corpses always tend to shed some angsty darkness) and the switch of main cast proves to be beneficial, especially when as a reader you suddenly realise you’ve stopped seeing Arutha as a silent, somewhat cold man, but finally view him as the leader he truely is. On his nearly hopeless quest to find the Silverthorn, Arutha displays all sorts of emotions we can expect from a normal man that carries such a burden: anger, loss of faith, but also an extreme amount of determination and courage, qualities that promptly made him go five spots up on my list of favourite Feist characters.

But the reason this book is impressive, is not because of Arutha or his quest, nor because of the rise of the evil Murmandamus and the walking corpses. There is one single thing that makes this book unlike any other fantasy novel: Jimmy the Hand. Not once, in any other book I have ever read before or after, have I come across a character as intriguing as Jimmy the Hand. The enigmatic fifteen year-old thief is interesting not only because of his remarkable stealth, observational powers and street savviness, but also because he is blessed with some of the wittiest and amusing dialogue you’ll ever come across in a fantasy novel. Just as you think he’s taking a backseat, he’ll drop a remarkable anecdote about his past to remind you that there’s more to him than meets the eye. He’s effortlessly likable, and there’s a great deal of depth to his persona, meaning whether it’s action, intrigue or back-story you’re reading about, chances are if Jimmy’s involved, it will be good. From all the books written by Feist that I have read so far (all up until the Demon Wars Saga), Jimmy the Hand is my favourite character. The only pity in this novel is that as a reader, you sadly realise one day Jimmy might grow up and become a more relaxed, responsible person, which would be terrible.

Overall, Silverthorn is quite an enjoyable novel. It lacks the epicness of Magician, but it does have its own vibe, an amazing set of characters with their own flaws and strength, an original, fast-paced plot and of course, Jimmy the Hand, thief extraordinaire and just about the best character ever written down on paper.