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The Darkwar Saga #2
Into a Dark Realm
Chaos threatens to overwhelm two worlds as evil forces prepare to invade Midkemia, while the most treacherousmagician in history - the madman Leso Varen - wreaks havoc on the world Kelewan.
386 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2006
231 people are currently reading
4065 people want to read
About the author
Raymond E. Feist
282 books9,483 followersRaymond E. Feist was born Raymond E. Gonzales III, but took his adoptive step-father's surname when his mother remarried Felix E. Feist. He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would be a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982 by Doubleday. Feist currently lives in San Diego with his children, where he collects fine wine, DVDs, and books on a variety of topics of personal interest: wine, biographies, history, and, especially, the history of American Professional Football.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
May 8, 2019
This is definitely some of the best Feist out there. Between the previous book and what I expect to happen in the next, we're finally ramping up a conflict between another realm. And not just another realm like what we've had before, but a lower circle of hell and everyone else. :)
But not everyone there is precisely evil, just influenced so heavily by madness and evil it may as well be Darwinian. :)
What? Does Feist seem to have an ulterior motive here? lol
I'm rolling with it. And why not? The epic fantasy is truly epic, the magic is awesome, and the training of the kids is as fun as I could hope. More, the worldbuilding is especially good here. We're getting in deep to the second realm. And while Pug and Magnus and friends are exploring it, we're learning a lot more.
Is this a game of chess between gods? Yep. With the stake of all that is good versus evil in the balance? Yep. And I'm having a lot of fun.
But not everyone there is precisely evil, just influenced so heavily by madness and evil it may as well be Darwinian. :)
What? Does Feist seem to have an ulterior motive here? lol
I'm rolling with it. And why not? The epic fantasy is truly epic, the magic is awesome, and the training of the kids is as fun as I could hope. More, the worldbuilding is especially good here. We're getting in deep to the second realm. And while Pug and Magnus and friends are exploring it, we're learning a lot more.
Is this a game of chess between gods? Yep. With the stake of all that is good versus evil in the balance? Yep. And I'm having a lot of fun.
February 19, 2020
Into a Dark Realm is the second book in the Darkwar Saga, the third-from-the-last subseries in the very long Riftwar Cycle.
This was much improved over the previous book. In that one, I got bogged down with what felt like an excessive amount of recaps and also a bit of tediousness from an overly-familiar storyline. The story in this book was far more interesting. There were several storylines going on with frequent POV changes, and I enjoyed most of them. There was one POV that seemed a bit superfluous, but I enjoyed it, so I didn’t mind. I especially enjoyed the storyline with . Even the parts focusing on the magicians, which usually seem to be the least interesting parts to me in each book, were quite interesting at times.
This book leaves a lot of things left hanging, so I look forward to seeing what happens in the next one. I have mixed feelings about .
This was much improved over the previous book. In that one, I got bogged down with what felt like an excessive amount of recaps and also a bit of tediousness from an overly-familiar storyline. The story in this book was far more interesting. There were several storylines going on with frequent POV changes, and I enjoyed most of them. There was one POV that seemed a bit superfluous, but I enjoyed it, so I didn’t mind. I especially enjoyed the storyline with . Even the parts focusing on the magicians, which usually seem to be the least interesting parts to me in each book, were quite interesting at times.
This book leaves a lot of things left hanging, so I look forward to seeing what happens in the next one. I have mixed feelings about .
February 13, 2020
The author is not original in the second part of the trilogy, but this does not forbid him to produce an interesting result. Once again the point is the impending invasion of a violent and aggressive empire that our heroes undertake to prevent, trying to understand it first. This understanding gives much interest as this empire has many special characteristics as it is dominated by violence and selfish behavior and this gives the writer an opportunity to talk about all the good things of human nature. Beyond that, the book is probably more of a preparation for the next with some twists and some interesting new elements to give something more, so I'll wait for the next one to write more.
Δεν πρωτοτυπεί ο συγγραφέας στο δεύτερο μέρος της τριλογίας, χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει ότι δεν δημιουργεί ένα ενδιαφέρον αποτέλεσμα. Για άλλη μία φορά το θέμα είναι η επικείμενη εισβολή από μία βίαιη και επιθετική αυτοκρατορία που οι ήρωες μας αναλαμβάνουν να εμποδίσουν, προσπαθώντας αρχικά να την κατανοήσουν. Αυτή η κατανόηση προσδίδει αρκετό ενδιαφέρον καθώς αυτή η αυτοκρατορία έχει πολλά ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά καθώς κυριαρχείται από τη βία και την εγωιστική συμπεριφορά και αυτό δίνει την ευκαιρία στον συγγραφέα να μιλήσει για όλα αυτά τα θετικά της ανθρώπινης φύσης. Από εκεί και πέρα το βιβλίο είναι μάλλον περισσότερο μία προετοιμασία για το επόμενο με κάποιες ανατροπές και κάποια ενδιαφέροντα νέα στοιχεία να δίνουν κάτι περισσότερο, έτσι και εγώ περιμένω το επόμενο για να γράψω περισσότερα.
Δεν πρωτοτυπεί ο συγγραφέας στο δεύτερο μέρος της τριλογίας, χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει ότι δεν δημιουργεί ένα ενδιαφέρον αποτέλεσμα. Για άλλη μία φορά το θέμα είναι η επικείμενη εισβολή από μία βίαιη και επιθετική αυτοκρατορία που οι ήρωες μας αναλαμβάνουν να εμποδίσουν, προσπαθώντας αρχικά να την κατανοήσουν. Αυτή η κατανόηση προσδίδει αρκετό ενδιαφέρον καθώς αυτή η αυτοκρατορία έχει πολλά ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά καθώς κυριαρχείται από τη βία και την εγωιστική συμπεριφορά και αυτό δίνει την ευκαιρία στον συγγραφέα να μιλήσει για όλα αυτά τα θετικά της ανθρώπινης φύσης. Από εκεί και πέρα το βιβλίο είναι μάλλον περισσότερο μία προετοιμασία για το επόμενο με κάποιες ανατροπές και κάποια ενδιαφέροντα νέα στοιχεία να δίνουν κάτι περισσότερο, έτσι και εγώ περιμένω το επόμενο για να γράψω περισσότερα.
April 29, 2018
The Second book in the Darkwar saga was quite entertaining.
The Conclave of Shadows, having foiled the plot to destroy the Emperor of Kesh, is still seeking the mad mage-Leo Varen. It seems there is a plan to open a portal to the world of the Dasati. The Dasati are very similar to the Drow, dark eleves, of the Forgotten Realms mythos. They are born and bred for war, tolerate no weakness and worship an evil deity. Pretty damn cool. Until you realize they are poised to launch an invasion of Midekmia. The Conclave struggles to prevent this. That's all I am saying.
The two characters that have caught my eye are Bek and Valko. They are both interesting in their own way. The Dasati realm is also quite fun to read about and I am hoping it doesn't get neutered like Tsurani society was post-Pug. Though this seems to be the future with the "White" forces gathering. No more than that will I say. Still this was a very fun read and I admit that the Darkwar saga seems to flow better than the last series of his I read. Any fantasy fan should enjoy this one. BTW why is Miranda so damn annoying? Pug could have done a LOT better.
The Conclave of Shadows, having foiled the plot to destroy the Emperor of Kesh, is still seeking the mad mage-Leo Varen. It seems there is a plan to open a portal to the world of the Dasati. The Dasati are very similar to the Drow, dark eleves, of the Forgotten Realms mythos. They are born and bred for war, tolerate no weakness and worship an evil deity. Pretty damn cool. Until you realize they are poised to launch an invasion of Midekmia. The Conclave struggles to prevent this. That's all I am saying.
The two characters that have caught my eye are Bek and Valko. They are both interesting in their own way. The Dasati realm is also quite fun to read about and I am hoping it doesn't get neutered like Tsurani society was post-Pug. Though this seems to be the future with the "White" forces gathering. No more than that will I say. Still this was a very fun read and I admit that the Darkwar saga seems to flow better than the last series of his I read. Any fantasy fan should enjoy this one. BTW why is Miranda so damn annoying? Pug could have done a LOT better.
January 28, 2023
Knjiga bez glave i repa. Nema pocetka i nema kraja, ovo je knjiga koja gura radnju ka napred i objasnjava nam razne nove stvari, priblizava nam nove likove dok onim starim daje nove uloge.
Nastavlja se na predhodnu i vapi za nastavkom. Takodje u njoj se vidi jak uticaj Dine Frenka Herberta, Fajst nam pise o svom Kwisatz Haderach-u.
Dajem joj pet zvezdica samo zbog vaznosti radnje na ceo serijal u globalu.
Prosto moram tako da je ocenim, uzevsi celinu u obzir, inace jedan solidna cetvorka.
Nastavlja se na predhodnu i vapi za nastavkom. Takodje u njoj se vidi jak uticaj Dine Frenka Herberta, Fajst nam pise o svom Kwisatz Haderach-u.
Dajem joj pet zvezdica samo zbog vaznosti radnje na ceo serijal u globalu.
Prosto moram tako da je ocenim, uzevsi celinu u obzir, inace jedan solidna cetvorka.
January 31, 2023
This was an excellent second entry to a surprisingly good trilogy - I thought I had seen that the Riftwar Cycle falls off near the end? maybe that's later to come - and I'm immediately continuing on to the conclusion.
Feist plays the old hits - more young men training, for two separate distinct sets of characters, more of Pug and Nakor running around doing their thing - while also introducing an extremely horrifying and compelling new world of the Dasati, a world that was fully taken over by The Nameless One where concepts of morality and empathy are completely foreign.
I was fully invested throughout, though this does suffer a bit from middle book syndrome, as it ends extremely abruptly, basically mid-scene. Luckily, the third book was published about 15 years ago, so I don't have to wait!
Feist plays the old hits - more young men training, for two separate distinct sets of characters, more of Pug and Nakor running around doing their thing - while also introducing an extremely horrifying and compelling new world of the Dasati, a world that was fully taken over by The Nameless One where concepts of morality and empathy are completely foreign.
I was fully invested throughout, though this does suffer a bit from middle book syndrome, as it ends extremely abruptly, basically mid-scene. Luckily, the third book was published about 15 years ago, so I don't have to wait!
March 27, 2023
I'm very much impressed with how easy it is to read Feist. This is my second book from this massive series (number 25), and I'm starting to get hooked. Initially, I just wanted to go through The Darkwar trilogy to get a glimpse into a slightly different genre which my wife likes, but now I think I may read a little bit more Feist in future.
The world of Dasati is terrific - I love horror and feelings of dread, and in this word, it emanates from everybody and everywhere. We have a rigorous society that doesn't care for its children and well being of others. They battle endlessly, and the price of life is negligible. And into this brutal world Pug and his group of magicians go for a trip for god knows what reason, just like kindergarteners on their way to buy ice cream through Hollywood Boulevard (run before Weinstein gets you, you fool).
I really enjoyed the shift from the youngster in training into more of the exploration of the new, dark realm.
BUT, (there is always some but isn't it?), there are a few flaws which keep it from five stars. For example whole Valko storyline seems to be pasted from The Greatest Book Ever, just instead of Bene Gesserit we have Bloodmothers; instead of Paul we have Valko, and instead of Shai-Hulud we have Dark One. Also, there were two scenes where the author forgot who was present - I needed to double-check if I just missed that, but I was not at fault ( Vordam can teleport and Servan thinks he is Godfrey sometimes). Well, I should blame editors for these. I still enjoyed it and look forward to reading the last book of The Darkwar trilogy.
The world of Dasati is terrific - I love horror and feelings of dread, and in this word, it emanates from everybody and everywhere. We have a rigorous society that doesn't care for its children and well being of others. They battle endlessly, and the price of life is negligible. And into this brutal world Pug and his group of magicians go for a trip for god knows what reason, just like kindergarteners on their way to buy ice cream through Hollywood Boulevard (run before Weinstein gets you, you fool).
I really enjoyed the shift from the youngster in training into more of the exploration of the new, dark realm.
BUT, (there is always some but isn't it?), there are a few flaws which keep it from five stars. For example whole Valko storyline seems to be pasted from The Greatest Book Ever, just instead of Bene Gesserit we have Bloodmothers; instead of Paul we have Valko, and instead of Shai-Hulud we have Dark One. Also, there were two scenes where the author forgot who was present - I needed to double-check if I just missed that, but I was not at fault ( Vordam can teleport and Servan thinks he is Godfrey sometimes). Well, I should blame editors for these. I still enjoyed it and look forward to reading the last book of The Darkwar trilogy.
November 17, 2024
3 1/2 stars
Middle book in another edition of Feists fabulous world. A new world is introduced, and it is horrifying. I honestly have to say the violence in this book shocked me. Strange for me to say as Feist is known for his battles. But this world and it's people (through no fault of their own) are a little over the top for me. Struggling if I should 3 or 4 stars with this.
Still a decent edition to the story. I was let down with the abrupt ending-it really needed more in it's closing.
Middle book in another edition of Feists fabulous world. A new world is introduced, and it is horrifying. I honestly have to say the violence in this book shocked me. Strange for me to say as Feist is known for his battles. But this world and it's people (through no fault of their own) are a little over the top for me. Struggling if I should 3 or 4 stars with this.
Still a decent edition to the story. I was let down with the abrupt ending-it really needed more in it's closing.
April 1, 2013
Feist has developed a habit, in the books leading up to Into a Dark Realm, of sliding into sloppiness in the last few chapters, and this is no exception. Before I get to that, however, let me note what worked.
Feist's depiction of Pug and the others' learning what the Dasati world would be like and how they must come to acclimate to it was fairly well written and an interesting piece of fiction. The introduction of Valkor's training and rise to lordship complemented this well, giving a sense of the culture and world in ways that Pug's education couldn't describe effectively.
However, characterizing the Dasati world as overrun by evil, which is continually equated with madness, didn't seem to quite work as there was a great deal of order despite the murderousness, violence, lust, and chaos. Madness should not reasonably produce that much order, which made the tale of the rule of the Dasati dark god far fetched. This may be something that Feist deals with later, showing that what has been revealed isn't the real truth, but that can't be determined yet.
While the narrative of Pug and his companions worked well, as did Valkor's ascendancy, none of the other narratives held up. Feist seemed to try to pair off Valkor's training with the boys', which would have worked except that Tad, Zane, and Jommy's education, training, and battle never seemed to carry much purpose. It's intimated that they're preparing for the war with the Dasati, but it just came off feeling haphazard.
Miranda's narrative, tied closely to what was happening on Kelewan, seemed almost utterly superfluous. Where it landed finally made for a decent plot, but the rest of it just seemed like a need to keep the thread going just enough to not let the reader forget that it was happening and that Miranda is temperamental. In many respects, it would have been better to have dropped the boys' plot and bolster Miranda's, but this was not Feist's choice.
Finally, the last few chapters accelerated what was already a problem in the text. Because there were multiple narratives happening, the book kept swapping between them, which was not all bad, though depending on which plots felt interesting, it was occasionally tiresome. The end, however, gave me literary whiplash with two pages of one narrative, switch to two pages of a different narrative, switch to two pages of yet another narrative, and so on. If Feist were attempting to build tension as per an audio-visual medium such as film, this might have worked, but as a book, it lost any sense of continuity. I just found myself frustrated and waiting for the resolution.
2.5/5
Feist's depiction of Pug and the others' learning what the Dasati world would be like and how they must come to acclimate to it was fairly well written and an interesting piece of fiction. The introduction of Valkor's training and rise to lordship complemented this well, giving a sense of the culture and world in ways that Pug's education couldn't describe effectively.
However, characterizing the Dasati world as overrun by evil, which is continually equated with madness, didn't seem to quite work as there was a great deal of order despite the murderousness, violence, lust, and chaos. Madness should not reasonably produce that much order, which made the tale of the rule of the Dasati dark god far fetched. This may be something that Feist deals with later, showing that what has been revealed isn't the real truth, but that can't be determined yet.
While the narrative of Pug and his companions worked well, as did Valkor's ascendancy, none of the other narratives held up. Feist seemed to try to pair off Valkor's training with the boys', which would have worked except that Tad, Zane, and Jommy's education, training, and battle never seemed to carry much purpose. It's intimated that they're preparing for the war with the Dasati, but it just came off feeling haphazard.
Miranda's narrative, tied closely to what was happening on Kelewan, seemed almost utterly superfluous. Where it landed finally made for a decent plot, but the rest of it just seemed like a need to keep the thread going just enough to not let the reader forget that it was happening and that Miranda is temperamental. In many respects, it would have been better to have dropped the boys' plot and bolster Miranda's, but this was not Feist's choice.
Finally, the last few chapters accelerated what was already a problem in the text. Because there were multiple narratives happening, the book kept swapping between them, which was not all bad, though depending on which plots felt interesting, it was occasionally tiresome. The end, however, gave me literary whiplash with two pages of one narrative, switch to two pages of a different narrative, switch to two pages of yet another narrative, and so on. If Feist were attempting to build tension as per an audio-visual medium such as film, this might have worked, but as a book, it lost any sense of continuity. I just found myself frustrated and waiting for the resolution.
2.5/5
August 22, 2011
A fan of Feist's setting and world imagination will absolutely love the stuff being introduced and painted here, expanding far beyond Midkemia and Kelewan.
To start with a rant though, some of the bad things from the previous book carried over. Repetitive descriptions of a character's trait or behaviour, as if I need to be explicitly reminded of it every few chapters. Same thing with the proofreading - primarily towards the end - with obvious grammatical mistakes and missing words.
Still, ignoring that, the plot did not fail to be engaging. It was great seeing new characters. Too bad the existing cast didn't get much development, just what happened to them. Despite placing most of them in supposedly dangerous situations, I can't really get any feeling of suspense; none of them appear to be in any danger. And all those "things that are happening", is really the essence of the book - setting things up until the third book. This was nailed in with the book having no real finale to it.
The pace of all the plot lines are good, and keeps me reading. Each chapter jumps around several plot lines though, perhaps a little too often - not enough to throw me off, but just noticeably frequent.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's better than the first book and the previous trilogy in terms of being engaging. Not very much better, but better nevertheless.
To start with a rant though, some of the bad things from the previous book carried over. Repetitive descriptions of a character's trait or behaviour, as if I need to be explicitly reminded of it every few chapters. Same thing with the proofreading - primarily towards the end - with obvious grammatical mistakes and missing words.
Still, ignoring that, the plot did not fail to be engaging. It was great seeing new characters. Too bad the existing cast didn't get much development, just what happened to them. Despite placing most of them in supposedly dangerous situations, I can't really get any feeling of suspense; none of them appear to be in any danger. And all those "things that are happening", is really the essence of the book - setting things up until the third book. This was nailed in with the book having no real finale to it.
The pace of all the plot lines are good, and keeps me reading. Each chapter jumps around several plot lines though, perhaps a little too often - not enough to throw me off, but just noticeably frequent.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's better than the first book and the previous trilogy in terms of being engaging. Not very much better, but better nevertheless.
October 2, 2013
Via Book Reviews by Niki Hawkes at www.nikihawkes.com
Feist’s works are always impeccable and I’m hard-pressed to identify anything I don’t like in his stories. “Into a Dark Realm” was no exception, and in fact exceeded my expectations with its creativity and complexity.
What I liked about it was the total transportation into another realm. It provided a culture immersion that I haven’t really seen since his “Daughter of the Empire” trilogy written with Janny Wurts. This time, however, the world we got to explore was of another dimension -that of the Dasati. Following a male warrior from that evil and twisted world, we get to learn the mentality behind their rather brutal lifestyles. I really got caught up in the fascinating culture offered within this book, and found it to be one of my favorites in the entire saga.
As always, the characters are well-rounded with a nice balance between long-time beloved characters and the introduction of new ones. The story bounces back and forth between the multiple plot-lines seamlessly, maintaing my interest with each transition.
Overall, for the middle book in a trilogy, it advanced the plot nicely – revealing just enough to help build the momentum towards what promises to be an amazing conclusion!
by Niki Hawkes
Other books you might like:
“Pawn of Prophecy” by David Eddings
“Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss
“The Eye of the World” by Robert Jordan
“Dragon Wing” by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
“The Crystal Shard” by R.A. Salvatore
Feist’s works are always impeccable and I’m hard-pressed to identify anything I don’t like in his stories. “Into a Dark Realm” was no exception, and in fact exceeded my expectations with its creativity and complexity.
What I liked about it was the total transportation into another realm. It provided a culture immersion that I haven’t really seen since his “Daughter of the Empire” trilogy written with Janny Wurts. This time, however, the world we got to explore was of another dimension -that of the Dasati. Following a male warrior from that evil and twisted world, we get to learn the mentality behind their rather brutal lifestyles. I really got caught up in the fascinating culture offered within this book, and found it to be one of my favorites in the entire saga.
As always, the characters are well-rounded with a nice balance between long-time beloved characters and the introduction of new ones. The story bounces back and forth between the multiple plot-lines seamlessly, maintaing my interest with each transition.
Overall, for the middle book in a trilogy, it advanced the plot nicely – revealing just enough to help build the momentum towards what promises to be an amazing conclusion!
by Niki Hawkes
Other books you might like:
“Pawn of Prophecy” by David Eddings
“Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss
“The Eye of the World” by Robert Jordan
“Dragon Wing” by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
“The Crystal Shard” by R.A. Salvatore
March 25, 2015
Where to start…
A very good feist book- actually one of the first I have enjoyed since before the conclave of shadow saga.
The only real reason I have given it a high rating is because it returns to my favourite characters- Pug and Nakor.
I understand that feist is setting up the whole view by including Jommy, Zane and Tad…but to tell you the truth - I find their plight a bit boring and too in depth. truly just want a little 2 page description every now and then of what they're up to, what's happening- and then get back to pug and nakor,
The third book is going to be AWESOME…i have that feeling especially with the return of a character that hasn't been seen for a while and who is also one of my favourite.
I have looked at some reviews of this series and cannot understand (or even fathom) how many readers who are new to the rift war are picking up this series and expecting to understand. It is now at the point within the rift war that you cannot do this. The reference to old characters and events will make it hard reading- and i can see that in the low ratings these readers have given.
and now….TO THE NEXT BOOK!!!!
A very good feist book- actually one of the first I have enjoyed since before the conclave of shadow saga.
The only real reason I have given it a high rating is because it returns to my favourite characters- Pug and Nakor.
I understand that feist is setting up the whole view by including Jommy, Zane and Tad…but to tell you the truth - I find their plight a bit boring and too in depth. truly just want a little 2 page description every now and then of what they're up to, what's happening- and then get back to pug and nakor,
The third book is going to be AWESOME…i have that feeling especially with the return of a character that hasn't been seen for a while and who is also one of my favourite.
I have looked at some reviews of this series and cannot understand (or even fathom) how many readers who are new to the rift war are picking up this series and expecting to understand. It is now at the point within the rift war that you cannot do this. The reference to old characters and events will make it hard reading- and i can see that in the low ratings these readers have given.
and now….TO THE NEXT BOOK!!!!
February 19, 2008
Second book in the most recent trilogy. I went ahead and got the hardback. Here the scope of the conflict is, by the end, realized, and is immense: spanning aeons and planes of reality. The depiction of Dasati homeworld is particularly well-done. We get a glimpse into the motivations of the other side, for the first time, I think. The side-story of Zane, Tad, & Jommy as they go to the university and then save the prince and get knighthood and are thrown into the army... I guess it's supposed to be the humanized side of the story everyone can relate to, but it's very clichéd Feist. I pretty much skimmed those sections. The rest of the novel is unusually compelling.
November 4, 2024
Overall a good read! I felt it was a little slower than the first book. I guess that can be expected from the middle of a series. I do think book three is shaping up to be a good one! I can’t believe how many of these books I’ve read in this world, on to the next one!
February 18, 2021
Detta är 300 sidor förvirrad set-up inför den peripeti som författaren tycks vilja lägga i nästa bok. Tyvärr har den karaktär av skåpmat.
July 6, 2012
We are back to the heart of that which matters the most, 'The Conclave of Shadows' and its most powerful magicians. While Pug, Magnus, Nakor and Bek commence a journey into the second realm of reality, Miranda is left on the first realm to deal with the Assembly of Black Robes in Kelewan. Add the mad & hugely powerful magician Leso Varen, now inhabiting a Great One's body, to the mix, and things really start to boil over. Meanwhile on the Dasati world, we get a glimpse into the chaotic, barbaric & extremely disturbing society of the Dasati through the eyes of Valko, a Deathkinght just returned from the Hiding & undergoing training to become the lord of his house. The Deathknights, Deathpriests, TeKarana and the Dark God himself provide an overdose of insights into the twelve worlds that make up this very dark plane of reality. As a side-plot, Caleb's sons are sent to Roldem to continue their education and initiation into the Conclave. Things come a head at the end; where Miranda is captured by the Dasati Deathpriests, Valko realizes his true destiny to be the harbinger of revolution & facilitator of resurgence of the White, Pug's band of the most powerful Midekemian magicians finally reaches the home of the Dark God of Dasati, and most importantly, the return of the most powerful magician ever, Macros the Black!
Feist does a great job of handling the 4 plot-lines concurrently, although the part with Tad, Zane and Jommy does seem quite pointless. A really well-written book with a wonderfully intricate plot and many philosophical abstractions to ponder. The series is now nicely set-up for the finale!
Feist does a great job of handling the 4 plot-lines concurrently, although the part with Tad, Zane and Jommy does seem quite pointless. A really well-written book with a wonderfully intricate plot and many philosophical abstractions to ponder. The series is now nicely set-up for the finale!
July 28, 2016
Oof. I need to lie down. Sit in a corner. Think about stuff.
"Flight of the Nighthawks" was a fairly average book. "Into a Dark Realm" took me into a dark room and beat me senseless to the point the only questions coming out of me are "Who/What/When/Where/Why/HOW??!?!?!?!?!?"
It was almost as if this book was an exercise in "oh you think you know how that works? PSYCHE" and yet it still makes sense.
Although I could have done without the tale of Jommy, Tad, and Zane, the rest was just awesome. Seeing the perspective of a Dasati warrior; Pug, Magnus, Nakor, and Bek travelling to the Second Plane; and Miranda's adventures in Kelewan. These are the sorts of storylines I read the Riftwar Series for.
The middle chapter of the Darkwar Saga was an excellent read, and a book I didn't want to put down. I have more questions than answers (to the dismay of my friend who has already read these books because we can't really talk about it for fear of spoilers), and I will be moving on to "Wrath of a Mad God" almost immediately.
After my soul searching corner sit.
"Flight of the Nighthawks" was a fairly average book. "Into a Dark Realm" took me into a dark room and beat me senseless to the point the only questions coming out of me are "Who/What/When/Where/Why/HOW??!?!?!?!?!?"
It was almost as if this book was an exercise in "oh you think you know how that works? PSYCHE" and yet it still makes sense.
Although I could have done without the tale of Jommy, Tad, and Zane, the rest was just awesome. Seeing the perspective of a Dasati warrior; Pug, Magnus, Nakor, and Bek travelling to the Second Plane; and Miranda's adventures in Kelewan. These are the sorts of storylines I read the Riftwar Series for.
The middle chapter of the Darkwar Saga was an excellent read, and a book I didn't want to put down. I have more questions than answers (to the dismay of my friend who has already read these books because we can't really talk about it for fear of spoilers), and I will be moving on to "Wrath of a Mad God" almost immediately.
After my soul searching corner sit.
September 26, 2012
This is another favorite of my written by Feist. There is not a lot of plot resolution...in fact one could say that this novels purpose is to just set up for the third book in this set, But, regardless of that, I love this book. Feist does a great job introducing and creating an alien culture that is twisted and unlike anything I have read in other books.
There is a lot going on in this book and Feist gives us a diverse cast of characters, so if crazy-powerful wizards are not your thing, there is also a group of young men struggling to make their place in the world. Granted, there are no spell-hurling battles that take place, but the action that does occur is interesting and well written.
This is my second time reading Into A Dark Realm, and I loved it as much the second time as I did the first.
There is a lot going on in this book and Feist gives us a diverse cast of characters, so if crazy-powerful wizards are not your thing, there is also a group of young men struggling to make their place in the world. Granted, there are no spell-hurling battles that take place, but the action that does occur is interesting and well written.
This is my second time reading Into A Dark Realm, and I loved it as much the second time as I did the first.
July 16, 2012
Another good Riftwar-universe story. I've been reading through all the Riftwar books and I think I've discovered what makes them good (for me, anyway). It's the introduction of new realms - sometimes entire worlds, sometimes new areas on an existing world. Every time one of these books takes us to a new realm, it's kept my attention. The books that try to set new stories in existing realms seem to fall a bit flat.
This particular story spends plenty of time in the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan, but the really interesting stuff is a journey to another plane of existence. The realm of the Dasati is quite a distopia. Lots of plot I don't want to spoil, and even more coming in the third book of the Darkwar Saga, so suffice it to say that the journey into that realm is one of the more interesting places that Feist has sent his magician Pug.
This particular story spends plenty of time in the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan, but the really interesting stuff is a journey to another plane of existence. The realm of the Dasati is quite a distopia. Lots of plot I don't want to spoil, and even more coming in the third book of the Darkwar Saga, so suffice it to say that the journey into that realm is one of the more interesting places that Feist has sent his magician Pug.
October 15, 2017
3.5 stars
There's nothing on this book to say it's part 2 of a new trilogy (if you pick it at random from a bookshop shelf), so takes a bit of getting used to what is essentially a whole new lot of characters than what you'd expect.
You're thrown in at the deep end as you work out whose who and what is going on.
Once past that, this is a good story with lots going on. More rifts are opening up on Midkemia and Pug and his friends and family have to work out what threat may be coming their way this time.
Characters are well written, and the places they have to go to are all unique.
Nothing is really achieved by the end of the book, other than everyone being in their places for the finale.
There's nothing on this book to say it's part 2 of a new trilogy (if you pick it at random from a bookshop shelf), so takes a bit of getting used to what is essentially a whole new lot of characters than what you'd expect.
You're thrown in at the deep end as you work out whose who and what is going on.
Once past that, this is a good story with lots going on. More rifts are opening up on Midkemia and Pug and his friends and family have to work out what threat may be coming their way this time.
Characters are well written, and the places they have to go to are all unique.
Nothing is really achieved by the end of the book, other than everyone being in their places for the finale.
March 29, 2018
Pug is back on the stage. I'm a big fan of this universe so I enjoyed reading this book but it suffers from "the middle book in trilogy" syndrome. It follows climax in the first part and it creates a ground for the last one. The story moves but I miss an epic ending where all independent storylines merge together. Here they are kind of open and parallel stories are not joining together yet. I really loved the Desati world described in this book. It was very grim. I'm looking forward to the latest part of the trilogy.
August 26, 2016
Leso Varen neuspel vo vytvorení chaosu v Keshi. Konkláve si konečne myslelo, že ukončilo jeho existenciu. To ale nie je pravda a Leso trhlinou uniká na Kelewan, druký Feistov svet, kde si môže trošku zablbnúť a povraždiť nejakách ľudí.
March 30, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. I love the concept of creating a new world and organizing a social structure that is completely different than any other I have read about. The Dasati might not be the best of those new worlds, but I enjoyed immensely.
October 2, 2017
Kind of entertaining, but not really a stand alone novel. The ending just kind of happened, obviously requiring the next book. The 'lore' is sort of interesting, and sort of too complicated - so many gods and high level magicians, making it hard to keep track of what's possible anymore.
April 2, 2019
Dit deel van de serie gaf veel antwoorden en informatie!
De Tweede Cirkel is fascinerend en hoewel over het algemeen nogal gruwelijk, zorgen de nieuwe personages voor een interessante verandering. Genoeg oude personages om balans te behouden.
Sommige lijnen in het verhaal waren voorspelbaar, maar werkten soms verwarrend doordat er vrij vaak gesprongen werd naar een andere verhaallijn. Liever had ik gezien dat de lijn van de jongens, Tad, Zane, Jommy (en later Geoffrey, Servan en Grandy) apart was gehouden van dit boek. Toch neemt het algehele gevoel van opbouw toe en de absolute cliffhanger van een einde maakt het bijna onmogelijk om te stoppen met lezen.
Het was grappig om over de Dashati en hun wereld te lezen, hoe gruwelijk ze soms ook waren. Het boek was wel wat duister, vergeleken met de andere verhalen van Feist. Sommige personages uit de vorige boeken komen in ongebruikelijke situaties terecht.
Boek lijkt een goede opbouw naar De toorn van een waanzinnige God te zijn.
De Tweede Cirkel is fascinerend en hoewel over het algemeen nogal gruwelijk, zorgen de nieuwe personages voor een interessante verandering. Genoeg oude personages om balans te behouden.
Sommige lijnen in het verhaal waren voorspelbaar, maar werkten soms verwarrend doordat er vrij vaak gesprongen werd naar een andere verhaallijn. Liever had ik gezien dat de lijn van de jongens, Tad, Zane, Jommy (en later Geoffrey, Servan en Grandy) apart was gehouden van dit boek. Toch neemt het algehele gevoel van opbouw toe en de absolute cliffhanger van een einde maakt het bijna onmogelijk om te stoppen met lezen.
Het was grappig om over de Dashati en hun wereld te lezen, hoe gruwelijk ze soms ook waren. Het boek was wel wat duister, vergeleken met de andere verhalen van Feist. Sommige personages uit de vorige boeken komen in ongebruikelijke situaties terecht.
Boek lijkt een goede opbouw naar De toorn van een waanzinnige God te zijn.
March 24, 2023
No spoilers but the boys have come of age (for the most part) and are starting to do the serious work of the conclave in this second book. The tone is significantly darker and it finally introduces us to the main adversaries of the series. Through an entirely new POV character we can see the entire world and mind set of the enemies that the conclave is set to fight. I think that kind of insight really helped because usually the enemy is just billed as “evil, without mercy, utterly irredeemable” when, as you get to know them, that might not be the case. A bit slower in some spots than I would have liked but definitely a solid lead in to the next book.
November 26, 2020
Holy fucking Christ
I was not expecting that
I was not expecting that
September 27, 2024
I thought this was a decent followup to the first book in the Darkwar Saga. However, it's still a bit slow. There is at least one great surprise in the end that I found pretty interesting though. (3.5)
April 14, 2025
An excellent book, Raymond E. Feist really has built up the stakes and suspense in this book with the fate of Midkemia and Kelewan hanging in balance.
February 6, 2015
Along with David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist was one of my first loves when it comes to Fantasy writing. They always used magic as a tool, rarely as a plot device and they avoided the long passages in Elvish that can make Tolkien so much of a chore. I may have always had a slight preference for Eddings, but my copies of Feist's original Riftwar trilogy are showing serious signs of use these days.
I may not have kept up with Feist's writing over the years, missing "The Conclave of Shadows" trilogy, but there is enough familiarity in both style and characters to make me feel instantly back at home. Pug may have grown up and is now a grandfather, but he is still involved with important business and, as ever, the future of both his home worlds is at stake.
Following on from the opening part of the trilogy, the few remaining members of the Night Hawks are being taken care of. Meanwhile, the presence of the slumbering Talnoy is still causing concern and Pug speaks to the Oracle who advises him that he will need to travel to a separate plane of existence, one of the lower planes, to the Dasati world to figure out exactly why the Talnoy are there.
The storyline is much as you would expect from the middle book in a trilogy. There is some tidying up and recovering to be done from the events of the first book. But there is still a more formidable enemy somewhere on the horizon and steps need to be taken towards the final confrontation. Feist has written this middle book before, however, so he keeps things interesting by having all his main characters doing separate things and jumping between them. You can never be quite sure what is going to prove to be immediately relevant and what may be important later, which keeps you reading.
What first made me a fan of Feist's writing is that, unlike a lot of fantasy writers, he concentrates on how the characters react to situations, rather than just describing things. This is true even with his non-human characters, who he manages to give a touch of humanity. Here, even when they travel to a whole new world, there is more about how the characters handle the culture shock than there is of telling the reader about the new world.
These two characteristics do cause a problem part way through, however. Feist flicks between characters and races quite easily and at such a rate it can be a little dizzying. At one point, when he introduces the new alien character, there's nothing to indicate this is what he's done and the human like way they are described meant that for some time, I was confused as to who was who. Once I'd got this sorted out in my head, however, things became a lot clearer and I was able to enjoy the story.
If there is one other concern, it's that the identity of the main villain was a little too easy to predict. Admittedly, the way things came about was unexpected, but I was a little disappointed to have picked him so easily and so early on, especially as I'm not usually good at guessing things like that.
These minor concerns aside, however, this middle book doesn't feel like something to take up space between and introduction and a climax, but an adventure in its own right, unlike some similar books I have read recently, such as Terry Brooks' "Elves of Cintra". It's clear that there have been events leading up to the story in this book and that there will be more to come, but there's enough here to keep you entertained rather than looking out for what is to follow.
If you have read Feist before, this is certainly up to his usual standards and will be enjoyable, regardless of whether you've read every word he's written, which I hadn't. If you've not read his works before, the character based fantasy he writes is always wonderful to read and his earlier work "Magician" is a fine introduction to the genre, not just the author.
If you are already an existing fan of Raymond Feist and have followed "The Conclave of Shadows" and much of his more recent work, this is certainly worth a go. Despite some minor reservations, this is a decent example of Feist's work and it's certainly worth a try for any fantasy fan and especially so if you're a fan of Feist or Eddings or both, as I am.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
I may not have kept up with Feist's writing over the years, missing "The Conclave of Shadows" trilogy, but there is enough familiarity in both style and characters to make me feel instantly back at home. Pug may have grown up and is now a grandfather, but he is still involved with important business and, as ever, the future of both his home worlds is at stake.
Following on from the opening part of the trilogy, the few remaining members of the Night Hawks are being taken care of. Meanwhile, the presence of the slumbering Talnoy is still causing concern and Pug speaks to the Oracle who advises him that he will need to travel to a separate plane of existence, one of the lower planes, to the Dasati world to figure out exactly why the Talnoy are there.
The storyline is much as you would expect from the middle book in a trilogy. There is some tidying up and recovering to be done from the events of the first book. But there is still a more formidable enemy somewhere on the horizon and steps need to be taken towards the final confrontation. Feist has written this middle book before, however, so he keeps things interesting by having all his main characters doing separate things and jumping between them. You can never be quite sure what is going to prove to be immediately relevant and what may be important later, which keeps you reading.
What first made me a fan of Feist's writing is that, unlike a lot of fantasy writers, he concentrates on how the characters react to situations, rather than just describing things. This is true even with his non-human characters, who he manages to give a touch of humanity. Here, even when they travel to a whole new world, there is more about how the characters handle the culture shock than there is of telling the reader about the new world.
These two characteristics do cause a problem part way through, however. Feist flicks between characters and races quite easily and at such a rate it can be a little dizzying. At one point, when he introduces the new alien character, there's nothing to indicate this is what he's done and the human like way they are described meant that for some time, I was confused as to who was who. Once I'd got this sorted out in my head, however, things became a lot clearer and I was able to enjoy the story.
If there is one other concern, it's that the identity of the main villain was a little too easy to predict. Admittedly, the way things came about was unexpected, but I was a little disappointed to have picked him so easily and so early on, especially as I'm not usually good at guessing things like that.
These minor concerns aside, however, this middle book doesn't feel like something to take up space between and introduction and a climax, but an adventure in its own right, unlike some similar books I have read recently, such as Terry Brooks' "Elves of Cintra". It's clear that there have been events leading up to the story in this book and that there will be more to come, but there's enough here to keep you entertained rather than looking out for what is to follow.
If you have read Feist before, this is certainly up to his usual standards and will be enjoyable, regardless of whether you've read every word he's written, which I hadn't. If you've not read his works before, the character based fantasy he writes is always wonderful to read and his earlier work "Magician" is a fine introduction to the genre, not just the author.
If you are already an existing fan of Raymond Feist and have followed "The Conclave of Shadows" and much of his more recent work, this is certainly worth a go. Despite some minor reservations, this is a decent example of Feist's work and it's certainly worth a try for any fantasy fan and especially so if you're a fan of Feist or Eddings or both, as I am.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews