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The Riftwar Legacy #4
Jimmy and the Crawler
A fantastic new novella from the master of magic and adventure. Best selling author Raymond E. Feist returns to the city of Krondor and one of his most loved characters, Jimmy the Hand.
The Crawler: a name whispered in fear…
In the crime-ridden back alleys of Krondor a rival gang has sprung up to threaten the Upright Man’s Mockers. Does the Crawler control the rival gang? Where does his power come from? And does it threaten the peace of the Kingdom?
James, personal squire to Prince Arutha of Krondor, but in the underworld known as the thief and trickster Jimmy the Hand, must travel to Kesh in disguise. There, working with William, lieutenant of the prince’s household guard and son of the magician Pug, and Jazhara, niece to the Keshian lord Hazara-Khan, he must attempt to unmask the mysterious Crawler and rid Krondor of his influence.
The Crawler: a name whispered in fear…
In the crime-ridden back alleys of Krondor a rival gang has sprung up to threaten the Upright Man’s Mockers. Does the Crawler control the rival gang? Where does his power come from? And does it threaten the peace of the Kingdom?
James, personal squire to Prince Arutha of Krondor, but in the underworld known as the thief and trickster Jimmy the Hand, must travel to Kesh in disguise. There, working with William, lieutenant of the prince’s household guard and son of the magician Pug, and Jazhara, niece to the Keshian lord Hazara-Khan, he must attempt to unmask the mysterious Crawler and rid Krondor of his influence.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
114 people are currently reading
5575 people want to read
About the author
Raymond E. Feist
283 books9,454 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 175 reviews
April 12, 2019
Matthew began writing his book review.
That sentence is a tribute to how Feist starts every chapter in every book of his that I have read. There is always one declarative statement about one of the main characters. If you have read Feist before and never noticed, now you will! :) Just one of the cool Feist-isms I enjoy looking for every time I open one of his books.
This is the only novella I am aware of in Feist’s Midkemia saga. The background, as I understand it, was that this was to be the 4th book of a 5 book (Riftwar Legacy) series based on a series of video games released in the late 1990s. Because the video game series ended up being cancelled around the year 2000 and the story was never wrapped up, Feist released this shorter work to tie up the loose ends for fans of the game series and the books that had been released so far – the book did not come out until 2013.
It was a very decent abbreviated Feist book. You could sense the essence of Feist without the story being drawn out. In fact, I think this book could easily have been drawn out to 400 pages and Feist could have filled it with enough back story and additional action to keep it interesting. But, it is obvious that he had moved on from this time of his story (13 years to wait to continue is a long time) so he just wanted to get it wrapped up as quickly as possible. This did not end up being a bad thing and at no point did I feel that he sacrificed the story just to get it over with.
This is not a book to read if you have not read the first three books of The Riftwar Legacy – and would be even better for you if you have read all 16 books before it!
That sentence is a tribute to how Feist starts every chapter in every book of his that I have read. There is always one declarative statement about one of the main characters. If you have read Feist before and never noticed, now you will! :) Just one of the cool Feist-isms I enjoy looking for every time I open one of his books.
This is the only novella I am aware of in Feist’s Midkemia saga. The background, as I understand it, was that this was to be the 4th book of a 5 book (Riftwar Legacy) series based on a series of video games released in the late 1990s. Because the video game series ended up being cancelled around the year 2000 and the story was never wrapped up, Feist released this shorter work to tie up the loose ends for fans of the game series and the books that had been released so far – the book did not come out until 2013.
It was a very decent abbreviated Feist book. You could sense the essence of Feist without the story being drawn out. In fact, I think this book could easily have been drawn out to 400 pages and Feist could have filled it with enough back story and additional action to keep it interesting. But, it is obvious that he had moved on from this time of his story (13 years to wait to continue is a long time) so he just wanted to get it wrapped up as quickly as possible. This did not end up being a bad thing and at no point did I feel that he sacrificed the story just to get it over with.
This is not a book to read if you have not read the first three books of The Riftwar Legacy – and would be even better for you if you have read all 16 books before it!
April 29, 2019
Picking up with Jimmy and hunting down the mysterious Crawler soon after the events of The Tear of God, the core of the team is back in is moving on to a fresh city to set up more of a spy network.
Like the other novels with Jimmy, it's fun but somewhat predictable. Indeed, the predictable bits are what makes this fun.
Let's see the ex-thief get into trouble, shall we? Let's see him fight or sneak his way out of it. Let's have him fight assassins, demons, mages, and all kinds of nastiness. :)
Fun? Yes, fun. Not epic, but Jimmy's stories aren't really supposed to be.
Like the other novels with Jimmy, it's fun but somewhat predictable. Indeed, the predictable bits are what makes this fun.
Let's see the ex-thief get into trouble, shall we? Let's see him fight or sneak his way out of it. Let's have him fight assassins, demons, mages, and all kinds of nastiness. :)
Fun? Yes, fun. Not epic, but Jimmy's stories aren't really supposed to be.
January 1, 2020
Jimmy and the Crawler is the fourth and final book in the Riftwar Legacy, one of the many subseries in the larger Riftwar Cycle. It’s a short and fast read at only 144 pages.
I didn’t realize it until I sat down to write my review, but it was actually published in 2013, thirteen years after the previous book, so this is something he went back to later. The previous three books had left some open plot threads dangling, and this book (novella?) tidies them up pretty well. It fits nicely in its chronological position, at least among the books I’ve read so far.
The story focuses primarily on Jimmy, as one would guess from the title. Two other characters who have featured in this subseries are working with Jimmy on his mission and so we see a lot of them too. There was one aspect of the story that was super predictable if you’ve read the earlier-written but set-later-chronologically books. There was one thing I thought was a little too coincidental, but the story held my interest well and was mostly fun to read.
It’s a bit difficult to get a hold of this in the U.S., at least if you don't want to purchase a physical copy of the UK-published version. I’m not sure I’d call it a must-read, but it may be worth your time if you’re looking for some closure on the larger plot threads from the previous three books. If you don’t really care, then this book probably won’t hold anything special for you unless you just really want to read everything possible about Jimmy, which I could also understand!
I didn’t realize it until I sat down to write my review, but it was actually published in 2013, thirteen years after the previous book, so this is something he went back to later. The previous three books had left some open plot threads dangling, and this book (novella?) tidies them up pretty well. It fits nicely in its chronological position, at least among the books I’ve read so far.
The story focuses primarily on Jimmy, as one would guess from the title. Two other characters who have featured in this subseries are working with Jimmy on his mission and so we see a lot of them too. There was one aspect of the story that was super predictable if you’ve read the earlier-written but set-later-chronologically books. There was one thing I thought was a little too coincidental, but the story held my interest well and was mostly fun to read.
It’s a bit difficult to get a hold of this in the U.S., at least if you don't want to purchase a physical copy of the UK-published version. I’m not sure I’d call it a must-read, but it may be worth your time if you’re looking for some closure on the larger plot threads from the previous three books. If you don’t really care, then this book probably won’t hold anything special for you unless you just really want to read everything possible about Jimmy, which I could also understand!
January 5, 2016
I am a Feist fan. Really, I am. I have, however, felt for some time that the longer he's written the sloppier and less thought out his writing has gotten. Tacking "Jimmy and the Crawler" onto the end of "Krondor: Tears of the Gods" is, to me, probably the best example of this. I re-read the "Krondor: The Legacy" series in preparation for this book and was pleased to find that the first three stood up to re-reading, but "Jimmy and the Crawler"? If I had the right to return it and get a refund due to my lack of satisfaction with it I would. Both of my complaints hinge on continuity and yet my complaints go in opposite directions.
The first is the narration of the tale. I read the preceding books before reading "Jimmy and the Crawler" it seems clear to me that Feist did no such thing. Throughout the novella Feist makes references to the three preceding stories and gets the feel of the chronology all wrong, referring to years that intervened between books that, according to themselves, took place scant days apart. There's also a perplexing reference to "since Jimmy had come to Krondor". Correct me if I'm wrong but this is meant to be Jimmy the Hand, the boy thief who GREW UP ON THE STREETS OF KRONDOR. Where did he come from exactly? Is there a childhood in Rillanon or Sarth we don't know about?
Perversely, having dashed the continuity of the series he was adding to against the wall I find that "Jimmy and the Crawler" is quite literally Feist taking shears to what was previously an enjoyable and well-written series in order to shoe-horn his storytelling into the continuity that needs to exist between "A Darkness at Sethanon" and "Prince of the Blood" and in doing so neuters entirely what was, to repeat myself, a quality story that really just needed a conclusion or a neater, less ruinous and unsatisfactory, segue into "Krondor's Sons".
The first is the narration of the tale. I read the preceding books before reading "Jimmy and the Crawler" it seems clear to me that Feist did no such thing. Throughout the novella Feist makes references to the three preceding stories and gets the feel of the chronology all wrong, referring to years that intervened between books that, according to themselves, took place scant days apart. There's also a perplexing reference to "since Jimmy had come to Krondor". Correct me if I'm wrong but this is meant to be Jimmy the Hand, the boy thief who GREW UP ON THE STREETS OF KRONDOR. Where did he come from exactly? Is there a childhood in Rillanon or Sarth we don't know about?
Perversely, having dashed the continuity of the series he was adding to against the wall I find that "Jimmy and the Crawler" is quite literally Feist taking shears to what was previously an enjoyable and well-written series in order to shoe-horn his storytelling into the continuity that needs to exist between "A Darkness at Sethanon" and "Prince of the Blood" and in doing so neuters entirely what was, to repeat myself, a quality story that really just needed a conclusion or a neater, less ruinous and unsatisfactory, segue into "Krondor's Sons".
May 5, 2023
It’s been eons since I’ve read any Krondor titles. Loved every exciting episode. This Novella deals with a painful part of James and Willy’s life, and gives some background on things to come. I have read all of the various series by Feist but way before goodreads existed. I just can’t be bothered listing decades worth of reading. Suffice to say they all hover somewhere in the 5 star region.
May 22, 2023
A short novella to close out the series The Riftwar Saga Legacy. I have to name this one my Feist favorites, simply because the tale is all about Jimmy The Hand. Jimmy was a thief in his younger days, taken in by the Prince when he preformed a valiant act of bravery for the Princes' family. With this act he gained the confidence of the royal family and is now a deep confident of the Kingdom, and is raising in stature.
This book picks up where # 3 ended and finds Jimmy (due to his ranking at court, he is called James now-sorry he will always be Jimmy to me) traveling to Kesh in the ruse of being Jimmy the Hand. I loved seeing him as his old self, crawling the rooftops and basically causing trouble.
A short, quick read that closed out the Saga with bang-loved it.
This book picks up where # 3 ended and finds Jimmy (due to his ranking at court, he is called James now-sorry he will always be Jimmy to me) traveling to Kesh in the ruse of being Jimmy the Hand. I loved seeing him as his old self, crawling the rooftops and basically causing trouble.
A short, quick read that closed out the Saga with bang-loved it.
August 12, 2023
A fun, lightweight quickie that reads like a D&D module. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and for anyone craving a bit more story around Jimmy the Hand it works just fine. It's got all the usual expected Feist stylisms good and bad. No surprises, just encounter the problem, track it down, do some disguises, some recon, some fighting, some ambushes, and then confront the final baddie.
March 15, 2022
The Riftwar Legacy je za sada najslabiji serijal u okviru Riftwar Sage.
Dz R R Martin: "Sometimes the hero dies, at least in my books,” said Martin. “I love all my characters so it’s always hard to kill them but I know it has to be done. I tend to think I don’t kill them. The other characters kill ’em. "
Ok, Martin je napoznatiji pisac epske fantastike koji svoje karaktere nemilosrdno stavlja pod noz.
Ali ohoho sta to radi Rejmond Fajst. U ovaj serijal uvodi jako bitan zenski karakter, carobnicu Dzezaru. Razradjuje njen lik koji je u jako bliskoj vezi sa sinom carobnjaka Paga, Vilijamom.
I onda nakon dve knjige Dzezara je baj baj wizard girl a ti Vilijame ako ikada vise budes imao devojku pazi da ne poludis. Surovo Rejmonde Fajste, surovo.
I nista od ovoga ne bi bio problem da je ovaj serijal na nivou prethodnih.
Nego nekako je sve previse ocigledno i onda da bi radnja dobila nekakav twist mali Vilijam mora da pati kao da je proklet.
Imam osecaj da je ovaj serijal napisan na silu i da se treca i cetvrta knjiga u njemu mogu okarakterisati kao FILERI, dok prve dve i nisu toliko beznadezno lose.
Dz R R Martin: "Sometimes the hero dies, at least in my books,” said Martin. “I love all my characters so it’s always hard to kill them but I know it has to be done. I tend to think I don’t kill them. The other characters kill ’em. "
Ok, Martin je napoznatiji pisac epske fantastike koji svoje karaktere nemilosrdno stavlja pod noz.
Ali ohoho sta to radi Rejmond Fajst. U ovaj serijal uvodi jako bitan zenski karakter, carobnicu Dzezaru. Razradjuje njen lik koji je u jako bliskoj vezi sa sinom carobnjaka Paga, Vilijamom.
I onda nakon dve knjige Dzezara je baj baj wizard girl a ti Vilijame ako ikada vise budes imao devojku pazi da ne poludis. Surovo Rejmonde Fajste, surovo.
I nista od ovoga ne bi bio problem da je ovaj serijal na nivou prethodnih.
Nego nekako je sve previse ocigledno i onda da bi radnja dobila nekakav twist mali Vilijam mora da pati kao da je proklet.
Imam osecaj da je ovaj serijal napisan na silu i da se treca i cetvrta knjiga u njemu mogu okarakterisati kao FILERI, dok prve dve i nisu toliko beznadezno lose.
March 21, 2013
Review
This series is and has always been the weakest of the Krondor based books.
BUT
I loved it; There is and has always been something about Jimmy the Hand that worked for me. He is the one of those great characters in fantasy fiction. Yes he is too damn good, too fast, too lucky, too heroic etc. But he is fun. He is the type of escapism character we all want to be, and takes you so far away from the hum drum real world.
The book slots in between many of the other tales, and i found myself wracking my memory for which not to which person or place fitted in which book. This annoys some but makes me want to read the other books again. (i probably will after the release of Magicians end is published.
The finest Feist series is still the Empire series:
Riftwar : The World On the Other Side
1. Daughter of the Empire (1987) (with Janny Wurts)
2. Servant of the Empire (1989) (with Janny Wurts)
3. Mistress of the Empire (1989) (with Janny Wurts)
The Empire Series 3-book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)
but the most fun is:
Riftwar
1. Magician: Apprentice (1982)
2. Magician: Master (1982)
3. Silverthorn (1985)
4. A Darkness at Sethanon (1985)
5. Prince of the Blood (1989)
6. The King's Buccaneer (1989)
Riftwar : Serpentwar
1. Shadow of a Dark Queen (1994)
2. Rise of a Merchant Prince (1995)
3. Rage of a Demon King (1995)
4. Shards of a Broken Crown (1998)
10 books of such sweeping action, imagination and escapism that it ranks up there as one of my all time fav fantasy series.
The 2 series that Jimmy the crawler belongs too started life as script for computer games, and while the weakest of all his books, can often be some of the fun ones, a closer look at amusing character like Jimmy
Riftwar : Legacy
1. The Betrayal: Krondor (1998)
2. The Assassins: Krondor (1999)
3. Tear of the gods: Krondor (1999)
4. Jimmy and the Crawler (2013)
Legends of the Riftwar
1. Honoured Enemy (2001) (with William R Forstchen)
2. Murder in Lamut (2002) (with Joel Rosenberg)
3. Jimmy the Hand (2003) (with S M Stirling)
So if you are a fan of Feist you don't need me to tell you to buy this book, but if you have never read his work, it's a fantastic little novella that shows how well the man writes, and gives you a flash of fun and adventure from one of his finest characters.
Oh and the book its self, beautiful cover, a really fine satin finish to the art work.
For the detractors: £9 for a book that takes several hours to read, and leaves you thinking about for longer, that makes to re-live the great books of the series and maybe even re-read the whole series end to end. Compare that to £8 for a 90 min film at the cinema and the fact you will probably leave and forget the plot within 20 mins because the avergae film from hollywood is some mindless pointless comedy. Yet people go back and back for them without complaint, but think that the effort and time and imagination that went into a book, even a novella like this "isnt worth £9". tell me what else you can do for £9 that lasts on its own for hours and can inspire and entertain in the same way?
Recommended
(Parm)
This series is and has always been the weakest of the Krondor based books.
BUT
I loved it; There is and has always been something about Jimmy the Hand that worked for me. He is the one of those great characters in fantasy fiction. Yes he is too damn good, too fast, too lucky, too heroic etc. But he is fun. He is the type of escapism character we all want to be, and takes you so far away from the hum drum real world.
The book slots in between many of the other tales, and i found myself wracking my memory for which not to which person or place fitted in which book. This annoys some but makes me want to read the other books again. (i probably will after the release of Magicians end is published.
The finest Feist series is still the Empire series:
Riftwar : The World On the Other Side
1. Daughter of the Empire (1987) (with Janny Wurts)
2. Servant of the Empire (1989) (with Janny Wurts)
3. Mistress of the Empire (1989) (with Janny Wurts)
The Empire Series 3-book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)
but the most fun is:
Riftwar
1. Magician: Apprentice (1982)
2. Magician: Master (1982)
3. Silverthorn (1985)
4. A Darkness at Sethanon (1985)
5. Prince of the Blood (1989)
6. The King's Buccaneer (1989)
Riftwar : Serpentwar
1. Shadow of a Dark Queen (1994)
2. Rise of a Merchant Prince (1995)
3. Rage of a Demon King (1995)
4. Shards of a Broken Crown (1998)
10 books of such sweeping action, imagination and escapism that it ranks up there as one of my all time fav fantasy series.
The 2 series that Jimmy the crawler belongs too started life as script for computer games, and while the weakest of all his books, can often be some of the fun ones, a closer look at amusing character like Jimmy
Riftwar : Legacy
1. The Betrayal: Krondor (1998)
2. The Assassins: Krondor (1999)
3. Tear of the gods: Krondor (1999)
4. Jimmy and the Crawler (2013)
Legends of the Riftwar
1. Honoured Enemy (2001) (with William R Forstchen)
2. Murder in Lamut (2002) (with Joel Rosenberg)
3. Jimmy the Hand (2003) (with S M Stirling)
So if you are a fan of Feist you don't need me to tell you to buy this book, but if you have never read his work, it's a fantastic little novella that shows how well the man writes, and gives you a flash of fun and adventure from one of his finest characters.
Oh and the book its self, beautiful cover, a really fine satin finish to the art work.
For the detractors: £9 for a book that takes several hours to read, and leaves you thinking about for longer, that makes to re-live the great books of the series and maybe even re-read the whole series end to end. Compare that to £8 for a 90 min film at the cinema and the fact you will probably leave and forget the plot within 20 mins because the avergae film from hollywood is some mindless pointless comedy. Yet people go back and back for them without complaint, but think that the effort and time and imagination that went into a book, even a novella like this "isnt worth £9". tell me what else you can do for £9 that lasts on its own for hours and can inspire and entertain in the same way?
Recommended
(Parm)
August 17, 2019
4 stars with an average of 7.125/10
My rating system:
1 star: 1.0-2.9/10
2 stars: 3.0-5.4/10
3 stars: 5.5-7.0/10
4 stars: 7.1-9.0/10
5 stars: 9.1-10/10
Rating based on plot, characters, and writing (2x)
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 6.5/10
Writing: 7.5/10
Genral enjoyment: 7/10
Review
Granted, reading this book before the other 3 in this series might not seem like the smartest thing to do. However, I discovered the plot stands well on its own and Jimmy is just like I know him. Such a great character and a very well done perspective.
The problems here are the other characters and the plot progression. I felt like the side characters could've been done better. They weren't flat, I just didn't get enough of them to know fully who they were. This might also be because I didn't read the other three books in the series. I did read other Feist books in the same world though. So I'm not completely oblivious to who those characters actually are. Their motivations just don't seem very deep.
Something similar happens with the plot. We know there are political reasons behind it and some motivations that aren't given on purpose. I feel like those might become clear in the Demonwar Saga as that seems to be the series focussing on the demons introduced in this book.
To me, it just felt like there wasn't enough page space to properly dive into the plot. It didn't feel like a Feist book to me. Everything went way too quickly, especially the resolution.
Somehow that happening doesn't have political consequences whatsoever. At least once we can see start to develop. The complexity levels I'm used to in regular Feist novels aren't there.
This might be a short story/novella but I still expected some of that complexity to show up. It just wasn't there for me.
For those of you wondering: the references to the Tear of the Gods only make me more curious about what the Riftwar Legacy books entail. It's kinda great Feist wrote a book for without actually spoiling me for the rest of the series. I don't know how he did it, but he did.
My rating system:
1 star: 1.0-2.9/10
2 stars: 3.0-5.4/10
3 stars: 5.5-7.0/10
4 stars: 7.1-9.0/10
5 stars: 9.1-10/10
Rating based on plot, characters, and writing (2x)
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 6.5/10
Writing: 7.5/10
Genral enjoyment: 7/10
Review
Granted, reading this book before the other 3 in this series might not seem like the smartest thing to do. However, I discovered the plot stands well on its own and Jimmy is just like I know him. Such a great character and a very well done perspective.
The problems here are the other characters and the plot progression. I felt like the side characters could've been done better. They weren't flat, I just didn't get enough of them to know fully who they were. This might also be because I didn't read the other three books in the series. I did read other Feist books in the same world though. So I'm not completely oblivious to who those characters actually are. Their motivations just don't seem very deep.
Something similar happens with the plot. We know there are political reasons behind it and some motivations that aren't given on purpose. I feel like those might become clear in the Demonwar Saga as that seems to be the series focussing on the demons introduced in this book.
To me, it just felt like there wasn't enough page space to properly dive into the plot. It didn't feel like a Feist book to me. Everything went way too quickly, especially the resolution.
Somehow that happening doesn't have political consequences whatsoever. At least once we can see start to develop. The complexity levels I'm used to in regular Feist novels aren't there.
This might be a short story/novella but I still expected some of that complexity to show up. It just wasn't there for me.
For those of you wondering: the references to the Tear of the Gods only make me more curious about what the Riftwar Legacy books entail. It's kinda great Feist wrote a book for without actually spoiling me for the rest of the series. I don't know how he did it, but he did.
March 10, 2013
I picked this up in the hope of getting an introduction to Feist's writing, there is a chance I made a wee bit of an error in thinking this novella would do just that. This is not to say I didn't enjoy Jimmy and the Crawler, this is a good little story with just the right amount of action, mystery and romance and I think Jimmy is an interesting, well formed, vicious character. I am always a bit of a sucker for a rogue and Feist nails it.
Why is this not a good introduction to the work of Feist then? One simple answer, Feist constantly refers to events from previous novels and characters that don't make an appearance in this one, I expected this at the start of the book but was disappointed to find it continued throughout. This is the reason for my rating, it would have been higher if I didn't feel quite so confused by the references. This is clearly one for Feist's fans, as he revisits a much loved character and celebrates Jimmy's previous achievements. This said, I was fond of this quick read and I now realise I need to start at the beginning, with Magician, and not try to cheat with a novella!
Why is this not a good introduction to the work of Feist then? One simple answer, Feist constantly refers to events from previous novels and characters that don't make an appearance in this one, I expected this at the start of the book but was disappointed to find it continued throughout. This is the reason for my rating, it would have been higher if I didn't feel quite so confused by the references. This is clearly one for Feist's fans, as he revisits a much loved character and celebrates Jimmy's previous achievements. This said, I was fond of this quick read and I now realise I need to start at the beginning, with Magician, and not try to cheat with a novella!
September 2, 2025
De boeken van Raymond e Feist behoren tot mijn favorieten in het fantasie genre. Gelezen, herlezen en nogmaals lezen. Maar deze keer las ik er eentje voor de eerste keer. Robbie en de kruiper.
Een korter verhaal dat zich net na de Krondor reeks afspeelt.
Krondor wordt geteisterd door een misdadige organisatie geleid door de kruiper. Jonker Robert vermoed dat de stad Durbin het centrum vormt van waaruit de misdaden geregeerd worden. Samen met William en Jazhara trekt hij naar Kesh om af te rekenen met de kruiper, maar dat blijkt moeilijker dan gedacht. En vooral gevaarlijker.
Mijn gedacht
Een rasechte Feist. Goeie weergave van de omgeving, goed omschreven personages en de magie is aanwezig zonder overwelmend te zijn.
Robbie de hand is één van mijn lievelingspersonages en dus ben ik zeer blij dat hij de hoofdrol mag spelen in dit boek.
De boeken van Feist lezen zeer vlot en dat is hier zeker terug zo. De spanning zit duidelijk in het verhaal vanaf de eerste pagina en blijft gestaag groeien tot het einde van het verhaal.
Het slot lost alle vragen op en sluit de lijnen in dit boek grotendeels af.
Conclusie
De conclusie is dat ik terug een volbloed Feist gelezen heb met een lievelingspersonage in de hoofdrol. Goed geschreven, spannend en minder politiek aanwezig dan wat we gewoon zijn in zijn verhalen.
Deze blog is kort maar ik blijf fan van deze auteur.
Een korter verhaal dat zich net na de Krondor reeks afspeelt.
Krondor wordt geteisterd door een misdadige organisatie geleid door de kruiper. Jonker Robert vermoed dat de stad Durbin het centrum vormt van waaruit de misdaden geregeerd worden. Samen met William en Jazhara trekt hij naar Kesh om af te rekenen met de kruiper, maar dat blijkt moeilijker dan gedacht. En vooral gevaarlijker.
Mijn gedacht
Een rasechte Feist. Goeie weergave van de omgeving, goed omschreven personages en de magie is aanwezig zonder overwelmend te zijn.
Robbie de hand is één van mijn lievelingspersonages en dus ben ik zeer blij dat hij de hoofdrol mag spelen in dit boek.
De boeken van Feist lezen zeer vlot en dat is hier zeker terug zo. De spanning zit duidelijk in het verhaal vanaf de eerste pagina en blijft gestaag groeien tot het einde van het verhaal.
Het slot lost alle vragen op en sluit de lijnen in dit boek grotendeels af.
Conclusie
De conclusie is dat ik terug een volbloed Feist gelezen heb met een lievelingspersonage in de hoofdrol. Goed geschreven, spannend en minder politiek aanwezig dan wat we gewoon zijn in zijn verhalen.
Deze blog is kort maar ik blijf fan van deze auteur.
June 9, 2013
It's nice seeing Jimmy the Hand when he's little - he was my favourite character from the Magician series, I had such a crush on him.
Very short story. The ending was a little too hasty for my liking, pretty sure it could not have been tied up nearly so neatly. But at the same time, by god was it *nice* to not have everything be doom and gloom even when it is dark and unhappy circumstances - sick of the only realism in stories being their description of torture and misery.
Very short story. The ending was a little too hasty for my liking, pretty sure it could not have been tied up nearly so neatly. But at the same time, by god was it *nice* to not have everything be doom and gloom even when it is dark and unhappy circumstances - sick of the only realism in stories being their description of torture and misery.
June 1, 2022
5 stars - Dutch hardcover
I was not aware that is is a shorter book than the rest of them but truth to tell I enjoyed it anyway. This novella fits in to the larger story and gives some background to later plots involving Jimmy the Hand ahis grandsons.It also lends a "human interest" story to Pu g's son William, who also appears in later stories.
As an avid Raymond Feist reader I would have preferred a much longer story, but this was a great short story in the manner of Feist's other writings. Lots of action. Recognised Characters. A useful background piece. Lovely short read.
I was not aware that is is a shorter book than the rest of them but truth to tell I enjoyed it anyway. This novella fits in to the larger story and gives some background to later plots involving Jimmy the Hand ahis grandsons.It also lends a "human interest" story to Pu g's son William, who also appears in later stories.
As an avid Raymond Feist reader I would have preferred a much longer story, but this was a great short story in the manner of Feist's other writings. Lots of action. Recognised Characters. A useful background piece. Lovely short read.
August 15, 2024
This was the most tiny book by Raymond E. Feist I've ever read. I want more. It wasn't enough to fill the void I have waiting for his next (and last one) in the Riftwar Saga.
This was the conclusion of the Krondor series. It was good to finally see what happened cause there were hints on the (chronologically) next books but not many details, and I was really looking forward to find out who the Crawler was.
I wouldn't recommend this book to be your first try on Feist's world cause it's right in the middle of the overall story. But if you love epic fantasy you need to read the Riftwar Saga, starting from Magician.
I am really glad this book was published right before Magician's End (two more months for that one) cause it reminded me where it all begun, the characters that made me fall in love with the world of Midkemia. I can't wait for the end, although I am afraid it's going to be heart breaking.
This was the conclusion of the Krondor series. It was good to finally see what happened cause there were hints on the (chronologically) next books but not many details, and I was really looking forward to find out who the Crawler was.
I wouldn't recommend this book to be your first try on Feist's world cause it's right in the middle of the overall story. But if you love epic fantasy you need to read the Riftwar Saga, starting from Magician.
I am really glad this book was published right before Magician's End (two more months for that one) cause it reminded me where it all begun, the characters that made me fall in love with the world of Midkemia. I can't wait for the end, although I am afraid it's going to be heart breaking.
May 19, 2023
This was a short novella not essential to the main story. This was a fun read! It was all about Jimmy, jazhara and William. It was fun to see Jimmy sneaking around trying to find out more about the crawler. Without spoiling anything, poor William, he just can’t catch a break. I’m interested to see where the story goes next!
July 4, 2025
Sometimes reading about an author or more specifically their body of work - I realise I have missed books out of what I considered a closed and completed series - the Riftwars is a perfectly example.
Now I thought I had all of the books but it appears that not only is there a revival on the offing but also a missing books - yes this one - that I didn't realise existed.
It appears this book was intended to be another full installment which unfortunately fell through with the fall out from the event of the Krondor computer game. Now it would appear that Feist didn't want the story to vanish so a short novella (yes this one) was written to act as a bridge in the story - which it most certainly does.
So what of the book - just as fast paced - if not more so considering the page count - and yes I am drawn to revisiting the world once more and seeing how not only this book fits in but how the whole sage unfold again
Now I thought I had all of the books but it appears that not only is there a revival on the offing but also a missing books - yes this one - that I didn't realise existed.
It appears this book was intended to be another full installment which unfortunately fell through with the fall out from the event of the Krondor computer game. Now it would appear that Feist didn't want the story to vanish so a short novella (yes this one) was written to act as a bridge in the story - which it most certainly does.
So what of the book - just as fast paced - if not more so considering the page count - and yes I am drawn to revisiting the world once more and seeing how not only this book fits in but how the whole sage unfold again
August 18, 2024
A very enjoyable read, if a little rushed at the end.
I'm pretty sure Jimmy is my favourite Feist character.
This marks a special place in my half re read of Feist.. with the exception of the last Trilogy, I have now read everything in the Riftwar Saga! And I cannot wait to dive in to the book that started it al for me, which is the next one in the timeline.
I'm pretty sure Jimmy is my favourite Feist character.
This marks a special place in my half re read of Feist.. with the exception of the last Trilogy, I have now read everything in the Riftwar Saga! And I cannot wait to dive in to the book that started it al for me, which is the next one in the timeline.
March 21, 2021
En precis lagom lång liten historia om grundandet av ett spionnätverk i främmande stad. Till skillnad från i hans längre böcker tappar inte författaren kontrollen över denna, utan allt förblir lagom långt.
March 8, 2025
Picked this up at random from the library because it looked light and fun. Turns out it’s part of a series (not at all indicated on the cover or blurb) and also crap. I’ve learnt my lesson.
February 3, 2014
Vorig jaar sloot Raymond E. Feist zijn monumentale Midkemia-reeks af met Het Einde van de Magiër. Gelukkig had hij voor zijn trouwe schare fans nog een kleine toegift achter de hand: Robbie en de Kruiper. Dit vierde deel van de Krondorserie moest de verhaallijn die wegens een rechtenconflict zo lang onafgemaakt bleef afronden, om daarna Feist de kans te geven te beginnen met zijn nieuwe project: een nieuwe serie met de werktitel A War of Five Kings. In Robbie en de Kruiper gaat onze slimme meesterdief achter de geheimzinnige Kruiper aan, die het de Snaken in Krondor erg moeilijk maakt.
Verhaal
In Robbie en de Kruiper krijgt de onderwereld van Krondor het aan de stok met de mannen van de Kruiper. Deze mysterieuze figuur lijkt de hand te hebben in veel gewelddadige schermutselingen in de stad en zorgt ervoor dat het al broze bestand dat bestaat tussen het dievengilde van de Snaken en de stadsbestuurders wankel begint te worden. De criminaliteit in Krondor stijgt en prins Arutha wil dat Robbie dit samen met Wiliam ConDoin, luitenant in de Prinselijke Garde en de zoon van magiër Puc, én hofmagiër Jazhara, het nichtje van de Keshische heer Hazara-Khan, tot op de bodem uitzoekt.
Robbie, die nu ook de titel Jonker Robert mag dragen, vermoedt dat de stad Durbin het centrum vormt van de activiteiten van de Kruiper en gaat daar op onderzoek uit. Al snel stuit hij enkele vreemde zaken die de aandacht vragen. De vindingrijke dief die iedere lezer van Feist in zijn hart heeft gesloten moet al zijn kwaliteiten aanwenden om tot op de bodem van de zaak te komen…
Wil je de gehele recensie lezen? Klik dan hier:
http://www.fantasywereld.nl/recensies...
Verhaal
In Robbie en de Kruiper krijgt de onderwereld van Krondor het aan de stok met de mannen van de Kruiper. Deze mysterieuze figuur lijkt de hand te hebben in veel gewelddadige schermutselingen in de stad en zorgt ervoor dat het al broze bestand dat bestaat tussen het dievengilde van de Snaken en de stadsbestuurders wankel begint te worden. De criminaliteit in Krondor stijgt en prins Arutha wil dat Robbie dit samen met Wiliam ConDoin, luitenant in de Prinselijke Garde en de zoon van magiër Puc, én hofmagiër Jazhara, het nichtje van de Keshische heer Hazara-Khan, tot op de bodem uitzoekt.
Robbie, die nu ook de titel Jonker Robert mag dragen, vermoedt dat de stad Durbin het centrum vormt van de activiteiten van de Kruiper en gaat daar op onderzoek uit. Al snel stuit hij enkele vreemde zaken die de aandacht vragen. De vindingrijke dief die iedere lezer van Feist in zijn hart heeft gesloten moet al zijn kwaliteiten aanwenden om tot op de bodem van de zaak te komen…
Wil je de gehele recensie lezen? Klik dan hier:
http://www.fantasywereld.nl/recensies...
September 30, 2019
It's clear Feist really ONLY wrote this to tie up loose ends.
He didn't even bother to write certain dialogue scenes required to tie chapters together, but not interesting to write, simply writing those pieces as "they talked a little while".
It makes the book short, uninteresting and unmemorable, since it cuts away character building. Which I feel is a shame, especially since I'd have been really interested in seeing way more of Jimmy building the Kingdom's spy network. It would have rounded the book out more, and would have shown a side of the Midkemia books we have seen very little of, while expanding the character of the legendary Jimmy the Hand. Still, I'm grateful we got even this little bit of it.
He didn't even bother to write certain dialogue scenes required to tie chapters together, but not interesting to write, simply writing those pieces as "they talked a little while".
It makes the book short, uninteresting and unmemorable, since it cuts away character building. Which I feel is a shame, especially since I'd have been really interested in seeing way more of Jimmy building the Kingdom's spy network. It would have rounded the book out more, and would have shown a side of the Midkemia books we have seen very little of, while expanding the character of the legendary Jimmy the Hand. Still, I'm grateful we got even this little bit of it.
April 16, 2013
And -2 stars for price to content ratio...
March 19, 2019
Not the best Feist and it relies very heavily on familiarity with the whole Riftwar canon.
April 25, 2018
Shortest read of a Feist book. This is definitely a must like Jimmy the Hand to enjoy this whole set of books. While this short story can probably stand on it's own, there is so much character build to get the proper impact by reading at least the other Krondor books.
February 11, 2022
Short Novel, very sad to see the well loved Character of Jazarah die. And William losing the second love of his life in one series is harsh!!! Great end to a sub series, great way of intro ducing the Chaos wars trilogy with SIDI the mad God appearing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2023
I've never read anything by this author before, but I enjoyed this and didn't feel terribly out of the loop. I'm definitely going to have to read the first book in the series.
November 29, 2023
Not his best, didn't take long to read and probably could have not bothered with what it added to the main story. Won't be one I re read unlike the magician series
September 15, 2020
Good to be reading the first author I properly understood and enjoyed
March 24, 2021
Although I enjoyed stepping back in the series I found that this book lacked depth and was short on the usual knife edge tension
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