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The Demonwar Saga #1
Rides a Dread Legion
The first book in a brand new series by the master of epic fantasy, Raymond E. Feist. Ten years after the cataclysmic events of Wrath of a Mad God took place, Midkemia now faces a new danger thought buried in myth and antiquity.
A lost race of elves, the taredhel or ‘people of the stars’, have found a way across the universe to reach Midkemia. On their current home world, these elves are hard pressed by a ravaging demon horde, and what was once a huge empire has been reduced to a handful of survivors. The cornerstone of taredhel lore is the tale of their lost origins in the world they call simply ‘Home’, a place lost in the mists of time. Now they are convinced that Midkemia is that place, and they are coming to reclaim it.
Ruthless and arrogant, the taredhel intend to let nothing stand in their way; but before long, Pug and the Conclave realise that it's not necessarily the elves, but the demon horde pursuing them where the true danger lies. And hanging over Pug always is the prophecy that he will be doomed to watch everyone he loves die before him…
A lost race of elves, the taredhel or ‘people of the stars’, have found a way across the universe to reach Midkemia. On their current home world, these elves are hard pressed by a ravaging demon horde, and what was once a huge empire has been reduced to a handful of survivors. The cornerstone of taredhel lore is the tale of their lost origins in the world they call simply ‘Home’, a place lost in the mists of time. Now they are convinced that Midkemia is that place, and they are coming to reclaim it.
Ruthless and arrogant, the taredhel intend to let nothing stand in their way; but before long, Pug and the Conclave realise that it's not necessarily the elves, but the demon horde pursuing them where the true danger lies. And hanging over Pug always is the prophecy that he will be doomed to watch everyone he loves die before him…
432 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2009
354 people are currently reading
4859 people want to read
About the author
Raymond E. Feist
289 books9,535 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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December 12, 2009
Time to retire. I have long been a fan of Raymond Feist, but when a series is dead. It is dead. This series lives on its characters now, not on any plot device, or story, or interaction between plot lines, for all basic plots are now the same.
The last series the characters defeat the worst evil imaginable that threatens them in the worst horrific way, and then a new series starts linking the characters together again. This time the evil is worse than the previous evil and it will result in the same total eradication of all life.
That device is now done to death again. (SPOILER)
But this time he at least kills some primary characters. The problem I have here is the is main hero has become virtually immortal because Pug, the magician, remains in all the books. That takes us away from something that Feist is good at, developing new characters. But what he also needs to do is develop a new world.
Then he runs into the problem of having all characters together at once. Ever have a party in your living room? Does everyone stop talking and just listen to one speak? Usually it is small groups of conversation, but for Feist he does not really capture how to relate this, often bringing all the characters together and then we have the repetition of information since characters he has arrive at different times. Soon we have hear the characters tale so many times that we jump ahead since why waste the effort to read it again.
Then should other characters arrive just after that one has told his tale, well a case in point, Pug has some of the new good guys together when his old friends Tomas shows up. We already know why he is showing up, and Pug and others have eaten lunch, but we waste a few moments as Pug offers Tomas and his companion a meal. Did we need that? Does it add to the book or again slow us up.
Feist may be well sold in the field after all these years, assigned to an editor that just rubber stamps his work. But this is really getting sad.
When will the next generation take over? When will we have just a regular evil that is hard enough to deal with like a war between nations, rather than something that is going to once again eradicate all life on Midkemia unless the Superheroes of the Planet (His Conclave of Shadows) rides forth once more.
Unless you are a dies hard fan of all things Midkemia, read a snyopsis. There is less than 100 pages of entertaining material here, the rest is just a rehash of his warm fuzzy friendships that a reread of Magician will be much better use of your time.
The last series the characters defeat the worst evil imaginable that threatens them in the worst horrific way, and then a new series starts linking the characters together again. This time the evil is worse than the previous evil and it will result in the same total eradication of all life.
That device is now done to death again. (SPOILER)
But this time he at least kills some primary characters. The problem I have here is the is main hero has become virtually immortal because Pug, the magician, remains in all the books. That takes us away from something that Feist is good at, developing new characters. But what he also needs to do is develop a new world.
Then he runs into the problem of having all characters together at once. Ever have a party in your living room? Does everyone stop talking and just listen to one speak? Usually it is small groups of conversation, but for Feist he does not really capture how to relate this, often bringing all the characters together and then we have the repetition of information since characters he has arrive at different times. Soon we have hear the characters tale so many times that we jump ahead since why waste the effort to read it again.
Then should other characters arrive just after that one has told his tale, well a case in point, Pug has some of the new good guys together when his old friends Tomas shows up. We already know why he is showing up, and Pug and others have eaten lunch, but we waste a few moments as Pug offers Tomas and his companion a meal. Did we need that? Does it add to the book or again slow us up.
Feist may be well sold in the field after all these years, assigned to an editor that just rubber stamps his work. But this is really getting sad.
When will the next generation take over? When will we have just a regular evil that is hard enough to deal with like a war between nations, rather than something that is going to once again eradicate all life on Midkemia unless the Superheroes of the Planet (His Conclave of Shadows) rides forth once more.
Unless you are a dies hard fan of all things Midkemia, read a snyopsis. There is less than 100 pages of entertaining material here, the rest is just a rehash of his warm fuzzy friendships that a reread of Magician will be much better use of your time.
May 11, 2019
If it feels like the end of a series ramping up for one gigantic blow-out bypassing some of the lesser dimensions of hell and driving a knife out of the fifth circle into our favorite realm... THEN IT IS.
Demons. A whole world of demons and dimensions rent of life. With nothing left but demons who suck the life force from everything... and then themselves... when they have nothing else to feed on.
Hello, new and powerful characters and parallel dimension elves who have been fighting a losing battle against demons for as long as they have history. :) Hello, references to the Chaos Wars. Hello, warlocks.
Need help? Come one, come all to the middle realm where the final battle of all realities is about to explode. :)
Poor Pug. I know he was prepared for this, but no one is really PREPARED for this, you know?
Demons. A whole world of demons and dimensions rent of life. With nothing left but demons who suck the life force from everything... and then themselves... when they have nothing else to feed on.
Hello, new and powerful characters and parallel dimension elves who have been fighting a losing battle against demons for as long as they have history. :) Hello, references to the Chaos Wars. Hello, warlocks.
Need help? Come one, come all to the middle realm where the final battle of all realities is about to explode. :)
Poor Pug. I know he was prepared for this, but no one is really PREPARED for this, you know?
March 4, 2020
Rides a Dread Legion is the first book in the Demonwar Saga duology, which is the second-to-last subseries in Raymond E. Feist’s very, very long Riftwar Cycle.
I had similar problems with this book as I did with the first book in the previous subseries. I struggled through the first half due to how much recapping took place. We have new characters who randomly pause to muse over known history or legends for the sake of reminding the reader about events in previous books, and then we have the even more blatant recaps from the old and familiar characters as they remind each other about things they all experienced, or recollect those things in their heads.
Since I usually read series books close together, I’m not the best person to judge how much recapping is too much, but this seemed like way too much to me. For readers randomly jumping in at this point, the story makes enough sense without knowing all the nitty-gritty details of the back story. For readers who have read those previous books, part of the fun of reading a series is catching and understanding all the connections between books for yourself without having them spoon fed to you. At least, that’s part of the fun for me. I do accept that tedious recaps are one of the downsides of the way I choose to read series books, but Feist seems to have taken it to an excessive level in some of his later series starter books.
The second half did really pick up and the book introduces some interesting new things. I had a lot of real-world distractions going on while reading this, so I think that partly explains why I had so much trouble powering through the recaps. Once the story picked up and there were fewer recaps, it held my interest far easier despite the same amount of distractions. I’m looking forward to the second book as I expect it to be less recap-filled and more focused on the story introduced in this book.
I have a couple comments with a pretty big spoiler for the end of this book:
I had similar problems with this book as I did with the first book in the previous subseries. I struggled through the first half due to how much recapping took place. We have new characters who randomly pause to muse over known history or legends for the sake of reminding the reader about events in previous books, and then we have the even more blatant recaps from the old and familiar characters as they remind each other about things they all experienced, or recollect those things in their heads.
Since I usually read series books close together, I’m not the best person to judge how much recapping is too much, but this seemed like way too much to me. For readers randomly jumping in at this point, the story makes enough sense without knowing all the nitty-gritty details of the back story. For readers who have read those previous books, part of the fun of reading a series is catching and understanding all the connections between books for yourself without having them spoon fed to you. At least, that’s part of the fun for me. I do accept that tedious recaps are one of the downsides of the way I choose to read series books, but Feist seems to have taken it to an excessive level in some of his later series starter books.
The second half did really pick up and the book introduces some interesting new things. I had a lot of real-world distractions going on while reading this, so I think that partly explains why I had so much trouble powering through the recaps. Once the story picked up and there were fewer recaps, it held my interest far easier despite the same amount of distractions. I’m looking forward to the second book as I expect it to be less recap-filled and more focused on the story introduced in this book.
I have a couple comments with a pretty big spoiler for the end of this book:
March 3, 2023
Zanimljiva knjiga sa puno novih likova koji su odlicno smisljeni i predstavljeni. Postoji dobar razlog zasto se ovaj ceo serijal naziva Riftwar Saga. Ti carobni portali nam ovoga puta na Midkemiju dovode cudne i opasne potencijalne saveznike za cijim petama gaze plamen i smrt. Ono od cega oni beze je opasnost sa kojom se Midkemija suocavala i ranija ali ovoga puta ti izolovani incidenti mogu postati horor nezamislivih razmera.
January 8, 2012
For anyone who has never read a Raymond E. Feist book before, let this be a warning - it's the latest in a long line of books - the 25th in fact. It isn't one long series - they are several series and a few standalone books but they all share a common thread and some common characters. If you're new to Feist, I suggest you start with 'Magician' one of the true gems of the fantasy genre.[return][return]I've been a Raymond E. Feist addict for more than 15 years - since I was 12 in fact. Early on I used to read other fantasy authors just as religiously - David Eddings and Robert Jordan amonst others, but soon grew out of all of them, all except Feist. The last couple of books have however been a disappointment so there was a lot riding on this book, particularly as it is the first book in a new series.[return][return]In this book, a lost warrior race of elves, millions strong, are fighting a losing battle against an endless demon hoard. To avoid extinction, they search for and find their lost homeworld - Midkemia, and escape to it. But it is not in their nature to accept other races as their equals - they only understand ruling over inferior beings with force.[return][return]The good news is that the author delivers. Lots of new and different characters, new revelations about the world of Midkemia, and more from some old favourite characters. OK so it's not as good as some of his early books, but it is good, and an excellent start to a new series.
April 30, 2025
Well this book had action and some new character that’s I think I will like! It also had the fan favorites which is never a bad thing. Overall I enjoyed it, I’m not loving the demon aspect as much, not really my thing, but I guess there has to be something for them to fight against. The ending of the book…….i was not happy with what happened. I feel like the event that took place was rushed and it was like “well this happened, move on” sort of thing. I really wish he didn’t do that! (If you read it you will know what I mean)
September 7, 2011
I've read Ray Feist from Magican right on through Rides A Dread Legion and I do not believe he has lost a beat. This book was a page turner just like all of its predecessors.[return][return]This is the next, possibly final, chapter in the ongoing drama that is Midkemia. High Elves who fled Midkemia during the Chaos Wars are now being forced to return Home, as they call it, by hordes of neverending demons. What do these High Elves mean? How will the peoples of Midkemia deal with them?[return][return]Something strange is happening on Midkemia. Demons are popping up in the most unexpected places. Who is summoning them? Has Pug and his family been fooled and out maneuvered? [return][return]The fate of a world, maybe an universe, is in the balance.[return][return]Feist is a master at world building and pacing. The plot moves perfectly and the world is as rich as it has always been. New character development is a bit shaky but, this is a first book and we'll be seeing these characters again.[return][return]A must read for Feist lovers. Highly recommended.
dnf
August 29, 2015I adore the first trilogy. I enjoyed the second. I liked the next ones, but somewhere along the road it just got all meh and here, I can even bother anymore
July 13, 2020
Business as usual in the author's fantasy world, with armies of demons doing their own thing and threatening to wreak havoc, causing a series of reactions and conflicts that lead us to another unknown branch of this great story. At the same time we meet some more interesting characters, with not always clear motives, who unite with our acquaintances to face evil. All this is done in a book full of action where everything is more or less clear and ends in an intense finale. This is not a book that innovates much compared to several of the previous ones in the series but it certainly contains an interesting story, at least for those who have come this far. The rest after the second part.
Συνηθισμένα πράγματα στον φανταστικό κόσμο του συγγραφέα, με στρατιές δαιμόνων να κάνουν τα δικά τους και να απειλούν να σπείρουν την καταστροφή, προκαλώντας αλυσιδωτές αντιδράσεις και συγκρούσεις που μας οδηγούν σε ένα ακόμα άγνωστο παρακλάδι αυτής της μεγάλης ιστορίας. Παράλληλα γνωρίζουμε μερικούς ακόμα ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, με όχι πάντοτε ξεκάθαρα κίνητρα, που ενώνονται με τους γν��στούς μας για να αντιμετωπίσουν το κακό. Όλα αυτά γίνονται σε ένα βιβλίο γεμάτο δράση όπου όλα είναι λίγο πολύ ξεκάθαρα και καταλήγει σε ένα έντονο φινάλε. Δεν πρόκειται για ένα βιβλίο που καινοτομεί ιδιαίτερα σε σχέση με αρκετά από τα προηγούμενα της σειράς αλλά σίγουρα περιέχει μία ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία, τουλάχιστον για όσους έχουν φτάσει μέχρι εδώ. Τα υπόλοιπα μετά το δεύτερο μέρος.
Συνηθισμένα πράγματα στον φανταστικό κόσμο του συγγραφέα, με στρατιές δαιμόνων να κάνουν τα δικά τους και να απειλούν να σπείρουν την καταστροφή, προκαλώντας αλυσιδωτές αντιδράσεις και συγκρούσεις που μας οδηγούν σε ένα ακόμα άγνωστο παρακλάδι αυτής της μεγάλης ιστορίας. Παράλληλα γνωρίζουμε μερικούς ακόμα ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, με όχι πάντοτε ξεκάθαρα κίνητρα, που ενώνονται με τους γν��στούς μας για να αντιμετωπίσουν το κακό. Όλα αυτά γίνονται σε ένα βιβλίο γεμάτο δράση όπου όλα είναι λίγο πολύ ξεκάθαρα και καταλήγει σε ένα έντονο φινάλε. Δεν πρόκειται για ένα βιβλίο που καινοτομεί ιδιαίτερα σε σχέση με αρκετά από τα προηγούμενα της σειράς αλλά σίγουρα περιέχει μία ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία, τουλάχιστον για όσους έχουν φτάσει μέχρι εδώ. Τα υπόλοιπα μετά το δεύτερο μέρος.
April 18, 2012
As far as fantasy books go this one is a little disappointing. It started out well enough but just didn't grab my attention and drag me into the story. I however held out to the end and still was disappointed. The basic plot line is that the world/worlds (as the characters know them)are being plauged by savage demons. It has a rather large cast of characters who all have to be introduced and a little bit of their backstories told in order to build the plot line of the series. I was a little thrown off by the sic-fi twist of different planets from which certain races were and are able to travel to, however it wasn't over the top unbelievable and seemed reasonable within the plot line.
Despite my indifference for this book I will continue on with the series as this is only the first instalment and the author could have easily strung the story out to produce a thousand page monster. Hopefully the series will get better now that the character introductions and basic plot line has been established and the author can get to the meat and potatoes of the story.
Despite my indifference for this book I will continue on with the series as this is only the first instalment and the author could have easily strung the story out to produce a thousand page monster. Hopefully the series will get better now that the character introductions and basic plot line has been established and the author can get to the meat and potatoes of the story.
January 14, 2015
This story is like beating a dead cat. The series should have long since ended, but the author keeps writing it. It's like a zombie series, that does not know when to die.
Compound that with the fact that the author spends half the book explaining everything that happened in the earlier book, and one tends to lose interest. The idea of the story is decent.
I wish the early books in this series where available in audiobook format, as they are where actually pretty decent.
Compound that with the fact that the author spends half the book explaining everything that happened in the earlier book, and one tends to lose interest. The idea of the story is decent.
I wish the early books in this series where available in audiobook format, as they are where actually pretty decent.
March 24, 2024
It's been years since I have been in the world of Feist's Riftwar series. But it's just like coming coming home. A lot of the beloved characters are still there and it's just fun to read.
A group of elves calling themselves the Clan of the Seven Stars returns to Mikdemia with a demon army at their heels. It will be up to Pug and Tomas to protect their world and families.
A group of elves calling themselves the Clan of the Seven Stars returns to Mikdemia with a demon army at their heels. It will be up to Pug and Tomas to protect their world and families.
December 16, 2013
This is a review that hurts me more than a little to write.
See, I've been reading Raymond E. Feist novels since I was a kid--literally since I was in my early teens. I've always been a fan and own all the books (some I have multiple copies of).
But with this addition to the series, I started reading it with more than a little cringing from the moment I read the cover copy.
I don't usually write reviews with spoilers or comments about specific content, but I will be here, so if you don't want to read them, I would stop.
--
To begin, we are introduced to YET ANOTHER mysteriously long lost group of elves...as if this has not already been done not once, not twice, not even three times before. If my count is correct, this is actually the FOURTH time Feist has used this plot item. So say that I am unhappy and unimpressed with this is to make one of the most underwhelming statements of my life.
There are also errors and incorrectly stated past events. When we meet the disguised Taredhel in the first chapters, it clearly states that they are on Novindus, but then it says he is looking at the Grey Towers, which are on a completely different continent! And this is only the first and glaring error--anyone reading all the previous books recently will have no problem picking out others I am sure, but I am not going to belabor them here. Errors like this come down to poor fact checking--all of the issued like this could easily have been found and fixed.
The opening scene of combat with a summoned demon was, at least in my opinion, cliché and poorly done. It seemed WAY to D&D to me (and I actually love D&D, so that is saying something) and lacked anything special--a feature reflected in nearly all the combat related scenes in this novel, I am sad to say.
There are also huge inconsistencies with the demons and magic. Now, at the end, we find out that the demon king is dead--having starved to death. But didn't we just find out in this same book that demons are harder to kill then it was thought to be--that "killing" them in any other plan but their own only resulted in banishing them back to their home plane? So how can the demon king be dead from starving? It makes no sense.
And there is also the fight were Miranda is killed. Pug is strong enough to create a rift--nearly on the fly--in the last book that shears off a portion of Kelewan's moon--and use it to kill an entire planet...and he doesn't have wards on his home to stop other magicians and a while bunch of demons from showing up without an invitation? The fact that Miranda didn't attack the group of demon-summoning cultists sooner--say at ANY TIME before the four days had expired and BEFORE the cultists were supposed to summon a demon...well the whole situation seems contrived to say the least.
At this point, I will only be completing my read of this series because I own the books and want to follow it to the series completion.
See, I've been reading Raymond E. Feist novels since I was a kid--literally since I was in my early teens. I've always been a fan and own all the books (some I have multiple copies of).
But with this addition to the series, I started reading it with more than a little cringing from the moment I read the cover copy.
I don't usually write reviews with spoilers or comments about specific content, but I will be here, so if you don't want to read them, I would stop.
--
To begin, we are introduced to YET ANOTHER mysteriously long lost group of elves...as if this has not already been done not once, not twice, not even three times before. If my count is correct, this is actually the FOURTH time Feist has used this plot item. So say that I am unhappy and unimpressed with this is to make one of the most underwhelming statements of my life.
There are also errors and incorrectly stated past events. When we meet the disguised Taredhel in the first chapters, it clearly states that they are on Novindus, but then it says he is looking at the Grey Towers, which are on a completely different continent! And this is only the first and glaring error--anyone reading all the previous books recently will have no problem picking out others I am sure, but I am not going to belabor them here. Errors like this come down to poor fact checking--all of the issued like this could easily have been found and fixed.
The opening scene of combat with a summoned demon was, at least in my opinion, cliché and poorly done. It seemed WAY to D&D to me (and I actually love D&D, so that is saying something) and lacked anything special--a feature reflected in nearly all the combat related scenes in this novel, I am sad to say.
There are also huge inconsistencies with the demons and magic. Now, at the end, we find out that the demon king is dead--having starved to death. But didn't we just find out in this same book that demons are harder to kill then it was thought to be--that "killing" them in any other plan but their own only resulted in banishing them back to their home plane? So how can the demon king be dead from starving? It makes no sense.
And there is also the fight were Miranda is killed. Pug is strong enough to create a rift--nearly on the fly--in the last book that shears off a portion of Kelewan's moon--and use it to kill an entire planet...and he doesn't have wards on his home to stop other magicians and a while bunch of demons from showing up without an invitation? The fact that Miranda didn't attack the group of demon-summoning cultists sooner--say at ANY TIME before the four days had expired and BEFORE the cultists were supposed to summon a demon...well the whole situation seems contrived to say the least.
At this point, I will only be completing my read of this series because I own the books and want to follow it to the series completion.
April 7, 2017
I got this in a buy one get one free offer Audible ages ago. I have been going through my backlog of audiobooks, and this one came up. I have never read any of Feist's books before, and didn't know where this fitted in.
I now know that this is book one of two, in a long running series of books - and this is somewhere near the end.
The book was OK, i enjoyed some of the characters and i followed the story. I didn't feel like i needed the other books to enjoy this one (yes, it sounds like some of the characters had met before, but that was handled in this book).
The book felt very formula - painting by numbers. There was nothing memorable for me, and some of the writing was a little annoying.
Also - Demons. I have never been a fan on Demons, and this just enforces that a bit more.
Not sure if i will read the next book. I will probably still read the first book of the saga, as i have heard a lot of good stuff about it.
I now know that this is book one of two, in a long running series of books - and this is somewhere near the end.
The book was OK, i enjoyed some of the characters and i followed the story. I didn't feel like i needed the other books to enjoy this one (yes, it sounds like some of the characters had met before, but that was handled in this book).
The book felt very formula - painting by numbers. There was nothing memorable for me, and some of the writing was a little annoying.
Also - Demons. I have never been a fan on Demons, and this just enforces that a bit more.
Not sure if i will read the next book. I will probably still read the first book of the saga, as i have heard a lot of good stuff about it.
May 1, 2019
Het 25e(!!) deel uit een serie, en het eerste deel van deze sub-reeks. Een beetje volgens het stramien uit andere delen, met een invasie/scheuringen/demonen. Hoewel de achtergrond redelijk word weergegeven en je het verhaal goed kan volgen zonder de vorige delen gelezen te hebben, adviseer ik toch om deze toch eerst te lezen. Boek heeft een langzame start, daar Feist tot ongeveer halverwege nog bezig is met het voorstellen van de nieuwe personages. Einde voelde wat gejaagd aan.
Een ras van krijger-elven vecht voor een verloren zaak tegen horden demonen. Om uitsterven te voorkomen zoeken zij naar hun verloren thuiswereld. Het licht echter niet in hun aard om andere rassen als hun gelijken te beschouwen, zij kennen alleen maar de drang om die (met geweld) te overheersen.
Tegelijkertijd worden er steeds meer demonen waargenomen in Midkemia en een van de tempels zend er een Ridder-Amant op uit om dit te onderzoeken. Het idee van weer een invasie door demonen is nu wel een beetje te veel aan het worden. Misschien dat Feist in de laatste 4 boeken met iets anders komt, maar dat betwijfel ik
De toekomst van de wereld, en misschien zelfs wel van het heelal staat op het spel.
Wat ik niet snap is waarom Miranda vier nachten wachtte op wat er ging gebeuren in het kamp van de 'zwarte hoeden', en niet eerder daar terug kwam om opruiming te houden. Ook begrijp ik niet waarom Puc, die in 'De toorn van een waanzinnige god een scheuring/poort kon maken om een deel van de maan van Kelewan die planeet te laten verwoesten, maar hij kon geen bescherming voor zijn huis maken?!
Tijd voor het volgende boek Voor de poorten van het duister
Een ras van krijger-elven vecht voor een verloren zaak tegen horden demonen. Om uitsterven te voorkomen zoeken zij naar hun verloren thuiswereld. Het licht echter niet in hun aard om andere rassen als hun gelijken te beschouwen, zij kennen alleen maar de drang om die (met geweld) te overheersen.
Tegelijkertijd worden er steeds meer demonen waargenomen in Midkemia en een van de tempels zend er een Ridder-Amant op uit om dit te onderzoeken. Het idee van weer een invasie door demonen is nu wel een beetje te veel aan het worden. Misschien dat Feist in de laatste 4 boeken met iets anders komt, maar dat betwijfel ik
De toekomst van de wereld, en misschien zelfs wel van het heelal staat op het spel.
Wat ik niet snap is waarom Miranda vier nachten wachtte op wat er ging gebeuren in het kamp van de 'zwarte hoeden', en niet eerder daar terug kwam om opruiming te houden. Ook begrijp ik niet waarom Puc, die in 'De toorn van een waanzinnige god een scheuring/poort kon maken om een deel van de maan van Kelewan die planeet te laten verwoesten, maar hij kon geen bescherming voor zijn huis maken?!
Tijd voor het volgende boek Voor de poorten van het duister
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2023
Unfortunately, the worst book of the series so far, and I'm 27 books in.
How do you follow up Wrath of a Mad God, one of the most consequential books in a (at the time) 26 book series? Allow ten years to pass between novels, focus on new, uninteresting characters for 1/2 of the book before bringing the established protagonists into the story, and make almost the entire book setup for the next novel.
I'm really surprised this wasn't a one-star review for me, but enough interesting things happened near the end that I didn't end up strongly disliking it, just being pretty disappointed in it.
Honestly, however this series ends up (I have 4 books to go), I will be happy with my time with it, but this is two books in a row that have been quite a disappointment.
How do you follow up Wrath of a Mad God, one of the most consequential books in a (at the time) 26 book series? Allow ten years to pass between novels, focus on new, uninteresting characters for 1/2 of the book before bringing the established protagonists into the story, and make almost the entire book setup for the next novel.
I'm really surprised this wasn't a one-star review for me, but enough interesting things happened near the end that I didn't end up strongly disliking it, just being pretty disappointed in it.
Honestly, however this series ends up (I have 4 books to go), I will be happy with my time with it, but this is two books in a row that have been quite a disappointment.
October 14, 2020
This book is definitely an improvement on the last one in the series. The story moves much more quickly and keeps you reading without having too much time to second guess the thinking behind the writing. There are a few new characters introduced who have some intriguing backgrounds and hook you into wanting to learn more about them.
My only criticism of this book however is in a similar thread to others in the series in that characters seem to get killed off for no reason other than to get new ones in. The deaths of some long standing (if relatively inconsequential) characters seems to add nothing to the story and makes it feel a bit like a TV soap opera.
Definitely better than the last one but not up to the standard of the earlier books in this series.
My only criticism of this book however is in a similar thread to others in the series in that characters seem to get killed off for no reason other than to get new ones in. The deaths of some long standing (if relatively inconsequential) characters seems to add nothing to the story and makes it feel a bit like a TV soap opera.
Definitely better than the last one but not up to the standard of the earlier books in this series.
February 24, 2020
More brilliant development of the Midkemia universe. Another major character bites the dust and the future looks grim....
December 27, 2020
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
That was super abrupt and I feel devastated
That was super abrupt and I feel devastated
August 31, 2020
Another gripping tale involving pug and friends
January 9, 2015
This is going to be a short review, and it's not going to be kind either, unfortunately. This book, in reading it again, infuriated me. I am now seeing why I remember losing my way with the latter Feist books, despite adoring the early work as much as I do. Because he meanders and waffles on such a grand scale in this book that it's difficult to keep up with what's going on. You know why? Because nothing is going on!
Feist, unfortunately, in his later works became exposed for his massively formulaic and 'repeat ad nauseam' approach to character and prose construction. The threat in this book? You guessed it, ruthless, completely evil, mad as a box of frogs, demon army threatening to enter Midkemia through...YOU GUESSED IT AGAIN...a rift! But wait, we have a surprise in store! You guessed it YET AGAIN: new elves! MORE NEW ELVES! But they're different because they're tall and arrogant.
Right, stop it now. The edition of this work that I read was riddled with mistakes, like "As much as he had hopped." instead 'Hoped'. Christ on a bike, who proofreads this stuff? Seriously, almost every page has a grammatical error or a spelling error. That inaccuracy aside, NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK! I grew hugely frustrated by the constant repetition of why these new elves were so arrogant and why they were 'coming home' and the importance of the trees they had taken with them and all that crap. You know what? Mention it once, I'll just fecking remember.
Now the characters. I've criticised Feist (a writer I admire, remember!) before for sticking with certain archetypes in his character creation, and he does try to move away from that here in RaDL - but unfortunately chars like Sandreena the beautiful warrior knight of Dala and Amirantha the demon-summoning dickhead leave a lot to be desired. They have history, you can see that - and that's a good thing - but who they are now leaves a lot to be desired. They feel paper-thin and anemic, but that's because they do very little in the book! Other than talk endlessly in order to labour the same points over and over. It's boring, unfortunately. The Taredhel brother Gula and Laro have potential, but again suffer from having little to do other than walking around the world pissing people off - me included.
That brings me to Belasco. Oh, Belasco. I had an issue with the previous protagonist Sidi, because he seemed to come from nowhere, we were provided little explanation as to his motives other than that he was mad. And evil. We have never been afforded an opportunity to experience ambivalence with such foes in Feist's work, perhaps aside from Kaspar - who in the end got to blame the majority of his 'evilness' on Leso Varen/Sidi anyway. The 'End of Level Baddies' in Feist's work rarely offer any level of complexity, and I get why. It's a tough thing to do. Some authors have even lost control of evil characters they've penned to be attractive - Thomas Harris, I'm looking at you pointedly here. And now, in RaDL, we suddenly get an explanation of where Sidi came from, and it's to justify the creation of Sidi v2.0: Belasco. His sodding brother. Seriously, how devoid of inspiration must you be to do that? "If you thought Sidi was bad, Belasco is worse!" to paraphrase Amirantha - yet another sodding brother. Oh come on! Really? [punches self in face]
This book is another novel that is - in my opinion - incomplete. It MUST be read with the following title At The Gates of Darkness in order to get anything out of it of worth - because RaDL serves only to set up the coming book. To pad the hell out of it and sell it at full cost as a solitary book? Out of order. I want to blame the publisher for this again, but I'm struggling to justify that.
Now then, I am certainly risking throwing stones around a glass house here, because my own published work begins with a trilogy, and not every book in that trilogy ties up every single loose end. I think that's the point of a series like that, no? But it's important to give the reader at least a sense of completion in certain respects in each work - and that means you have to have conflict, development, challenges, dramatic conclusion...all the usual good stuff. RaDL irks me so much, because it has none of this. I was rattling towards the end, feeling the remaining pages dwindle in my right hand, and the characters were still bloody waffling about bullshit!
I miss Nakor.
And as a minor afterthought, having already picked up the next novel - At The Gates of Darkness - the very first time we revisit Sandreena she is standing with her SWORD close at hand. Despite the fact that Feist had wasted vast paragraphs of RaDL banging on about how they don't use Edged weapons in the Temple of Dala. Mace mace mace mace mace. Suddenly she's got a sword, with no word of explanation.
Feist, unfortunately, in his later works became exposed for his massively formulaic and 'repeat ad nauseam' approach to character and prose construction. The threat in this book? You guessed it, ruthless, completely evil, mad as a box of frogs, demon army threatening to enter Midkemia through...YOU GUESSED IT AGAIN...a rift! But wait, we have a surprise in store! You guessed it YET AGAIN: new elves! MORE NEW ELVES! But they're different because they're tall and arrogant.
Right, stop it now. The edition of this work that I read was riddled with mistakes, like "As much as he had hopped." instead 'Hoped'. Christ on a bike, who proofreads this stuff? Seriously, almost every page has a grammatical error or a spelling error. That inaccuracy aside, NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK! I grew hugely frustrated by the constant repetition of why these new elves were so arrogant and why they were 'coming home' and the importance of the trees they had taken with them and all that crap. You know what? Mention it once, I'll just fecking remember.
Now the characters. I've criticised Feist (a writer I admire, remember!) before for sticking with certain archetypes in his character creation, and he does try to move away from that here in RaDL - but unfortunately chars like Sandreena the beautiful warrior knight of Dala and Amirantha the demon-summoning dickhead leave a lot to be desired. They have history, you can see that - and that's a good thing - but who they are now leaves a lot to be desired. They feel paper-thin and anemic, but that's because they do very little in the book! Other than talk endlessly in order to labour the same points over and over. It's boring, unfortunately. The Taredhel brother Gula and Laro have potential, but again suffer from having little to do other than walking around the world pissing people off - me included.
That brings me to Belasco. Oh, Belasco. I had an issue with the previous protagonist Sidi, because he seemed to come from nowhere, we were provided little explanation as to his motives other than that he was mad. And evil. We have never been afforded an opportunity to experience ambivalence with such foes in Feist's work, perhaps aside from Kaspar - who in the end got to blame the majority of his 'evilness' on Leso Varen/Sidi anyway. The 'End of Level Baddies' in Feist's work rarely offer any level of complexity, and I get why. It's a tough thing to do. Some authors have even lost control of evil characters they've penned to be attractive - Thomas Harris, I'm looking at you pointedly here. And now, in RaDL, we suddenly get an explanation of where Sidi came from, and it's to justify the creation of Sidi v2.0: Belasco. His sodding brother. Seriously, how devoid of inspiration must you be to do that? "If you thought Sidi was bad, Belasco is worse!" to paraphrase Amirantha - yet another sodding brother. Oh come on! Really? [punches self in face]
This book is another novel that is - in my opinion - incomplete. It MUST be read with the following title At The Gates of Darkness in order to get anything out of it of worth - because RaDL serves only to set up the coming book. To pad the hell out of it and sell it at full cost as a solitary book? Out of order. I want to blame the publisher for this again, but I'm struggling to justify that.
Now then, I am certainly risking throwing stones around a glass house here, because my own published work begins with a trilogy, and not every book in that trilogy ties up every single loose end. I think that's the point of a series like that, no? But it's important to give the reader at least a sense of completion in certain respects in each work - and that means you have to have conflict, development, challenges, dramatic conclusion...all the usual good stuff. RaDL irks me so much, because it has none of this. I was rattling towards the end, feeling the remaining pages dwindle in my right hand, and the characters were still bloody waffling about bullshit!
I miss Nakor.
And as a minor afterthought, having already picked up the next novel - At The Gates of Darkness - the very first time we revisit Sandreena she is standing with her SWORD close at hand. Despite the fact that Feist had wasted vast paragraphs of RaDL banging on about how they don't use Edged weapons in the Temple of Dala. Mace mace mace mace mace. Suddenly she's got a sword, with no word of explanation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2024
taredhel are such a sick concept
January 25, 2011
I'm not quite sure how to review this... I gave it three stars, but that's only because I'm extremely generous. It wasn't bad. It wasn't poorly written... It was just old. Talk about beating a dead horse! The world is in peril again? Oh my god! Demons are invading? Who would have guessed! Because that's a totally new scenario, nothing like that has ever happened before... But seriously. I love Mr. Feist, love him I tell you. He was one of my first fantasy authors, and he holds a very fond place in my heart. But you know what I would really enjoy? I would LOVE it if he moved on.. Created a new world, and new story. Midkemia is done, has been done for a long time. It's time to let it go.
All of that aside, it wasn't bad really. There was quite a lot of setup, and it moved pretty damn slow for the first 2/3 of the story. The ending picked up, but I wouldn't say I was on the edge of my seat. I'll read the next in the series, but I'm not dying to find out what happens. I'll just read it because I'm OCD like that and don't want to leave the series unfinished.
The good? It was well written. Several new characters were introduced, and they were well developed. Old characters were the same as ever, but it was still nice to see them again. And even though there was a lot I didn't remember from the other 86 trillion books set in Midkemia prior to this, I didn't really feel lost. I didn't feel completely sure of events they were referencing sometimes, but it could have been worse.
Overall... Two and a half (barely!) stars.
All of that aside, it wasn't bad really. There was quite a lot of setup, and it moved pretty damn slow for the first 2/3 of the story. The ending picked up, but I wouldn't say I was on the edge of my seat. I'll read the next in the series, but I'm not dying to find out what happens. I'll just read it because I'm OCD like that and don't want to leave the series unfinished.
The good? It was well written. Several new characters were introduced, and they were well developed. Old characters were the same as ever, but it was still nice to see them again. And even though there was a lot I didn't remember from the other 86 trillion books set in Midkemia prior to this, I didn't really feel lost. I didn't feel completely sure of events they were referencing sometimes, but it could have been worse.
Overall... Two and a half (barely!) stars.
May 22, 2010
Great story! Though I haven't read Feist's previous works, I most certainly will in the future. This story may be a continuation of an ongoing saga within the world of Midkemia, but Feist adds enough detail that the previously uninitiated do not have any trouble keeping up with the storyline. A new threat looms over Midkemia. The Taredhel, or the lost race of elves, return to Midkemia after having fought and sustained many losses in a battle with a horde of demons. Proud and arrogant, they simply assumed they could come to Midkemia and conquer to establish their new home. However, when a demon master named Gulamendis is sent to scout out the land and meet the locals he discovers Tomas and the truth behind much of the Taredhel's lore. A truth that shatters the Taredhel's over-confidence. But Tomas' welcome tempers the elves and they forge an alliance. At the same time, the Warlock Amirantha and his companion, Brandos, discover that something dangerous is controlling the demons and, worse, interfering with magic used to control the demon population. Through a series of events, they meet Pug, one of the greatest magicians ever known in Midkemia, as well as Tomas and Gulamendis and the group works to discover the extent of the treachery and exactly who might be behind the danger. Interesting, compelling and a great quick read.
March 30, 2021
After a pretty strong finish to the last series, this one comes across as something of a let down. I really liked the new characters introduced with this one, which is what gets it the three stars. The story itself though once again feels like a lot of rehashing of old villains/evils previously though defeated. Either they are back again, or something/someone so similar to a previously defeated villain shows up that they might as well be the old guy back again.
The book is also surprisingly short. Audio wise, both this and the 2nd volume that I've started clock in at about 11 hours. Considering this "war" is only two books instead of the usual 2 - 3, I feel like this "war" probably could have been condensed into one larger book with some decent editing.
And, honestly, after the continuous build of the last several series with ever greater and more powerful forces threatening Midkemia and Kellewan, the whole premise of this threat feels like a step backwards. Also, after the way the previous series ended with destruction on a massive scale, I was rather disappointed that this story, set just 10 years later, makes no comment or follow up on the fallout from those events.
Still on track to finally complete Pug's story, but I don't see myself revisiting these later books again.
The book is also surprisingly short. Audio wise, both this and the 2nd volume that I've started clock in at about 11 hours. Considering this "war" is only two books instead of the usual 2 - 3, I feel like this "war" probably could have been condensed into one larger book with some decent editing.
And, honestly, after the continuous build of the last several series with ever greater and more powerful forces threatening Midkemia and Kellewan, the whole premise of this threat feels like a step backwards. Also, after the way the previous series ended with destruction on a massive scale, I was rather disappointed that this story, set just 10 years later, makes no comment or follow up on the fallout from those events.
Still on track to finally complete Pug's story, but I don't see myself revisiting these later books again.
June 13, 2018
Probably more a 3.5. The first part of the book was a bit slow - some new characters introduced, but I struggle to engage with them as much as with previous characters from other books, seem to be trying to fill the gaps created from absence of other characters, but not as well. Book picks up later on as we see more of the broader dangers going on, some of the coincidences do seem to stretch plausibility a bit though. While again yet more danger coming, I think previous books have always suggested that more was coming, and that we've yet to reach final resolution, if we ever do. Ending was quite a powerful one, and will be interesting to see the impacts on characters going forward.
February 5, 2020
It’s probably my own fault having read EVERY Feist book back-to-back, but at this point it is so obvious he is tired and run out of new material. Even the demons and magic is getting stale - there’s always something more terrible that has to be beaten - like some kind of Russian doll of evil beings!
Given this 3 out of 5 as there were some interesting bits with the new race of elves - though after Tomas arrived and entered their new city, it’s like Feist forgot to go back to them! Can’t say I’m sad to see the end of Miranda - she was very annoying. The equivalent of a magical Jar-Jar Binks...
Given this 3 out of 5 as there were some interesting bits with the new race of elves - though after Tomas arrived and entered their new city, it’s like Feist forgot to go back to them! Can’t say I’m sad to see the end of Miranda - she was very annoying. The equivalent of a magical Jar-Jar Binks...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2019
A fast and enjoyable read. A typical Feist adventure populated by a mix of old favourite and not so favourite characters and introducing some interesting new characters.
I have to say the demon invasion plot is wearing a bit thin. As is the cliched enmity between dwarves and elves. (For a change, I'd love to see them getting along well, maybe even having a dwarf fall in love with an elf. Not likely to happen, sadly).
This book has all the elements I've come to expect from this author and the story is compelling enough, even if it does seem to go over old ground in places.
I have to say the demon invasion plot is wearing a bit thin. As is the cliched enmity between dwarves and elves. (For a change, I'd love to see them getting along well, maybe even having a dwarf fall in love with an elf. Not likely to happen, sadly).
This book has all the elements I've come to expect from this author and the story is compelling enough, even if it does seem to go over old ground in places.
June 6, 2013
Not as action packed as some of the previous in the Pug universe and he seems to have the characters tell the same story over and over again (Yes Amirantha, your mother was a witch, your brothers are insane, one of them is trying to kill you, and you know lots on demons) I found myself skim reading some parts. However the plot is very interesting and it defiantly feels like Feist is setting up for the final chapter of and epic adventure.
January 21, 2023
A comforting story
I haven't read all the Feist novels,but enough to know that whenever I pick up his books, I know its going to be rich, well written and interesting. How can an author keep turning out such brilliant work while pretty much in the same world? Don't know, but I'm much happier for it.
I haven't read all the Feist novels,but enough to know that whenever I pick up his books, I know its going to be rich, well written and interesting. How can an author keep turning out such brilliant work while pretty much in the same world? Don't know, but I'm much happier for it.
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