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This is the last book in Feist's the Darkwar trilogy, now for a bit of the story.In this novel we see the evil and blood thirsty Dastai gain a foothold in the world of Kelewan, the Tsurani warriors do there all to fight agianst the death magic of the Dastai mages and the brutality of there warriors, on there side though they have some of the great military leaders of Midkemia, Eric Von Darkmoor, the former Duke Kasper and from the far land of of Novindus the general Alenburga to fight and lead the warriors, but will that be enough. On the Dastai home world we see Pug and his followers battle the evil Dread Lord and his minions with the aid of the white, a political and military group of Dastai who strive for the good of their people, but will they all make it out of the battle alive.This is a good book, it's no where near as good as his previous work but it is still worth reading, the one point the irked me was in the book we see Feist tell that Eric Von Darkmoor served all his like with the Kingdom and was never married or had children, when any fan of Erik's knows his was married to Kitty in the Serpent war saga, this mistake is unforgivable when you consider Erik is one of the main characters in Fiest's work, hence the reason for three stars and not four.
I have read everything this guy has written. and i gotta say this book is another great one.
The major plot centers on the Invasion of Kelewan and how Pug has to carry the torch that started with Marcos and playing the Game of Gods. Great Read. The last book in the cycle that provide some closure to many sub-plots across many of the previous books. Some goodbye to some friends and some interesting discoveries about some of the characters. If you are true fan of Fantasy a great read and you won't be disappointed.
How about something new and different. It is an evil that will make little sense and need many pages to explain, so that you would rather sleep instead of care. So where does that leave Feist. This evil that our heroes fight, not on their own world, and then as the series was further developed we find that the enemy are not as bad as we thought. At one time Ray Feist had turned the tables on fantasy and made it refreshing, something we wanted to read with great anticipation. It is time for Feist to move on. And only our heroes from Midkemia are capable of stopping it, and being targeted by it. The evil is big, bigger than the world, it is several worlds in scope.
If you are invested in Midkemia, then it is passable. He is so tied to these characters that it appears that he can not find something new to write about so we return to Midkemia and Kelewan again and again. We had coming of age stories and quests, and wars of good and evil, but Magician, so long ago, was a change, and it had depth. When the author returns to the tales of the characters we are fond of, as they handle the aspects of this evil that they can understand, then we are engaged again.So do you want to read it. In Feist's case something new is something he is rehashing over and over.Evil is bigger than the world that he has his characters, some of whom his affection for is shown throughout the work. And that something new is now old. If you are determined to find a strong fantasy, this would not be the place to start. These characters need to retire.
Unfortunately, Feist doesn't mix well his own philosophies and those of the world. I started reading Feist with his first books and have read his works ever since. He told a good story then - great characters, deep inner story lines, honest human thoughts and issues, terrific foes and battles, interesting worlds - and tells an even better one now. Some he lacks research on, and others his own belief isn't deep enough to properly affect the story. Still, his writing is always there for the reader to 'get away from it all' and into a place where humans are more open and real than many of those around us.
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