Rage of a Demon King (The Riftwar Cycle: The Serpentwar Saga Book 3, Book 11): v. 3

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urn:lcp:rageofdemonking0000feis_y0e0:epub:9436ea77-9b92-49d5-80c3-bd4f8fba5dba Foldoutcount 0 Identifier rageofdemonking0000feis_y0e0 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t9k46kp3n Invoice 1652 Isbn 9780008120856 Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-05-05 00:23:22 Boxid IA40098819 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier This is the book where Duke James, previously known as Jimmy the Hand, is killed. His death wasn’t as heroic as I had remembered it. He did die while doing heroic things, but it seemed like he could have escaped in time if his guilt hadn’t made him reluctant to escape when others would die as a result of his actions. Also, I had forgotten his wife was killed with him because she wouldn’t leave him while he was being reluctant to escape. I didn’t think the way it all played out was necessarily wrong for the characters, just that it wasn’t quite how I remembered it and I have somewhat mixed feelings. This one was a little uneven for me. The story focuses on a variety of characters instead of focusing primarily on one. I enjoyed the ensemble feel and I was interested in all the characters, but some sections were more interesting to read than others. It wasn’t always the same characters I was the most interested in; sometimes I was bored and interested by different sections about the same sets of characters. I did really like how some major plot threads were resolved or at least significantly advanced, not just from this subseries but from the larger story. I liked the demons, the descriptions of their society and political wrangling. I would have liked more.

The Emerald Queen's army is almost upon Midkemia and the army is staging. Erik Von Darkmoor is sergeant-major of the King's armies and Rupert is almost single-handedly financing the war. The Emerald Queen and her army are making for the Lifestone, a magical source of power capable of destroying worlds. Vast preparations are being made in Krondor, the anticipated point of invasion by the Emerald Queen's army, and all of Midkemia's allies - as well as some enemies - are being called upon to help.A foul and terrible thing has escaped a devoured world to feed on one consumed by chaos; an insatiable nightmare creature which seeks to own and corrupt the source of life itself.

The below spoiler is possibly a spoiler for the entire larger series, but it’s only speculation based on content in this book and the title of the final book. I was going to leave my review at that, but decided that was probably poor form. I cried a lot when reading this book and I'm still not entirely over it. The third instalment in the Serpentwar Saga is something of an amalgam of the previous two books. Rage of a Demon King's chief focus is on the war effort between the Kingdom and the vast, invading army of the Emerald Queen. Feist handles the drawn-out conflict effectively, with soldier wunderkind Erik von Darkmoor appearing a more rounded protagonist than he was in Shadow of a Dark Queen. His merchant friend Roo Avery, whose wiley opportunism made for a superb, imaginative and different kind of read in Rise of a Merchant Prince, is relegated to more of a bit-part role, which is a shame. Riftwar alumni Pug and Tomas have doubtless faced more inventive perils than those on show here, but their sections remain compelling, even if at times the debates as to the forces at play on Midkemia and the universe in general hint at greater conclusions than they reach.Look, there's lots to enjoy in fits and starts through Rage, but it's far from Feist's best work. In returning to his complete works, I worry that I am coming to realise that his earlier books just weren't as good as I remember. The middle two books here could have been combined to one, a lot of the needless guff edited out, and a very strong book may just have been the result. Instead what we get is the literary equivalent of trying to arrange four food items on a dinner plate: there's nothing wrong with the sum of the parts, but it's just never going to be right. (Seriously, try it. You can't make even numbered food items look good on a plate!) Yeah, that’s pretty much all I have. A general summary and some silly comments about errors. Well, I do have a couple spoilery comments too. When the final conflict is joined, reptile will stand against man and magician against demon; and those who battle for good must be victorious… or all is doomed.