From across the sea they come... (Rage of a Demon King - Raymond E. Feist)

Member Name: cjkace

Product:	Rage of a Demon King - Raymond E. Feist
Date:	18/05/01 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The true finale to the Serpentwar Saga

Disadvantages: There's nothing else to write about Midkemia without upsetting the fans

The third book of Feist's Serpentwar Saga, continues directly on from Rise of a Merchant Prince, with the Kingdom of the Isles preparing for the invasion of the Emerald Queen's Army. By this time Rupert Avery has become the richest man in the Kingdom, assisted by James, the Duke of Krondor, so that he can use the money to prop up the Kingdom during this war.

The head of the army is Owen Greylock, and Erik von Darkmoor has become the second in command, outranking many of the nobles (which pisses them off to the extreme) as the invasion force makes it's way across the sea. During a scouting operation, Pug discovers the true nature of the Emerald Queen, and is injured during the confrontation, his life saved by the Spellweavers of Elvander.

The invading army reaches Krondor and battle is joined once more, with the valiant defenders fighting against overwhelming odds again. Of course we know from the very beginning that the defenders will prevail but this doesn't spoil the telling of the story one bit.

The story tends to leap off on different tangents, every couple of pages, which can make for a bit of a boringly difficult read, the first time around, much like Rise of a Merchant Prince. A few loose threads ae tied up, most especially the identity of Nakor, the fabled 'Blue Rider', and how he can possess so much knowledge.

Much of the latter stages of the novel concern the universe and the gods. It deals quite succintly with who and what gods are, and how they can cease to exist due to man no longer believing in them, but can be brought back through the works of priests. The subject of the valheru is also delved into a little more, and we find out why the Chaos Wars came about, and the true purpose of the Lifestone.

The war between the invaders and the defenders is very well described, with some of the defenders tactics being truly ingenious, but unfortunately some old friends from past novels ar
e laid to rest, sacrificed in the ongoing war of good over evil, which can be a little saddening.

This book is a worthy edition to Feist's novels of Midekemia, and to my mind is the true finale to the Serpentwar Saga, it's follow-up Shards of a Broken Crown being so poor that I won't be writing an opinion about it.

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