Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1) (original 1994; edition 1995)

I didn't enjoy this as much as the original trilogy -- I guess the characters didn't interest me as much. It's interesting, though, for the further glimpses we get of this world. ( )

I read this book before LCA 2012, but never had a chance to mention it here. It was the first return to Midkemia for me since I read the Krondor's Sons books. This book is set a lot later, and there is very little reuse of characters between The Riftwar Saga or even Krondor's Sons. The only real overlap is the presence of Pug briefly. This book over does its "dirty dozen" aspects, with much of the book focusing on the military training of criminals. The rest of the book feels like a rushed military adventure in a far land, and could have done with some more attention. However, the book isn't terrible, and I thought it was ok overall.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/Raymond_E_Feist/Shadow_of_a_Dark_Queen.html ( )

SERPENTWAR

I've always appreciated Feist's Midkemia books, and this one doesn't disappoint.

I like the idea of the Desperate Men in this story. It seems a little strange that they mention 36 men in the company, but you only really get to know like 8 or 9 of them, and even those ones only superficially. I mean, I understand that there are already a lot of major characters in the book, and that adding another 25 is extremely complex, but that you can't have an army, or even a mercenary company, with just 8 guys, but I think I would have liked to get to know these other Desperate Men just a little better. After all, the few we did meet are all pretty interesting.

I think I actually really appreciate war stories, or at least Feist's war stories. I like the glimpses of life you can find on the battlefield, and just outside it. He also does the coming-of-age fairly nicely. It's great to see Erik grow up, and grow into a position he never imagined he'd ever be in.

Anyway, a very good read if you like fantasy and adventure. ( )

Good continuation. ( )