Arutha! ( )

Jimmy is one of my favourite characters of all time
so far my favourite book by feist, a pleasure to read ( )

This is the third book in the The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist.

The story basically picks up where it left off in the second book, however it could serve as a stand alone tale. Arutha and Princess Anita are preparing for their wedding, Jimmy the Hand is thieving around Kronder and discovers a plot against Arutha. He immediately heads off to the palace to warn the Prince. A band of scoundrels called the Nighthawks are planning his assassination. Things go wrong when the Nighthawks strike and Anita is poisoned. Arutha and his band of friends set off on a journey to find the antidote.

I was so happy to see Jimmy The Hand take a starring role, but Arutha with all his moping really started to get on my last nerve. Thus the elusive 5th star is still missing from this series. Perhaps the final episode A Darkness At Sethanon will be worthy ( )

So much fantasy goodness packed in this one. Even if the first two were complete in themselves, they still serve as perfect vessels to bring about a somewhat standalone adventure full of nearly all the characters we've grown to love. Even Pug has a role, but mostly we get to follow and love Jimmy the Hand and Arutha.

This is not a simple "find the freaking herb to save his love" quest no matter how simple the blurb makes it seem. Indeed, there's a lot of intrigues, big bads only hinted at in the first two novels, and evil much bigger than two worlds could handle even if they could band together.

No spoilers, but even this "nearly" standalone adventure has all the makings of epic greatness of a slightly different flavor from before despite the familiar characters. :) Indeed, it's the characters and the complicated plotting that makes this great.

So much set up for the next one! Completely necessary, of course. I remember Darkness VERY fondly from way back when. :)

Okay, so, I may not have loved this one nearly as much as the first two, but my complaints are few and far between. :) I can't see how it could improve other than combining books together into much larger tales for continuity. :) ( )

I read these books years ago and loved them. Listening to them now brings back good memories. Peter Joyce narrates wonderfully and is a pleasure to listen too.Has a few funny moments that you don't get in Magician. Looking forward to the next in the series! ( )