Krondor, Tear of the Gods by Raymond E. Feist

When will Raymond Feist go back to writing real books instead of shallow interpretations of computer games? For such a brilliant author, he is definitely slumming in the Legacy series, and Tear of the Gods is no exception. Shallow plots that are obviously computer game scenarios have characterised this series since Pug wandered around collecting 'magic energy' in the first one, and-surprise, surprise!-the plot in Tear of the Gods is as shallow as a saucer and as complex as a one-colour Rubik's Cube. Such as it is, the storyline involves the race for a mystical jewel (the Tear of the Gods) which allows the priests to talk to the gods. The usual suspects want to find the Tear before a vile entity named Bear gets it and brings doom to the world (sound familiar?). An assortment of characters straight out of a D&D module provide clues so that our poorly-realised heroes can save the day. The biggest problem with this book-and the Legacy series in general-is that it is clear that they were never part of the original vision. Many things in this book go against the brilliant theorising on the nature of magic in Prince of the Blood and The King's Buccaneer. Because the plot is so shallow, the threat posed by the enemy in this book is relatively minor, and could have been dealt with by Pug in a couple of hours (at least, Pug before Feist neutered him at the end of the serpentwar saga) which is probably why he is absent. Tear of the Gods is also inconsistent with established Kingdom history-Lucas' sons died in the Riftwar in this book, whereas they are very much alive in Silverthorn! This book is empty; the brilliant characterisation that sent Feist to prominence is absent, and the characters are one-dimensional. Feist continues to sully his hard-earned reputation with the Legacy series-a reputation that was swaying enough following his poor conclusion to the Serpentwar Saga, a potentially brilliant series ruined by being at least a book-and-half short. Feist is my favourite author of all time, but I look forward to him writing for his reader fans again, instead of pandering to barely-literate computer geeks.

SPOILERS

"Tear Of The Gods" was released in Australia this week under the HarperCollins Voyager umbrella. My first concern was why would a worldwide respected publisher release a major book less than a week after the hugely popular Robert Jordan had "Winter's Heart" released by TOR.

This title had a similar feel to the previous titles of the Riftwar Legacy with James , Jazhara (new court magician) , William , Solon (Ishap Monk) and Kendaric (wreckers guild) as the key characters.

The Tear has been lost in a bungled pirate attack on the 'Ishap Dawn' and the Monks seek Arutha's assistance in helping to retrieve this artifact. The Crawler , nighthawks , keshian assassins , pirates and unknown dark forces are at play causing trouble in Krondor and beyond. It is once again up to Jimmy and his band to save the day.
As a whole the book was passable. The plot and the flow were surprising good considering the author's personal drama's in the past year and a half. However, the book did not tie up loose ends and I can see the possibility for another book in the Legacy series. I was however disappointed with the lack of storyline in the Jazhara & William interest as I imagined that would be a significant part of the book.
If you liked the other books of the Riftwar Legacy you will enjoy this one. If you didn't , read something else.