Reading Feist was a bit of a disappointment..

[SirRob]

I picked up The Rise of a Merchant Prince in a library(I haven't to buy the first one in the Serpentwar series)and was thoroughly disappointed by it. It was well written but dull and as the cover of the book makes you think ancient trader type stuff with fighting, but its more like some 18th trader with ultra oraganised and tactical medieval fighting. There's even a bloody cofee house in it. And all the shares and stuff is just pure boredom. George RR Martin is a lot better.Rage of a Demon King was a whole lot better but still a bit too nice and modern but. The magician bits were quite good if a bit dull.
I was expecting Feist to be brilliant form what I've heard about him but he just isn't.

 

[Bardos]

Well, I pesonaly liked A Rise of a Merchant Prince, for there wasn't so much killing and slaying as in other fantasy novels.

For some reason I think we have conected fantasy to war. But in Fantasy you can write about absolutely anything, if you think about it!

 

[Rob B]

SirRob, have you read Feist's first, Magician? In the U.S. it was broken into two books Magician:Apprentice and Magician:Master. Overall, a very fun read. Lighter than Martin, but an engrossing page-turner none-the-less.

 

[Sojourn]

Yes, give Magician a try. After all, it's hard to judge an author simply by reading only one of his books. Personally, I thought the Serpentwar Saga to be slightly better than the Riftwar Saga. But if taken together with the Empire series, then the whole Riftwar story is probably Feist's best work.

A word of caution though regarding his Krondor series. I found those books quite dumbed down and lacklustre compared to his previous work. Apparently the series was based on the Krondor PC game. Couldn't help but notice that the books read like a below-average PC game too, minus the exciting visuals and gripping plot.

 

[Metosblat]

Agreed.
Fiest is not my cup of tea.
I liked Magician, thought Silverthorn was awful and A Darkness at Sethanon was only mildly better than Silverthorn.

 

[Shehzad]

Go with what they say and read Magician. Although a lighter read, it is still one of my favourite books. As I've said on numerous occasions, Feist deteriorated markedly after that.

 

[Dragon Reborn]

IMO, most of Feist's work is brilliant. "Magician" is one of the best books I've ever read. The next two in the original series were perhaps not quite as good, but still a decent read.
The books set in the world of the Tsurani(The Empire series), were, if anything, better as a whole than the Riftwar series, especially if you like plotting and politics. It also gives some insight into the Tsurani mindset.
The Serpentwar saga was also quite good, introducing new characters, with less input from Pug and Tomàs. "Rise of a merchant prince", first of these, was interesting also, as we are shown that the world isn't solely based on war and fighting and magic, but also has some aspects of what we would call civilisation.
The newer Kronder series does seem a bit dumbed down in comparison, with the plotlines being strictly linear, and not contributing much to the previous books. But that hasn't stopped me from buying them!!

Overall, I think that they are worth giving a go, and if it's battles and action your into, then the first book, "Magician" is the one for you.

 

[allanon]

SirRob, Feist is great and brilliant-IMHO. He writes well, he has nice characters etc.
But Martin is God. If you compare everybody with him you wll dislike every fantasy book! You must read for pleasure! To enjoy the author,not to compare him.

 

[Duarh]

Feist rules

That said, Rise of a merchant prince was my favorite in Serpentwar saga, but the whole series isn't very brilliant.

Riftwar saga is still my favorite fantasy work. Silverthorn especially, I can't see why people dislike it. A darkness at sethanon was slightly worse, perhaps.

The Krondor books are low-quality, absolutely true. Haven't read Tales of the Riftwar yet, though.

And READ Faerie Tale. That' s a good book, really.

Duarh

 

[MrSquiddy]

Sorry, I thought Feist was an unblelievable author, his story grabbed me from start to finish, often i'd read on my way home from the city on the train and miss my stop ^^

I could pick on him with a few points but why bother? the Pros clearly outweigh the cons, for other authors too like David. E. Eddings and Robert Jordan..

J.R.R Tolkien.. i like that but.... there was something not right about it.. maybe because i read that during my last year of school didn't help.. but i'm goign to reread LoTR before the movie..

 

[Charles]

My brother just picked up 3 Feist books, in hardback, for the same price as 3 paperback books would be. We went to an outlet bookstore and found out that this place had every book for sale. Some were as much as 90% off. I got 4 books and my brother got 7 books. I spent nearly $15, and he spent just over $27. I am happy now.

 

[Bond]

IMO, Magician: Master was Feist's best book. Riftwar Saga which it was part of was good. Empire series was okay. From there, things deteriorated.

Once you've read something like Jordan's Wheel of Time books (books 2-4 in particular) you see Feist's weaknesses much more clearly.

 

[Elan Morin Tedronai]

Rayomnd Feist is great!

 

[Cardo]

Bond
I´ve read WoT 1-3 and I don´t see that Feist would have any weaknesses compared to them, so what in particular roots your mind?

 

[Canaris]

as allready mentioned a few times, it was Feist who got me hooked on fanatsy. Therefore he does take a special place in my collection.

I don´t know if I would say the same, would Feist be , say, third or fourth author I had read.

Still though Magician is one of the very rare books I have picked up time and time again , and it never stopped grasping me. Even after the third read I still could not put it away.

I think thats what makes Feist so good. His story telling is , for me, by far the best.

Ok his characters could be a bit more grittier , more edges. His heroes are true heroes without shadowy sides.

But the story itself is extremely well writen, compelling and adventurous.

I agree with everyone else. Magician and two follow ups , and the servant cycle are his best. The rest his not really much worth. As I mentioned before, Feist is riding Pug and Thomas like two street whores. He squeezes them until no more juice is left.

We have read enough of them , mr Feist . I am sure, that when you through a completely new story in our midst , we would all run to our bookstore again.

When I want to read about Pug, I`ll pick up Magician again.

 

[Shehzad]

I've said it before: Fiest has to get out of thie Pug ex machina business.

 

[Lani]

I agree with SirRob about Feist. I thought that since he has all these fans he will be quite good, but he seemed really ordinary and didn't seem to have anything original in his books. Though it was all written pretty well.

 

[melkor]

Feist rules....but you have to read the series from the begining to get into it. However it's a valid point that his books seem to be set in a more recent period than other fantasy authors, but this did not spoil the enjoyment IMHO.

 

[SusF]

Well the coffee shop threw me for a loop. I'm not saying the book is bad, but that just stuck out like a sore thumb.

I thought he could at least have made it a tea-house. Made it a bit less... American sounding.

I thought it was a strange detail to have in a fantasy book. I'm surprised the editors didn't catch it.

Susan

 

[Bardos]

Who says that in fantasy coffee and coffee shops don't exist? If they trade coffee, I'm sure they drink the stuff also!