The Riftwar saga is the introduciton to Feist's worlds of imagination, but until this book really is laboring under its heritage as his homebrew DND world.

In this book, Feist finally throws the doors to his cosmology wide open as an author, and it is a banger. I find Prince Arutha and Jimmy the Hand less than inspiring, but Pug and Macros the Black and the final answer to what Tomas is was worth the wait. As was the answer to the Chaos Wars and the Great Enemy. Well worth the series to get to this ending. ( )

Enjoyed it. Its still not great writing, and it’s more something I’d recommend as a lighter read to someone who is already a fan of fantasy and has read the classics. For those people, it’s an enjoyable conclusion to what, apparently, is the first of many series in this universe.

The biggest issue with the series is that the writing is limited by the fact that the author likes his characters too much. Everyone is saved from certain doom (except undeveloped characters - they basically always die or disappear within half a book of being introduced), every relationship works out just the way it “should,” every old enemy turns out to be either totally evil (and is vanquished) or just misunderstood (and becomes a great friend), and the main characters always have enough money and titles to reward everyone for their help at the end of the book.

That said, it takes some confidence to write a fantasy book that features characters watching the big bang happen, so kudos for that. ( )

A solid book to finish off the Riftwar Saga.

Loose ends from the previous books, especially Silverthorn were tied off, and most of the characters received continued development, which was good to see. The set piece battle of Armengar was the highlight for me (as it appears to be for many others), and the reveal of the Enemy was thematically satisfying and made for a good twist. There were definitely moments where it felt like Feist was really coming into his own, and who doesn't love some dragons?

Unfortunately some of my issues from the earlier books continue to affect my judgement of this one. The magic system is still completely obscure, and is further complicated by the different kinds of magics that different characters can wield, none of which are properly elucidated. The addition of a time manipulation sequence, though well written, seemed to extend this fantasy element to a whole new level of surreal. And speaking of time, arbitrary amounts of days and weeks continue to abound in this book, though admittedly they are nowhere near the level of Magician.

I've also noticed Feist's penchant for starting chapters or sections with one liners. Often they do work to create the tone or atmosphere that he's after, but they also lose their effectiveness with overuse. Sadly, now that I've seen it, I cannot unsee.

This concluding book has given me enough incentive to give the other Riftwar novels a chance, which I was honestly expecting not to feel after Magician. However, I'll probably be going to something else first. ( )

So fun. Through the first series already on the re-read. ( )

Dit derde deel heb ik nu ook uit. Een waardige afsluiting van deze deelserie. De plot is duisterder dan in de eerste twee boeken maar wat Feist echt goed maakt zijn toch de karakters. Puc, Robbie, Joolstein en Arutha zijn daarbij wel mijn favorieten. ( )

I have not read the Riftwar Saga books under ideal conditions. I read the different books years apart, and this book I read at bedtime, often while drowsy. I have only a loose grasp of the lore, magic, and gods of this universe, but what little I can penetrate I have to say I am not impressed. The basic problem with Feist is that his characters trip over themselves to make clear they are "good guys" or "bad guys" (and let's be clear here: it's all guys; the female character we spend the most time with is a dragon that two male heroes use to ride through the cosmos). Yes there is a villain-turned-hero here, but even he falls prey to Feist's simplistic characterizations. On top of this issue, there is the problem of narrative pacing; this novel is all lead up to a climatic battle that takes place in one chapter; there is little tension and the stakes and challenges the character face are not that clear. ( )

3 1/2 stars

This is the final book in The Riftwar series. I gave the three other books 4 stars, but this one, 4 stars just did not sit well with me.

Everyone from the last three books is back, and I liked that Feist did not hesitate to wrap up even the smallest detail of his characters. One of my favorites characters Jimmy The Hand-now Squire Jimmy is adapting well to Royal life, and his new sidekick Lockey has potential.

The one thing I disliked was the back story of the Valheru, it was just too over the top for my taste-it seemed more Sci-Fi than Fantasy and that rubbed me the wrong way.

All in all a decent ending to great story-line-But I am rounding down to 3 stars. This book was just not the best of the batch, as it should of been. ( )

I'm so glad I squeezed it in for the end of the year. :) Reading A Darkness at Sethanon again after so many years and having loved the series BOTH times, I feel kind of sad having finished it. I could keep going forever.

Fortunately, I might be able to. Feist has kept writing since I finished these the first time. :) :)

We see a lot more of the dragons, Pug, and Thomas in this one. But let's not forget about Jimmy the Hand! Martin Longbow! Getting to know past enemies and butting heads with new is just as good now as then!

I think I forgot about all the twisty timey-wimey multiversal adventures! Riding a dragon, going to the halls of the dead, defeating the eater of worlds... but above all, it's seeing all the changes in ALL the characters. So much happens, so much intrigue, so much mind-blowing BIGNESS. It's something I'm used to in SF but generally, don't see all that much of in Fantasy... but it's perfectly suited to it. :)

All told, I'm very, very happy to be getting back into Feist. Now I can catch up with ALL the books I've been missing. *rubs hands together hungrily* ( )

En weer een deel uit de Saga uit. Ik wou dat ik deze serie eerder had ontdekt.

Arthura, Robbie, Gardaan reizen af om er achter zien te komen wie er achter de moordaanslag op Arthura zit.

Met de hulp van Ryath (een draak) reizen Puc en Tomas naar ongedachte plaatsen om Macros te vinden. Met zijn hulp willen ze de Vijand vernietigen.

Soms blijkt een tegenstander opeens je medestander te zijn.

Sommige mensen vinden deze boeken, en dan met name dit boek seksistisch omdat vrouwen een onderdanige rol spelen, maar laten we niet vergeten dat dit een boek uit de jaren '80 is EN een andere wereld.

O ja... er zijn ook draken in dit boek!

( )

A Darkness at Sethanon is the final book in the Riftwar Saga, the first subseries in Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Cycle.

Like the previous books, this was a good story that held my interest all the way through. I didn’t enjoy it quite as well as the previous books, though. It seemed like there was less of the fun banter that I’ve enjoyed so much in previous books, although there were still some great moments. Also, although this book wrapped the story up pretty well, I had some complaints about how that was done. I still enjoyed this book a lot, but I think there are some things that I’ve just become pickier about now that I have more epic fantasy under my belt.

I’ll elaborate on my above comments a bit behind the spoiler tags:
I felt like the Pug and Tomas storyline was a bit over the top, and those were the only parts where my interest wavered. Fortunately, they were only a small portion of the book. It just seemed like we were piling one “big thing” after another. Yes, it’s definitely high time we got an oracle involved. Oh, and what good fantasy story doesn’t involve a visit to the Halls of the Dead? Ah, yes, a nice long hallway with portals to tons of different worlds would be a cool thing to add. And I’m skipping a few. Each place they went to was supposedly more amazingly difficult to get to than the last. Tomas and Pug also seemed to possess/gain overly-strong powers, with Tomas’ in particular seeming to come out of nowhere with some nebulous explanation that the existence of the Valheru gave him more powers that he no longer had at the end of the book when they had been defeated. Oh, and the amulet Arutha wore that protected him from being located by Murmandamus? Yes, it’s totally logical that this amulet would be used to convert his sword into something that could deflect magical energy and harm magical/supernatural beings.

I was much more invested in the more down-to-earth parts – the almost-assassination of Arutha, faking his death, seeking out Murmandamus, the huge battle at Armengar, the race for Sethanon, etc. That made it doubly frustrating to me that most of those actions didn’t really amount to much, or else they helped the enemy in the end. For example, the battle at Armengar where they managed to kill so many of the invaders only served to strengthen Murmandamus since he fed off the deaths of both friend and foe. Arutha’s battle with Murmandamus didn’t really accomplish anything, and even Pug’s and Kulgan’s attempt to keep the rifts closed and Tomas’ fight with the Valheru only staved off the destruction. The real “hero” was the lifestone, or possibly the gods, that somehow destroyed the Valheru in some inexplicable way. We don’t even know if Tomas’ sword in the lifestone affected anything or if it was just a coincidence. I just wanted to see my heroes’ actions and suffering amount to more after spending all that time reading about it.

Despite some of my sarcasm, I really did enjoy most of the story, and I love the characters, but I also have to admit that there are some issues. The things I do love make up for it though, and I’m sure the nostalgia factor is playing a role. ( )

After a year of quiet the Enemy is once again after Arutha, after discovering a Nighthawk nest, Arutha, Martin, Laurie, Lockear and Jimmy are again off on adventures to rid the land of this threat. Pug has evolved and he and Tomas also seek out knowledge to find a way to defeat their foe. Lots of action, war and watching everyone learn, grow and mature in the face of great peril.
( )

Set a few years later than 'Silverthorn', Arutha and Anita have settled down to as normal a married life as could be expected for the Prince of Krondor and his wife. The Nighthawks have been vanquished as far as they could tell and the couple are revelling in the joys of parenthood (male twins). But the Nighthawks are still a potent force and their dark master has demanded that Arutha die as publically as possible. With Krondor suddenly plunged into chaos when the Prince is killed by a Nighthawk attack, Jimmy, now head squire, finds the activities of his betters rather confusing as he and his friend Locky are shut out of the preparations for the Prince's funeral and he finds that the Prince has survived the attack and is planning to carry the attack to the dark forces behind the Nighthawks. Meanwhile, Pug and Tomas, Master Magician and Valheru, find themselves involved against the real evil behind the moredhel hordes planning their invasion of the Kingdom. We also meet some old friends and enemies who are a lot more friendly than first anticipated, and hordes and hordes of moredhel. And one of the, err, coolest, explosions ever! ( )

Epic. In the manner of the sagas. Convergent, and clearly paving the way for the nine following series in the rich Riftwar Cycle.

2nd in my Year of Feist. Next up Daughter of the Empire, the only one of the Empire Trilogy I've read before. ( )

I was trying to work out throughout reading why I wasn't enjoying the Riftwar trilogy as much as I have enjoyed some of Feist's other series, and I realised the answer was semi in the question - I read it out of order. I wasn't feeling the tension or the build up to the end, because I knew the over all outcome. I knew what would happen. I knew what characters lived (to a most part), so there was nothing enthralling within the book to pull me.

I personally had more interest in Arutha and his bunch in this book, and found myself drifting from Pug, Tomas and Macros, and their storyline. I enjoyed Amos Trask, and Guy, and the whole concept of Armengar.

Pug's storyline was a little too big for me to grasp, and I found I didn't enjoy it as much as the other storylines going through at the same time.

Over all, this book was alright. For me. Wasn't my favourite in the series, but wasn't my least favourite either, so it is sitting somewhere in the middle.

I think I am looking forward to taking a break from Feist at the moment and to come back again another time and hopefully enjoy a new trilogy, maybe. ( )

http://spwebdesign.livejournal.com/788469.html ( )

An evil wind blows through Midkemia. Dark legions have risen up to crush the Kingdom of the Isles and enslave it to dire magics. The final battle between Order and Chaos is abotu to begin in the ruins of the city called Sethanon.

Now Pug, the master magician sometimes known as Milamber, must undertake an awesome and perilous quest to the dawn of time to grapple with an ancient and terrible Enemy for the fate of a thousand worlds. ( )

Loved this series! The characters are fantastic and new ones are brought in regularly. Well written a great read. ( )

Mr. Feist does just fine with straight action; dialogue is also passable. But why oh why does he persist in describing things which he says are indescribable? His prose then becomes decidedly purple. ( )

The final installment of the Riftwar Saga. Great, wonderful, exciting, etc... the whole 9 yards. ( )

See my review at www.bookblog76.com ( )

A Darkness at Sethanon is the final book of Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar fantasy trilogy. Suitably epic in scale, it's a good end to a great series. Feist neatly wraps up all the loose ends, skillfully weaving in elements introduced in earlier books. I'll be reading more of his stories. ( )

Good continuation. ( )

Good finish to a pretty enjoyable series. The main series wraps up in a satisfying fashion, yet leaves a few things open ended to allow for further series and a universe rich enough that many other stories could arise. At the time that this series was written, it would have ranked up there with the top of fantasy epic stories. While still good, I'm not sure how well it would have fared if released today against the Jordans, Martins, and Ericksons who have taken epic fantasy too a whole new level. By all means read this series as it is quite enjoyable and all four (or three whichever edition you find) books are easy reads and worth the minimal effort. ( )

The conclusion to the original RIftwar Cycle. Book 4 if you count that Magician was split into two parts in the later paperback editions. Arutha, Pug and Thomas must find who's behind the attacks from Kelewan, now that they know it wasn't just the idea of the Kelewan Academy. They must also discover what this mysterious enemy wants, and prevent it. I really enjoyed this book, as it showed the heroes finally coming into their own, and the end of the senseless war between Midkemia and Kelewan. The ending involves some super powerful forces, maybe a bit too powerful for the previous scope of the books, but its still a satisfying conclusion to the series. This is a classic fantasy trilogy, and recommended reading for all fantasy fans. ( )

Battle for the fate of everything.

With your good old Dark Lord type rising, it will require Arutha's sword, all of Pug the Magician's power and Jimmy the Hand's cunning and contacts to try and do something about it, as here in your classic high fantasy trilogy end the stakes get very high indeed.

In style and tone very much the same as the first two books, and that is a good thing.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/10/darkness-at-sethanon-raymond-feist.html ( )