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A Darkness at Sethanon: Volume IV in the Riftwar Saga

5 Sterne:		(34)
4 Sterne:		(7)
3 Sterne:		(6)
2 Sterne:		(2)
1 Sterne:		(3)

 

 

This tale reminds me of individuals I have known that possessed any number of irritating habits, yet continued to retain my affection by nature of their simple and generous character. That's probably overstating the case here, but, despite Feist's tendancy towards stereotyping and simplistic narrative, I nonetheless find myself continuing to read the "Riftwar Saga."

"A Darkness at Sethanon" possesses most of the flaws that have plagued the previous books: An event driven narrative that expends little time on characterization or descriptive detail, players that are stereotypical and more characteristic of cartoons than fiction, as well as a world that to a large degree dwells within the conventional. Further, Feist is starting to show evidence of predictability. Most of this has been noted, though more stridently, by previous detractors.

However, unlike many of those, I felt this book to be the best so far in the series, and were it not for the chapters devoted to Pug and Tomas, as well as the pollyanna quality of the final chapter, I might have felt this tale deserving of a 4 star rating. Much of the story following Arutha and friends appeared to be rising above the level of the earlier tales, both in focus as well as the use of dramatic tension and an embryonic exploration through new characters beyond the often juvenile caricaturization that's dogged Feist from the beginning. Unfortunately these rudimentary advances were greatly undermined by the overblown magic and almost omnipotent powers possessed by Pug and Tomas in their portion of the tale, their bald rehash of the Grecian underworld, and the appearance of the ridiculous and incidental tigermen. What little credibility remained was decidedly discarded in the final chapter.

Yet, after all my complaints, I find myself seduced into attempting the next book. There is a straightforward, uncomplicated element of fun to Feist's writing that is, for all it's faults, rather appealing. Perhaps, as was his implied intention in the first books, he has been successful in reaching a boyish response in me that I thought long put away and forgotten. In any event, these books have provided diversion for unreflected moments. However, all the 5 star ratings are preposterous!

Häufig sind die abschließenden Bände von Mehrteilern enttäuschend. Über tausende von Seiten wird Spannung aufgebaut, die dann sieht man dem Autor zu, wie er sich windet ein möglichst episches Finale übers Knie zu brechen.
Diesen Fehler begeht Feist nicht. Die -innere- Logik bleibt erhalten, die Charaktere werden nicht verbogen und die Dramatik des Geschehens bleibt erhalten. Keine hinterher-ist-es-wie-vorher Situation wird aus dem Boden gestampft.
Insgesamt überraschend Konsistent mit den anderen Büchern, empfehlenswert für lange dunkle Winterabende oder faule Sonnentage. Sehr gute Unterhaltung.

Fiest has the gift, no doubt. A very large gift, at that! The plot wasn't quite original - the usual Fantasy build-up: find out, go on a quest, journy, fight, win... But Feist has an incredible talent to describe his world vividly. Lots of detail, just like Tolkien, only without prolonging the story unnecessarily. He allows his creative world to thrive within the reader. "A Darkness at Sethanon", even more than the other books in the Riftwar saga, is simply inspiring! The characters, for one, HAVE character. Grim Arutha, wise Pug, evil Murmandamus, shrewd Jimmy the Hand and mirthful Amos. Every different creature is a world in itself. "A Darkness at Sethanon" brings the Riftwar saga to a gripping and satisfying conclusion. Don't believe me? Ask me how long it took me to finish this amazing book...!

Here ends the first of the Midkemia series. Great, awesome etc. Feist delivers a top notch read and only gets better as he goes. The cast of characters are truely unique and memorable, especially Jimmy the Hand which in later books becomes one of my all time favorite literary characters.
If you love fantasy, you have to get this!!

If you like books like this one, might I suggest another I've recently come across. The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. It's another fantasy adventure sure to please. I highly recommend it.

After finishing this book shortly after reading Silverthorne I can only aknowledge "A Darkness at Sethanon" to be a fitting closure to Feist's Riftwar saga. I can only recommend this to others who have read the previous novels in the series, yet this book is definetely worthy of the author and the series, leaving no doubt that this book will go down as the best of the series.

This is good, if fairly standard, fantasy. It has some significant problems (some of the dialogue made me cringe), but overall it is worthwhile. It is entertaining. I enjoyed most the parts dealing with Pug, Tomas, and Macros. Most of the characters seemed a bit too good to be true (this is usually the case with Feist), and the evil characters...well, they lacked genuine menace. I would recommend this one, and this series, but would warn a new reader not to expect too much.

Although many other fantasy series have caught my attention none have hooked me like the riftwar saga. Darkness at sethanon rounded of an intriguing and gripping trilogy and you would be a fool to miss out.

I believe A Darkness at Sethanon is a great book. I like the fine details of the scenes and many places. I also like the way the plot is so different from many fantasy books. This is one of the best books I've read.

Feist is my favorite author and I have read almost every one of his books. This is by far his best work. It is very imaginitive and I love how it digs into the history of the worlds. I also recomend that you also read Prince of the Blood and The King's Buccaneer.

This four-book series is one my favorites. I just wish Feist had stopped after writing ADAS because the follow-up books are nowhere near as good.