Reviews

A passable fantasy novel, geared to Raymond Feist fans who will appreciate the origin story of Jimmy the Hand -- a character who appears in other Riftwar books.

Note that Raymond Feist did not actually write this book. In the afterword he admits to only penning the rough outline of the story and giving it to S.M. Stirling to actually write. I only mention this because Stirling, unfortunately, is not as engaging a writer as Feist.

_b_a_l_'s review against another edition

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1.0

Honestly this complete butchering of pretty much my favourite character in the whole mythos was the beginning of the end for me.

emziesreads's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Jimmy was my favourite character from Magician so I enjoyed being able to get to know him more in this book. However, the story felt a bit contrived and tidy which lowered my rating.

ferrisscottr's review against another edition

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4.0

I skipped this book when it was first released because I'm not a big fan of co-authors but when I realized that I have read 22 of Feist's book and I was only missing a few I decided to go back and read the ones that I missed over the years.

This is a stand alone fantasy novel with Jimmy the Hand as our hero and the novel takes place right after Jimmy helps Arutha save Anita from Guy du Bas Tyra. It's a fantastic story with the usual amazing characters that Feist writes. Not a five star rating because Jimmy is absent from quite a bit of the last 30% of the book and Jimmy was the reason I was reading the book.

Don't read this book if you haven't read the series that come before it or you might be a little lost - there are a lot of references to things that happened in other books, characters that were developed in other books etc.
But
If you've read the series that came before this novel then you should pick this up - it's really good.

literary_han's review against another edition

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3.0

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

neilsef's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This is a stand-alone novel chronicling Jimmy's first adventure, that picks up immediately following the introduction of his character in Magician and the scene on the docks after he has helped Arutha and Princess Anita escape from Krondor.
This shows a side of Jimmy that has not been seen before, where Arutha and the Princesses influence is causing him to change his outlook and develop into the character he becomes.
This is a well-paced adventure that introduces a host of new characters that are nicely fleshed out as the story unfurls.
There is also quite a bit of humour, usually at Jimmy's expense, mixed in with mystery and intrigue, making this an engaging fun read.

angelahayes's review against another edition

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4.0

I have been Buddy-Reading this series over the last couple of months with a ‘book-club’ friend who had not read Raymond E. Feist’s work before. As I have been a long-time fan of his work, I have compared it to The Lord of the Rings books but have actually enjoyed this series more. When I mentioned this to my friend, she immediately wanted to read the series, and convinced me to read them with her- not that it was a big ask 😊.
It is an epic fantasy saga- with wonderful world building and scene setting, and dynamic, vivid and detailed descriptions that will transport you right into the story.
Take some time to explore Mr. Feist’s work, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed- and the best part is that all the books are available now to read- no waiting for books to be released! #WINNING

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