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bookshopghost's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
tristanv's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
winterscape's review
4.0
Shadow of a Dark Queen, like a good many other books, doesn't need my praise or approval to speak for it. My words are grains of sand against the vastness of Raymond E. Feist's career and body of work, so I care not to elaborate in a review. It's all been said: great characters, hugely satisfying character growth, intriguing world building, high writing quality, varied settings, and much more.
This is a very good read. It's my first Feist novel, though I've heard so much about his books. I loved the cliffhanger intensity that just keeps you turning pages, like that What bumped this down from a 5-star rating was the Miranda perspectives. Not bad, but a bit less interesting, more magic-y cliché gobbledegook, and jarring to be taken away from Erik. Though she did get better as it went on, especially the neat .
All in all, if you love the old fantasy stand-by of peasant boy with mysterious or important parentage goes on a quest to save the world, with a dark twist, you'll love this. I recommend it highly!
This is a very good read. It's my first Feist novel, though I've heard so much about his books. I loved the cliffhanger intensity that just keeps you turning pages, like that
Spoiler
fake-out drop from the gallows! Holy crap, that had me going for sure.Spoiler
Hall of WorldsAll in all, if you love the old fantasy stand-by of peasant boy with mysterious or important parentage goes on a quest to save the world, with a dark twist, you'll love this. I recommend it highly!
jamsl94's review against another edition
3.5
Feist does the Suicide Squad and it’s a cool concept. However the book spends more time on training for the mission then the actual mission. But still an enjoyable read.
ellyrarg's review
3.0
Took a bit to get into, new characters and all, but I feel like finally, FINALLY there are some answers to what’s going on in the riftwar legacy books. It does feel a bit stupid, as if the last thirty years or so the monarchy have known there is this big great worldly threat across the ocean but have been content just to leave it there.
Liked Erik and Roo, especially the common away from royalty perspective. Nakors always a favourite. Miranda was an interesting throw in (not sure how I feel about the ship with pug though). Curious enough to read the next few books.
Liked Erik and Roo, especially the common away from royalty perspective. Nakors always a favourite. Miranda was an interesting throw in (not sure how I feel about the ship with pug though). Curious enough to read the next few books.
agnieszka_na_grzbietowisku's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A new generation of heroes and some old ones, all that are very close to my heart. Love the story, the writing, the characters. A bit clunky at times, but I don't mind that too much.
isaac_petherbridge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? Yes
5.0
dalicieux's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kenlaan's review against another edition
4.0
Shadow of a Dark Queen was quite a bit better than I was expecting, I'm happy to report!
My journey with reading Raymond E. Feist - a familiar name among fantasy readers in the 90s - has been quite interesting. Starting with [b:Magician: Apprentice|13812|Magician Apprentice (The Riftwar Saga, #1)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408317983l/13812._SY75_.jpg|15983] and [b:Magician: Master|13810|Magician Master (The Riftwar Saga, #2)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556425333l/13810._SY75_.jpg|766896], and the two following novels, [b:Silverthorn|149302|Silverthorn (The Riftwar Saga, #3)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1272603402l/149302._SY75_.jpg|144096] and [b:A Darkness At Sethanon|13813|A Darkness At Sethanon (The Riftwar Saga, #4)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429041258l/13813._SY75_.jpg|15940], I found them enjoyable fun adventure fantasy, but definitely products of their time. The characterization was a little simplistic, female characters appeared on the sidelines, mostly as princesses fretting about their lovers as the men went on heroic adventures, and while the world-building was impressive and there were a lot of plot threads laid out (some surprisingly only just now beginning to bare fruit in Shadow of a Dark Queen), the initial story was a pretty by-the-numbers coming-of-age fantasy tale meets sword and sorcery, akin to [b:A Wizard of Earthsea|13642|A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353424536l/13642._SY75_.jpg|113603] or [b:The Dragonbone Chair|91981|The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)|Tad Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477417642l/91981._SY75_.jpg|840191], and paling somewhat in comparison to both.
And then I read The Empire Trilogy, starting with [b:Daughter of the Empire|589979|Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy, #1)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404668411l/589979._SY75_.jpg|2960453] which Feist co-wrote with Janny Wurts, and was astounded by how good it was, and how modern it felt, given that the first entry was published in 1987. It reminded me a lot of the best of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series: extensive world-building featuring an interesting and non-Western culture, interwoven within a compelling story following a fantastic female lead, with believable progression of her belief structure and the political shifts within her society.
And then, I read the Krondor's Sons duology, which continued the original series with Feist writing by himself again. I was pretty disappointed with the first volume, and enjoyed the latter. So a mixed bag.
Shadow of a Dark Queen continues the main story, and I'm happy with the start of this new series. Every one of the previous books featured a noble of some kind as the lead, and that's refreshingly not the case with Erik, who is raised in a small village as the apprentice to a drunken blacksmith, and very much reminded me of Perrin from Wheel of Time starting out. Due to being a part of the rather justified murder of a noble, he gets pulled into serving in a false mercenary company that is actually essentially a special operations group commissioned by the Prince to investigate the stirrings of an immense foreign army across the ocean from his homeland, a la The Dirty Dozen.
I noted pretty early on that it seemed like the quality of Feist's prose had improved in some indescribable ways, and there's been a tonal shift too. Whereas the earlier books had lots of harrowing battles and whatnot, things still felt pretty "clean". This book surprisingly reminded me of [b:Deadhouse Gates|55401|Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)|Steven Erikson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385272744l/55401._SX50_.jpg|3898716] at times, given the desert setting and the structure of a large army brutally engulfing scattered cities.
While there are still few female characters to be found, a few chapters are devoted to the mysterious Miranda who is seeking out Pug, the powerful sorcerer and main character of the original series. I bet she'll focus more in the later books, and I liked their interplay.
Overall, this was a good high fantasy adventure book, and I'm excited to see where things go in the next entries. I started reading Magician for a bit of nostalgia and for a bit of wanting to read simpler things, but I'm finding myself pleasantly surprised by the increasing quality of the Riftwar Cycle as I go.
My journey with reading Raymond E. Feist - a familiar name among fantasy readers in the 90s - has been quite interesting. Starting with [b:Magician: Apprentice|13812|Magician Apprentice (The Riftwar Saga, #1)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408317983l/13812._SY75_.jpg|15983] and [b:Magician: Master|13810|Magician Master (The Riftwar Saga, #2)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556425333l/13810._SY75_.jpg|766896], and the two following novels, [b:Silverthorn|149302|Silverthorn (The Riftwar Saga, #3)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1272603402l/149302._SY75_.jpg|144096] and [b:A Darkness At Sethanon|13813|A Darkness At Sethanon (The Riftwar Saga, #4)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429041258l/13813._SY75_.jpg|15940], I found them enjoyable fun adventure fantasy, but definitely products of their time. The characterization was a little simplistic, female characters appeared on the sidelines, mostly as princesses fretting about their lovers as the men went on heroic adventures, and while the world-building was impressive and there were a lot of plot threads laid out (some surprisingly only just now beginning to bare fruit in Shadow of a Dark Queen), the initial story was a pretty by-the-numbers coming-of-age fantasy tale meets sword and sorcery, akin to [b:A Wizard of Earthsea|13642|A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353424536l/13642._SY75_.jpg|113603] or [b:The Dragonbone Chair|91981|The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)|Tad Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477417642l/91981._SY75_.jpg|840191], and paling somewhat in comparison to both.
And then I read The Empire Trilogy, starting with [b:Daughter of the Empire|589979|Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy, #1)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404668411l/589979._SY75_.jpg|2960453] which Feist co-wrote with Janny Wurts, and was astounded by how good it was, and how modern it felt, given that the first entry was published in 1987. It reminded me a lot of the best of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series: extensive world-building featuring an interesting and non-Western culture, interwoven within a compelling story following a fantastic female lead, with believable progression of her belief structure and the political shifts within her society.
And then, I read the Krondor's Sons duology, which continued the original series with Feist writing by himself again. I was pretty disappointed with the first volume, and enjoyed the latter. So a mixed bag.
Shadow of a Dark Queen continues the main story, and I'm happy with the start of this new series. Every one of the previous books featured a noble of some kind as the lead, and that's refreshingly not the case with Erik, who is raised in a small village as the apprentice to a drunken blacksmith, and very much reminded me of Perrin from Wheel of Time starting out. Due to being a part of the rather justified murder of a noble, he gets pulled into serving in a false mercenary company that is actually essentially a special operations group commissioned by the Prince to investigate the stirrings of an immense foreign army across the ocean from his homeland, a la The Dirty Dozen.
I noted pretty early on that it seemed like the quality of Feist's prose had improved in some indescribable ways, and there's been a tonal shift too. Whereas the earlier books had lots of harrowing battles and whatnot, things still felt pretty "clean". This book surprisingly reminded me of [b:Deadhouse Gates|55401|Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)|Steven Erikson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385272744l/55401._SX50_.jpg|3898716] at times, given the desert setting and the structure of a large army brutally engulfing scattered cities.
While there are still few female characters to be found, a few chapters are devoted to the mysterious Miranda who is seeking out Pug, the powerful sorcerer and main character of the original series. I bet she'll focus more in the later books, and I liked their interplay.
Overall, this was a good high fantasy adventure book, and I'm excited to see where things go in the next entries. I started reading Magician for a bit of nostalgia and for a bit of wanting to read simpler things, but I'm finding myself pleasantly surprised by the increasing quality of the Riftwar Cycle as I go.
sheyri's review against another edition
DNF at 36%/p.204
TW (as far as I can tell):
It got a bit boring and very overly descriptive in the most useless of details. I found myself skipping through a chapter and decided it's best to just leave it.
TW (as far as I can tell):
Spoiler
murder, executionIt got a bit boring and very overly descriptive in the most useless of details. I found myself skipping through a chapter and decided it's best to just leave it.