Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1) 
asked by mattisboss on November 16, 2006 12:03 PM
A dread darkness is descending upon a great land called Midkemia—a powerful and malevolent race of monsters that has slipped through a hole in the dimensions. And two unlikely young heroes—a bastard heir denied his birthright and an irrepressible scoundrel with a penchant for thievery—must take up arms in the struggle to protect their besieged world...two friends chosen by Destiny to stand at the fore of the battle that is to come against the gargantuan reptile army of the terrible Emerald Queen.
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I am a very big fan of Raymond Feist, but not really of this series. I have read all of the books up to the Darkwar saga and have always found them good reads and full of interesting characters.
This Serpentwar Saga does not have the same spark that his other sagas have had. I found that the characters are less than interesting, even ones that I have liked in past books and the books are just hard to get through. I also found that these books are full of young teenage rapes and really graphic details on murder of children etc... I don't remember this so much in his other stories. I understand that in Sci-Fi/Fantasy books things can get a little gory etc... but this time his books seem to be full of things that made me very uncomfortable and seemed completely unnecessary. I think in his other books he was able to show the horrors of war and the horrors of what people can become and/or do etc... without raping every teenage girl in the book and graphically describing children being thrown from cliffs etc...
I just really felt that this series was not up to snuff when it comes to books written by Feist. I would actually have to say that this is the first time I would recommend a parent think twice before they allow children to read this series.
All in all, this series to me is just filler. The books are not as good as the books that came before and are not as good as the books that have came after. You should read them for continuity, but don't expect too much.
This Serpentwar Saga does not have the same spark that his other sagas have had. I found that the characters are less than interesting, even ones that I have liked in past books and the books are just hard to get through. I also found that these books are full of young teenage rapes and really graphic details on murder of children etc... I don't remember this so much in his other stories. I understand that in Sci-Fi/Fantasy books things can get a little gory etc... but this time his books seem to be full of things that made me very uncomfortable and seemed completely unnecessary. I think in his other books he was able to show the horrors of war and the horrors of what people can become and/or do etc... without raping every teenage girl in the book and graphically describing children being thrown from cliffs etc...
I just really felt that this series was not up to snuff when it comes to books written by Feist. I would actually have to say that this is the first time I would recommend a parent think twice before they allow children to read this series.
All in all, this series to me is just filler. The books are not as good as the books that came before and are not as good as the books that have came after. You should read them for continuity, but don't expect too much.
reviewed by motivations on November 24, 2006 1:45 PM
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This begins the best series I've ever read bar none. the Serpentwar Saga has been read by me over ten times. Can't get enough of it. I love Sho Pi and Nakor(Who is my favorite) His take on philosophy and the universe is original and plausible.
Excellent fantasy.
**A book I would also recommend is The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. This, the first installment of The Morcyth Saga is a great beginning for a new author. Battles, magic, gods, secret passages and intrigue, all the elements of a classic epic fantasy! Any fantasy reader will enjoy it
Excellent fantasy.
**A book I would also recommend is The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. This, the first installment of The Morcyth Saga is a great beginning for a new author. Battles, magic, gods, secret passages and intrigue, all the elements of a classic epic fantasy! Any fantasy reader will enjoy it
reviewed by vcedwards on November 27, 2006 8:39 AM
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Shadow of a Dark Queen is the first book in the Serpent War Saga by Raymond Feist. The action takes place on Feist's world of Midkemia and once again, Feist does a fabulous job of describing this rich and detailed world. Having read all the Feist books up to this one I was curious how new characters would be introduced and how the plot line(s) would change from previous books. My fear on long running story lines is that they become stale and un-interesting after awhile. That is not the case here; Feist continues to weave a wonderful tale that leaves the reader wanting more.
Feist starts off this book by introducing the main characters Erik and Roo. Those who have read Magician: Apprentice will see the similarities between Erik and Pug right away and Roo and Tomas as well. However, it is done in such a way that it seems new and there I not really more than a fleeting thought of the similarities between the pairs.
As with the earlier novels, the character development in this book is second to none. From the very beginning of the book it is easy to care about the characters and pull for them to make it through the problems they face. The journey that Erik takes through this book is one of heart-ache and perseverance, but is not filled with clichýs that some `modern' fantasy authors fill their books with. Just for the character development alone this book is worth reading, yet there is also a fantastic plot as well.
There is of course the main plot that being the beginning of the serpent war, but there are several sub-plots sprinkled throughout the book. I will not post spoilers in my review, but suffice it to say the small sub-plots help add depth to the characters and make them more real. Feist spends a great deal of time fleshing out the serpent war progress and making sure the reader understand just how big of an army is amassing, yet does not come off as the sole purpose of the book. When I first started reading this one and realized this massive army was taking form was a little disappointed, in that it seems a lot of recent fantasy novels have these large scale battles in them now. However, this one seems different somehow. I can't make a conclusion because the saga isn't over yet, but it doesn't 'feel' like the others.
If you are contemplating reading this book and have read (and enjoyed the past Feist novels have no fear with this, I am confident you will enjoy it. If for some reason you didn't like a past novel by Feist, I would still recommend giving this one a shot - new characters, new setting, it's a good read. If you are just coming into Feist's work I would recommend you start at the beginning with Magician: Apprentice and go from there, that way there will be no spoilers for you and everything will make much more sense. All-in-all though I highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy novels and people looking for a solid fantasy author without all the theatrics of some authors now-a-days. Very good read.
Feist starts off this book by introducing the main characters Erik and Roo. Those who have read Magician: Apprentice will see the similarities between Erik and Pug right away and Roo and Tomas as well. However, it is done in such a way that it seems new and there I not really more than a fleeting thought of the similarities between the pairs.
As with the earlier novels, the character development in this book is second to none. From the very beginning of the book it is easy to care about the characters and pull for them to make it through the problems they face. The journey that Erik takes through this book is one of heart-ache and perseverance, but is not filled with clichýs that some `modern' fantasy authors fill their books with. Just for the character development alone this book is worth reading, yet there is also a fantastic plot as well.
There is of course the main plot that being the beginning of the serpent war, but there are several sub-plots sprinkled throughout the book. I will not post spoilers in my review, but suffice it to say the small sub-plots help add depth to the characters and make them more real. Feist spends a great deal of time fleshing out the serpent war progress and making sure the reader understand just how big of an army is amassing, yet does not come off as the sole purpose of the book. When I first started reading this one and realized this massive army was taking form was a little disappointed, in that it seems a lot of recent fantasy novels have these large scale battles in them now. However, this one seems different somehow. I can't make a conclusion because the saga isn't over yet, but it doesn't 'feel' like the others.
If you are contemplating reading this book and have read (and enjoyed the past Feist novels have no fear with this, I am confident you will enjoy it. If for some reason you didn't like a past novel by Feist, I would still recommend giving this one a shot - new characters, new setting, it's a good read. If you are just coming into Feist's work I would recommend you start at the beginning with Magician: Apprentice and go from there, that way there will be no spoilers for you and everything will make much more sense. All-in-all though I highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy novels and people looking for a solid fantasy author without all the theatrics of some authors now-a-days. Very good read.
reviewed by fazer on November 29, 2006 1:58 PM