A Darkness at Sethanon

Author: Raymond E Feist

This is the final book in the Riftwar Saga series. I'm sure I've read the books before, as the characters' names are somewhat familiar, although I can't quite remember the plots. But I was in the mood for dragons and elves, so this seemed right up my alley.

This book has it all - dragons, elves, magicians and an assortment of all creatures good and evil. There's also a bit of time- and space-travelling, jumping about to different worlds and universes.

It starts with an attempt to murder Arutha, the Prince of Krondor during a royal Festival. Forces of evil are gathering in large numbers to prepare for war, but the real motive and target of the Enemy is unknown to the good guys. Pug the magician and his friend Tomas (the guy on the book cover) travel in search of Macros the Black to seek the answers that will save their world from destruction.

Of course, the good guys win in the end, after long hard-fought battles that culminate in a grand showdown in Sethanon. There's a lot of action, a bit of politics, a very fine sprinkling of romance in the mix as well. So it should please a lot of fantasy fans who don't already know Feist.

Sadly, I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I don't think I've outgrown the fantasy genre per se - rather, I think I've outgrown Feist. He does a great job describing the swordfighting, battles, castles and travelling through the mountains - to a point where I couldn't really understand his descriptions due to my limited vocabulary in those areas (what's the difference between a barbican and a bailey?), but not so much on the character. Don't get me wrong - there are a lot of characters in the book, but I get the feeling that Feist assumes we know them well enough that only a caricaturistic description suffices.

In the end, I could not really connect with any of them. I think I'll stick with Pratchett and Gaiman in future.