A question about Riftwar and Silvertorn

[Connavar]

I read Magician months ago. I thought 60% of the book was a great read. I enjoyed Pug,Thomas,the dragon lord,Tsurani world and culture which i thought was the most interesting. I liked the siege Crydee.

At end i think it got alittle too clichè starting with when Pug came back to Mikdemia. Specially with the Royal story with Arutha,Martin,Lyam.


I was wondering does Silvertorn reach the high points of Magician in terms of the qaulity of the story. Im not asking if Silvertorn is good read but Magician was the best in the series or if it gets better.

 

[Pyan]

Personally, I'd say that Silverthorn is not as interesting- it's a fairly straightforward quest story, and lacks a lot of the sweep of Magician.

That's not to say it's particularly bad or anything, but it's a lot simpler, and, I think, doesn't engage the reader the same way.

 

[Rohan]

Yes, I would agree with Pyan. The two books are really quite different from one another. Magician feels much more self-contained, so to speak, and more "epic" in a sense. I enjoyed Silverthorn quite a bit when I first read it, but it was certainly less ambitious in terms of scope.

 

[Connavar]

Okay is it worth finishing the series though?

And does Riftwar end at The King's Buccaneer ?

Some list say thats the last book in the first original series and others list say the third book Darkness at Sethanon is the end.

 

[Overread]

I think there is somthing like 20+ books set in the Riftwar worlds - and that is made up of several differnet collections.
Also, The King's BUccaneer - I thought that its was not a part of the origianl as much - its more a tale of things that come after

 

[Connavar]

So this i got from Fantasticfiction is a lie??

Riftwar
Magician (1982)
1. Magician: Apprentice (1982)
2. Magician: Master (1982)
3. Silverthorn (1985)
4. A Darkness at Sethanon (1985)
5. Prince of the Blood (1989)
6. The King's Buccaneer (1989)



Is it worth reading the last two? Or can i finish the series with the third book?

I liked Magician enough to finish first riftwar series.

Also Conn Iggulden said in Empire series set in Kelewan is much better than other spin off series. Is that series good? Should i try it? Specially since i found Magician at its best when Pug was in Tsurani world, was much more interesting with their samurai like culture than the generic psuedo midevil european setting.

 

[Overread]

Well I consider Prince of the Blood and The Kings Buccaneer to be more indevidual tales rather than part of a series, like the earlier bookds. However, if you intend on following through with the rest of the world he has made - such as serpent war - then I would read them as they detail events that affect the rest of the world - but they stand alone as books more.
)note I have not followed through with much of the world - just not enough time to read it all and the rest I read)

 

[Connavar]

Good to know.

I only care about finishing the first series. No interest at all following the rest of the world he made with the other series.

Plus those two books sound to be about Nobles,royals etc which i thought ruined Magician. The soap thing "oh No Martin is the true heir nooo" yeesh.....

 

[nj1]

IMO the best series is the serpent war, so i'd recommend that you read the other two (prince and Kings Bucc) as they involve bits that relate to Serpent wars. Thet are more stand alone books, POTB is based more in Kesh and KB is based at sea.

 

[Connavar]

maybe you can help me out with my Empire Trilogy question in that Riftwar Legacy thread?

 

[Fake Vencar]

Silverthorn is a very good book in its own right, but it doesn't live up to the high points of Magician.If you found the end of Magician a bit too cliche then you will not like the ending, trust me on that. As for the two other books, they are not part of the Riftwar Saga but are another series called the Riftwar Legacy...or something like that

 

[Connavar]

Then why people keep listing those two books in Riftwar saga? Thats annoying, it confuses people.

I have seent that in like 10 sites. From Fantasticfiction to wiki.

 

[Fake Vencar]

Woops, i am sorry. It isn't the Riftwar Legacy at all but a series called Krondor's Sons

The Series | The Official Raymond E. Feist Website

I only trust this site for book news and so forth.

 

[williamjm]

I read Magician months ago. I thought 60% of the book was a great read. I enjoyed Pug,Thomas,the dragon lord,Tsurani world and culture which i thought was the most interesting. I liked the siege Crydee.

At end i think it got alittle too clichè starting with when Pug came back to Mikdemia. Specially with the Royal story with Arutha,Martin,Lyam.

I was wondering does Silvertorn reach the high points of Magician in terms of the qaulity of the story. Im not asking if Silvertorn is good read but Magician was the best in the series or if it gets better.

I didn't think Silverthorn was as good as Magician. It is closer to be a clichéd quest-driven fantasy. The next book A Darkness at Sethanon was a bit better, there are some very good battle scenes in it and some imaginative sub-plots set beyond Midkemia. There are several places you can stop reading the series and still get a complete story - you could stop after A Darkness at Sethanon or The King's Buccaneer or Rage of a Demon King.

I would recommend the Empire trilogy if you liked the Tsurani, I thought the second book in particular was excellent.

 

[kauldron26]

i finished the Riftwar Saga and it was amazing. however i gotta say, if there werent any sequels magician would probably be in my top 5 books of all time. the sequels silverthorn and darkness at sethanon are very good but magician apprentice and master was pure perfection... an absolute masterpiece. so i'd put both riftwar saga and memory/sorrow/thorn on the same level and they both have 4 books. riftwar saga peaked early, while the other started off mediocre and then became incredible.

Highly recommended: Farseer and Tawny Man by Robin Hobb, Curse of the chalion by Bujold

 

[murphy]

So this i got from Fantasticfiction is a lie??

Riftwar
Magician (1982)
1. Magician: Apprentice (1982)
2. Magician: Master (1982)
3. Silverthorn (1985)
4. A Darkness at Sethanon (1985)
5. Prince of the Blood (1989)
6. The King's Buccaneer (1989)



Is it worth reading the last two? Or can i finish the series with the third book?

I liked Magician enough to finish first riftwar series.

Also Conn Iggulden said in Empire series set in Kelewan is much better than other spin off series. Is that series good? Should i try it? Specially since i found Magician at its best when Pug was in Tsurani world, was much more interesting with their samurai like culture than the generic psuedo midevil european setting.

The Empire trilogy is excellent. I liked it much better than the Riftwar series. It's written by Feist and Janny Wurts and has a whole different flavor.

When I bought Magician, it was only one book, a large trade paperback. They broke it down when it went to mass market paperback. Later, I purchased the Author's preferred edition, where Feist added some things that the publisher had taken out. Unfortunately, I lost it in a fire.

 

[Grimward]

I agree with Murphy; the Empire series is excellent and well worth reading in its own right. I also agree with Williamjm; the initial Riftwar series (Magician, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon) starts well, tails off a little with Silverthorn (it's a decent read, but not up to the level of the other two) then makes a great recovery with the Sethanon book. Hope you haven't been sitting on the fence about whether to read the other two this long!

 

[Connavar]

Good to know it makes a recovery in Sethanon.

I ordered Silvertorn yesterday. Finaly deciding to finish the series if Silvertorn isnt totaly horrible which isnt likely. I have read much worse than Feist worst.

 

[dekket]

The Riftwar trilogy is comprised of three books, Magician (which has been subsequently split into Apprentice and Master), Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon.

Personally I believe Silverthorn is the weakest of the three, but it is a necessary lead up to the events of A Darkness at Sethanon, which is the conclusion of the trilogy.

Whilst I prefer Magician (it is a more personal/character driven tale), A Darkness at Sethanon is the most eventful of the books, and deals with Pug and Tomas searching for Macros, the destruction of Armengor, and the invasion of the Kingdom by the Dark Brotherhood out of the Northlands.

I recommend that, if you like Magician, at least read Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon, as this completes the events/consequences of the first Riftwar.

At this stage you could stop, or continue on for the events of the next Riftwars (of which there are going to be Five in total).

 

[Laerten]

I have read all of the REF books books and although each series is individual in its own right, the more you read the more you realise why certain things happened in the earlier ones.

Also, if you are going to read more of his books, follow the alternate reading list on his official website (Home | The Official Raymond E. Feist Website) with the exception of reading the Riftwar Legacy after the Empire Trilogy - this is because things happen in the Riftwar Legacy that are mentioned in Prince of the Blood and Kings Bucaneer.