RIDES A DREAD LEGION - RAYMOND E FEIST

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Permalink Reply by JOE CRAWFORD on January 4, 2010 at 6:56pm

At least read WRATH of a MAD GOD.
joe

luke ridger said:

yeah i've read magician, silverthorn and a darkness at sethanon and i got rides a dread legion for Xmas but it seems that i should read some books before this one. Which one should i read?

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Permalink Reply by luke ridger on January 5, 2010 at 11:08am

okay thanks a friend of my step dad said i didn't need to read them but i will read that one then :)
thanks

JOE CRAWFORD said:

At least read WRATH of a MAD GOD.
joe

luke ridger said:

yeah i've read magician, silverthorn and a darkness at sethanon and i got rides a dread legion for Xmas but it seems that i should read some books before this one. Which one should i read?

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Permalink Reply by Phil Keeton on January 7, 2010 at 11:39am

I have long been a follower of Feist and have also ventured to read Faerie Tale.

My favourite works of his are the Tsuranii books he co-wrote with Janny Wurts and I would love them to write together again. I would recommend that anyone who enjoyed his initial Midkemian books should read the Kelewan books next.

I wait for every new book and usually finish it the same day I buy it.

For me though, Feist's more recent books are like fast food....enjoyable and immediately satisfying in a naughty but yummy way......however, a little while later, the sensation has merged with a previous experience and it all gets a little samey. You want the next book in the same way a burger can make you feel like you want another one.....ultimately, the next installment will still not completely satisfy for very long.....

In this way, I would rather he be more George RR Martin and write an epic and leave us wanting more for longer.....however, I suppose it makes more sense to publish smaller books more regularly. Is there a middle ground, I wonder?

I read this book the day it came out.......I can't quite remember what it was about now, apart from it was more Pug than others previously.

However, I'm still looking forward to the next "Takeaway"!

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Permalink Reply by luke ridger on January 7, 2010 at 3:50pm

hmm yeah well i always liked it when pug was on kelewan as milamber and i found these bits the best.
i've read the riftwar saga easily 15 times and it's my birthday soon soi am getting a couple more :)
thanks for the help.

Phil Keeton said:

I have long been a follower of Feist and have also ventured to read Faerie Tale.

My favourite works of his are the Tsuranii books he co-wrote with Janny Wurts and I would love them to write together again. I would recommend that anyone who enjoyed his initial Midkemian books should read the Kelewan books next.

I wait for every new book and usually finish it the same day I buy it.

For me though, Feist's more recent books are like fast food....enjoyable and immediately satisfying in a naughty but yummy way......however, a little while later, the sensation has merged with a previous experience and it all gets a little samey. You want the next book in the same way a burger can make you feel like you want another one.....ultimately, the next installment will still not completely satisfy for very long.....

In this way, I would rather he be more George RR Martin and write an epic and leave us wanting more for longer.....however, I suppose it makes more sense to publish smaller books more regularly. Is there a middle ground, I wonder?

I read this book the day it came out.......I can't quite remember what it was about now, apart from it was more Pug than others previously.

However, I'm still looking forward to the next "Takeaway"!

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Permalink Reply by JOE CRAWFORD on January 7, 2010 at 5:24pm

I have been a big GRRM fan since ever, he takes too long to finish a book- he will never finish Fire and Ice.
joe

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Permalink Reply by Jebus Jones on January 7, 2010 at 10:28pm

I just read Joe's review of this novel and, I really don't want to sound mean here, but it has to be one of the worst reviews of a novel I think I have ever come across. Sorry Joe, but to come in to a series at something like book 25 is just insane - sure it deals with mostly new characters but a lot of it doesn't and I think most people reading it would need to read all the previous books in the Riftwar universe to understand the full extent of the back story hinted at and blatantly referred to in the novel.

At the same time it was interesting to see your take on the novel coming in as an RF "virgin" as it were. Maybe the people like myself who have read the past 24 novels in the Riftwar Cycle are just a little more jaded than your fresh eyes have seen.

Also, saying you have now bought the previous novel, Wrath of a Mad God, doesn't exactly give me confidence in your opinion since it is the third in a distinct trilogy. Reading that would be like reading Return of the King before reading Fellowship and Towers. Anyway...

I'd have to agree with Phil Keeton in that RF has in maybe his last 9 to 11 books really come down in quality of story, pacing, characterisation and theme - frankly his characters are too much of the same-old same-old rehashed cardboard cut-out images of former characters. His best and most original work was in the Magician to King's Buccaneer years and then the first two novels of the Serpentwar Saga being quite good and the latter two letting the series down. Since then it has certainly been an interesting ride but I really consider his novels to be "fantasy-lite". I still consider the Empire Trilogy with Wurts to be one of my absolute favourite fantasy sequences of all time and I re-read it every couple of years, however the rest of his novels I rarely re-read apart from the original trilogy maybe every 5 years or so.

This, of course, could all be because the "New Grit" style of fantasy took off in the late 90s that seems to have dominated much of the genre (GRRM, Erikson, Abercrombie, Lynch, Morgan, etc) since then. I'm no expert in the field, although I have been reading fantasy novels almost exclusively for 22 years, but I think that writers like Abercrombie or Erikson more epitomise the "feel" of a David Gemmell novel rather than such an established author as Raymond E Feist.

I have actually met RF and he's a man with a definite plan when it comes to the entire Riftwar Cycle but I think his novels just don't cut the mustard when it comes to the ideals that come to mind when thinking of the DG awards.

In the end, I've thoroughly enjoyed my stay on Midkemia and Kelewan, and will do so for the final trilogy as well (hell I have them all in hard back!) but I really don't think RF's work should be considered for this award.

Also Joe - GRRM will finish A Song of Ice and Fire and he'll do so brilliantly, he may not have the output of Abercrombie, Feist or Erikson but each writer goes at their own pace and all we can hope is that he doesn't cark it before the final word is written. Although if he does, I hear Brandon Sanderson may be looking for more work ;-P

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Permalink Reply by JOE CRAWFORD on January 7, 2010 at 11:19pm

i think you did get my drift in the last paragraph! The odds of Martin dying before finishing are higher than Vegas will even quote! Especially so since it took 4 years for the last installment. And you may be correct about the newbie being less critical of the series since i havent read it all. That doesnt mean that my review is any less worthy than anyone elses, it just reflects my interpretation of the latest episode in a lengthy output of a most capable author. I can line up quite a list of people who consider my views nearer the mark! Would you like names? I did talk to several long time fans of Jordan s before i wrote a word. That said, i think you may be a tad jaded about Jordan. I know i am tired of waiting for GRRM to finish his supposed masterwork. And to think that i thought he was the best fantasy writer ever after A Song for LYA.
Now you certainly have my blessing whn you vote as you want! I know who i will vote for!
respectfully,
joe

Jebus Jones said:

I just read Joe's review of this novel and, I really don't want to sound mean here, but it has to be one of the worst reviews of a novel I think I have ever come across. Sorry Joe, but to come in to a series at something like book 25 is just insane - sure it deals with mostly new characters but a lot of it doesn't and I think most people reading it would need to read all the previous books in the Riftwar universe to understand the full extent of the back story hinted at and blatantly referred to in the novel.

At the same time it was interesting to see your take on the novel coming in as an RF "virgin" as it were. Maybe the people like myself who have read the past 24 novels in the Riftwar Cycle are just a little more jaded than your fresh eyes have seen.

Also, saying you have now bought the previous novel, Wrath of a Mad God, doesn't exactly give me confidence in your opinion since it is the third in a distinct trilogy. Reading that would be like reading Return of the King before reading Fellowship and Towers. Anyway...

I'd have to agree with Phil Keeton in that RF has in maybe his last 9 to 11 books really come down in quality of story, pacing, characterisation and theme - frankly his characters are too much of the same-old same-old rehashed cardboard cut-out images of former characters. His best and most original work was in the Magician to King's Buccaneer years and then the first two novels of the Serpentwar Saga being quite good and the latter two letting the series down. Since then it has certainly been an interesting ride but I really consider his novels to be "fantasy-lite". I still consider the Empire Trilogy with Wurts to be one of my absolute favourite fantasy sequences of all time and I re-read it every couple of years, however the rest of his novels I rarely re-read apart from the original trilogy maybe every 5 years or so.

This, of course, could all be because the "New Grit" style of fantasy took off in the late 90s that seems to have dominated much of the genre (GRRM, Erikson, Abercrombie, Lynch, Morgan, etc) since then. I'm no expert in the field, although I have been reading fantasy novels almost exclusively for 22 years, but I think that writers like Abercrombie or Erikson more epitomise the "feel" of a David Gemmell novel rather than such an established author as Raymond E Feist.

I have actually met RF and he's a man with a definite plan when it comes to the entire Riftwar Cycle but I think his novels just don't cut the mustard when it comes to the ideals that come to mind when thinking of the DG awards.

In the end, I've thoroughly enjoyed my stay on Midkemia and Kelewan, and will do so for the final trilogy as well (hell I have them all in hard back!) but I really don't think RF's work should be considered for this award.

Also Joe - GRRM will finish A Song of Ice and Fire and he'll do so brilliantly, he may not have the output of Abercrombie, Feist or Erikson but each writer goes at their own pace and all we can hope is that he doesn't cark it before the final word is written. Although if he does, I hear Brandon Sanderson may be looking for more work ;-P

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Permalink Reply by Phil Keeton on January 8, 2010 at 11:59am

Hey Joe

When I put my comments down, I had not read your review. I think it's great that you enjoyed the book and it left you wanting more. I can only advise to start with Magician....if there are novels of his that are truly Gemmellesque it is in the first trilogy and the subsequent work with Janny Wurts, but so what if you read them in any order you want....just enjoy them! I do!

Sometimes you fancy a burger rather than a 6 course supper....... would anyone want Christmas Dinner every dayl?

What niggles me is that Feist can really write but has become too comfortable in his style to be producing the high quality that he did intially.

I have not yet made up my mind......I have too much reading left to do!!!!

I'd be interested in what you have to say on The Island......I did a wee review on that one.

Cheers - Phil

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Permalink Reply by Deborah J Miller - Award Administrator on January 8, 2010 at 12:43pm

Hey guys - play nice! ;-)

I personally think it was great that Joe reviewed and came to the Fiest book as a complete 'Mydkemia virgin' - he looked at the work with unbiased and un-jaded eyes - knew nothing of the franchise & discovered a new writer to love! A win-win situation in my opinion.

However, Jebus, if you'd like to review the book as a Fiest fan - someone who does know all the back stories etc - it would be interesting to contrast and compare the two opinions.

It does raise an interesting point in my mind: that well established authors fanbase ( Martin, Erikson, Fiest etc) must 'bottom out' at a certain stage as people become daunted to start a huge backlist & just don't bother... sort of like deciding you want to watch 'Lost' after all, on series 4! (Yeah, I know you can buy the box set lol!)

Debbie

PS: Phil just putting your review up now - thanks!

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Permalink Reply by JOE CRAWFORD on January 27, 2010 at 7:43pm

Hi Phil, I just now managed a few to read your review of The Island. I think you felt the same way i feel after i read some of the noms for various awards. I swing from just unfulfilled to downright dirty- you know like i just did something wrong and need to repent! Also, the feeling that there is more story out there, they are just not telling it. Never had that problem with David, did you? Now, Rides a Dread Legion is like that except Feist may actually finish his series before either he or i die! I will definitely p[ick up The Island based on your review. My vote s already in but i never turn down a good read!
joe

Phil Keeton said:

Hey Joe

When I put my comments down, I had not read your review. I think it's great that you enjoyed the book and it left you wanting more. I can only advise to start with Magician....if there are novels of his that are truly Gemmellesque it is in the first trilogy and the subsequent work with Janny Wurts, but so what if you read them in any order you want....just enjoy them! I do!

Sometimes you fancy a burger rather than a 6 course supper....... would anyone want Christmas Dinner every dayl?

What niggles me is that Feist can really write but has become too comfortable in his style to be producing the high quality that he did intially.

I have not yet made up my mind......I have too much reading left to do!!!!

I'd be interested in what you have to say on The Island......I did a wee review on that one.

Cheers - Phil

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Guile on January 29, 2010 at 9:12am

I have just finished listening to it (unabridged) on my ipod. Fantastic stuff. I haven't enjoyed a book this much for years.

The Tolkien parallels are massive but TLOTR is a timeless classic for a plethora of good reasons. If it ain't broke ...

Deep characters (but there's a mass of histpry here to call on from previous books so that part is made easier), dramatic (some may say overly so ...) dialogue - I loved it - and nice weaving of the story that knits together nicely at the end. The story is laced with latent conflict - the fear of the demons arriving in force, the fleeing of the Taridel, the fear also of them (in the mind of the reader at least), and so on. I like Aramantha and Brandos in particular and it's always good to meet Pug again.

Classic high fantasy, crafted by a master and polished with flair and passion. This guy knows what readers want and dishes it out in spades.

Bravo!!!

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Permalink Reply by JOE CRAWFORD on January 29, 2010 at 6:37pm

Hello Andrew!
I just wish some climactic action had been taken, that was a lot of setup, when you knew the Dread were coming but woulnt get there before the end. I mean, book 1 of 3. Have to save something for later, but be assured i will be first in line at BAM when book 2 shows up!
joe

Andrew Guile said:

I have just finished listening to it (unabridged) on my ipod. Fantastic stuff. I haven't enjoyed a book this much for years.

The Tolkien parallels are massive but TLOTR is a timeless classic for a plethora of good reasons. If it ain't broke ...

Deep characters (but there's a mass of histpry here to call on from previous books so that part is made easier), dramatic (some may say overly so ...) dialogue - I loved it - and nice weaving of the story that knits together nicely at the end. The story is laced with latent conflict - the fear of the demons arriving in force, the fleeing of the Taridel, the fear also of them (in the mind of the reader at least), and so on. I like Aramantha and Brandos in particular and it's always good to meet Pug again.

Classic high fantasy, crafted by a master and polished with flair and passion. This guy knows what readers want and dishes it out in spades.

Bravo!!!

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