A Darkness at Sethanon is the
final book to Raymond Feist's epic fantasy trilogy, Riftwar Saga, which was launched
with the phenomenal success of its first book, Magician. The
general consensus among readers is that Magician is the best
book in this trilogy, where its sequel, Silverthorn, while
being a good book, is a much weaker book in comparison. A Darkness
at Sethanon continued the story that started in Silverthorn,
bringing a conclusion to this trilogy. After reading A Darkness at
Sethanon, I think this is a really good book, and it concluded
Riftwar Saga in a most spectacular fashion. Today, I would
like to provide a review for this book.
Synopsis:
Kingdom of Isles has enjoyed one year
of peace following Prince Arutha's quest for Silverthorn. A
conspiracy shattered this peace, when a mysterious assassin appeared
at the royal court during the celebration for the birth of Arutha's
two sons. The death cult known as Nighthawk, has returned!
The climax for Riftwar Saga approaches,
as Arutha journeys north with his friends, to confront Murmandamus
for one last time. Battles would be waged, cities and lives would be
destroyed. Sagas and songs will remember the deeds of bravery and
courage in the river of history. However, Arutha and his friends have
yet to realize, that they are fighting a war where a victory cannot
be secured by the might of mortal man.
Meanwhile, Pug and Tomas are engaged in
a perilous quest, crossing the barrier of space and time, to search
for Macro the Black, who happens to be the only person with the
knowledge about Murmandamu's master. Should they fail this quest, not
only will Arutha loose the war against Murmandamus, but every life on
Midkemia, will surely perish.
What I think about this book:
I think A Darkness at Sethanon
provided a fitting conclusion to Riftwar Saga. This book and
Silverthorn, are essentially one book. Raymond Feist stepped
up a notch in his storytelling, packing it with more actions and dramas in this
book than in Silverthorn. A Darkness at Sethanon is
split into two storyline; Arutha's final showdown against
Murmadamus, and Pug and Tomas' quest to search for Macro the Black.
These two, seemingly separate plots are packed with dramas, epic in
scope, crescendoed to a final converging point at the climax of the
story. Although this book is not as long as Magician, but it
is almost an equal to Magician in terms of scope and contents. In other
words, A Darkness at Sethanon almost reciprocated the epic
feel in Magician.
Riftwar Saga is often marked by
its memorable characters. A Darkness at Sethanon, is no
exception to this hallmark. This book is supported by a cast of
impressive characters. Readers will reunite with past favorites such
as Arutha, Pug, Tomas, Amos Trask, Jimmy the Hand, Martin Longbow,
Baru etc.. while also meeting a somewhat new, superbly crafted
character, Guy du Bas-Tyra. Guy made a very brief appearance in
Magician as an antagonist, but this character was never
explored in depth. In A Darkness at Sethanon, readers would meet
Guy, as the story finally explained his motivations and his past.
From here, Guy became one of the pivotal characters in the story.
Without spoiling the plot, let me just say, I think many readers will
like Feist's portrayal of Guy, and the role he played in this book.
Pug and Tomas also returned as central characters in this book. Half of the book revolves around
their quest to search for Macro the Black. I think this part of the
book is very interesting, because Pug and Tomas' quest involved
traveling across both space and time, giving off a vibe of
science-fiction which is atypical in the fantasy genre. I think Feist
managed to capture the mind blowing strangeness of space/time travel
from science-fiction, and masterfully grafted it onto a medieval
themed, fantasy novel. With grand narratives and vivid portrayals, Feist depicted several
breathtaking scenes about the grandeur of the universe.
Furthermore, I also like how Tomas, as
a central character, was finally given something important to do in
the story. Allow me to explain, in Magician, the story
detailed the journeys of how Pug and Tomas became the most powerful
entities in the world of Midkemia, i.e. while Pug became a powerful
wizard through training on another world, Tomas became a mighty
warrior who inherited the strength of a long vanished, ancient race
known as Valheru. Afterward, in the ensuing story, Pug was designated to face obstacles
that challenged the limit of his power in several pivotal moments. Meanwhile, the same cannot be said about the treatment
for Tomas. Instead of setting up real challenges for Tomas, Feist
used Tomas as a deus-ex machina solution in Silverthorn. As a
result, inevitably, one will feel that even though Feist spent a great deal of time building the character and story of Tomas in Magician,
but he didn't do much with it afterward, and it is a waste of
potentials. Thankfully, in A Darkness at Sethanon, Tomas is
finally given difficult, and important obstacles to overcome, pushing
his strength to the limit, while pitting him against powerful foes.
I enjoyed reading A Darkness at
Sethanon. This book is packed with all elements that made the
fantasy genre great. In my opinion, this book brought Riftwar Saga
to a satisfying conclusion. All mysteries, plots, and sub-plots are
neatly tied up. I did not find a dull moment in this book (and this
series in general), from page one to the last, I was constantly
immersed in the story, savoring every moment of it as the story
unfolded at the turn of every page. If you are a fan of fantasy
fictions, but have not read Riftwar Saga, then I would highly
recommend this series to you, and I envy you, because you are about
to discover its charm for the first time.
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