- Mass Market Paperback: 564 pages
- Publisher: Daw Books; Reprint edition (5 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0756404630
- ISBN-13: 978-0756404635
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 10.7 x 3.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,567,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Feast of Souls: The Magister Trilogy: Book One
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Friedman. . . writes bright, clear prose that can shine like gemstones or cut like broken glass. If you haven't read her work you need to do something about that right now (Tad Williams )
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
The first volume in a compelling new fantasy series from the acclaimed new author of The Coldfire Trilogy.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Inexplicably, this latest offering by acclaimed author C. S. Friedman has been flying under the radar since last January. And given its quality, this sad state of affairs continues to baffle me. Feast of Souls marks Friedman's return to the fantasy genre. That, in and of itself, should be reason enough to buy this book! Like many other readers, I have been waiting for this moment since Crown of Shadows was published.
And yet, having read both Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind and Williams' Shadowplay earlier this year, I decided to wait a while before giving this one a chance. I try to balance everything by reading titles from various publishers -- an attempt to spread the joy, if you will. However, electing to wait before reading Feast of Souls proved to be a dumb move on my part, for the first volume of the Magister trilogy is without a doubt the very best of Daw Books' "big guns" of 2007.
More epic than dark fantasy this time around, Feast of Souls is a compelling opening chapter in a tale which appears vaster in scope than anything C. S. Friedman has written up until this point. Having said that, I feel that it's also the least self-contained novel the author has ever written. Whereas each volume of the Coldfire trilogy was more or less stand-alone -- even though part of an overall story arc -- Feast of Souls is definitely an introduction to a much more ambitious and complex fantasy epic.
Richly detailed worldbuilding intrigues the reader from the beginning. It's obvious that this book is meant to lay the groundwork for what will unfold in the upcoming sequels. As such, it makes for a slower pace for the better part of the first half of the novel. After that, the pace quickens and the storytelling makes it difficult to put this one down.
Characterization is a facet in which Friedman excels. It's a little harder to judge how memorable some of these characters will be, for Feast of Souls is comprised of multiple viewpoints. Hence, since the story reveals itself through the eyes of various POV characters, the narrative is not as powerful as that of the Coldfire trilogy. I'm not saying that the characterization leaves something to be desired, far from it. The author introduces us to an interesting and disparate cast of characters that give substance to this novel. The problem is that she leaves you wanting to learn more, again and again. This is especially true with Kamala, as well as the Magisters Colivar and Ramirus. More will be disclosed in the forthcoming volumes, of course. Sue me for wanting to know more right now!
One word of advice, though: C. S. Friedman now belongs to the school of thought which feels that having characters survive countless ordeals and star in multiple books/series is a somewhat obsolete concept. À la Martin, Lynch and Erikson, she has no qualms about getting rid of main characters when you least expect it. Consider yourself warned. . .;-)
The absence of a map did irk me to some extent. What can I say!?! Maybe I'm too "old school," but I'm one of those people who like to know where the action is taking place.
Imaginative and entertaining, with an ending that I never saw coming, Feast of Souls is probably the most underrated fantasy book of 2007. Give C. S. Friedman's latest a shot, lest it remains this year's best-kept secret!
Check out my blog: www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com
And yet, having read both Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind and Williams' Shadowplay earlier this year, I decided to wait a while before giving this one a chance. I try to balance everything by reading titles from various publishers -- an attempt to spread the joy, if you will. However, electing to wait before reading Feast of Souls proved to be a dumb move on my part, for the first volume of the Magister trilogy is without a doubt the very best of Daw Books' "big guns" of 2007.
More epic than dark fantasy this time around, Feast of Souls is a compelling opening chapter in a tale which appears vaster in scope than anything C. S. Friedman has written up until this point. Having said that, I feel that it's also the least self-contained novel the author has ever written. Whereas each volume of the Coldfire trilogy was more or less stand-alone -- even though part of an overall story arc -- Feast of Souls is definitely an introduction to a much more ambitious and complex fantasy epic.
Richly detailed worldbuilding intrigues the reader from the beginning. It's obvious that this book is meant to lay the groundwork for what will unfold in the upcoming sequels. As such, it makes for a slower pace for the better part of the first half of the novel. After that, the pace quickens and the storytelling makes it difficult to put this one down.
Characterization is a facet in which Friedman excels. It's a little harder to judge how memorable some of these characters will be, for Feast of Souls is comprised of multiple viewpoints. Hence, since the story reveals itself through the eyes of various POV characters, the narrative is not as powerful as that of the Coldfire trilogy. I'm not saying that the characterization leaves something to be desired, far from it. The author introduces us to an interesting and disparate cast of characters that give substance to this novel. The problem is that she leaves you wanting to learn more, again and again. This is especially true with Kamala, as well as the Magisters Colivar and Ramirus. More will be disclosed in the forthcoming volumes, of course. Sue me for wanting to know more right now!
One word of advice, though: C. S. Friedman now belongs to the school of thought which feels that having characters survive countless ordeals and star in multiple books/series is a somewhat obsolete concept. À la Martin, Lynch and Erikson, she has no qualms about getting rid of main characters when you least expect it. Consider yourself warned. . .;-)
The absence of a map did irk me to some extent. What can I say!?! Maybe I'm too "old school," but I'm one of those people who like to know where the action is taking place.
Imaginative and entertaining, with an ending that I never saw coming, Feast of Souls is probably the most underrated fantasy book of 2007. Give C. S. Friedman's latest a shot, lest it remains this year's best-kept secret!
Check out my blog: www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was a really good return for me to the SF genre after a year and I was not disappointed. At first, the book began with different points of view and at one point **spoiler begin** I was confused as to how long Kamala had spent with Ethanus I thought it was a year because the wasting had only hit Andovan for a year but the book indicates a longer time with Ethanus **end of spoiler**. I too missed the map and hope that this is included in the next part of the trilogy - i could not put the book down and read it in one weekend!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To be honest a book that I missed originally and one that I've come to lament in certain respects as it has some wonderful moments within the pages. Bigger, better and perhaps longer than anything Celia has written before this epic novel really does hit the spot for fantasy fans. Richly painted in descriptive words you can't help but get sucked into this world however youre really going to want the additional novels when you pick this up as to be honest its not neatly tied up with a bow by the end in much the same way that her other novels are but perhaps best of all are the characters within, each one ready to jump off the page to the readers imagination and I hope that they will continue to grow with each subsequent outing. I will eagerly await the next novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good
To be blunt I found this book quite compelling. The motivations behind many of the characters were certainly ones I could relate to. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Bradley
A Feast of Souls - Quick Review
I found this book to be absolutely fantastic.
The story of the characters doesn't fit into the stereotypical heroine falling in love with the runaway prince but rather... Read more
The story of the characters doesn't fit into the stereotypical heroine falling in love with the runaway prince but rather... Read more
Published 11 months ago by gj.n0rse
Epic and engrossing dark fantasy
This is my first book by this author but it certainly won't be the last. I was enthralled by the characterisation and world building and glued to every bit of the darkly rich... Read more
Published 19 months ago by C. Y. Davidson
Took a little time to get going
I had never read anything by Celia Friendman before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This book is the 1st of 3 in the 'Magisters Trilogy'. Read more
Published 21 months ago by BookWorm27
Just too long and sooo boring...
I did my best - I really did, but just could not finish this book... I gave up at around a hundred or so pages left - which isn't such a lot I suppose when one considers that... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2009 by FAMOUS NAME
Just too long and Sooo boring...
I did my best - I really did, but just could not finish this book... I gave up at around a hundred or so pages left - which isn't such a lot I suppose when one considers that... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2009 by FAMOUS NAME
A Darkly Sumputous Feast (insert your own pun)
Sometimes known as C.S. Friedman, Celia is the author of the acclaimed dark science-fantasy Coldfire series, of which Black Sun Rising is probably her most well known work. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2008 by Christopher Halo
Darkly fantastic
Sometimes known as C.S. Friedman, Celia is the author of the acclaimed dark science-fantasy Coldfire series, of which Black Sun Rising is probably her most well known work. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2008 by Christopher Halo
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