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Amazon.co.uk Review
Shards of a Broken Crown takes us again to the distinctive Fantasy worlds Feist created 15 years ago with the first of his Riftwar epics, the acclaimed Magician. The four-book Serpentwar Saga, which this novel concludes and which started with Shadow of a Dark Queen, is surely Feist at his most characteristic. He writes sword-and-sorcery in a rip-roaring old-fashioned manner, grand and magical, human an involving, by turns. Shards of a Broken Crown picks up where the previous volume, Rage of a Demon King, left off: there James, noble Duke of Krondor, defeated the evil of the Demon King and his army by sacrificing himself and his city--pouring Quegan fire oil into the sewers of Krondor and torching everything, including himself. Now a new menace has risen from the ashes, in the scarred shape of one of the army's surviving generals, Fadawah. Jimmy and Dash, grandsons of the dead Duke, try to piece together the wreckage of the shattered Kingdom of the Isles, the Shards of the title's Broken Crown.
Feist isn't the world's most sparkling stylist, but there is a cumulative something, a genuine power, about the various treks his characters make across this desolated landscape. The characters themselves are diverse and appealing, and Feist's great strength is in the way he is able to deploy the conventions of heroic fantasy with which we are so familiar (even over familiar) --the sweeping landscapes, titanic battles, the maelstrom of the clash of good and evil--while never losing sight of the particular. He is good on aspects of his fantasy world other writers tend to gloss over (for instance, mundane things like the worlds of trade and work, the jobs ordinary people do--the Serpentwar saga in particular tells us as much about merchants as it does about warriors and magicians). A gripping read.--Adam Roberts --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
The demon has been defeated and the Kingdom rejoices as the threat to the existence of every living thing on Midkemia has passed, but out of the ashes of war new problems arise, in the brilliant sequel to Rage of a Demon King…
Shards of a Broken Crown, Volume IV of Raymond E. Feist’s Serpentwar Saga, tells the story of the survivors of the great assault on the Kingdom by the hordes of the Emerald Queen. An ambitious General has picked up the fallen reins of command and seeks to build a personal empire out of the wreckage of the Western Realm.
It is up to a handful of committed men and women to oppose him. In the forefront of this conflict stand Jimmy and Dash, grandsons of the legendary Jimmy the Hand, who alongside Erik von Darkmoor and Roo Avery must contest on every hand as rival Empires seek to gain from the Empire’s loss. While war rages on two borders, mysterious agencies of dark powers move behind the scenes, from the mountains to the north to the sewers under the burned-out cities of Krondor.
Dark powers move, too, behind the scenes, and Pug the Magician and his allies attempt to engage and defeat them, while the Kingdom struggles to gather together the shattered pieces of the nation and forge a new future.
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First Sentence
THE WIND HAD died. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE WIND HAD died. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As I have been in a reading frenzy of Feist books for the last year, from the Magician to the Sepentwar Saga, I found this book cleverly written but not as exciting as the first ones. Maybe that comes with a familiarity of characters, but Pugs characteristics and motives seems to be transparrent here. However, I can only applaud the way that Arutha, Dash, James and Patrick have been woved into this part of the story. Dealing with their own "ghosts" and the continuously moving events seems very real to life.
This is more of a set of personal struggles being overcome rather the the good guys against the bad guys kind of book. The only thing that really leaves me wondering about is, "who is Nakor?". His character and past are revealed more in this book than any other in the series, and yet you still find yourself knowing very little about him. Its that strange conflict, that again can happen in real life, that makes it such a point of interest.
I guess the whole of the books of the Serpentwar saga could have been reduced somewhat in volume, but now Feist has a set of people with real characters of their own. Not just puppets of the writers whims. I know he has written more books, and I want to read them, but I want to believe that the excitement will come back to his books.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I sometimes wonder what people really want. Any series as long running as this is bound to get somewhat familiar. IF anything, it's a tribute to Raymond E Feist that he can still entertain with this. In particular, I gotta say that I can never get tired of Nakor's whimsical view of life, no matter how much religious fervour he takes on. Sure, there are only so many times you can battle the Valheru, or grow characters that are already staggering. It was with this is mind that I was particularly pleased with the larger roles given to James & Dash, allowing relatively new characters to come more to the fore. It's no Magician, but then nothing is. It's still a damn good book, written in Feist's normal readable style, and is well worth the read, especially considering the lack of really good authors in this genre. Keep it up Raymond.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To be honest I agree with both the praises and criticisms of the book. Yes it was not the most original book, or ground breaking however it did expertly bring the end to an otherwise excellent series. Of course, it does not capture the Riftwar's magic but on it's own it is a superbly written series, and this last book was no exception.
Feist did not sell out and re-hash time-worn fantasy cliches. Instead he kept it real and believable and this was demonstrated in the unceremonial deaths of many key characters, keeping them real and brutal - not overdressing.
I was worried when reaching the end of the book as so much was going on with little pages left. However Feist created a well thought out and un-rushed conclusion. Although it has shamefully left the door open to further adventures (as has been noted), the truth is you want more...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
great read!
Book one in this saga, wonderful could't put the book down!what a Fab a writer Fiest is,you just get lost in the book!
Published 20 months ago by janpix
Shards of a broken crown
Description of product v. good. Fast mailing received in good order and book in v.good condition. Well done. Cagayan
Published on 3 Oct 2009 by Cagayan
Shards of a broken crown
Addictive series of books the serpant wars, waiting to recieve next one.
This book throws you out of reality for a few hours, good reading.
This book throws you out of reality for a few hours, good reading.
Published on 9 July 2009 by Mrs. Laura Ball
Raymond Feist has done it again
This book, together with the three preceding books of the Serpentwar Saga, portrays a world rich in detail with a few lighter touches as relief. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2009 by Mrs. V. Capelin
Enjoyable
Shard's of a Broken Crown is the final book in the Serpentwar saga and bring's to the end another great fantasy series from Feist. Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2007 by G. Peters
Disappointing, very disappointing
Like so many others I've been a Feist fan right from the start. Magician, the entire riftwar, is a masterpiece. The empire series, in my opinion was even better. Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2001 by ashen_shugar_666@hotmail.com
Please, please it can't end here!
This is a book that hits you at many different levels. Primarily it is about people finding about themselves and being able to live as people within the shadows of legends or of... Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2001 by johnmark.horton@sssltd.co.uk
What has happened to the once brilliantly woven stories
Don't get me wrong I have read all Raymond's books so far and I have had great difficulty to put them down. Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2000
What happens next...
I've enjoyed all of Raymond E. Feist's books, and this is no exception, BUT this one does seem to leave a few loose ends. What does happen next?
Published on 19 Jan 2000
Great
I have read other people's reviews and thought i was reading a different book. The serpent war saga was brillant and I enjoyed more than the riftwar saga. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 1999
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