Raymond E. Feist

Ok, so I got 67% into this book and it just isn't working for me. Janny Wurts is a very good writer, I am not as convinced with Raymond Feist, but the pace dragged, and my interest was not held. The plot centers around Mara, a girl who belongs to a clan called the Acoma who suddenly finds herself its leader when her family is murdered by her enemies. Mara is a great character, in theory. She is basically a political savant. She makes plans and everybody is a piece on the chessboard. Her ultimate goal is to secure the clan of Acoma so that it can never be threatened again. The reason why I say she is a great character in theory is because as a "strong female lead" she is a bit too perfect. Her plots land her deeper into shit, but she always manages to come out alright in the end. I think the problem is lack of action. The action scenes are very compelling, but most of the book is Mara thinking about the implications of making a miniscule move on a larger political chessboard against ambiguous enemies you won't meet past the 50% mark. There is nothing Mara cares about more than the Acoma, she doesn't really have friends. She has servants, but there is no character to kind of bounce off of Mara's ridiculous exceptionalism. Between the slow pacing and political machinations that bored me to death, the setting was a little bit too close to feudal era Japan for my taste. It felt like boring fanfiction for a better anime about the Edo period. Maybe you'll like this if you like Game of Thrones. It certainly has Game of Thrones vibe, but Game of Thrones has better pacing.… (altro)

Enjoyed it. Its still not great writing, and it’s more something I’d recommend as a lighter read to someone who is already a fan of fantasy and has read the classics. For those people, it’s an enjoyable conclusion to what, apparently, is the first of many series in this universe.

The biggest issue with the series is that the writing is limited by the fact that the author likes his characters too much. Everyone is saved from certain doom (except undeveloped characters - they basically always die or disappear within half a book of being introduced), every relationship works out just the way it “should,” every old enemy turns out to be either totally evil (and is vanquished) or just misunderstood (and becomes a great friend), and the main characters always have enough money and titles to reward everyone for their help at the end of the book.

That said, it takes some confidence to write a fantasy book that features characters watching the big bang happen, so kudos for that.… (altro)

At first, I thought this would be a 4/5, but as the book wore on, a lot of the same problems emerged as in book 1. The ideas are solid, but the execution is poor. It’s like Feist had the idea for a grander story, but cut it short (and made it lighter) due to a combination of trying to appeal to a broader audience, and a lack of technical skill. Its books like this that make one appreciate the realism of books like Game of Thrones, which don’t pull their punches when its not sensible to do so. In this book, folks die and twists happen, but it barely matters. In the end, everyone pairs up, moves on, and fondly remembers those lost. I may keep reading the series, but my expectations have dropped a lot.… (altro)