Feist still worthy of a read?

[biodroid]

I looked on his website and it seems like Raymond is having personal problems. Maybe that could be the effect of him not being fully involved in his stories. I could be wrong. I just like the simplistic style compared to all the "greats" who seem to bore rather than entertain.

 

[woodsman]

Yeah he is fairly simple, although I love Nakors discussions on the nature of the gods, got me interested in philosophy.

Midkemia is one of my favourite worlds as well, I just don't think his recent books have been as good as some of his previous stuff.

 

[GOLLUM]

I think in my case it was a change in my taste of literature that probably caused that.

That's what happened to me. My tastes changed.

As a teenager and up to my early 30s I used to enjoy the Feist books and read all there was to read. However, I haven't read any of his new releases for at least the past 6-7 years or so.

I also think Magician is a deserved classic but after that he was never quite able to sustain the magic. Writing with Janny, who IMO was/is the far superior writer, lifted things for a while but then it started to loose steam.

I met Feist and he's good for a chat and more than competent at the particular style and level he writes at but it no longer held my interest as it became a bit too formulaic. Too many other fishes to fry.

 

[thesoothsayer]

Maybe it's time for me to give Feist another go. I read the Magician >20 years ago when I was less than 10. I've reread a few times since, but the last time was probably >15 years ago. Not sure if it has aged well for me. If I remember correctly, I liked the first half a little more than the second.

One thing that keeps putting me off continuing the series is the inconsistencies that many have highlighted. But I guess the next two books after the Magician should be safe from that?

 

[Fake Vencar]

The inconsistencies really begin to start a few books after the Riftwar Saga, so you'll be safe!

 

[biodroid]

Ok, about 60+ pages into ADAS and it's picking up now, I am enjoying it so far even though I haven't read Feist for at least 10 years or more, I can still remember the characters and also remember liking/disliking them. Looks like Sethanon is going to be a good book maybe better than Silverthorn?

 

[Moontravler]

I haven't read Feist before, but I'm particularly interested in the Krondor saga. Can I start with those without having read any of his previous works?

 

[Cayal]

I looked on his website and it seems like Raymond is having personal problems.

Let me guess. It has to do with women.

 

[Koopa]

It is not so much the mistakes about age, descent and so that i can't stand.
What bugs me is the constant repetition, Pug (a sorcererr more then 100 years old, blablabla), Thomas (when a boy just a human, now a Valheru because of his armor, blablabla), and so on. Whenever a character appears feist feels the needs to give an entire synopsis on that character. Whats worse, he does sometimes several times for the SAME character. And you're thinking yeah feist i get, i read the same synopsis 300 pages ago.

 

[Clansman]

I haven't read any Feist since the Demon Queen invasion of Krondor, where Eric von Darkmoor saves the day after Krondor falls and they are fighting in the valleys of the Eastern kingdom. Not a bad read, but I stopped there, and haven't felt the desire to keep going.

 

[Darksaber]

if you want god honest truth, Feist is worth the read, he does have some really bad books, but they just blend in with the rest. Its just a shame the newer ones are a bit lacking.. Rides a Dread Legion, bored the pants off me.. i hope the new one is better

 

[sielah]

The problem I have with Feist's later books is that he seems to have forgotten how to create well rounded, sympathetic characters.

The Conclave of Shadows trilogy was just terrible for this. Talon was so damnably perfect at everything and anything and so utterly lacking in depth and dimension that I eventually couldn't care less what happened to him. By halfway through the second book, I was actually rooting for Kaspar. At least he was interesting, if only in a scenery chewing way.

And I also think Feist has problems with female characters. IMHO, he just can't write them for sh*t now. They are all either buxom barmaids or slutty barmaids or manipulative bitches or slutty manipulative bitches or irritating shrews.

But I know Feist has recently gone through a divorce. Maybe that has worn on him the wrong way, as with George Lucas and 'The Temple of Doom"...

 

[ser4]

hey guys i was wondering is it just me or does the later books after Darkness at Sethanon get a little ....well not boring but kind of close. I mean it is always something out of this world that threatens Mikdemia and Pug comes to the rescue. Does it get better then this or is it just a waste of time? I just finished "Flight Of The NightHawks"

 

[Fake Vencar]

The later books are not the same as his earlier efforts; I'd recommend reading them still though. He seems to have cut out most of his mistakes in the newest releases but the storylines are both predictable and, in some cases, more than a little confusing

 

[CadleyX]

It looks at though he's finally bringing the whole thing to an end with "Magician's End" in a couple of years, so maybe the thought of being able to work on something new will improve the end of the series and anything else he does in the future.

Everything up to Shards of a Broken Crown is worth reading, after that it is very hit and miss, although he is incredibly easy to read, and none of his books are particularly bad as just average.

 

[fingy773]

Everything up to Shards of a Broken Crown is worth reading, after that it is very hit and miss, although he is incredibly easy to read, and none of his books are particularly bad as just average.

I Agree with that.

 

[rdenning]

Oh I think so. Magician was another one of those books I discovered at university and loved at once. Whilst some of his later books are don't have the magnificence of the earlier ones (the sheer scope and scale of the story I mean) he is still a good author.

 

[Virtuous]

It's interesting that "Shards of a Broken Crown" is often mentioned as his last good book. Like many, I was so blown away by "Magician" that Feist rocketed to the top of my fave fantasy author list, but it was "Shards" that was the final nail in the coffin for my enthusiasm. Not that it was a bad book - it just seemed that Feist had lost his passion for storytelling that was so engaging, and was just pumping out bog-standard fantasy novels. If "Shards" was the last good one, I'm glad I stopped there.

 

[woodsman]

Well I really enjoyed Shards. The Keshian spy stuff was fairly standard fair, but it was great to see Tomas in action again. I really enjoyed Nakor's temple, I don't think I've read another fantasy where someone started a religion. Then again I have a severe man-crush on Nakor so anything he did was gold to me. I've read a lot of fantasy where everything ends when the good side win out, so it was nice to see some attempts at re-building occuring and all that that entailed.

 

[fingy773]

well, the main error i found was that erik married kitty in the serpent war, but in the later series it said he was never married.