Rage of a Demon King is the third in the Serpentwar Saga and the penultimate book in that series. As such it might be surprising that the great and final battle takes place in this book and not the next one. In fact it surprised me all over again, despite this being my seventh time reading the book. It does explain why I keep switching Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown around whenever I'm making lists or schedules. And it also made me realise how much ten years away from these books and having pregnancy brain twice in that decade has caused me to forget about the Midkemia books, far more than I'd have thought. Good thing I'm doing a reread then, I reckon!Where the first two in this cycle each had a clear main point-of-view regardless of the actual numbers of viewpoints, Rage of a Demon King is more of a mixed book, with both Erik and Roo's viewpoints being equally important. This might be helped by the fact that they are mostly on one continent and are both near the main action in this book. In addition, there is also an interesting arc with Tomas, Pug and Miranda who don't exactly do the heavy lifting fighting-wise, but whose battle is a critical part of the entire conflict—if they lose, everyone loses. It'll be interesting to see whether Shards of a Broken Crown will retain Erik and Roo as its central protagonists or whether Feist switches it around once more.Erik becomes better and better as a character, more rounded and layered, gaining more rough edges and more to lose. Roo on the other hand is still a great character, but he is getting even more mired in the things that I found problematic about him in Rise of a Merchant Prince. This time he is torn not just between Karli and Sylvia, but Helen Jacoby as well, though to be fair nothing happens between the latter and Roo other than longing looks, deep sighs and much ponderation. But Helen is clearly set up as the Madonna to Sylvia's Eve and that bugged me. Mostly because Helen is a decent woman, who doesn't deserve to pine for a man she can't have, but also because it once again leaves Karli by the wayside, a fate she truly doesn't deserve, especially since I think that ultimately she and Roo are quite compatible. Sylvia did get her comeuppance and it was rather splendid, but I wonder how Roo's love life will resolve. And I hope he gets back to mercantile deviousness in Shards of a Broken Crown.What I enjoyed about this book is that while the focus is clearly on the powerful and great of the land doing heroic doings to 'Save the World'��™, Feist also shows us the effect on the little people, those forced to leave their homes and goods behind, just to stay alive and the regular troops, who follow orders and end up far from home not even sure what they are fighting for. He shows the cost of war, both in a financial sense – the loans Duke James takes out to finance the army are stupendous – and a human sense. The book is laced with loss, from the razing of Krondor, the thousands of soldiers lost in the war, to some far more painful deaths of some of the most beloved characters in the Riftwar Cycle.The resolution to the conflict between Midkemia and the Emerald Queen was wonderful and I liked how Feist resolved the situation with the Lifestone, bringing to an end something that was started in Magician. There is a clear set up for Shards of a Broken Crown, but it's one that feels somewhat tacked on, as this quartet could easily have ended here as a trilogy. There is also the sense that had Feist wanted, he could have ended the Riftwar Cycle permanently at this point. I wonder if I'll still feel that way after reading the final book of the series or whether it was already clear that there would be more adventures and that this was not the end. Be that as it may, I enjoyed Rage of a Demon King despite some of my misgivings and I'm looking forward to seeing how the next book will round out the Serpentwar Saga.***This review is part of my Midkemia Reread, in which I read all the books Raymond E. Feist wrote set in the world of Midkemia. For more on the why and how of this series of reviews, check out Midkemia Reread: An Introduction.
Top notch from Feist! As epic as his quests are, it is that adventurous spirit that pushes me to keep reading. This book was no exception and it was definitely a fantastic (excuse the pun) read. The amount of magic, lore, and fantasy elements were spot on. From start to finish, I felt I was being pulled further and further into the world of Midkemia and their struggle against a very foreign and determined foe. One of the best things about this book is the epic battles. Every description and tactic was well thought out and executed perfectly by Feist. There were no 'ultimate' characters that somehow defied the rules of the world for a perfect victory and I felt the battle was never 'one-sided' the entire time. The main characters continually struggled throughout the entire battle. After all, demons are nothing to take lightly.The story that came with the epic battle was very intricately woven. Feist brings the reader on a very detailed journey between very important characters that all have a destiny to fulfill. Feist adds just the right amount of plot twists that it keeps the reader interested and engaged. (view spoiler)[My only gripe was the fact that elves or dwarves didn't make a huge appearance in this novel. Being a huge fan of fantasy novels, I was hoping to see more of the supporting races. They were very decisive in the final battle, but I felt they were overlooked (aside from Calis of course). I was hoping for Dolgan's (or his son's) wits and some other elf's more logical nature. I did, however, enjoy seeing Pug and Tomas fighting together. It brought tears to this die-hard fan's eyes. (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book Rage Of A Demon King (1997)?
Another great installment in the series. Now having read this one, I can see that Rise of a Merchant Prince really was a bit of an in between book that really just set the scene for this one. It did get a bit strange and philosophical at one point which just messed with my head a bit but ignoring that, the action was good, I enjoyed the way the characters developed and I loved seeing more of Erik and Calis. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I'm still not giving it the 5 stars I gave the Empire series. Can't wait to read more about James and Dash in the final installment. I do hope that we see more of Calis as well.
—Miss
This book attempts to "reboot" the continuity of several major characters by changing their backstory in midstream. Mr Feist is faced with the problem writers face when their major characters become too powerful (Both Pug and Tomas are almost gods). You end up just inventing more and more powerful adversaries. At some point it becomes both tired and ridiculous. This is way past that point. Yet somehow I still kept reading. Sigh. I am sure there are still Midkemia stories to be told. But vast end-of-the-world stories should not be one of them. After all, just how many times can Midkemia be threatened with "the end to everything" before it becomes just another yawn.
—Doc Johnny
