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    Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1)
    Unavailable
    Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1)
    Unavailable
    Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1)
    Ebook622 pages10 hours

    Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1)

    By Raymond E. Feist

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 13, 2012
    ISBN9780007385379
    Unavailable
    Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1)
    Author

    Raymond E. Feist

    Raymond E. Feist is the author of more than thirty previous books, including the internationally bestselling “Riftwar Cycle” of novels set in his signature world of Midkemia; the Empire trilogy co-authored with Janny Wurts; the stand-alone novel, Faerie Tale; and the epic fantasy series, the Firemane Saga. He lives in San Diego, California.

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    Reviews for Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, Book 1)

    3.5/5

    547 ratings12 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Autobiography
    • 4/5
      Set about a generation or so after the original Riftwar books, this is the start of an even wider ranging series. Erik von Darkmoor and his village friend Rupert (Roo) Avery find themselves in seriously hot water when Erik's half-brother dies after raping a local girl - Erik being the local lord's bastard had always made his life hard but this time Erik and Roo find themselves at the wrong end of a rope after they thought they'd escaped from Erik's brother. Instead they found themselves inducted into a special squad of soldiers being trained by Calis, son of Tomas and the Elven Queen. Very hard training with lethal consequences for failure - the nooses round the trainees' necks weren't there for show!The action steps up a gear when the squad goes to the continent of Novindus where there is a vast army on the move. This set of books has some of the bloodiest battles in the whole of the Midkemian oeuvre though in this one, we get a relatively gentle introduction, though some of the scenes set in the village are fairly unpleasant as well. In a way, it's good to see that Feist can deliver a really bloody series of actions.
    • 4/5
      While I have apparently read 'Magician' and 'Daughter of the Empire' in the past, I have completely forgotten them so it feel like I'm reading Raymond Feist for the first time.
      The depth of his world-building is at a level that reminds me of The Wheel of Time series (still on Book 9 there).
      I mostly picked this book because it was available from my library as an eBook.
      I really enjoyed it and look forward to working my way through the rest of Raymond Feist's books.
    • 3/5
      A bit too similar to The King's Buccaneer for me but generally enjoyable if you feel like some epic fantasy.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this, especially the beginning. I was very much hooked almost all the way through. The characters were interesting and likeable (especially Roo and Sho Pi) and I really wanted to know what happened next. I look forward to reading the further 3 in the series, and learning more about this. It was great picking up another Raymond E. Feist book. I enjoy his stories.
    • 4/5
      First book of the Serpentwar saga. More great Feist. Super consistent.
    • 3/5
      The basic story: a bunch of desperate men are dragooned, like a fantasy Dirty Dozen, for a dangerous mission into a strange land to try to save the world. Sailing from the Europe-esque fantasy setting where most of Feist's novels are set to an India-esque continent, the band of desperate men sneak, fight and spy their way across a war-torn continent in search of information that can save their land from a coming apocalypse.

      I hadn't read this since I was a child. It holds up well as an adult — nothing special, but delightfully fun. The writing is competent, the worldbuilding thorough (if intentionally derivative of Earth), the characters interesting (if not compelling). This first book is largely setup for the later series; I recall loving the mercantile scheming of the sequel and the epic battles of the final two novels more than this first one. (I may in fact have read Book 2 before Book 1, since I was a terrible person as a child.) There are better fantasy novelists out there than Raymond E. Feist, but you don't need every book you read to be a genre-shaking revolution. These books are just plain fun.
    • 4/5
      Met 'De schaduw van een duistere koningin' is weer een nieuwe saga begonnen in de wereld van Feist. Een nieuwe saga met oude vijanden, en ook een paar oude bekende. Puc en Tomas laten zich even zien, maar behalve op het eind spelen zij geen grote rol. Gevuld met voldoende actie, en weer eens een 'held' waarmee ik me kon identificeren.

      Het verhaal speelt zich tientallen jaren na de riftwar-saga af, en is weer een lekker te lezen verhaal.

      De hoofdrolspelers (Eric en Ru) zijn beide veroordeeld tot de strop, maar krijgen een kans om zich aan te sluiten bij een speciale legereenheid dat uiteindelijk op een soort zelfmoord-missie vertrekt, naar Novindus om te voorkomen dat de Slangenkoningin de wereld overneemt. Want als ze slaagt, zal alle leven in de wereld van Midkemia op houden te bestaan.

      Hoewel Eric van Zwartheide de hoofdrolspeler is in dit verhaal, draait het eigenlijk niet echt om hem, maar zien we de gebeurtenissen door zijn ogen.

      We zien de karakters Erik en Ru groeien van dorpsjongens naar mannen. Ook andere karakters maakten een groei mee.

      Omdat dit verhaal zo'n 60 jaar na de riftwar-cycles speelt, zijn verschillende hoofdrolspelers van toen intussen overleden, maar er is nog genoeg binding met de oorspronkelijke verhaallijnen. Arutha en Lyam zijn overleden, Puc leeft nog, ergens verstopt op de Sterrenwerf en speelt een nog een rol in het verhaal. Ook Tomas is nog aanwezig, maar speelt een heel bescheiden rolletje.

      Op naar het volgende deel: [b:De macht van een koopmansprins|2932975|De macht van een koopmansprins (De Slangenoorlog, #2)|Raymond E. Feist|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1204549658s/2932975.jpg|1844901].

    • 3/5
      I didn't enjoy this as much as the original trilogy -- I guess the characters didn't interest me as much. It's interesting, though, for the further glimpses we get of this world.
    • 4/5
      This book not only starts a new Midkemia trilogy, but it starts us off on a entirely new set of characters, and a new continent as well. Feist shows that he is quite good a building an interesting world with a lot of variety, though the new continent has a sort of Glen Cook feel to it. Again as with his past trilogies, this book is about evil forces gaining power and getting the upper hand, as they attack by surprise. The heroes try to survive and recover, and find out who's really behind what's going on, as it is never quite as simple as it looks. One of the things I like about Feist is that he keeps some of his favorite characters in the background, while developing new ones with every book.
    • 3/5
      Not a bad attempt at recreating the setting for his Rfitwar series, though on this occassion his characters did not seem as fully formed and certain strong ideas, such as the Hall, seemed to just fade away. Perhaps to be developed in the next books? A rattling good Sword & Sorcery yarn
    • 4/5
      First in a recent series of books from the author, set about 60 years after the events in Magician, his first novel. An excellent introduction to a great fantasy series."Something dark is moving in distant nations, and ancient powers are readying themselves for a final confrontation. A Dark Queen has raised a standard in remote lands and is gathering armies of unmatched might.Into this battleground of good and evil come a band of desparate men whose only hope for survival is to travel to face this ancient power and discover it's true nature. Their quest is at best dangerous and at worst suicidal.And with these men travel the mysterious Miranda upon whom all must wager their lives. She appears to be an ally but knows much more than she is willing to tell. Does she have a hidden agenda of her own? And will she prove ally or even more deadly foe when the final confrontation is at hand?"