Shadow of a Dark Queen

By Raymond E. Feist

The first book in the bestselling Serpentwar series.

A nest of vipers is stirring. . .

Ancient powers are readying themselves for a devastating confrontation. A dark queen has raised her standard and is gathering armies of unmatched might.

Into this battleground of good and evil a band of desperate men are forced, whose only hope for survival is to face this ancient power and discover its true nature.

Among them are some unlikely heroes – Erik, a bastard heir denied his birth right, and his friend Roo, an irrepressible scoundrel with a penchant for thievery. They are accompanied by the mysterious Miranda, upon whom all must wager their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Sep 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9780007385379

Raymond E. Feist

Raymond E. Feist was born and raised in Southern California. He was educated at the University of California, San Diego, where he graduated with honours in Communication Arts. He is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Riftwar Cycle among other books.

Reviews for Shadow of a Dark Queen

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A bit too similar to The King's Buccaneer for me but generally enjoyable if you feel like some epic fantasy.

[johnfair_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[deborahjade · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First book of the Serpentwar saga. More great Feist. Super consistent.

[ashooles · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[ggoldby-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Autobiography

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[karlstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[liehtzu_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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

[nakmeister · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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?"