REVIEW: A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E Feist

A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E Feist
Publishing Information: Paperback; 464 pages
Publisher: Spectra; 1 January 1987
ISBN 10: 9780553263282
ISBN 13: 978-0553263282
Series Volume IV in the Riftwar Saga(US) Volume III (UK)
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "An evil wind blows through Midkemia. Dark legions have risen up to crush the Kingdom of the Isles and enslave it to dire magics. The final battle between Order and Chaos is abotu to begin in the ruins of the city called Sethanon.

Now Pug, the master magician sometimes known as Milamber, must undertake an awesome and perilous quest to the dawn of time to grapple with an ancient and terrible Enemy for the fate of a thousand worlds."

The final book in the original Riftwar Saga was a disappointing read and very predictable. Last week I reviewed Silverthorn, which felt like a giant prologue for this book. Darkness At Sethanon takes place roughly a year after the events in Silverthorn and really is two stories in one. The first story focuses on Arutha as he decides to take the battle to the enemy and hopefully, through faking his death, be able to surprise the legions of darkness that is preparing to destroy the realm. The other story is of Tomas and Pug as they must travel between worlds and find the one person that can help them defeat the evil before it gains a foothold in Midkemia and then spreads through other dimensions and worlds.

Arutha's story takes him north where he meets a former enemy that he never expected to encounter. I really liked this portion of the book. It was the first time I enjoyed reading about Arutha since the Magician. The action was done really well and with an old favorite returning made for some great dialogue. With the hordes of darkness preparing to overwhelm everyone in the city there was a bit of strategy used in the conflict. While not very in depth it was written very vividly and I found myself turning page after page to see the outcome.

The other story in A Darkness at Sethanon is regarding Pug and Tomas. Pug has received all the instruction he can from the ancient elves and with luck he will be able to face the coming darkness. There was a lot of build up to all of his education in Silverthorn and while he does become far more powerful than he was previously, I don't see where he ever really used it. He was basically used as a battery for another famous magician to use to perform magic. On top of that, his role was not all that instrumental in the final conflict. For that Tomas was needed. Pugs year long training and education was never really utilized. I felt cheated. The entire quest that Pug and Tomas undertake felt like filler to stave them off until everybody else was in their proper position for the final conflict to take place. When we get to the final act the battle that Arutha was engaged in and all the time Pug and Tomas put in on their quest was a huge let down. It was over far too soon and the end result was not that satisfactory. Of course, it sets things up for later Riftwar novels but I was hoping for something epic in scope, a roar, what I got was more of a whimper. The epilogue was also very predictable.

While the origianal Riftwar Saga is a classic, if I could do it all over again I would have stopped at Magician (Magician:Apprentice and Magician: Master). Magician feels like a complete story. Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon feel more like a sequel as they start nearly where Magician ends but the focus shifts away from what made Magician such a great book(s). While I did set out and attain my goal of finally reading Feist, I was a little disappointed with how the original Riftwar Saga ended. I am not sure if I will read another Feist novel as the last two books in the series were bitter disappointments and the way in which it ended left me unsatisfied.

Plot 7
Characters 6
Style 5

Overall 6.5/10