REVIEW: Silverthorn by Raymond E Feist

Silverthorn by Raymond E Feist
Publishing Information: Paperback; 343 Pages
Publisher: Batnam Books; 1 December 1993
ISBN 10: 9780553270549
ISBN 13: 978-0553270549
Series: Book 3 in the Riftwar Saga
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "A poisoned bolt has struck down the Princess Anita on the day of her wedding to Prince Arutha of Krondor.


To save his beloved, Arutha sets out in search of the mytics herb called Silverthorn that only grows in the dark and forbidding land of the Spellweavers.


Accompanied by a mercenary, a minstrel, and a clever young thief, he wil confront an ancient evil and do battle with the dark powers that threaten the enchanted realm of Midkemia."

Not long ago I reviewed the first two books in the Riftwar saga, Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master (One book if you live outside the US) and enjoyed them very much. It can be hard to find English books in South Korea so I ordered the remaining two books in the first Riftwar series. After finally receiving them it didn't take me long to pick them back up and complete the series.

Silverthorn takes place not long after the events in Magician: Master, things are finally slowing down and the kingdom is preparing for a wedding. Within a few pages a dark and sinister plot is uncovered and the quest begins. The book has the feel of a quest and that is exactly what we end up getting. The only problem is that most of the intriguing characters from the previous novels are shifted to the back of the book. Pug, who I really like, has very few pages dedicated to him although he is a key player in the series. Instead we follow Prince Arutha and his friends as they hunt down the antidote for his soon to be bride Anita.

We do have Jimmy the Hand, a young thief to keep us entertained. Unfortunately, even he has trouble keeping the book interesting. Thankfully the book is not that long. The pacing was decent but the fact that you have invested two books with Pug and Tomas and then start to read Silverthorn only to find second rate characters is hard to swallow. However as you read the book you realize that it is just one gigantic prologue that sets up the final book Darkness at Sethanon.

Silverthorn, is a bit of a let down since the first two books in the series were excellent. I know that it is just a large build up to the final confrontation in the last book in the first Riftwar series.

Plot 5
Characters 6
Style 7

Overall 6/10