An early look at Jimmy the Hand It took me a while to get to this book, mostly because I was very disappointed with the last Legends collaboration where the authors (though I suspect Rosenberg mostly) tell the tale of three mercenaries who do very little "mercenarying" and mostly act like licensed detectives in attempting to solve a murder in a blizzard-ridden town. I found the book to be claustrophobic and the characters unreal and inflexible. However this book is about Jimmy, one of the most likable and well-defined characters of the Riftwar Saga, so I thought that Feist would not let Jimmy be taken out of context... and I am glad to be right in that assumption.
This book is everything the second one was not. It has action and adventure, and even some magic, combined with a nice two-part plot that is not burdened by the need to prove the intelligence and wit of its characters. Instead, it justly describes characters which are either well known, such as Jimmy, or others with whom the reader can easily relate such as Flora, Lorrie and even the Baron. The story covers two cities: the one well known is Krondor, and the other Land's End. In fact the only problem that I find with the story is its disjointed plotline, which starts in Krondor and ties in the events of Anita's and Arutha's escape described in Magician, with Jimmy' s life in the city. Though this first part provides an insight into Jimmy's early character as the mischievous thief we all know and love, it does not connect at all with the second part of the story, which focuses on the events in the life of a minor noble and some farmers living around Land's End. This part of the book has real potential, and the background story is very nicely told. The plot even kept me guessing for a while, which is not really the case with most fantasy novels. I found the best characters to be the Baron and his wife, who make quite the tragic pair and add dramatic substance to the story. Jimmy finds himself embroiled in the middle of the provincial conflict and does his typical best to contribute to the conclusion of the story. All in all, I find this to be a worthy addition to the world of Midkemia. In fact, I hope Feist and Stirling get together again in the future; I sense there is some good chemistry in their work.
Not Free SF Reader Thief escapes.
The young Jimmy the Hand helps Anita and Arutha escape, and so is related to earlier books, but the main focus of this novel deals with the young thief, and what happens to him afterwards as a result of his actions.
Basically, he has to bail out into the countryside, and see what he can work out for himself and a friend there. Needless to say, there will be some trouble to be found.
2.5 out of 5
It's good, not great I enjoy the world of Midkemia and everything that Mr. Feist has written. I enjoyed the other 2 novels in this series more than this one. I can tell you this, I have read novels by all three of the collaborating authors, and each novel is written in their own distinct style. I don't know if Mr. Feist gives a general outline to them, and possibly does some revisions, but this reads like a Stirling novel to me. That is all well and fine, but it didn't have the spark of Mr. Feist's usually work. All in all, it was enjoyable enough to read, and it does give you an even greater depth to the character, and the wonderful world of Midkemia.
Honour Among Thieves First of all completely ignore what is written on the back of the book--I've seen publishers get information wrong before, but never this spectacularly. It explains that after running afoul of Guy du Bas-Tyra's secret police Jimmy the Hand flees north to Sarth where he tries to set himself up in "business" but finds "a dark secret." Actually Jimmy goes south to Land's End--Sarth is never mentioned.
I have enjoyed each of the collaborations of the Legends of the Riftwar series, and Jimmy the Hand was no exception. I'm sure Jimmy is a favourite of many readers of the Riftwar Saga, and I'm no exception. There is just something about the young thief that is endearing. However nice it was to see him in Prince of the Blood and the Serpentwar Saga it wasn't quite the same. Here Steve Stirling and Raymond Feist have managed to capture the youthful Jimmy and detail one of his adventures.
The story opens right as Arutha and Anita are escaping from Krondor with the aid of the Mockers. For several subsequent chapters we see the aftermath of the Crydee Prince's exploits through the city and Jimmy, of course, takes center stage. After matters get a bit too hot Jimmy and Flora, a fellow Mocker, make their way to Land's End. She is searching for her grandfather and a respectable life, while Jimmy just needs to get out of town.
The tale is well told and an engaging look at Jimmy. It does though switch perspective several times to Larrie (a young farming girl from near Land's End), the Baron of Land's End himself, and a couple others. These changes are disconcerting at first, but become understandable after a couple pages. Jimmy shows some flashes of nobility, perhaps inspired by Anita, but is still a pragmatic thief at heart, even when confronting dark magic. I was surprised at the level of magic in the book, but as it is something supposed to be used in Midkemia it was nice to see more than in Feist's other books where we generally just see Pug and others associated with him employ spells.
This really is what I've enjoyed most about the Legends series--we get the chance to see a coherent view of Midkemia (aided by Feist's collaboration) that is nonetheless different from his usual tack. If you've enjoyed Feist's works then you should definately check out this trilogy, and you can't miss this chance to learn more about Jimmy the Hand!
Anything Goes Trivia
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