World Famous Comics: Into a Dark Realm (The Darkwar Saga, Book 2)
Into a Dark Realm (The Darkwar Saga, Book 2)
By: Raymond E. Feist Publisher: Eos Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Eos Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: March 01, 2008 Release Date: February 26, 2008
The dread plot to destroy the Empire of Great Kesh has failed. The Conclave of Shadows has ended the murderous Nighthawk brotherhood's horrific reign of terror and death. But the mad sorcerer, Leso Varen, has fled, taking refuge among the most powerful men and women on Kelewan—a world now threatened, along with Midkemia, by hordes of the most vicious warriors in the known universe. The great sorcerer Pug knows of no power that will vanquish these invaders. And now he, brave Magnus and Nakor, and a disturbing young stranger named Bek must venture into the poisonous heart of the Dasati realm—the most terrible place they have ever encountered—in a valiant, impossible attempt to turn the tides against the encroaching doom that would swallow their world.
Another Gem Once again Raymond Feist delivers. This book kept me turning pages long after I needed to stop reading.
Something new? The previous title in this latest Midkemia series was dissapointing for me - to say the least. Old characters came back, new ones were added, but there was little new in the story. This one, however, brought something totally different. A new world, home of the Dasati, with new characters, and Pug & co. up against some competition that is overwhelming. In previous books I often wondered why - with such power at his disposal, Pug doesn't often use it. For example, with access to off-world resources, why not recruit high-powered mercenaries for really tough jobs. No more wondering, Feist has lifted the gauntlet and off-world is here. The book also has a favourite bad-penny coming back, but telling who will only spoil it. Obviously, if you are reading your 15th or so Midkemia novel, there is little chance you will miss this one.
Disappointing and repetitive Into a Dark Realm is the second book in Raymond Feist's, Darkwar Saga. The first book is titled Flight of the Nighthawks (The Darkwar Saga, Book 1) with the third, and final book of this trilogy, titled Wrath of a Mad God (The Darkwar Saga, Book 3). What started with the first book in the Riftwar Saga, Magician: Apprentice (Riftwar Saga), and continued on in the Serperntwar Series, with more in the Serpentwar Saga, and the Conclave of Shadows Trilogy, is now in the latest installment of the world and characters. If you are even remotely considering reading this novel, and have not yet read all the previous novels, you really need to go back and start at the beginning. There are so many things that are alluded to, talked about, and consequences of, that if you do not have that previous knowledge base you may be hopelessly lost and confused.
With that said, the plot, or more aptly, plots of this book carries over right from the previous novel. There are three basic plots of this book. First, there is Pug and his group seeking to find more information about a dire threat facing the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. The second plot revolves around a new character on a new world and the actions he undertakes to come into his own and fit in on his ruthless world. The third plot line, features returning characters Jommy, Tad and Zane and the things the Conclave asks them to do in order to be prepared down the road. Being a fan of Mr. Feist's previous work, I was really looking forward to this book and how it would progress the story. However, after finishing the novel I was rather disappointed by the story and plots. For one, the only plot I was really interested in was the Jommy, Tad, and Zane plot. That held my interest. However, the other two I really could care less about. It seemed to merely be repeated plot lines from past books. An evil threatens Pug's world, he assembles a band of peoples and goes to fight it. With the talent Mr. Feist has shown over the years, this was very disappointing. I had to stop myself several times from merely skimming chapters until I got to a Jommy/Tad/Zane scene. The magic of Mr. Feist's writing, is just not here in this book.
The characters are almost exclusively characters we have seen before in past novels. Pug, Miranda, Caleb, Nakor, Bek, Jommy, Tad, Zane, et. al. One benefit of being able to carryover characters is that Mr. Feist does not have to expend copious amounts of words to set them up. The reader knows what to expect and where the character is at in terms of development. With that said, if you are looking for character development for any of the major characters, aside from Jommy, Tad, and Zane, you will be greatly disappointed. Bek does have some development, but nothing that will make the reader say wow. Pug remains the ultra powerful character and Nakor remains enigmatic. As I was reading, I kept waiting for some development and I was continually disappointed. I am just thankful Jommy and gang were in this novel, or I may not have finished it.
Some things I did not care for with this novel were:
As I said above, the seemingly repetitive plot involving Pg running around to save the world(s) from the next great evil. With as rich and detailed as Mr. Feist's world is, one would think there would be more plot diversity here.
Also, there is a `twist' at the end of the novel that literally made me groan and almost throw the book across the room. It is quite clear from this novel that Mr. Feist has fallen in love with some of his characters and as such will not harm them or kill them off when it benefits the story. Sometimes, characters have to die, and stay dead for that matter. There is little surprise anymore when people keep popping up or running rampant through grave situations.
Lastly, when all is said and done, the basic story arc, is not really moved ahead that much from where the book started. It seems like this novel was a short story puffed up into that of a three hundred plus page novel.
The only real positives I see in this novel are:
Mr. Feist's prose is still engaging, interesting, and easy to read. I have always felt comfortable reading his work. Like putting on an old pair of jeans. You know how they will fit.
Secondly, as I mentioned above, the three characters of Jommy, Tad, and Zane. They kept parts of this novel interesting and made me want to learn more about them and what they were up to. Sadly, they were the only characters in the novel I felt that way about.
I will certainly read Wrath of a Mad God, but if it is anything like this novel, it may very well be my last Feist novel I read involving these characters. For fans of Mr. Feist's work who have stuck it out this long, I am sure you will want to read this book, if for no other reason then to get one book closer to finishing the story. For people who have not read Feist's work, seriously start with Magician: Apprentice and work your way up and see if/when you feel like stopping reading his novels. It seems the last couple of novels penned by Mr. Feist have been hit or miss, and that is disappointing. I believe Mr. Feist needs to get back to the roots of what made his work so special in the first place and not all this multiple planes of existence stuff.
In a word - brilliant I'll admit - I'm a longtime Feist fan (as is probably evident by my reviews of his books on this site), and have been anxiously awaiting this second installment of the Darkwar Saga to come out on paperback.
Feist has written virtually all of his books in small groups - the Riftwar Saga, the Serpentwar Saga, etc. Yet his brilliance lies in tying threads connecting these sometimes seemingly disparate sections into one larger tapestry, and this book truly brings his genius to the fore.
We found in prior books (Exile's Return, the last of the Conclave Of Shadows trilogy, and Flight of the Nighthawks, the first of the Darkwar Saga) the main characters discovering some mysterious armored creatures hidden in a cave on the island of Novindus. The creatures are known as Talnoy - ruthless killing machines controlled by an alien race known as Dasati, and powered by captured souls - in essence, necromancy. There are thousands of Talnoy secreted in this cave, and the big mystery is how they got there, although the common consensus is they were put there by Macros the Black, a now deceased mage once considered the most powerful user of magic in the Kingdom of the Isles (in the planet of Midkemia).
It turns out the Dasati are a ruthless race of warriors, who see compassion as weakness. If they encounter it in someone, they kill them. In many respects, they are animalistic, responding to violence, anger and lust, and trained right from birth in this cruel mindset and having a honed survival instinct ingrained in them. However, they reside on another plane of existence (remember the saying "Seven Hells"? Well, think of each plane of existence below ours being a lower level of hell).
What alarms Pug, Nakor, Magnus, and the other members of the Conclave, is it seems the Dasati plan on invading Midkemia - and the effect of such an invasion by billions of Dasati would be the utter destruction of everything they hold dear, and the anihilation of life as they know it. In order to gain more knowledge, the three of them, together with the mysterious Ralen Bek, travel to the second realm, in the hope of finding answers, and possibly of averting this disastrous invasion.
In some of his earlier books, Feist had a tendency of switching characters each chapter (which in me had the effect of wanting to skip chapters so I could see what happens next!). In this novel, he has upped the ante, so to speak, and sometimes switches between characters (or groups of characters) several times within each chapter. The next result is that he has ratcheted up the suspense and made it virtually impossible to put the book down. His skill at explaining the workings of magic and exploring the nature of deities is second to none. Combine that with someone who brings characters to life and who weaves brilliant tales together, not to mention delving into a whole new race and plane of existance, and you have a brilliant book.
I highly recommend this book, and cannot wait for the next installment "Wrath Of A Mad God"!
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