This book was a mixed one for me because some of it I really enjoyed whilst other parts were very slow and dragged on so much I couldn't be bothered with it. For the third book in the trilogy and the final part of this storyline I was expecting something rather epic, and although this storyline does have some wonderful aspects and some chilling and crazy scenes, a large majority of the story seems a bit redundant and dull.This is the continuation of book 2 and is much more in line with the story of book 2 rather than that of book 1. It's a vast adventure storyline which is all about defeating 'the bad guy' and there's a lot of questing, fighting and mystery which makes it interesting, but also fairly standard in terms of Classic Fantasy writing. There were many twists which came into the storyline at the end and the pacing which started off fast, slowed drastically in the middle and then picked up again by the end was helped by these twists. However, it's fairly predictable in some areas so be warned.Pug who is the main character of the first book and a large character in book 2 and 3 and Tomas who is his good friend and another major character are both thrown into a crazy storyline in this book. The have to travel through time and space, dimensions and magics in order to defeat 'the Enemy'. They are once again forced to question all that they know about magic and the dimensions of reality, the fabric of time and the nature of the universe, but at points this storyline can become so extraordinary and out of this world that I found myself slightly bored by the extravagance and madness it seemed to be.In this book we get to see a lot more the the character of Arutha, Jimmy and Locklear. Jimmy was one of the characters I most enjoyed reading about in book number two for the way that he's resourceful and entertaining. He's a great character and although he's a main one, he doesn't feature the most within this story and I would have liked to see a bit more of him at some points. He's a great friend and he's loyal beyond a doubt but sometimes that means he gets himself into sticky situations. I like him a lot as a character and he was a glimmer of hope in this storyline for the feeling of fun that he managed to bring on occasion.Equally Amos was another source of comedic relief in the midst of filler or dull storyline. He's an old Pirate and that's always a recipe for fun and sharp quips which made me smile. Guy Bas-Tyra is another character who we've met in the series before and previously things hadn't gone too well with his storyline. Int his book he redeems himself and shows many of the other character the way they need to take in order to fight the Enemy. This is a battle that will take everyone's participation and the forgiveness of old grudges and hatred is a key element within his character progression and storyline.Overall I would say that this is an okay fantasy read, it's not fantastic but there are moments which are, it's not bad, but there are moments which drag, and it's just a fairly average (but crazy in places too) storyline of good vs evil. I think if you have read book 1 and 2 and enjoyed both then it's worth continuing as there are some very cool revelations about the world and the nature of things from previous books within this, but if you didn't like book 2 I wouldn't recommend this as it's much more similar to that than the first book.Let me know what you thought of this series if you have read it as I'd be very interested to know if you agree / disagree, for me it was 2.5*s - an okay read.
Foi com muito entusiasmo que comecei este livro, o quarto e último da saga do Mago. A história continua com a luta de Arutha contra Murmundamos, que no livro anterior tinha ficado em aberto. Todo o enredo desta batalha é surpreendente, detalhado e com muitas surpresas à mistura. Arutha continua com um papel importantíssimo e destacado ao longo do livro, o que faz com que seja impossível não gostar dele. Mas para mim, o grande destaque neste livro são três personagens extraordinárias, Pug, Tomas e Macros. É finalmente neste livro que desvendamos a verdade sobre o grande Feiticeiro Macros, o seu papel na guerra contra os Tsurani, a história por detrás da sua misteriosa ilha, e o porquê das manipulações que fez a algumas personagens. Tomas ganha também muita importância, e ao longo do livro conseguimos ver o quão forte ele é, e tendo ele lutado contra a sua natureza, anteriormente, é esta que se revela tão decisiva para grandes acontecimentos. Pug mais uma vez consegue superar-se enquanto mago, continuando a aprender, adquirir novos conhecimentos e poderes que ele próprio desconhecia. As passagens com estas três personagens estão verdadeiramente boas e são talvez umas das minhas partes favoritas de toda a saga. Esperava, no entanto, um papel mais activo por parte de Jimmy uma vez que ganhou tanto relevo no livro anterior. Contudo Feist deixa-nos, em aberto, uma surpresa no final relacionada com esta personagem, e que fico com curiosidade de ver qual o seu resultado. Desde o primeiro livro que ficaram diversas questões no ar e que o autor nunca nos desvendou, mas neste encontramos as suas respostas, ou quase todas que foram surgindo ao longo dos 4 livros. A escrita de Feist é extremamente agradável e faz-nos querer continuar a ler. O mundo que criou é magnifico e mesmo sendo este livro o final desta saga, existe muito “pano para mangas” para se poder desenvolver. “As Trevas de Sethanon” consegue-nos agarrar do principio ao fim, surpreendendo-nos pelas mais diversas razões com muitos pormenores ao longo da história, que o autor deixou para o fim. O livro conseguiu superar totalmente as minhas expectativas. Resumidamente, “O Mago” é uma óptima saga do género fantástico que recomendo a toda a gente que seja fã deste tipo de literatura. O primeiro livro é o mais fraco mas igualmente bom, a partir desse a história torna-se cada vez mais interessante e merece uma excelente classificação.
What do You think about A Darkness At Sethanon (1987)?
This was a good story, but it wasn’t “amazing”. In form, it was sort of a rehash of the previous two books; there’s a band of mortal men from the kingdom that go off on a quest (Book 2) and then there’s Pug and Thomas being generally immortal (Book 1, latter half). I understand the split, because Pug and Thomas’ arc doesn’t involve a lot of direct conflict; both of them have apparently risen to the level of gods, and very little to nothing is capable of directly opposing them, so having them involved in the mundane world’s conflict would be silly. It’s the same problem Marvel has with Dr. Strange; his magic can literally do anything, so finding opponents for him is problematic. There is a lot of interesting and detailed world-building that goes on in this arc and it more firmly establishes the histories of the worlds. The temporal conflict is nothing new, but it is still a very interesting, action-packed story that satisfactorily ties off some loose ends that were left dangling in previous books. There is some romance worked into this arc, but as with most of the romantic arcs, it’s rather obvious and short; at least at this point, romantic stories were not the author’s strong suit. In all, however, it ties off all of the arcs while still leaving a world that seems rich and full enough for me to believe he found ample room for writing the multiple books that exist in this world.
—Jeffrey Grant
The final installment to the Riftwar Saga series contained page-turning action and most of the answers to mysteries and questions posed from earlier in the series, including a surprise twist that posed ... more questions. While I enjoyed reading A Darkness at Sethanon, I felt the characters gained less growth this time around, being more reactive to the harsh circumstances thrown at them on their quest to stop Murandamus. The Pug, Tomas and Macros cameo chapters intrigued me the most, providing more background about themselves and the other elves, and more worldbuilding with glimpses of rift space and the end or beginning of the universe. I enjoyed reading this series and feel it provides a good solid fantasy adventure story.
—Jon
This book completes the saga (though it's been revisited in other books since) in a very satisfying way - the big final blowout is nicely staged and multilayered and i was pleased overall. I might have given these books more than 3 stars, but for the last thing that really bothered me - the sexism. It isn't blatant, but i was terribly disappointed to find no strong females in this world. All of the heroic figures are men. Ok - in the last book there is a strong female warrior-type who comes from the one culture on this planet where everyone is a warrior, but she mainly serves as a love interest for one of the main guys who hadn't found a girlfriend previously because all the females in the book are too girly for him. Other than her, all the women sit around trying to ensnare worthy husbands, and by the end all of the main princesses have either just given birth or just gotten pregnant, because that's what women do on this world. And every woman is described as stunningly beautiful, even the 7-year old mute girl will be stunningly beautiful when she grows up - you can tell already. There is an ugly witch in the 3rd book who gets burned to ashes in the first 5 pages because that's what happens to ugly women. It wasn't as if the author is deliberately trying to slight females, more like he just didn't consider the possibility that they could have played a more significant, aggressive role. I found it kind of disturbing, but i'm sure a lot of readers probably won't even notice - depends on your sensitivity to such matters.
—Jeff
