Rides A Dread Legion [Book One Of The Demonwar Saga] (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a review that hurts me more than a little to write.See, I've been reading Raymond E. Feist novels since I was a kid--literally since I was in my early teens. I've always been a fan and own all the books (some I have multiple copies of).But with this addition to the series, I started reading it with more than a little cringing from the moment I read the cover copy.I don't usually write reviews with spoilers or comments about specific content, but I will be here, so if you don't want to read them, I would stop.--To begin, we are introduced to YET ANOTHER mysteriously long lost group of elves...as if this has not already been done not once, not twice, not even three times before. If my count is correct, this is actually the FOURTH time Feist has used this plot item. So say that I am unhappy and unimpressed with this is to make one of the most underwhelming statements of my life.There are also errors and incorrectly stated past events. When we meet the disguised Taredhel in the first chapters, it clearly states that they are on Novindus, but then it says he is looking at the Grey Towers, which are on a completely different continent! And this is only the first and glaring error--anyone reading all the previous books recently will have no problem picking out others I am sure, but I am not going to belabor them here. Errors like this come down to poor fact checking--all of the issued like this could easily have been found and fixed.The opening scene of combat with a summoned demon was, at least in my opinion, cliché and poorly done. It seemed WAY to D&D to me (and I actually love D&D, so that is saying something) and lacked anything special--a feature reflected in nearly all the combat related scenes in this novel, I am sad to say.There are also huge inconsistencies with the demons and magic. Now, at the end, we find out that the demon king is dead--having starved to death. But didn't we just find out in this same book that demons are harder to kill then it was thought to be--that "killing" them in any other plan but their own only resulted in banishing them back to their home plane? So how can the demon king be dead from starving? It makes no sense. And there is also the fight were Miranda is killed. Pug is strong enough to create a rift--nearly on the fly--in the last book that shears off a portion of Kelewan's moon--and use it to kill an entire planet...and he doesn't have wards on his home to stop other magicians and a while bunch of demons from showing up without an invitation? The fact that Miranda didn't attack the group of demon-summoning cultists sooner--say at ANY TIME before the four days had expired and BEFORE the cultists were supposed to summon a demon...well the whole situation seems contrived to say the least.At this point, I will only be completing my read of this series because I own the books and want to follow it to the series completion. For anyone who has never read a Raymond E. Feist book before, let this be a warning - it's the latest in a long line of books - the 25th in fact. It isn't one long series - they are several series and a few standalone books but they all share a common thread and some common characters. If you're new to Feist, I suggest you start with 'Magician' one of the true gems of the fantasy genre.[return][return]I've been a Raymond E. Feist addict for more than 15 years - since I was 12 in fact. Early on I used to read other fantasy authors just as religiously - David Eddings and Robert Jordan amonst others, but soon grew out of all of them, all except Feist. The last couple of books have however been a disappointment so there was a lot riding on this book, particularly as it is the first book in a new series.[return][return]In this book, a lost warrior race of elves, millions strong, are fighting a losing battle against an endless demon hoard. To avoid extinction, they search for and find their lost homeworld - Midkemia, and escape to it. But it is not in their nature to accept other races as their equals - they only understand ruling over inferior beings with force.[return][return]The good news is that the author delivers. Lots of new and different characters, new revelations about the world of Midkemia, and more from some old favourite characters. OK so it's not as good as some of his early books, but it is good, and an excellent start to a new series.
What do You think about Rides A Dread Legion [Book One Of The Demonwar Saga] (2009)?
Decent story-telling, but reads sort of like a Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Fairly mindless fun.
—amberella2010
Fun fantasy and old friends from his other books
—silene
It's always an invasion with Feist. 3/5 stars.
—Diana721
An exciting start to the first of the series.
—BluebladeLy
