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Title: Rise of a Merchant Prince (Serpentwar Saga) |
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Review of Rise of a Merchant Prince (Serpentwar Saga)
Surviving the wrath of the fearsome Sauurâa hideous race of invading serpentsânoble Erik and cunning Roo have delivered a timely warning to the rulers of the Midkemian Empire, and are now free to pursue their separate destinies. Erik chooses the armyâand the continuing war against Midkemia's dread enemies. Roo lusts for wealth and powerârising high and fast in theworld of trade. But with luxury comes carelessness and a vulnerability to the desires of the flesh. And a beautiful seductress with her ruthless machinations threatens to destroy everything Roo has built and becomeâsummoning catastrophe into his future . . . and terror into his world.
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Comments for Rise of a Merchant Prince (Serpentwar Saga)
- Posted on 2007-10-28
Not Free SF Reader
Cash over swords.
The second book of the Serpentwar series follows Roo Avery as he gets involved in financial machinations, trying to bootstrap himself into the world of Midkemian big business, and all the deviousness and underhandedness that goes along with that. He still prefers this to people trying to separate parts of his body from the rest with weaponry or magic.
The conflict with the Dark Queen won't go away, and even rich businessmen will be needed in the war.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2007-10-15
Excellent continuation of the Serpentwar Saga
Feist is well known for his strong characters and excellent battle scenes,
yet in this book, he focusses more on battle in the realm of commerce.
Rupert Avery, or Roo as he's affectionately known, has returned from the
journey to Novindus a changed man. For his service to the crown, along with
the remaining condemned who survived, he receives royal pardon and some gold.
With this gold, he embarks on a bold quest to make himself the wealthiest
man in the Kingdom, believing that trading in fine wine will be just the
ticket. However, a run-in with the thieves guild, known as the Mockers,
dashes his plan. After a stint working as a waiter in a coffee house
where traders meet, luck delivers into his hands some rare and valuable
silk. With this somewhat shady acquisition, he not only re-launches his
career in trading, but also acquires some powerful enemies.
So it is that through cunning, determination and fortune, Roo forms a
powerful trading company, discovering that while being a soldier might be
dangerous, the world of business can be equally deadly, the moreso because
you often cannot see the sword coming.
In the meantime, Erik, Calis and Bobby, who we met in the first book
(Shadow of a Dark Queen) return once more to Novindus, to try to eradicate
the evil serpent priests known as the Pantathians. Little do they realize
that a third, more powerful player is involved, who seems equally
determined to destroy the Pathatians, yet is an even greater threat to
the Kingdom than the serpent priests ever were.
Feist does an excellent job on this book, bringing alive the world of
commerce in a medieval setting, while bringing in enough swords, sorcery
and intrigue to keep those not inclined towards business fully hooked
on this book. Further, many old characters appear in the book, which should
appeal to both newcomers to the series and those who have stuck through
all his books from the beginning.
I highly recommend this book.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2006-04-24
Different and good.
Mr Feist departs from his prior action/fantasy to deliver political and commercial intrigue in a fantasy setting. Quite good.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2006-02-26
Roo's the Man!
When Roo kicked butt generating wealth in the market and put his enemies to shame, it was just too much for me. True, this isn't what you'd call classic style fantasy, but it still has many elements. I love it when they go back after coming from down under and Barrets Coffeehouse, the site of Roo's greates manipulation of the market. Man, what an awesome story.
**A book I would also recommend is The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. This, the first installment of The Morcyth Saga is a great beginning for a new author. Battles, magic, gods, secret passages and intrigue, all the elements of a classic epic fantasy! Any fantasy reader will enjoy it
Score: 5 - Posted on 2006-01-09
Good continuation to a fantatic story
Rise of a Merchant Prince by Raymond Feist is the second book in the Serpent War Saga, the first book being shadow of a Dark Queen. This book seems to polarize fans of Feist, as they either love it or abhor it. Me, I really enjoyed this novel for several reasons. 1) It is a deviation from standard fantasy novels in that it doesn't focus on things that are `out of this world so to speak 2) the character development (mainly Roo's) is second to none, and 3) Feist can pen a tale with the best fantasy writers in the business today. With that said, there are a few things that I Wasn't overly fond of, but I will touch on those later in this review.
The main plot of this book is just as the title implies, which is the rise of a merchant prince who is Roo or Rupert Avery. There are a few sub-plots to continue the over-riding story of the saga as well, such as the Serpent's continuing domination of their continent and how that is being dealt with by the main characters Erik and the rest of the army. When I firs found out the plot centered on Roo and dealt a lot with being a merchant and trading etc, I was a little apprehensive as it didn't seem like all that interesting of a book to read. Yet, Feist MAKES it interesting. I have read some reviews on-line that say the pacing of this book is slow; but quite honestly, I didn't see that at all. In fact, I thought the book was hard to put down. There is just enough written about Erik and the army to move that story along, but this book is clearly written for Roo and the emergence he makes as a merchant and how powerful he becomes. With that said one of my complaints is it seemed almost to easy for Roo to advance as he does, but for fear of writing spoilers I won't say more.
As I mentioned above the character development of Roo is fantastic. Feist really does a great job at defining Roo and allowing the reader to see just what makes him tick. The character development of the rest of the cast of this saga seems to be lacking a bit in that nothing much new is really introduced for Erik or Calis. It almost seems like Feist was overly concerned with Roo that he may have `misplaced' the development of the other characters a bit. A minor detail, but none-the-less a little bothersome for those who really enjoy character development and the twists it can bring.
Overall, I thought this was a very good book and right on par with what I have become accustomed to when I crack open a Feist book. If you are a fan of Feist, I think you will enjoy this one if you know what to expect. If you are looking at starting to read a new series and are thinking about this series, I would caution you, and suggest you read Magician: Apprentice first and start from the beginning and get the background, you can't go wrong with that book. All in all a solid read and a enjoyable read for a fantasy reader.
Score: 4
