Return now to a kingdom in constant peril; a land magical, scarred, and wondrous, where great heroes rise up from adversity to battle fearsome enemies who covet the riches within its borders.
New York Times
bestselling author Raymond E. Feist -- one of the world 's preeminent fantasists -- continues his extraordinary
Riftwar Legacy
with a sweeping tale of conflict, trial, and grim necessity, as the forces of good join together to staunch the golden lifeblood flowing from the pierced heart of Midkemia.
The vile sorcerer Sidi plans to strike the kingdom a fatal blow, setting his creature, the murderous pirate Bear, upon the high seas in pursuit of the vessel that is transporting Midkemia's most holy object: the Tear of the Gods. It is from this miraculous stone that all magic power is believed to flow. And if the Tear becomes the mage's trinket, the future will hold naught but terror, death, and unending night.
For Squire James, Lieutenant William, and the able magician Jazhara, the race is on to rescue the remarkable artifact from the bloodthirsty, unpredictable Bear and his despicable master who would use it to bring catastrophe down upon the world. But it will take greater-than-human swiftness. cunning, courage, and skill for the three to prevail. And the flight of her most peerless defenders will leave Krondor more vulnerable than ever to the terrible ambitions of the depraved.
For the mysterious criminal known as the Crawler is preparing to wreak bloody havoc to fulfill his dastardly secret agenda. Once again the sewers of Krondor teem with assassins and monsters as the hour of destiny nears. The fate of an imperiled world is in flux, as all manner of dark creatures are gathered for one unspeakable purpose: to breed the chaos that will hasten the destruction of Squire James and his brave companions...and bring about the total corruption of the Tear of the Gods.
Customer Reviews
Rating Breakdown
★★★★★
60%
(461)
★★★★
25%
(192)
★★★
15%
(115)
★★
7%
(54)
★
-7%
(-53)
Most Helpful Reviews
★★★★★
5.0
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Another excellent chapter in the Riftwar Legacy
Raymond E. Feist, one of the best fantasy authors writing today, does a superb job in Krondor Tear of the Gods, the 3rd installment in the Riftwar Legacy. This book covers the event covered in the PC Game Return to Krondor.
The Tear of the Gods, the most powerful artifact of the Ishapian church that allows them to communicate with the gods, is sunk to the bottom of the sea when a powerful pirate named Bear tries to capture it. Aided by a mysterious magician named Sidi, Bear possesses godlike powers. Squire James, Jazhara (the new court mage of Krondor), Kendaric (a member of Krondor's Wrecker Guild), Brother Solon, and William must track down Bear, retrieve the Tear, and destroy the evil that has taken over the small town of Haldon's Head.
Feist has added some interesting plot twists in this novelization of the game and has greatly expanded upon character depth that was originally present. By doing this, he avoided the walkthrough-like feel that was sometimes present in Krondor The Betrayal. Jazhara especially is discussed in far greater detail. William, Solon, and Kendaric are given more depth so that you care about them a lot more than you did when you played the computer game.
If you haven't read any of Feist's books, I recommend starting with Magician: Master and Magician: Apprentice, the first two books in Feist's Riftwar series. You'll appreciate this book a lot more if you've read all the previous ones, even though it is a good read in its own right.
The book is 372 pages long, but I read it all in one night since it was so good that I didn't want to stop reading it. A must-have for any fan of Feist.
Even though this book is not due to be release in the US until March 2001, it is currently available in the UK and Australia. I purchased mine from Australia since I couldn't wait until March to read another of Feist's great books.
67 people found this helpful
★★★★★
2.0
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Okay, nothing special
First let me say I'm a big Feist fan. Second, I have read everything he has written and I have also played the first video game "Betrayal of Krondor".
The entire Riftwar Legacy series is a steep drop off from his early works. All the books in this series are very quick, high action stories with characters previously established from the Riftwar series. I think Feist is relying heavily on the reader's memory to help him or her enjoy these books. Feist is taking his two most popular characters, Arutha and James and running them through this really fragmented and ridiculously dangerous story. In this book alone, James will face mercenaries, spies, demons, vampires, and other forms of evil incarnate in the span of about 2 weeks time. This is probably the video game element coming through in the book.
Feist introduces a host of new "main" characters in this book (unlike the previous two) and it makes it more enjoyable to read. The problem I have is the new characters are not part of the history we have already read. Because Feist is going back in time with these books, you already know Jimmy the Hand will survive and these new characters will disapper of the face of Krondor, never being mentioned in his later "Serpent War Saga". This whole series is not really adding anyhting to the entire Krondor series as a whole
This is what I consider light fantasy. It's a fun, quick read. If you have a good imagination and you like Jimmy the Hand, this book will probably work for you. It is the best one in the Legacy series so far. If this is your first Feist, read the Riftwar Saga first. It is 100x better and it'll put these books in perspective. I hope in the future, Feist writes his books to be read, not played.
24 people found this helpful
★★★★★
2.0
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Disappointing
I am a diehard Raymond Feist fan, have read everything he's written, so I think I have the perspective to say this is NOT his best stuff. I really felt he phoned this one in. The man who brought us Pantathian Serpent priests is now resorting to vampires as villans?! How pedestrian! This work was far less imaginative than any of his previous books. I really began to wonder if perhaps Mr. Feist has run out of gas with regard to storylines for the world of Midkemia (I hope not!). With the success of his video games perhaps his focus is less on writing these days and more on other creative pursuits. This book did have the feel of a video game. Every couple of pages the 'good guys' did battle with 'bad guys' and after awhile it got quite tiresome. Where the political intrigue and finely drawn characters that make his earlier work so engrossing? Mr. Feist is a master of creating believable worlds but he just took us to a very boring corner of this one.
7 people found this helpful
★★★★★
3.0
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Not Raymond Feist's best effort. . .
Let me preface my remarks by saying that I consider Raymond Feist one of the greatest contemporary writers of the fantasy of intrigue, along with George R. R. Martin. Mr. Feist's characters tend to possess a little more humor than Mr. Martin's, but that in no way detracts from the gravity and intensity of the stories. I dedicated most of the fall of 2000 to reading all of Mr. Feist's "Riftwar" novels, including the "Empire" trilogy that he co-authored with Janny Wurts. I thoroughly enjoyed every word I read and have recommended these books to at least a half dozen of my friends. . .
So, why is this beginning to sound like a mea culpa?? Because, even though I enjoyed this book for what it is, an enjoyable yarn and a good read, I cannot call it one of Mr. Feist's best works. The first two books of the "Riftwar Legacy", "Krondor: The Betrayal" and "Krondor: The Assassins", worked as two connected parts of the same whole. "Krondor: Tear of the Gods" picks up on the same story line and introduces a new main character in the magician Jazhara, but instead of advancing the series and wrapping it up, as I had thought it was going to, it leaves us hanging for, guess what, another sequel. The same hook that began this book remains at the end, with no resolution, just with more red herrings thrown in. I realize that should not be a bad thing, but I'm beginning to fear, just a little bit, that Mr. Feist might just be teetering on the brink of becoming, gasp, Robert Jordan. It almost seems that Mr. Feist has lost his direction in Midkemia and is afraid to let go of the world and the friends that he has created, and, who, up to this point have been faithful and endearing. We have been to Midkemia during the time of the Riftwar in the original series. We saw the alternative view of the Riftwar in the "Empire" series. We have seen the aftermath of the Riftwar and saw the younger characters grow up in the stand-alone Riftwar novels, "Prince of the Blood" and "The King's Buccaneer". We saw the final barriers to peace in a future Midkemia shattered as the ancestors of the Riftwar conquered all in the "Serpent War" saga. A successful PC game, "Return to Krondor" was spawned by the Riftwar phenomenon. Perhaps the weakness of this book can be explained by the fact that the novels of the Riftwar Legacy are patterned after a game. Perhaps I should consider it remarkable that Mr. Feist has managed to squeeze three decent books out of a game and leave it at that. After all, every other attempt at turning a game into literature has been wretched.
Raymond Feist is a major talent and will remain one of my favorite writers. I am confident that a man of his talents can step out of these temporary doldrums and produce more masterpieces of fantasy. I truly hope that the next installment of the Riftwar Legacy is indeed one of those masterpieces and it will manage to shut up a fool like me!!!
5 people found this helpful
★★★★★
1.0
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Feist is one of the fav authers, but I want my money back
Let me start off by saying that since the moment I have picked up my first book by Feist, I've been hooked. His continuing series is the best I've read next to Tom Clancy's run with Jack Ryan. However, it is painfully obvious that this book was written under some sort of duress. Storyline-wise, this is a VERY short story and really strikes me as something that should have been a minor plot strand in another book.
The three main characters bumble from clue to clue in solving a mystery that's not very interesting to begin with, and there is no plausability for the story whatsoever. For so important a task as they are undertaking, I find it incredibly hard to believe a young thief/squire, newly appointed court mage, and a fairly minor Ishapian monk are alone in their quest. None of the other characters which we know and love make an appearance, not even Pug, which is surprising because of the magnitude of what has happened. I understand the constraints placed on the auther since this was a game first, and in the intro to the book Feist also mentions that he was undergoing a divorce while writing this, but I'm really quite surprised that he published this book under his own name.
Like any other Feist fan I will continue to buy every book he publishes, until I see more than two books of this quality in print, but I urge anyone who has not already bought this to wait for the paperback edition. In a review by someone praising this book, he mentions he read it in one night, well, that is hardly surprising condsidering the large font used and the small number of pages.
4 people found this helpful
★★★★★
2.0
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A Disappointing Novel from an Excellent Author
Feist has been one of my favorite authors for some time now; Price of the Blood remains one of my three favorite novels, but Tear of the Gods just didn't live up to Feist's usual standards. Admittedly, he was struggling with personal troubles at the time that he wrote it, and it's based on a game, but regardless of the reasons, the book isn't up to par. The narrative is excellent and keeps you reading, constantly being pulled back in to know what is happening, but the characterization is weak and the plot rather contrived. Fights showed up every other chapter, and they all sounded the same after a while. Every time Jimmy steps forward to avoid his opponent's jab, and it's written as if we haven't already read that same trick three times. The ending? Three minute wrap up with a dozen loose ends. I sped through the book, then set it down feeling simply let down.
If you're the type who wants to make sure you read every book by REF, grab this. Otherwise, I'd advise that you keep looking for something else.
3 people found this helpful
★★★★★
3.0
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Just what I expected
Ever since I read the back cover of "Betrayal at Krondor" the first book in The Riftwar Legacy, I knew that it would be the plot of the computer game. I didn't have my hopes up about the book's content. That being said, I'm not as disappointed as most the other reviewers. I've read all of Feist's other books at least twice but will probably not re-read this series. It's nice to see Jimmy the Hand and the beginnings of William's career in the military, but it's not the same calibur of the Riftwar, Empire or Serpentwar books. However if you are a Feist fan, you should have a little fun. Sometimes that's all I ask in a book.
2 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Darn good fun
While I wouldn't rate this as the best book Feist has ever written, I always welcome anything written by Feist as I never fail to be enteretained by his work. The story is a bit predictable and even contrived at points and I'm always a little put off by demons and vampires and the clear visions Feist gives of evil. However, I enjoyed reading more of "Jimmy the Hand" and William and the Crawler thing is, in many ways, more interesting than going to other worlds and walking amidst the "city of the gods". I had to buy this via amazon.uk, but it was worth the extra money.
2 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Would buy from this Seller again.
The book in is excellent condition, I have no
complaints at all. Delivery was quick. I am
very happy with this purchase.
Thank-You
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
3.0
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A stilted plot ruins a potentially good book...
As other reviewers have noted, the book follow the computer game "Krondor: The Betrayal" fairly closely. The structure that is acceptable in a computer game is not acceptable in a book. The book follows a very predictable, repeated, buildup, climax, denoument that you normally see in an episodic video game. I have read and enjoyed most of Raymond Feist's work, but this one was subpar and overall, not extremely interesting. I only hope his next works are better, as he is truly one of my favorite authors.
