Rise of a Merchant Prince: Book Two of the Serpentwar Saga

In this sequel to Shadow of a Dark Queen, author Raymond Feist takes us back to his magical world of Midkemia. Now that they have returned to the Kingdom of the Isles, Erik von Darkmoor has decided to reenlist in the fight against the dark powers that threaten his world, while Rupert Avery has decided to follow his original plan of marrying a rich merchant's ugly daughter and building a mercantile empire. But, life is going to prove interesting to both. Becoming a merchant prince is no cakewalk, and Roo will find his abilities taxed to the limit. And, the dark power rising in Novindus has not been deterred from its purpose. Raymond Feist's Riftwar books were great, with epic adventure and magic, while his later books enjoyed a somewhat smaller scope. This book succeeds in walking on both sides of the street. While armies marshal and wizards weave great spells, we also follow the life of a man trying to build up his wealth and his personal life. And, I must say that it succeeds in doing both admirably. I love stories of wizards and armies, and one gets a bunch of that here. But, I must say that I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Mr. Feist's tale of Roo Avery. I was captivated by the choices he made, both for good and for ill. I am surprised to say that I enjoyed this book as much as I did the Riftwar books and Shadow of a Dark Queen! The action is gripping, grabbing you right on the first page, and drawing you along. Yep, this is a great book, and a wonderful addition to my fantasy library. I loved to presence of Boldar Blood, and hope that Mr. Feist will consider writing a book that develops the Hall of Worlds more! I loved this book, and highly recommend it to you!

"Rise of a Merchant Prince" is exactly what the title portrays it to be: the rise of Roo from a common person (who narrowly escaped a death sentence in the previous book and was merely friend to Erik whilst off soldiering in Novindus) to the one of the richest people in Krondor.Roo's tale is captivating and a refreshing change in the world of Midkemia. Feist, in showing the commercial side of Midkemia, portrays a maturity rarely found in the fantasy world. It completes Midkemia like no other adventure story could have. Roo's financial exploitives are realistic and believable, and Barnett's is more than another name to the reader - although I still don't pretend to understand options and futures, despite Feist's portrayal. Erik also continues to mature (in the military world) in this book and we are reacquainted with members of the Royal family and other favourites from Feist's first series.Strategically speaking, this book is brilliant: it definitely sets the stage for more: you just know that something (bad) has to happen to Roo's wealth, or at least to his marriage ... Roo's mistress, Sylvia (daughter of the other richest person in Krondor), has him completely wrapped around his finger. If all else fails, there's always the impending war by the Saaur or the mysterious third dark player ...

I was truly tired of reading other authors make their characters wealthy beyond imagination simply by finding it in a dungeon and slaughtering everything in sight. Roo's ambition for commercial conquest became a driving force of greed that could only be rivaled by the ensuing armies of the Emerald Queen. This is by far my favorite book by Feist.

This book brings alive a mixture of medieval life mixed in a fantasy world. Robert E. Feist has a knack for giving his books a flare of the "real" world of medieval times along with the mixture of fantasy much like "Lords of the Rings" by "Tolkien". I recommend ALL of his books from the "Midkemia" world that encompasses his stories. This is book 2 of 4 in this series. This saga picks up where the "King's Buccaneer" left off.

When I first started reading this book, I was very put off by the subject. It seemed to be some sort of economic thesis, not at all in the vein of the first book in the series. But as I read on, I slowly became more and more enthralled, eventually reading for six hours straight to finish the book. This is the second book in a four book cycle. The first, 'Shadow of a Dark Queen,' concentrated on more standard sword and sorcery fare, introducing us to two youths and following one, Eric von Darkmoor, on his adventures in a foreign land. In 'Rise of the Merchant Prince,' we follow the second youth, Roo Avery, on his quest for economic dominance in the land of Midkemia. Roo himself is not a very likeable character. He marries a woman he finds unattractive and doesn't love for money, finds himself a mistress, engages in smuggling, and has a somewhat low sense of ethics. He reminds me of Thomas Covenant, Stephen Donaldson's leper character who was transported to a fantasy setting from Earth. When you first start reading this book you are prone to say, "So? What do I care if this jerk gets rich?" It is only when viewed as the second part in a four part play that the importance of this novel truly shines. Feist again shows that he is THE master of fantasy, with well thought out characters, a wonderful setting, and enough technical know-how to come across as if he was standing in the city of Krondor, recording the actions as they unfold. The only down side to the series is the fact that I am starting to experience deja vu. In 'A Darkness at Sethanon,' 'The King's Bucaneer,' and now 'The Serpentwar Saga' the stories are all somewhat similar. Fortunately, the differences in the stories make up for any repetitiveness and they all seem fresh.