Series
Genres
Description
The Serpentwar rages on! In Rage of a Demon King-the spellbinding third installment in Raymond E. Feist's masterful epic fantasy, The Serpentwar Saga-the imperiled realm of Midkemia confronts its most devastating horror, as a nightmare beyond imagining descends upon the war-torn land determined to devour and destroy. A terrible conflict reaches a breathtaking climax-a world-annihilating conflagration that pits serpent against man and magician against demon. Rage of a Demon King is Feist at his best, solidifying his standing along with Terry Goodkind, George R. R. Martin, and Terry Brooks, as the elite creators of epic sword and sorcery fantasy.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1997-04
Physical description
xi, 436 p.; 25 cm
Publication
New York : Avon Books, c1997.
Pages
xi; 436
ISBN
0380974738 / 9780380974733
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is the conclusion of the Serpentwar saga. I enjoyed the characters, but I didn't enjoy this trilogy as much as the previous. The resolution here is a bit mixed, the immediate threat is ended, but its obvious there's still something big planning trouble in the background. That's fairly normal
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for Feist books, but at this point I started to wonder when we'd ever get an idea of what's really behind all the problems, and when they'd get to fixing it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Trelander
The final book in the saga was a well rounded and action packed book. As always you get the two tiered effect of epic level characters dueling gods and demons and the mid range leaders down in the rank and files. I think it ended rather abruptly but it didnt take much away from the book.
LibraryThing member ashooles
It took me some time to get through this, though that was due to personal commitments preventing me from reading, mostly. I really enjoyed this book, like the previous two, and the ending left me keen for the fourth and final of this quartet. I look forward to reading!
LibraryThing member brakketh
Preparation and then battle of attrition across Krondor. Some philosophical consideration of what gods and reality are dragged a bit.
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
More Feist Fun!
LibraryThing member JohnFair
The Emerald Queen's forces have come ashore and broken through Krondor as they make their way to the forgotten city of Sethanon. In the epic battle for Krondor, it's revealed that the Emerald Queen herself wasn't who Pug and his companions had thought she was, being merely a shell animated by the
In the more mundane arena of the actual fighting Erik von Darkmoore and his special squad attempt to boost the assembling regiments supplied by the local lords so they would put up some defence against the still-overwhelming forces of the invaders and Roo tries to ensure the safety of the various families that fate has put into his hands.
As has become standard in this series, the fighting is described in a fairly graphic fashion though justifiable in terms of the action being described. Although the final elements of the book seem to be fairly swiftly dealt with it must be remembered that there is a third book in this particular series to come...
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titular demon Lord.In the more mundane arena of the actual fighting Erik von Darkmoore and his special squad attempt to boost the assembling regiments supplied by the local lords so they would put up some defence against the still-overwhelming forces of the invaders and Roo tries to ensure the safety of the various families that fate has put into his hands.
As has become standard in this series, the fighting is described in a fairly graphic fashion though justifiable in terms of the action being described. Although the final elements of the book seem to be fairly swiftly dealt with it must be remembered that there is a third book in this particular series to come...
Show Less
LibraryThing member dhmontgomery
A fun book, but nothing transcendent about it. This is basically the climax of two books of buildup in the Serpentwar series: the long-feared massive army finally arrives for a colossal invasion.
Though the army in question includes hundreds of thousands of people, almost none of them are actual
The struggle against overwhelming force is fun enough to read: the heroes have prepared for this for two and a half books before it arrives, and use both cleverness and determination to hold the day. But I can't help but feel that a massive war like this would have been more interesting portrayed as a struggle between two different groups of people, with their own motivations, even if one was more evil than the other. Feist did this in his initial book(s), "Magician", where the Tsurani were first introduced as faceless enemies but then humanized as rational people responding to real social, economic and political incentives. As it is, "Rage of a Demon King" is merely enjoyable, not transcendent.
Complicating things further is that the bulk of the book — the months-long last stand — is ultimately trivial. The battle is settled in an epic clash between the demon and a group of wizards and warriors; the outcome of this fight determines the physical war we've spent so much time following. It's something of an anticlimax, and in this is a precursor to the far more disappointing sequel.
Though the army in question includes hundreds of thousands of people, almost none of them are actual
Show More
characters. The plot in this book is not so much "man vs. man" but "man vs. nature", with the invading army as a faceless, implacable horde against which the heroes must simply resist. Feist justifies this approach by literally removing agency from the invaders: they're thralls to a demon, either literally through magic or indirectly through coercion. The struggle against overwhelming force is fun enough to read: the heroes have prepared for this for two and a half books before it arrives, and use both cleverness and determination to hold the day. But I can't help but feel that a massive war like this would have been more interesting portrayed as a struggle between two different groups of people, with their own motivations, even if one was more evil than the other. Feist did this in his initial book(s), "Magician", where the Tsurani were first introduced as faceless enemies but then humanized as rational people responding to real social, economic and political incentives. As it is, "Rage of a Demon King" is merely enjoyable, not transcendent.
Complicating things further is that the bulk of the book — the months-long last stand — is ultimately trivial. The battle is settled in an epic clash between the demon and a group of wizards and warriors; the outcome of this fight determines the physical war we've spent so much time following. It's something of an anticlimax, and in this is a precursor to the far more disappointing sequel.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
LOTS happens in this one. Woof.