Shadow of a Dark Queen: Serpentwar Saga, Book 1

From start to finish this book was amazing. The details made me think was watching a movie! Can't wait to start the next chapter in the series!Thank you Feist for an epic start to your series....I'm hooked!!!!!

The only reason I couldn't give this a 5 star review is the beginning of the book. The story starts in another world, and then drops that storyline, not to be picked up until much later in the book. There are so many fantasy names and places in the start, the author appears to be trying to impress us with the world he has created. It's so confusing I almost stopped reading. Thankfully I continued, as the book really picks up steam and turns into a really good fantasy novel. For the first time in a while, I really cared about the main character and what happens to him.This is the start of a series, and I will be reading the rest.

I already have this in book form as my kids and I read all the Midkemia books back in the day. I'm currently replacing my favorite books with Kindle versions. So, of course I reread them. Unlike the previous titles, I warned my then adolescent daughter she might not want to read the Serpentwar Saga for a few years and she's actually reading it now. Shadow of a Dark Queen and the rest of the Serpentwar Saga are a bit more graphic than the previous Midkemia books, but I particularly like the way Feist permits his characters to mature and grow in this series.

Great product.

Raymond Feist is a master of fantasy writing, ranking right up there with the masters. This is my favorite series he's written - you see the characters you read about in later series as they are developing into the legends they eventually become - Roo is a dark horse hero - ugly, skinny, and sneak but you root for him - you see the characters as they face what will evolve into later series. It's fast, grabs you and you'll want to read it at one sitting. While it isn't a contender to knock Jordan's Eye of the World epic series off it's pedestal, it's definitely one must read book if you're a fantasy fan.

The world of Midkemia and her major players have had the proper introduction in the Riftwar and Sons of Krondor series. Shadow of a Dark Queen is a book of characters from a different cross section of life. The protagonists are lovable but retain enough grey to avoid being cliche. The action, scope of world, and magic that Feist creates makes their subtle development and coming of age something more than the sum of the parts. Having read these books over and again, starting as a teenager in the nineties, the first two books in the Sepentwar are REF at his absolute best. Read it.

[This applies to the Kindle version only.]The book - story, plot, writing, characters - was excellent. However, it was very clear that the book had been prepared for ebook format through an optical scan, not from a text file. There were numerous typographical, spelling and punctuation errors as a result. There are no characters or lines - only an extra space - to break scenes. Since the line spacing is fairly loose to begin with, that made for some confusing moments. The production of the ebook does not do Feist's works justice.This assessment applies to the Kindle versions of all four Serpentwar books - Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown. All were apparently prepared for publication in the same way, sans proofreading, with text just dumped on the page.

Characters are very realistic and get you invested in what happens to them. Plot flows smoothly and fun to read

Set across the sea from the Kingdom, this book gives a feel of ever widening the world of Midkemia. Drawing from characters from the previous books in the Riftwar Saga, there are some wonderful appearance of much loved characters that create continuity. I love reading books where at the moment you start wondering what has happened to a set of characters or what they are doing, they make an appearance and change events unfolding around them. Feist is a master of this. With Pug the Magician acting almost as a background character to the events that follow Eric Von Darkmoor and Calis son of Tomas. Most of the battle and action of the novel takes place around and away from the characters giving a sense of the war raging around them but not alienating the reader. This allows for character development and relationships to grow through the adversity that they face and the pain of death to be shown. Feist isn't afraid to kill off characters either, which always leaves me with knots in my stomach as to who will survive encounters with the enemy and who won't. Superbly crafted, it had me cheering and worrying right alongside the characters and mourning the deaths of some along the way.

It got off to a good start and thought that this would be a good fantasy adventure. Unfortunately it just seemed to run out of steam. I didn't feel that the two main characters were drawn strongly enough for me to care about, and for much of the book they don't really do much anyway. There was one other thing which really bugged me and I cannot understand how an experienced author like Feist could do it. That is, use non-generic terms in a fantasy novel. We are in Midkemia, and all of a sudden he drops 'pinot noir' grapes into the story, or later on 'reiki'. Arrgh. Don't do it! It's like a slap in the face with a dead fish. Actually it's like a slap in the face with a mackerel. It does not fit.

Another gripping read, I can’t praise Raymond E Feist enough. If you are just getting into or are an avid reader of this genre then look no further than this highly imaginative author. Mr Feist literally takes you to another reality with his work.

Excellent characters that are well crafted into this tale. Not all survive which makes this novel a better read. A little slow due to some of the character development and the general style that the author wants to give this book, it could have been shorter and probably better for it.It's the sort of book fantasy fans will probably like to invest some time in. I will read some more of Feist on the back of this book. If you like big battles with plenty of blood and guts this fantasy thriller may not be for you.If the book was a little lighter of foot or had a more self contained story to it I would have scored it more highly.

By far Feist is a brilliant read, This saga is close to the magician trilogy for a utter joy ride. His work makes you have a keen interest in the characters and care about, what's coming round the corner next for them. Love the way the story unfolds, linking there own journeys too the larger picture of this world.