Customer Reviews

Silverthorn (Unabridged)

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

While this book is very different to Magician it is still an amazing read. While it does follow on and many of the same characters are present the plot and style of the story is different. It is very fast paced although due to this some of the new characters lacked depth. Saying this, those characters were not central to the story. It was good to hear of Jimmy the Hand again as he plays a big part in this story. The only downside was where Magician finished satisfactorily it felt like Silverthorn was just part 1 of the story and to finish it you must read A Darkness at Sethanon. While this isn't necessarily bad it doesn't really follow on from the style of the clean cut ending of Magician.

"Magician" was the start of something special, an epic trilogy. The sequel is a true masterpiece. Feist's depiction of the characters is astonishing, realistic and above all sincere. The fighting scenes are beautifully described and you will feel like you are watching it! Feist has a knack for developing amazing races and the moredhel are something special. This is an excellent read, if a little too short but a brilliant book.

THE STORY:
Prince Arutha's fiancee is poisoned on their wedding day and Arutha must set off with his friends in search of the cure - the Silverthorn.

WHAT'S GOOD:
This is a classic fantasy tale as a group of heroes travel into hostile territory to save the life of a princess. The characters are excellent and the interaction between Arutha and his half-brother Martin is especially interesting. Jimmy the Hand is always a welcome character too (and, I suspect, Feist's favourite). This book is largely a prelude to 'A Darkness At Sethanon', but does not suffer for it, building the tension of the coming conflict.

WHAT'S BAD:
Unfortunately 'Silverthorn' lacks the epic scale of 'Magician' and is, in every way, that book's inferior. However, a masterpiece such as 'Magician' would be a tough act to follow anyway, so don't judge this book too harshly.

An excellent continuance of the story of Midkemia.

OK....you've just finished Feist's epic Magician and you are desperate to continue the riftwar saga. Silverthorn is not the best follow-up to his first book but then again, how do you follow such an amazing opener?
The best section of the book is one that will stay in your mind throught your Feist journey. Jimmy the Hand jumping gracefully across the roooftops of Krondor to take on an assasin trying to take out Prince Arutha.
Sadly, the book slows down from there and although Arutha's journey into the enemy heartland is a gripping ride, there is little to make this an exciting book.
Nice story-line (Prince trying to save his Princess) but lacking in the quality we all now Feist is capable of.
Despite the bad reviews, your need to read this book to set yourselves up for the next installment - possibly Feist's greatest novel - A Darkness At Sethanon.

This is the second book of the Riftwar Saga (after Magician and before A Darkness at Sethanon).

In Krondor, while discreetly escaping on the roofs after robbing a rich local merchant, Jimmy the Hand stumbles across a Nighthawk, an assassin. Finding out the target was Arutha, who has just come back from Rillanon to wed Anita, Jimmy decides to warn the Prince and help him discover who wants his death.

As two Nighthawks are captured for questioning, one of them turns out a disguised Moredhel. But just after dying, the creature strangely rises up again and starts attacking the Prince. Only with much magic will they be able to kill the monster.

After a raid in the Nighthawks' headquarters where the zombie assassins were neutralised by burning the whole building, peace returns and the wedding can take place. But as Arutha and Anita are walking down the aisle, Jimmy catches sight of Laughing Jack, a former colleague of Jimmy who he'd yet killed that night on the roofs, hiding in ambush in the cupola with a crossbow. Nimbly climbing up to try and prevent the worst, Jimmy only manages to deflect the arrow, which strikes Anita.

On closer inspection, they discover the arrow was poisoned: Anita is slowly dying. After exhorting Jack to tell them the name of the poison, Silverthorn, Arutha and his friends set out on a quest to find the antidote.

The story goes on to describe, on one hand, Arutha, Jimmy, Martin and Laurie traveling in search of the cure that'll save Anita, first to the library of Sarth abbey, then to Elvandar and finally to Moraelin, on the shores of the Black Lake in Moredhel territory, and on the other hand, Pug and his friends looking for an explanation to these mysterious events.

In this volume, the centre of attention has shifted from Pug to Arutha and Jimmy, whose characters are better developed and more believable. I really found this part more captivating than the previous one, certainly because the goal was clearer, and I knew what the heroes were doing and why.

This book is the second book in Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga, and picks up after the accession of the conDoin family to the throne of the Kingdom of the Isles. When Jimmy the Hand stumbles upon a Nighthawk (member of the guild of assassins), preparing to kill Prince Arutha, it becomes apparent that something strange is going on. But, when the Prince and his men confront the Nighthawks, it soon becomes apparent that a creature of limitless power, and equally limitless evil, is on the march and wants Arutha out of the way. The situation goes from bad to worse, when Arutha's bride is shot with a poisoned arrow during their wedding. The poison is from a plant named Silverthorn, and to effect a cure, Arutha and a band of compatriots must venture into the lair of this evil and snatch one of the plants. But, there is more danger on the path than anyone could ever have expected...

This is a great book. It has a different feeling than the first book of the series, Magician, but includes many of the same characters. The action is intense, even more powerful than in the previous book, with scenes that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up! I loved this book, don't hesitate to recommend it to Fantasy lovers everywhere!

Loved the first book and this book simply continued with an enthralling epic story and world. Wonderful twists and turns, great characters, great full stop.

When I was halfway through the first volume (The Magician) I could not wait to order TWOF last volume and so I also ordered Silverthorn and the next volume of the Riftwar Saga. If I had waited till the end of The Magician I wouldn't have bought the next 2. So I have tried to read Silverthorn but it is even worse than The Magician and it got to the point where instead of enjoying my time reading I was just reading very fast trying to finish it asap, so I quit. This must be the first time I do not finish a book to at least give it a chance. I bought them based on the good reviews and I have to think that the are all teenagers because the story lacks depth, it is not engaging, the characters and relationships are shallow. If you want good fantasy try TWOFT, Song of Fire and Ice, The Name of the Wind or Way of Kings.

I picked up this book with some trepidation - I've heard very mixed reports about this.

As a follow up to "Magician" it is not in the same class, and I have to admit i did wonder for a time if it was indeed the same author. However it is a good old fashioned ripping yarn. There is always something happening and very fast paced. As a result some of the newer characters don't have the enough depth - although the returning Jimmy the Hand is a joy and leaves you wanting more of him.

It is certainly not on the same epic scale as "Magician" and whereas "Magician" ended without the need for sequels this feels like half a book and needs the follow up.

Read this and enjoy but don't say i didn't warn you!!!!

It's no surprise to learn that many of Raymond E Feist's books were 'inspired' by role-play games and that some were later written as adventure games.

At times I felt like the characters in Silverthorn were in an adventure game of the find-the-key-to-unlock-the-box-to-get-to-the-spell-to-neutralise-the-guards-to-enter-the-castle variety. Although the book was compelling enough, I found the quests a little too obvious and that detracted from my overall enjoyment.

If you've read the adventures of Arutha, Jimmy et al so far then like me you're probably going to read this book anyway. But don't expect anything half as good as Magician.