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The Serpentwar Saga #2
Rise of a Merchant Prince
A TALE OF WEALTH AND AMBITION IN A WORLD OF MURDER, MAGIC AND INTRIGUE.
Roo Avery, recently returned from a harrowing brush with the armies of the Emerald Queen, is now free to choose his own destiny and his ultimate ambition is to become one of the richest and most powerful merchants in Midkemia.
But nothing can prepare him for the dangers of the new life he has chosen where the repayment of a debt can be as deadly as a knife in the shadows. Even those closest to him are suspect and as Roo struggles to build his financial empire, betrayal is always close at hand. His instinctive cunning will serve him well, but he will soon realise that the road to success is far from smooth.
And while Roo works towards achieving his goal, the memory of the distant forces of darkness are never far away. For the war with the Emerald Queen is far from over and the inevitable confrontation will pose the biggest threat yet to his new found wealth and power.
Roo Avery, recently returned from a harrowing brush with the armies of the Emerald Queen, is now free to choose his own destiny and his ultimate ambition is to become one of the richest and most powerful merchants in Midkemia.
But nothing can prepare him for the dangers of the new life he has chosen where the repayment of a debt can be as deadly as a knife in the shadows. Even those closest to him are suspect and as Roo struggles to build his financial empire, betrayal is always close at hand. His instinctive cunning will serve him well, but he will soon realise that the road to success is far from smooth.
And while Roo works towards achieving his goal, the memory of the distant forces of darkness are never far away. For the war with the Emerald Queen is far from over and the inevitable confrontation will pose the biggest threat yet to his new found wealth and power.
479 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
343 people are currently reading
5135 people want to read
About the author
Raymond E. Feist
282 books9,423 followersRaymond E. Feist was born Raymond E. Gonzales III, but took his adoptive step-father's surname when his mother remarried Felix E. Feist. He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would be a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982 by Doubleday. Feist currently lives in San Diego with his children, where he collects fine wine, DVDs, and books on a variety of topics of personal interest: wine, biographies, history, and, especially, the history of American Professional Football.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 358 reviews
June 25, 2016
4 to 4.5 stars - the continuing saga of the Kingdom of Midkemia vs the Emerald Queen.
This book was very entertaining! While it stood on its own, it is very obviously part of the larger Serpentwar Saga. The main focus here is Roo and his interests in business . I may have not always understood what was happening as I do not have an accounting background, but it was interesting to read about the characters' rise from poverty to prominence using business risks and savvy.
However, there was something of a cliffhanger towards the end hinting at turmoil and in-fighting in the next couple of books.
Oh, and there is some gory fighting with snake warriors, too - so that is pretty cool!
I recommend this book and series, but be sure to read Feist's other books leading up to it or you might be lost!
This book was very entertaining! While it stood on its own, it is very obviously part of the larger Serpentwar Saga. The main focus here is Roo and his interests in business . I may have not always understood what was happening as I do not have an accounting background, but it was interesting to read about the characters' rise from poverty to prominence using business risks and savvy.
However, there was something of a cliffhanger towards the end hinting at turmoil and in-fighting in the next couple of books.
Oh, and there is some gory fighting with snake warriors, too - so that is pretty cool!
I recommend this book and series, but be sure to read Feist's other books leading up to it or you might be lost!
March 26, 2019
Oddly enough, I had a lot more fun with this than I expected I'd have with a title with MERCHANT and PRINCE in it.
As a matter of fact, I pretty much loved every part of Avery and his rise to grand wealth from practically nothing. All the bit parts from characters we've seen and loved before were just icing. Avery, on the other hand, was the real star. I think I liked this better than the first book in the Serpentwar Saga. By a lot.
HOWEVER, I do have one gripe that has a lot more to do with my personal preferences more than anything else.
Why do we need MCs who are unable to keep their pens in their pockets? I was pretty thrilled by his marriage and the news of his kid. I would SOOOO have preferred it if the man just stayed loyal. It really killed much of my enjoyment. I would have given a full five stars for his clever exploits. This other stuff just left a bad taste in my mouth. A different kind of Achilles heel would have been just about perfect.
Oh, well. Win some, lose some. I'm just happy that the rest of the novel was fun. :)
As a matter of fact, I pretty much loved every part of Avery and his rise to grand wealth from practically nothing. All the bit parts from characters we've seen and loved before were just icing. Avery, on the other hand, was the real star. I think I liked this better than the first book in the Serpentwar Saga. By a lot.
HOWEVER, I do have one gripe that has a lot more to do with my personal preferences more than anything else.
Why do we need MCs who are unable to keep their pens in their pockets? I was pretty thrilled by his marriage and the news of his kid. I would SOOOO have preferred it if the man just stayed loyal. It really killed much of my enjoyment. I would have given a full five stars for his clever exploits. This other stuff just left a bad taste in my mouth. A different kind of Achilles heel would have been just about perfect.
Oh, well. Win some, lose some. I'm just happy that the rest of the novel was fun. :)
November 10, 2019
Rise of a Merchant Prince is the second book in Feist’s Serpentwar Saga, a subseries of his larger Riftwar Cycle. It picks up not too long after the first book left off, sort of continuing that story but focusing more on finance. There’s still a fair bit of action, though.
The main character is familiar from the previous book, but it’s a different main character. We do spend some time with other characters from the first book, but the focus on both characters and plot is quite a bit different. I enjoyed the story and it held my interest well, but I never warmed up much to the main character. Sometimes I liked what he did, but there were too many times when he did things I couldn’t respect. There were other characters around him that I did like though, so that helped.
The title kind of spoils the story; I never felt any suspense about how things would turn out because the title tells us. I still enjoyed seeing how the story got from point A to point B though.
I have one spoilery comment:
The main character is familiar from the previous book, but it’s a different main character. We do spend some time with other characters from the first book, but the focus on both characters and plot is quite a bit different. I enjoyed the story and it held my interest well, but I never warmed up much to the main character. Sometimes I liked what he did, but there were too many times when he did things I couldn’t respect. There were other characters around him that I did like though, so that helped.
The title kind of spoils the story; I never felt any suspense about how things would turn out because the title tells us. I still enjoyed seeing how the story got from point A to point B though.
I have one spoilery comment:
May 4, 2019
Giving this two stars very regretfully, but I can't bring myself to give more.
Throughout the reread of Feist's books, I've rediscovered bits, I've reevaluated bits and I've come across things I never noticed before. One of them is this: Roo Avery is a disgusting little weasel. For the life of me, I cannot remember why I ever loved this book because it was mostly the Erik parts that kept me going this time around. And those were few and far in between, sadly. Maybe it's because I'm now nearing twice the age I was when I first read this book, but wow, has my perspective changed.
Roo lies, cheats at business, cheats on his wife and becomes obsessed with money. He ignores his wife and children pretty much for the whole book and freely admits he got married out of pity.
Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned about how money corrupts, but if there is, I didn't see it. Yes, Roo seems somewhat less despicable by the time to book ends, but he never realises how he behaved, never tried to make amends. In fact, all he really tried to make, all book long, is money. Lots and lots of money.
Despite all that, there are some elements in this book that are interesting. For one thing, it's nice to see how normal people live in Krondor. The commerce parts were vaguely interesting and Barrets seems like an awesome place.
The Erik storyline is interesting, though the jump is sometimes very jarring. And the pieces of the story I did see felt very fragmented and rushed. I understand that the focus was Krondor and Roo but I feel like you either do right by the Novindus storyline or you just don't have it at all. This was lacking.
As far as characters go, Jimmy and Dash are the only interesting ones in the Krondor storyline in my opinion. Jason is more or less walking book keeping software, Luis has lost pretty much all of his Luis-ness and, well, you could tell Duncan was going to double cross Roo from page 1.
And don't even get me started on the women. If there's one thing Feist fails at so completely and spectacularly, it's writing female characters. The amount of female characters that have significant screen time is three (3) and all their lives revolve around men. Sylvia Estherbrook is portrayed as pretty much a succubus, figuratively speaking, whose strings are being controlled by her father. Miranda, well. It pains me deep in my soul to see a character with so much potential to be reduced to, basically, a love triangle. Now she's with Pug, now she's with Calis! He stopped JUST short of going "what a sl-t" which makes it absolutely 0% more acceptable. And Karli was arguably the worst of all. Used and abused for her status by Roo, ill-treated in their marriage, cheated upon. I can't even.
This book was printed in 1995. A Game of Thrones was printed in 1996 and I can name, off the top of my head, half a dozen well-written, fleshed out female characters with agency and lives and goals that go beyond men. Feist, as of 11 books it, has zero (0). And that is a sad thing.
I'll now move on to Rage but wow, I will never read this book again.
Throughout the reread of Feist's books, I've rediscovered bits, I've reevaluated bits and I've come across things I never noticed before. One of them is this: Roo Avery is a disgusting little weasel. For the life of me, I cannot remember why I ever loved this book because it was mostly the Erik parts that kept me going this time around. And those were few and far in between, sadly. Maybe it's because I'm now nearing twice the age I was when I first read this book, but wow, has my perspective changed.
Roo lies, cheats at business, cheats on his wife and becomes obsessed with money. He ignores his wife and children pretty much for the whole book and freely admits he got married out of pity.
Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned about how money corrupts, but if there is, I didn't see it. Yes, Roo seems somewhat less despicable by the time to book ends, but he never realises how he behaved, never tried to make amends. In fact, all he really tried to make, all book long, is money. Lots and lots of money.
Despite all that, there are some elements in this book that are interesting. For one thing, it's nice to see how normal people live in Krondor. The commerce parts were vaguely interesting and Barrets seems like an awesome place.
The Erik storyline is interesting, though the jump is sometimes very jarring. And the pieces of the story I did see felt very fragmented and rushed. I understand that the focus was Krondor and Roo but I feel like you either do right by the Novindus storyline or you just don't have it at all. This was lacking.
As far as characters go, Jimmy and Dash are the only interesting ones in the Krondor storyline in my opinion. Jason is more or less walking book keeping software, Luis has lost pretty much all of his Luis-ness and, well, you could tell Duncan was going to double cross Roo from page 1.
And don't even get me started on the women. If there's one thing Feist fails at so completely and spectacularly, it's writing female characters. The amount of female characters that have significant screen time is three (3) and all their lives revolve around men. Sylvia Estherbrook is portrayed as pretty much a succubus, figuratively speaking, whose strings are being controlled by her father. Miranda, well. It pains me deep in my soul to see a character with so much potential to be reduced to, basically, a love triangle. Now she's with Pug, now she's with Calis! He stopped JUST short of going "what a sl-t" which makes it absolutely 0% more acceptable. And Karli was arguably the worst of all. Used and abused for her status by Roo, ill-treated in their marriage, cheated upon. I can't even.
This book was printed in 1995. A Game of Thrones was printed in 1996 and I can name, off the top of my head, half a dozen well-written, fleshed out female characters with agency and lives and goals that go beyond men. Feist, as of 11 books it, has zero (0). And that is a sad thing.
I'll now move on to Rage but wow, I will never read this book again.
August 20, 2022
Odlicna knjiga, dokaz da pisanje nije samo prenosenje misli na papir nego cesto ume da se sastoji i od mukotrpnog istrazivackog posla / samoobrazovanja. Svaka knjiga podstice mnostvo tema, sa nekima smo upoznati pa pisemo o njima sa lakocom dok ostale moramo da prostudiramo i naucimo. Pisanje je potrba, pisanje je ucenje i rad na sebi.
Sto se same radnje tice uporedio bih ovu knjigu sa Igrom Prestola ili Sudarom Kraljeva, odnosno ova knjiga je tu da bi se postavile sahovske figure dok svi uz neizvesnost ocekuju Oluju Maceva.
Sto se same radnje tice uporedio bih ovu knjigu sa Igrom Prestola ili Sudarom Kraljeva, odnosno ova knjiga je tu da bi se postavile sahovske figure dok svi uz neizvesnost ocekuju Oluju Maceva.
October 19, 2024
Some really great writing marred by some significant structural issues, and less than compelling narrative choices. Rise of a Merchant Prince is the second book in Feist's Serpentwar Saga, a series that I'm still feeling quite positive, despite the many issues I had with this installment. 90% of the book tells the story of Roo, who aspires to be the titular "Merchant Prince" of the title, and then the last 10% was something entirely different. While the last 10% was far more interesting to read, the ending felt extremely rushed as the author forced a dozen elements together by ways of magic to advance the series. Even though this part of the book was frankly the most interesting part of the book, it felt like an afterthought that didn't belong to the rest of the less interesting story Feist had told thoughout.
I for one don't read the fantasy genre for stories focused on business deals and commerce (the vast bulk of this book), and the main character was the epitome of a Gary Stu, who could somehow do no wrong even when making mistakes. And a few decisions he made along the way actually made him unlikable for me towards the end. A rare miss by Feist, who I feel has been a consistently great author for me, but I'm still looking forward to book 3 despite this issues I had with this one.
I for one don't read the fantasy genre for stories focused on business deals and commerce (the vast bulk of this book), and the main character was the epitome of a Gary Stu, who could somehow do no wrong even when making mistakes. And a few decisions he made along the way actually made him unlikable for me towards the end. A rare miss by Feist, who I feel has been a consistently great author for me, but I'm still looking forward to book 3 despite this issues I had with this one.
March 11, 2019
3.5 * I'm going be honest this book was absolutely pointless and I hated roo for most of this book. The only part of the book that was necessary was calis and Eriks arc and pug and mirandas arc also nakors but there wasn't enough page time for any those arcs. Roos story was boring and the only good bit was his duel and the ending in which he helped. The book didn't need to be included in the serpentwar saga at all really in my opinion. I was really enjoying the serpentwar saga and I'm just glad I can move onto the next part of the story.
March 4, 2022
This book was a lot different than what I thought it would be when I first picked it up. I thought that it would continue along with the war. Instead we follow Roo and his adventure. I enjoyed the merchant aspect of the plot more than I thought I would have. Feist did a good job adding in some shiftyness into this part of the Plot with Roo's character. I am interested to see where this series goes in the next book.
August 24, 2009
I read this book and continued the series to give it one more chance. I wasn't a fan of Shadow of a Dark Queen, and I was even less interested in this book.
The story focuses on a character who was extremely wimpy and boring in the first book, and all this one does in its 400+ pages is show us how despicable a person he really is as he becomes the city's richest man--marrying for money and power, cheating on his wife, neglecting his children, killing rival business men--anything for power and money. It made me sick.
There was a very brief portion of the book which attempted to continue on the story line from the first book, but it was pathetic and didn't hold my interest, even though it was supposed to be the climax of the book. Why would an author write an entire book mainly about a despicable character rising in the world of business, and then at the end of the novel, ignore the consequences of this character and his development, in order to make a loose connection to another story line? If the climax of a book doesn't even have to do with what you've been reading about for 400+ pages, then why would anyone think this was a good way to end a book?
The only semi-enjoyable moments were seeing the main character outwit his enemies in business manipulation and schemes, but even that is lost on me because he turned out to be such a terrible person.
I won't be reading further in this series and I may never get around to Feist's original series, which despite being praised more than this series by readers, may have been ruined for me by association.
The story focuses on a character who was extremely wimpy and boring in the first book, and all this one does in its 400+ pages is show us how despicable a person he really is as he becomes the city's richest man--marrying for money and power, cheating on his wife, neglecting his children, killing rival business men--anything for power and money. It made me sick.
There was a very brief portion of the book which attempted to continue on the story line from the first book, but it was pathetic and didn't hold my interest, even though it was supposed to be the climax of the book. Why would an author write an entire book mainly about a despicable character rising in the world of business, and then at the end of the novel, ignore the consequences of this character and his development, in order to make a loose connection to another story line? If the climax of a book doesn't even have to do with what you've been reading about for 400+ pages, then why would anyone think this was a good way to end a book?
The only semi-enjoyable moments were seeing the main character outwit his enemies in business manipulation and schemes, but even that is lost on me because he turned out to be such a terrible person.
I won't be reading further in this series and I may never get around to Feist's original series, which despite being praised more than this series by readers, may have been ruined for me by association.
August 5, 2020
3.5 stars
April 1, 2022
Another good installment, from Raymond E. Feist! I give it 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
March 10, 2019
Tweede deel uit de "De Slangenoorlog" serie, en eigenlijk past dit niet zo goed in de fantasy-hoek. Teveel van het boek ging over de opkomst van Ru's zakenimperium. Weinig echte actie-scenes.
De strijd tegen de duistere koningin gaat door. Voor een groot deel echter ligt de focus op Ru en zijn pogingen om een van de rijkste mannen van Kondor te worden, en lijkt de strijd tegen de legers van de duistere koningin naar de achtergrond te zijn verdreven. Jammer, want juist dat was het mooiste uit het vorige boek De Schaduw van een Duistere Koningin. Het verhaal om Ru past naar mijn idee niet zo goed in deze wereld, tenzij een van de komende boeken anders blijkt uit te wijzen.
Ru is op geen enkele manier een typische fantasyheld. In plaats daarvan is hij een zeer gebrekkige mens, met echte motieven en aspiraties die, hoewel ik het er misschien niet mee eens ben, meer trouw zijn aan het leven. Ru zal ook in eerste instantie denken 'wat zit er voor mij in,' en dan pas naar wat goed is voor het rijk.
Het einde van het boek is een beetje teleurstellend. Erik en zijn groep worden gered door Ru en zijn bemanning, maar dat is het eigenlijk wel een beetje.
Zoals ik in een eerdere opmerking al heb geschreven, is het jammer dat de vertaler schijnbaar niet de moeite heeft genomen om naar het vorige boek te kijken, anders had die waarschijnlijk de namen wel consequent doorgevoerd. Iemand die in De Schaduw van een Duistere Koningin Robby heette, heet nu opeens Bobby. Een personage met de naam Puur Bloed heet nu Baldor Bloed. En dat is toch wel jammer.
Op naar De razernij van een demonenkoning.
De strijd tegen de duistere koningin gaat door. Voor een groot deel echter ligt de focus op Ru en zijn pogingen om een van de rijkste mannen van Kondor te worden, en lijkt de strijd tegen de legers van de duistere koningin naar de achtergrond te zijn verdreven. Jammer, want juist dat was het mooiste uit het vorige boek De Schaduw van een Duistere Koningin. Het verhaal om Ru past naar mijn idee niet zo goed in deze wereld, tenzij een van de komende boeken anders blijkt uit te wijzen.
Ru is op geen enkele manier een typische fantasyheld. In plaats daarvan is hij een zeer gebrekkige mens, met echte motieven en aspiraties die, hoewel ik het er misschien niet mee eens ben, meer trouw zijn aan het leven. Ru zal ook in eerste instantie denken 'wat zit er voor mij in,' en dan pas naar wat goed is voor het rijk.
Het einde van het boek is een beetje teleurstellend. Erik en zijn groep worden gered door Ru en zijn bemanning, maar dat is het eigenlijk wel een beetje.
Zoals ik in een eerdere opmerking al heb geschreven, is het jammer dat de vertaler schijnbaar niet de moeite heeft genomen om naar het vorige boek te kijken, anders had die waarschijnlijk de namen wel consequent doorgevoerd. Iemand die in De Schaduw van een Duistere Koningin Robby heette, heet nu opeens Bobby. Een personage met de naam Puur Bloed heet nu Baldor Bloed. En dat is toch wel jammer.
Op naar De razernij van een demonenkoning.
August 6, 2019
Very good.
July 25, 2022
I'm having conflicting feelings about this book. On the one hand I did enjoy a lot of aspects of it while I was reading. I found the story of Roo (Rupert) to be far more fascinating than I expected and in fact it pretty much over-shadowed Eric's part of the tale, which I found much more boiler-plate fantasy. On the other hand, Roo (Rupert) is a despicable asshole. He is greedy, has no problem with taking advantage of the starving masses by jacking up grain prices for his own profit, cheats on his wife to whom he exhibits little more than pity and contempt, and negects his children and treats his daghter like an unwanted parasite because he really wants a son. On the other hand, that is such a perfectly clear depiction of how actual wealthy people in the USA (and the world) act so frequently - and they get treated as heros in the same way that Roo does, so it seems like it pretty much a reflection of reality. I have the usual complaint about Feist being utterly incapable of writing substantial female characters without help (Janny Wurts - I'm going to call her out for her excellent work again). In this case he completely ruins any potential there was for Miranda as she is reduced to being moved from Pug's love interest to being Calis's booty call.
Feist has a few writing tics as well. For example he apparently doesn't know the word 'hidden' as everything is 'secreted' which would be fine, but it stated making me laugh as it seemed to be the only word he had so maybe he lost his thesaurus. And then there his incapability to use real swear words. He's perfectly happy to fling around the 'whore' but he can't use the word 'shit' or 'fuck' which makes for some pretty unbelievable dialog when there is a sailor or soldier saying 'mother-lover' and it's clear they mean motherfucker. It just ends up sounding weak, silly, and even laughable. Seriously, Feist, grow some fucking ovaries.
So while I enjoyed reading this book while I was in it, I think I've talked myself down a star on the rating, and I'm wondering if I should knock off anoter beyond that.
Feist has a few writing tics as well. For example he apparently doesn't know the word 'hidden' as everything is 'secreted' which would be fine, but it stated making me laugh as it seemed to be the only word he had so maybe he lost his thesaurus. And then there his incapability to use real swear words. He's perfectly happy to fling around the 'whore' but he can't use the word 'shit' or 'fuck' which makes for some pretty unbelievable dialog when there is a sailor or soldier saying 'mother-lover' and it's clear they mean motherfucker. It just ends up sounding weak, silly, and even laughable. Seriously, Feist, grow some fucking ovaries.
So while I enjoyed reading this book while I was in it, I think I've talked myself down a star on the rating, and I'm wondering if I should knock off anoter beyond that.
February 24, 2022
The second book in Feist's series The Serpent Saga, a subseries of The Rift Wars. Not one of my favorites by him. The story focuses on Rupert (Roo) from book 1 and his rise to fame, as merchant in Krondor. I had liked Roo a lot in the first book, but here he turns into a philandering husband and pretty bad father. After finishing the book I decided that all this, plus the story of his rise, needed to be told to continue the epic events to come . My favorite character Nakor has a few appearances and so that satisfied me and I enjoyed spending time with Jimmy The Hand and meeting his extended family. Seems like Jimmy has taught his grandsons a few of his tricks.
All in all a decent read and one more down in my mission to read Feist's entire catalog.
All in all a decent read and one more down in my mission to read Feist's entire catalog.
June 8, 2020
This book is cute. It shows the preparations for the larger story.
It doesn't discuss the unlikeliness of both characters from the earlier books having ridiculous potential, being able to quickly move on towards their chosen careers.
Roo has some clear flaws - his weird view of love, falling for a seductress and his functional marriage to his dead partner's daughter. But even with the hand of Duke James sheltering him, his rise to fame is ridiculous.
He first turns his hand at Finance at Barrett's Coffehouse in this book. At that time, he is setting up a an Association. The total fund it has is 100k, with Roo contributing 20k at the beginning.
If that's his first turn, then the partners in that venture are likely to have significant personal wealth. They're taking a bet with this, and even if they do this for the excitement we can be sure they are keeping a decent reserve. Each of them is likely worth a few hundred thousand by himself.
Their regard for Esterbrook in the story makes it sound like he is significantly richer than all of them. This is reinforced later when the gamble of the Krondor Grain Association (or whatever it's called) turns into the Bitter Sea Holding company. Roo, at this point, has bought out his partners a bit and owns a controlling interest. He might be worth more than his partners at this point and all of them are worth a lot more at the end. That is emphasized in the book, but if Esterbrook can match that amount then there are a number of financiers in the story somewhere on the scale between Roo's early 20k and the few million that Esterbrook must be worth.
The point being made in the book is that this unlikely character just has the trick of it. He's smart, he's got all the insight and business acumen. A week after learning what options are, he goes and buys grain at future prices.
Look, that's all great but Barett's had an established Financial group. Each of them will match that Acumen, be it by learning, experience or just potential. One or more of them would have done the future prices thing. One or more of them would have guessed at the rumour. After all, both of Roo's business partners realise that the locust thing could be a year early and that it could get ridiculous. Then clearly, so would a number of other people in that coffee house.
OK, so this turned into a bit of a rant. But it is why, despite enjoying the book, I'm only giving it 3 stars. Both main characters in this series, Roo and Erik, are just too good to be true. Erik doesn't have personal failings and Roo's are insignificant in the story.
It doesn't discuss the unlikeliness of both characters from the earlier books having ridiculous potential, being able to quickly move on towards their chosen careers.
Roo has some clear flaws - his weird view of love, falling for a seductress and his functional marriage to his dead partner's daughter. But even with the hand of Duke James sheltering him, his rise to fame is ridiculous.
He first turns his hand at Finance at Barrett's Coffehouse in this book. At that time, he is setting up a an Association. The total fund it has is 100k, with Roo contributing 20k at the beginning.
If that's his first turn, then the partners in that venture are likely to have significant personal wealth. They're taking a bet with this, and even if they do this for the excitement we can be sure they are keeping a decent reserve. Each of them is likely worth a few hundred thousand by himself.
Their regard for Esterbrook in the story makes it sound like he is significantly richer than all of them. This is reinforced later when the gamble of the Krondor Grain Association (or whatever it's called) turns into the Bitter Sea Holding company. Roo, at this point, has bought out his partners a bit and owns a controlling interest. He might be worth more than his partners at this point and all of them are worth a lot more at the end. That is emphasized in the book, but if Esterbrook can match that amount then there are a number of financiers in the story somewhere on the scale between Roo's early 20k and the few million that Esterbrook must be worth.
The point being made in the book is that this unlikely character just has the trick of it. He's smart, he's got all the insight and business acumen. A week after learning what options are, he goes and buys grain at future prices.
Look, that's all great but Barett's had an established Financial group. Each of them will match that Acumen, be it by learning, experience or just potential. One or more of them would have done the future prices thing. One or more of them would have guessed at the rumour. After all, both of Roo's business partners realise that the locust thing could be a year early and that it could get ridiculous. Then clearly, so would a number of other people in that coffee house.
OK, so this turned into a bit of a rant. But it is why, despite enjoying the book, I'm only giving it 3 stars. Both main characters in this series, Roo and Erik, are just too good to be true. Erik doesn't have personal failings and Roo's are insignificant in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2022
At the beginning the book we glimpse the machinations of a small demon which had me hooked straight away..! It then continues at it’s own pace gradually building on the characters and their backgrounds after their brush with the enemy.
This book is very Roo centric. To focus on one character in a story is fine but personally I found the next chapter in Roo’s life to be a bit boring. To be fair his role does tie in with the other characters a bit as the story progresses. It’s the topic that I found bland. Unfortunately about 25% in I decided to skip all the pages with Roo in them as I was getting bored.
On the whole a disappointing read and definitely not as gripping as the first. The book still has really good character and world development despite it feeling like it’s focusing on one person. I hoped the book would have contained more about the other characters rather than just a few pages dotted here and there as they were far more interesting to read.
This book is very Roo centric. To focus on one character in a story is fine but personally I found the next chapter in Roo’s life to be a bit boring. To be fair his role does tie in with the other characters a bit as the story progresses. It’s the topic that I found bland. Unfortunately about 25% in I decided to skip all the pages with Roo in them as I was getting bored.
On the whole a disappointing read and definitely not as gripping as the first. The book still has really good character and world development despite it feeling like it’s focusing on one person. I hoped the book would have contained more about the other characters rather than just a few pages dotted here and there as they were far more interesting to read.
April 12, 2024
3,5 ⭐
This book was better in my memories.
A great study of economics and commerce . A nice story of brotherhood and found family (in Erics chapters). But The main character is a scumbag cheater.
This book was better in my memories.
A great study of economics and commerce . A nice story of brotherhood and found family (in Erics chapters). But The main character is a scumbag cheater.
July 13, 2024
Roo doesn't just look like a rat, he acts like one too. I only managed to push through this book for the characters I actually enjoy following
November 20, 2021
Genomläsning 2: Jag var lite för hård mot den förra gången, men i princip håller jag fortfarande med mig själv. De delar som fokuserar på Rupert är överlägsna de andra, och deras kvalitet faller enormt mot slutet. De första 350 sidorna är dock riktigt läsvärda.
Genomläsning 1: Detta hade kunnat vara en riktigt riktigt bra bok, men tyvärr verkar författaren ha skyndat mer än vad han borde ha gjort. Huvudhistorien handlar om en av soldaterna från förra boken, som har bestämt sig för att lära sig finansmarknaden. Den roligaste tredjedelen av boken (den mittersta) är nästan helt fokuserad på optionshandel. Denna del har karaktär av en coming-of-age-novel. Parallellt löper en illa skriven krigshistoria från den andra hjälten från förra boken. Denna historia borde ha lämnats för en separat bok, för perspektivskiftena är hoppiga och tematiskt oanknutna till varandra.
Boken skapar ett antal intriger, men avslutar inga. I andra sammanhang hade detta kunnat vara charmigt eller konstfärdigt, men i just detta fall så kan jag inte annat än uppleva det som slarv. Det ger tyvärr boken en bismak av transportsträcka som inte gör den helt rekommenderbar, trots den härliga premissen.
Genomläsning 1: Detta hade kunnat vara en riktigt riktigt bra bok, men tyvärr verkar författaren ha skyndat mer än vad han borde ha gjort. Huvudhistorien handlar om en av soldaterna från förra boken, som har bestämt sig för att lära sig finansmarknaden. Den roligaste tredjedelen av boken (den mittersta) är nästan helt fokuserad på optionshandel. Denna del har karaktär av en coming-of-age-novel. Parallellt löper en illa skriven krigshistoria från den andra hjälten från förra boken. Denna historia borde ha lämnats för en separat bok, för perspektivskiftena är hoppiga och tematiskt oanknutna till varandra.
Boken skapar ett antal intriger, men avslutar inga. I andra sammanhang hade detta kunnat vara charmigt eller konstfärdigt, men i just detta fall så kan jag inte annat än uppleva det som slarv. Det ger tyvärr boken en bismak av transportsträcka som inte gör den helt rekommenderbar, trots den härliga premissen.
May 29, 2012
Well shucks, Mr. Feist, you've bamboozled me again. Yet again I found myself unable to put the book down and once again I was pretty disappointed when I did. Some small steps were taken to resolving the huge conflict previously mentioned, but even the huge triumphs were skipped over in a pretty unsatisfactory way. "Okay, we're about to do that super-mega-ultra-important life-threatening task...Okay, we did it. It was cool. Some people died. Now we're making some food." If that were the only shortcoming though I would have been pretty pleased with the progress made. The real disappointment was the fall of the hereto lovable character Roo from clever wily adventurer and the kind of character you can't help but enjoy to the vessel of Mr. Feist's unfulfilled sexual fantasies. If he had spent as much time with the oncoming holocaust as he did with Roo's extramarital exploits we wouldn't need two more books to finish the dang story. Disappointing.
October 18, 2018
This was a bit of a disappointment. It started off okay, and I actually enjoyed the economic/merchant aspect, but Roo's behavior in this novel was pretty despicable. Feist took a likeable rascal type character and made him almost unbearable. He really doesn't have many redeeming qualities in this book. The other part of this book that was disappointing was the haphazard and rushed treatment of the storylines that were not Roo's. I would have liked to hear more about Erik, Calis, Nakor, & Sho Pi. We do hear from them from time to time, but only a few pages here and there and then again at the end where the story is very rushed. A very uneven book, but I will still be reading on because I love Midkemia.
March 24, 2013
Skip the prologue. It would give you the wrong start. The rest of the story is good. Why it is positioned in a fantasy world I do not really know. But I really liked the little rat Rupert rising in the merchant ranks. Sometimes funny. Sometimes exciting. Almost always interesting.
September 12, 2025
I honestly got so excited about this book after reading the most recent one and I am actually pretty disappointed with this book because of the characters.
Instead of following mainly Erik in this book we mostly followed his friend and kind of foster brother Roo. I just have to say that I hate Roo with every part of my soul. He was a horrible person and yet somehow ended up in all the good positions in the story and had that main character immunity to tragedy. Where do I even start? He married his wife just because he was working with her father. He then went on to have an affair with one of the girls from his hometown. He then ignored his wife and new daughter and got a mistress. And yet, he keeps professing that he’s super amazing.
Needless to say, this bothered me so much that my opinion in this book made me super mad. I think the only reason this book didn’t end up with a 1 star review for me was because we did get some plot movement with Erik and Calis. Honestly, I want to read the next book but purely because I want to know what happens to Erik and Calis next. The spicy level was a level 1.
Overall, I would rate this book a 2 out of 5 star rating. It was not great, but I think it was just because of Roo as a character. The plot is still interesting.
Instead of following mainly Erik in this book we mostly followed his friend and kind of foster brother Roo. I just have to say that I hate Roo with every part of my soul. He was a horrible person and yet somehow ended up in all the good positions in the story and had that main character immunity to tragedy. Where do I even start? He married his wife just because he was working with her father. He then went on to have an affair with one of the girls from his hometown. He then ignored his wife and new daughter and got a mistress. And yet, he keeps professing that he’s super amazing.
Needless to say, this bothered me so much that my opinion in this book made me super mad. I think the only reason this book didn’t end up with a 1 star review for me was because we did get some plot movement with Erik and Calis. Honestly, I want to read the next book but purely because I want to know what happens to Erik and Calis next. The spicy level was a level 1.
Overall, I would rate this book a 2 out of 5 star rating. It was not great, but I think it was just because of Roo as a character. The plot is still interesting.
December 15, 2018
De macht van een koopmansprins is het tweede boek in de serie over de slangenoorlog. Hierin word het verhaal vertelt van Ru ,die zijn droom nastreeft om de rijkste koopman te worden van Krondor.
De personages die de reveu passeren zijn divers en van alle soorten.
Het hoofdpersonage Ru word neergezet als iemand die het wel niet altijd te nauw neemt met de regels. Zowel thuis al op zakelijk vlak. De inventiviteit straalt ervan af als hij geld wil verdienen.
Er volgen een hele rits aan nevenpersonages waarvan niet bij allemaal het karakter volledig uitgediept word. Maar bij e personages waar dit echt moest is dit gelukkige wel gebeurt.
Het plot is weer vlot geschreven zoals we van Raymond e Feist gewend zijn. Alsook word er in het plot rekening gehouden met wat er in het vorig boek gebeurt is en wat de andere personages uit dit boek aan het doen zijn.Zo word de connectie niet verloren voor het verdere verloop van de serie.
Het slot is nu wel niet van de verrassende soort maar zet wel de poort open naar het derde deel.
Conclusie: Een vlot geschreven ,spannend boek.
Het is wel aangeraden om het eerste deel van de serie gelezen te hebben alvorens te starten met dit deel.
De personages die de reveu passeren zijn divers en van alle soorten.
Het hoofdpersonage Ru word neergezet als iemand die het wel niet altijd te nauw neemt met de regels. Zowel thuis al op zakelijk vlak. De inventiviteit straalt ervan af als hij geld wil verdienen.
Er volgen een hele rits aan nevenpersonages waarvan niet bij allemaal het karakter volledig uitgediept word. Maar bij e personages waar dit echt moest is dit gelukkige wel gebeurt.
Het plot is weer vlot geschreven zoals we van Raymond e Feist gewend zijn. Alsook word er in het plot rekening gehouden met wat er in het vorig boek gebeurt is en wat de andere personages uit dit boek aan het doen zijn.Zo word de connectie niet verloren voor het verdere verloop van de serie.
Het slot is nu wel niet van de verrassende soort maar zet wel de poort open naar het derde deel.
Conclusie: Een vlot geschreven ,spannend boek.
Het is wel aangeraden om het eerste deel van de serie gelezen te hebben alvorens te starten met dit deel.
February 28, 2014
Rise of a Merchant Prince was one of the books I was most looking forward to rereading for my Midkemia Reread as I adore Roo. And while it was still an entertaining read, my enjoyment of the book was somewhat affected by changes in how I look at the world. Or rather, some of Roo's actions bothered me far more than they've ever done. Still, I really enjoyed the economic aspects of this novel and any scene Erik was in and, in the end, Rise of the Merchant Prince remains quite entertaining.
If Shadow of a Dark Queen was Erik's story, Rise of a Merchant Prince is Roo's story. Roo is one of my favourite Feistian characters and he is a rogue of the type somewhat reminiscent of Eddings' Silk. He is the bad boy with the heart of gold, not dashingly handsome, but gifted with a silver tongue, a quick wit, and oodles of charm. I loved Roo's stint at Barrett's and his work with The Bitter Sea Trading Company. This was the book that showed me trading and economics could actually be interesting in a narrative. I also liked the early parts of his relationship with Karli, Helmut Grindle's daughter. There seemed to be a true connection forming between them, especially when Karli displayed her knowledge of the trade and her intelligence, but this is completely shut down once they marry and especially once Roo is seduced by Sylvia. And it drove me nuts. Not just that Roo would be that faithless and disrespectful of Karli, but that Karli acquiesces to this treatment like she does. Roo's treatment of his family on the whole made me feel a little less charitable towards him. I really disliked that his weak spot had to be women, that they were the only thing that could get him off his trading game.
In addition to Karli, there are two more important female characters in this book. Miranda once again returns and joins Calis on the journey to Novindus. She's still played as the mysterious magical factor and worse, in this book the meat of her storyline seems to be the fact that she's in a love triangle with Pug and Calis. I mean why? Miranda is a powerful player in her own right. She's the one who knows the Hall of the Worlds well, she seems to have a good inkling to what needs to be done and in this book she's only along as the love interest and a convenient emergency exit for Calis. Then there is Sylvia and Sylvia just bothers me on many levels. She's a gorgeous woman, used as eye candy by her father, who also uses her womanly wiles (read sex) to further her father's business interests. In addition, she has a healthy libido and seems to enjoy bed sports with various partners. And it seems to me – though that might be a faulty interpretation on my side – that she's judged to be an immoral and bad woman over this not just by her father, but by herself as well. And of course if the rest of Krondorian society knew about this, she would be a social pariah. Something that strikes me as deeply tragic and unfair, since Sylvia seems to be very much a creature of her father's making. I hated that Roo let himself be led by his nether regions, instead of his brains and that he falls for the trap the Esterbrooks set for him. I very much didn't like Sylvia, yet it bothered me that much of what makes her unlikeable is tied into the fact that she isn't the virtuous merchant's daughter she's expected to be. Still I hope both she and, more importantly, her father get their comeuppance in the next book.
While Rise of a Merchant Prince is largely Roo's story, there is a parallel arc in which Erik accompanies Calis and another hand-picked group of soldiers back down to Novindus on a mission to strike at the heart of the Panthatians' society. We only see glimpses of what happens – the most important moments – but the import and tension of this mission is tangible throughout the latter half of the book. It also made me realise that my opinion of Erik has significantly changed from where it was say a decade ago. I always thought Erik a bit too good to be true. He was not quite a 'Chosen One', but solid, dependable, Good and with 'a Future'; in other words, he was slightly vanilla. Now, however, I find myself drawn to Erik far more. He's still a bit too good to be true, but there is more to him than just vanilla and I'm wondering whether this development in my appreciation of Erik's character will continue in the next books or whether it might also be due to my slight disenchantment with Roo.
Overall, even if Rise of a Merchant Prince wasn't visited by the Suck Fairy, it didn't quite live up to my memories of it. But even despite that it is a very entertaining novel and will remain one of my favourite Midkemia books. It also marks the one-third point of my Midkemia Reread, as this is the tenth of thirty titles set in Midkemia. And I'm starting to see some trends emerge. I don't know whether the books haven't stood the test of time well or whether it is that I have changed significantly since the last time I've read them through, but I'm finding far more problematical things this time around than ever before, even if the books are still very entertaining and compelling. Of course, Rise of a Merchant Prince was first published in 1995, so it'll be interesting to see whether this feeling will persist once we get closer to the last third of the series and his more recent books.
This review is part of my Midkemia Reread, in which I read all the books Raymond E. Feist wrote, set in the world of Midkemia. For more on the why and how of this series of reviews, check out Midkemia Reread: An Introduction.
If Shadow of a Dark Queen was Erik's story, Rise of a Merchant Prince is Roo's story. Roo is one of my favourite Feistian characters and he is a rogue of the type somewhat reminiscent of Eddings' Silk. He is the bad boy with the heart of gold, not dashingly handsome, but gifted with a silver tongue, a quick wit, and oodles of charm. I loved Roo's stint at Barrett's and his work with The Bitter Sea Trading Company. This was the book that showed me trading and economics could actually be interesting in a narrative. I also liked the early parts of his relationship with Karli, Helmut Grindle's daughter. There seemed to be a true connection forming between them, especially when Karli displayed her knowledge of the trade and her intelligence, but this is completely shut down once they marry and especially once Roo is seduced by Sylvia. And it drove me nuts. Not just that Roo would be that faithless and disrespectful of Karli, but that Karli acquiesces to this treatment like she does. Roo's treatment of his family on the whole made me feel a little less charitable towards him. I really disliked that his weak spot had to be women, that they were the only thing that could get him off his trading game.
In addition to Karli, there are two more important female characters in this book. Miranda once again returns and joins Calis on the journey to Novindus. She's still played as the mysterious magical factor and worse, in this book the meat of her storyline seems to be the fact that she's in a love triangle with Pug and Calis. I mean why? Miranda is a powerful player in her own right. She's the one who knows the Hall of the Worlds well, she seems to have a good inkling to what needs to be done and in this book she's only along as the love interest and a convenient emergency exit for Calis. Then there is Sylvia and Sylvia just bothers me on many levels. She's a gorgeous woman, used as eye candy by her father, who also uses her womanly wiles (read sex) to further her father's business interests. In addition, she has a healthy libido and seems to enjoy bed sports with various partners. And it seems to me – though that might be a faulty interpretation on my side – that she's judged to be an immoral and bad woman over this not just by her father, but by herself as well. And of course if the rest of Krondorian society knew about this, she would be a social pariah. Something that strikes me as deeply tragic and unfair, since Sylvia seems to be very much a creature of her father's making. I hated that Roo let himself be led by his nether regions, instead of his brains and that he falls for the trap the Esterbrooks set for him. I very much didn't like Sylvia, yet it bothered me that much of what makes her unlikeable is tied into the fact that she isn't the virtuous merchant's daughter she's expected to be. Still I hope both she and, more importantly, her father get their comeuppance in the next book.
While Rise of a Merchant Prince is largely Roo's story, there is a parallel arc in which Erik accompanies Calis and another hand-picked group of soldiers back down to Novindus on a mission to strike at the heart of the Panthatians' society. We only see glimpses of what happens – the most important moments – but the import and tension of this mission is tangible throughout the latter half of the book. It also made me realise that my opinion of Erik has significantly changed from where it was say a decade ago. I always thought Erik a bit too good to be true. He was not quite a 'Chosen One', but solid, dependable, Good and with 'a Future'; in other words, he was slightly vanilla. Now, however, I find myself drawn to Erik far more. He's still a bit too good to be true, but there is more to him than just vanilla and I'm wondering whether this development in my appreciation of Erik's character will continue in the next books or whether it might also be due to my slight disenchantment with Roo.
Overall, even if Rise of a Merchant Prince wasn't visited by the Suck Fairy, it didn't quite live up to my memories of it. But even despite that it is a very entertaining novel and will remain one of my favourite Midkemia books. It also marks the one-third point of my Midkemia Reread, as this is the tenth of thirty titles set in Midkemia. And I'm starting to see some trends emerge. I don't know whether the books haven't stood the test of time well or whether it is that I have changed significantly since the last time I've read them through, but I'm finding far more problematical things this time around than ever before, even if the books are still very entertaining and compelling. Of course, Rise of a Merchant Prince was first published in 1995, so it'll be interesting to see whether this feeling will persist once we get closer to the last third of the series and his more recent books.
***
This review is part of my Midkemia Reread, in which I read all the books Raymond E. Feist wrote, set in the world of Midkemia. For more on the why and how of this series of reviews, check out Midkemia Reread: An Introduction.
October 16, 2019
Like this one more than the first book in the Serpentwar Saga, but had similar feelings as the story progressed... I LOVED the first third of the book... there's just something about watching the development of a merchant empire... but as Roo became more and more successful, his personality shifted in unsatisfying ways... things got better towards the end, tho...
February 18, 2022
Brilliantly written, Raymond E Feist is really a master storyteller, it doesn't matter if it is about War, magic or Finance he can grip you so that you can't leave the book alone!!!
I loved every page, even though I would never ever read a book about finance this was thrilling!!!!
I loved every page, even though I would never ever read a book about finance this was thrilling!!!!
November 12, 2024
What an odd and incredible book
It had everything. And was a strange episode in a war of odd odd stuff. Loved it. Laughed. Got sad. Etc etc.
It had everything. And was a strange episode in a war of odd odd stuff. Loved it. Laughed. Got sad. Etc etc.
October 2, 2008
The Midkemia train chugs along... Raymond Feist wrote a set of hugely entertaining novels back in the 80's concerning magicians and whatnot: the Riftwar Saga ended up becoming a million copy bestseller and spawned new stories. Since then, the writing has actually degenerated in quality and things are not looking good for either the storylines or for Feist's writing career. Actually that last bit is an overstatement, since he is still a bestseller and going strong. In the early 90's he set out with the Serpentwar Saga, of which Shadow of a Dark Queen was an inauspicious but quite readable entry. 'The Rise of a Merchant Prince' is the second volume of the tale, and thankfully it is significantly better that the first volume.
A cursory search online for reviews for the Serpentwar Saga will actually net you reviews that are contrary to what I am writing here. People seem to be sharply divided over this volume, because Feist persists on a storyline of greed, mercantilism and political shenanigans with an undercurrent of a serious war brewing. The usual fantasy cliches are here: there is a mysterious and shadowed force rising in the west over the seas, some evil being wants to take over everything, multiple storylines converge into one narrative, etc. As a feat of narrative technique, Feist does a remarkable job - he welds together multiple character arcs as the story moves along. The problem really has to do with the pace of the storyline: it is much too glacial in some parts, disorientingly fast in others. It suffers from the same malady that a lot of Feist's stories have since the end of the Riftwar. Who knows what happened to that guy who wrote the original series? I want him back.
Anyway, this book takes up the story of our boyhood chums from the end of 'Dark Queen'. Rupert has embarked on an ambitious scheme to be the richest man in Krondor while Erik has moved on to become a Knight-Captain of the King's Guard. Pretty good prospects for a couple of punks from Darkmoor. Inevitably, it becomes known through the occassional appearances of Pug, Miranda, Tomas and others that the Emerald Queen is raising an armada to invade the Kingdom within a couple of years. 'Rise of a Merchant Prince', however, deals almost exclusively with Rupert's rise in the business world of Krondor and the Kingdom.
Feist actually kept me close to this book with his slow build. Although the pace is very uneven, he draws in the reader with well constructed tension from the very beginning. Perhaps that is his real draw as a writer, this reader can only speculate. But do not confuse that plot-driven writing with memorable characters: Rupert is an utterly deplorable protagonist in this volume. He cheats, steals, manipulates the marketplace, impregnates his boss' daughter, marries her without love, cheats on her shortly thereafter (and justifies it), buys and trades weaponry, and even dips his toe into drug dealing for a while. Nice! All in the name of profit, eh Rupert? Needless to say, he becomes the Merchant Prince of the title, and rises to become the richest man in Krondor. Feist nicely dovetails this into the main narrative, which will be picked up in the 'Demon King' as the unholy army approaches the Kingdom and Rupert's wealth will have to be called upon.
Erik is barely present after the first 50 pages, so we do not get to know him very well. Feist gets a little lazy in promoting him so quickly. This is such a common problem I have increasingly noticed as I've grown older but persist in reading the fantasy genre that I so loved as a kid: the tendency for writers to tell you about a character instead of showing you. Erik's superlative leadership is not questioned by anyone, it is just accepted that he is the leader of his fighting force. But why? How? What things did he do better than anyone else to deserve such a honor? I dislike having to accept a character's development just because the writer says so - I need to see it happen in order to believe it. Thus, Erik remains a forgettable creation to me. Rupert's development as a businessman is extremly well done in this book, but as much as he is seen as an honorable man, his actions do not bear this out. The author has done the rare deed of drawing an extremely poor character very well.
I don't compare him with other authors, only himself. Feist still has not yet equalled the invention of Pug or even Arutha, who were much more likeable and believable during the Riftwar. But for the story, which includes several politcal machinations and business asides, I was hooked. As a personal preference I do tend to like slower paced, deeper tales such as this over exclusively fast narrative. So Feist does a notch better than his last outing, and this volume gets 3 stars.
Once I've started a saga I almost never stop. So, on to volume 3 it is!
A cursory search online for reviews for the Serpentwar Saga will actually net you reviews that are contrary to what I am writing here. People seem to be sharply divided over this volume, because Feist persists on a storyline of greed, mercantilism and political shenanigans with an undercurrent of a serious war brewing. The usual fantasy cliches are here: there is a mysterious and shadowed force rising in the west over the seas, some evil being wants to take over everything, multiple storylines converge into one narrative, etc. As a feat of narrative technique, Feist does a remarkable job - he welds together multiple character arcs as the story moves along. The problem really has to do with the pace of the storyline: it is much too glacial in some parts, disorientingly fast in others. It suffers from the same malady that a lot of Feist's stories have since the end of the Riftwar. Who knows what happened to that guy who wrote the original series? I want him back.
Anyway, this book takes up the story of our boyhood chums from the end of 'Dark Queen'. Rupert has embarked on an ambitious scheme to be the richest man in Krondor while Erik has moved on to become a Knight-Captain of the King's Guard. Pretty good prospects for a couple of punks from Darkmoor. Inevitably, it becomes known through the occassional appearances of Pug, Miranda, Tomas and others that the Emerald Queen is raising an armada to invade the Kingdom within a couple of years. 'Rise of a Merchant Prince', however, deals almost exclusively with Rupert's rise in the business world of Krondor and the Kingdom.
Feist actually kept me close to this book with his slow build. Although the pace is very uneven, he draws in the reader with well constructed tension from the very beginning. Perhaps that is his real draw as a writer, this reader can only speculate. But do not confuse that plot-driven writing with memorable characters: Rupert is an utterly deplorable protagonist in this volume. He cheats, steals, manipulates the marketplace, impregnates his boss' daughter, marries her without love, cheats on her shortly thereafter (and justifies it), buys and trades weaponry, and even dips his toe into drug dealing for a while. Nice! All in the name of profit, eh Rupert? Needless to say, he becomes the Merchant Prince of the title, and rises to become the richest man in Krondor. Feist nicely dovetails this into the main narrative, which will be picked up in the 'Demon King' as the unholy army approaches the Kingdom and Rupert's wealth will have to be called upon.
Erik is barely present after the first 50 pages, so we do not get to know him very well. Feist gets a little lazy in promoting him so quickly. This is such a common problem I have increasingly noticed as I've grown older but persist in reading the fantasy genre that I so loved as a kid: the tendency for writers to tell you about a character instead of showing you. Erik's superlative leadership is not questioned by anyone, it is just accepted that he is the leader of his fighting force. But why? How? What things did he do better than anyone else to deserve such a honor? I dislike having to accept a character's development just because the writer says so - I need to see it happen in order to believe it. Thus, Erik remains a forgettable creation to me. Rupert's development as a businessman is extremly well done in this book, but as much as he is seen as an honorable man, his actions do not bear this out. The author has done the rare deed of drawing an extremely poor character very well.
I don't compare him with other authors, only himself. Feist still has not yet equalled the invention of Pug or even Arutha, who were much more likeable and believable during the Riftwar. But for the story, which includes several politcal machinations and business asides, I was hooked. As a personal preference I do tend to like slower paced, deeper tales such as this over exclusively fast narrative. So Feist does a notch better than his last outing, and this volume gets 3 stars.
Once I've started a saga I almost never stop. So, on to volume 3 it is!
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