Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

The actual rating of 3.5 stars indicates a moderately positive assessment. It suggests that the subject being rated has several good qualities and performances, but also has some areas that could be improved. A 3.5-star rating is not a perfect score, but it is still a respectable one. It shows that the evaluator has found enough value and merit in the item or service to give it a relatively high rating. However, it also implies that there is room for growth and development. Perhaps there are certain aspects that need more attention or refinement to reach a higher level of excellence. Overall, a 3.5-star rating is a balanced evaluation that takes into account both the strengths and weaknesses of the subject.

This was a quick read, a prequel adventure with a favorite character.

The plot, although rather thin, still managed to hold my attention.

The few twists it had were fairly obvious, yet that didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

The author did a good job of developing the character, making me feel even more attached to him/her.

The writing style was simple and easy to follow, which added to the overall enjoyment of the book.

Despite its flaws, this prequel provided an interesting backstory and set the stage for future adventures.

I would recommend this book to fans of the character and those who enjoy light-hearted, fast-paced reads.

Overall, it was a fun and entertaining read that I'm glad I picked up.

I really enjoyed reading this book.

There were so many unexpected surprises that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

It is clear that this is a collaboration, but despite that, the writing style is still very familiar and engaging.

The authors have done an excellent job of weaving together different storylines and characters to create a truly unique and captivating read.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery or thriller.

It is one of the best books I have read in a long time and I can't wait to see what the authors come up with next.

Overall, I give this book a five-star rating and highly recommend it to all readers.

Jimmy the Hand is the third Rift war collaboration book (outside the Janny Wurts Empire series) that Feist wrote with different authors. This time, the author is S. M. Sterling. Sterling is also the author of Dies the Fire, the only other book I’ve read by him.

Overall, Jimmy the Hand is an okay read. I wouldn't recommend it to friends, but I wouldn't stop them from reading it either.

The book initially seems to revolve around the exploits of Jimmy the Hand, but about a third of the way through, new characters are introduced, and the story shifts to Laurie, Bram, and her brother Rip. There's a witch hunter named Jarvis Coe, who is an interesting and new character in the Feist universe that hasn't been explored before. I'd love to read an entire series about him if Feist decides to follow up on that.

There are some well-written parts in the book, but they are overshadowed by the not-so-good parts. The biggest problem is the child protagonists. Writing a book with children in adult settings is difficult, and Sterling doesn't quite pull it off. The children are either developed as older or younger than they are, and their actions and thoughts don't always make sense. Feist, on the other hand, has a better knack for rendering younger characters as viable players in adult-driven stories.

At times, it feels like Rip is just a prop in the story, used to move the characters and the plot forward. His strange power to sense family members is never fully explained or developed, and neither is the baron's interest in the children's powers. It all seems a bit too convenient and underdeveloped.

Feist may not be the greatest writer when it comes to thought-provoking stories, but his works are entertaining, and that's what keeps readers coming back. Sterling, unfortunately, misses the mark with this one, just as he did with Dies the Fire.

3.5 stars really.

I truly love Jimmy The Hand. He is one of my all-time favorite characters in the entire series. As a result, I was extremely excited to read this book. While it is entertaining, it just seemed to lack something for me. I believe that way too much time was spent on other characters and plot twists that had nothing to do with Jimmy.

---Update----

Interestingly, I had the opportunity to meet Raymond E. Feist last night when he came to town on his book tour. He mentioned that he felt this book was a bit unfinished and that he could have done more with it. Apparently, Steve Stirling was very late with his deadline and handed it in with a story that was completely different from what had been agreed upon, and there was only two weeks left to finalize it. Oops! It was quite a revelation to hear this from the author himself. It makes me understand a bit more about why the book might have felt a bit lacking in certain areas. However, despite this, I still enjoyed the overall story and the world that Feist has created. I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next in the series.

The best of the Legends of the Riftwar books, it vividly tells the story of what unfolds for Jimmy the Hand after his heroic act of helping to rescue Prince Arutha and Princess Anita towards the conclusion of Magician Apprentice. It presents a reasonably solid narrative, which is enhanced by the fact that Jimmy is a personal favorite character of many readers.

However, it must be noted that some of the writing and editing in this book is a bit lackadaisical. For instance, in the first chapter, Jimmy is described as "He was a boy of unknown age - perhaps fourteen, perhaps sixteen, no one knew...". Just a page or so later, he is described as "His age was uncertain, perhaps thirteen years of age, perhaps fifteen...". Ignoring the obvious discrepancy (after all, we understand that his age is meant to be unknown), one has to question why it was described twice on consecutive pages.

I also find myself wondering a little about the consistency with some of the other books in the series. Since this particular installment was written retrospectively, after many of Jimmy's future events had already been penned, there is a minor concern. While there are no major issues that I am aware of, there are one or two minor details in this book that might potentially contradict later events. However, these are such subtleties that I may very well be misremembering.

4.5 stars:

Jimmy the Hand is an absolutely fantastic little story set within the captivating world of Midkemia! It holds a special place as the second book I have delved into by Feist, following the remarkable Magician. While it may not quite reach the same lofty heights as that previous masterpiece, it is, without a doubt, an absolute joy to read from cover to cover.

What makes it truly great is the opportunity it presents to directly revisit Jimmy's thrilling adventures immediately after Arutha's nail-biting escape from Krondor. The story unfolds with such vivid detail and engaging plotlines that it keeps the reader hooked from start to finish.

I am eagerly looking forward to continuing my chronological exploration of the riftwar stories. Each new installment promises to further deepen my understanding and appreciation of this rich and immersive fictional universe.

I have no doubt that Feist will continue to weave his magic and deliver more unforgettable tales that will keep me enthralled for many more reading sessions to come.

This is a blatant case of false advertising.

Here's a hot tip: when you name a book after the main character, it would be reasonable to expect that the main character appears in more than just a third of the story.

I was extremely disappointed with this one. I had been eagerly looking forward to reading about an early exploit of one of the better characters from the Rift war series. However, what I got was an entirely different story. Jimmy the Hand was indeed in that story, but only in a supporting role.

This book should have been titled Legends of the Riftwar: The Mad Baron and the Necromancer, guest starring Jimmy the Hand.

I have to say that of the three books in the Legends of the Riftwar, this last one was marginally better than Murder in La Mut, but not by a significant amount. Of the three books in this series, only the first one, Honored Enemy, had a coherent story that lived up to what was advertised.

It's really a pity that the expectations were not met, especially when it comes to a series that had shown promise with its first installment. One can only hope that future books in this or related series will do a better job of delivering on what they promise.

Jimmy (Lord James) has always been a favorite character of mine from early works by Feist.

His charm, wit, and resourcefulness have endeared him to readers for years.

This new collaboration and book three of the Legends of the Riftwar was a solid effort and interesting story.

It took the readers on a thrilling adventure, filled with action, mystery, and intrigue.

I appreciate the fact that it is not based upon the war with the Tsurani, but instead focused on Jimmy.

We got to see some of his exploits in Krondor and Lands End, which added depth and dimension to his character.

The author did a great job of developing the plot and the characters, making it a page-turner from start to finish.

A good book, well worth the read, it will keep you entertained and engaged until the very end.

I highly recommend it to all fans of fantasy literature.

Enjoyable romp in this fantasy novel.

Not having read any Riftwar novels was not a problem with this fantasy novel. It focuses on a character from those books, and there's enough information about his role in previous books to make this easily accessible. Jimmy the Hand, a thief and likeable rogue, finds himself involved in an adventure that incorporates magic and sinister goings-on. There are a lot of interesting characters, who are well-developed. The plot moves along at a good pace, which makes it engaging. It's well worth a look if you enjoy fantasy novels that are not overly complicated.

This fantasy novel offers an exciting and enjoyable read. The story of Jimmy the Hand's adventure is filled with magic, mystery, and interesting characters. The author does a great job of developing the characters and the plot, making it easy for readers to get involved in the story. Even if you haven't read the previous Riftwar novels, you can still enjoy this one. So, if you're a fan of fantasy novels, give this one a try.

“Jimmy the Hand” is the third and final installment in the “Legends of the Riftwar” subseries, which is set during Feist’s original “Magician” novel. This book is co-written with S. M. Stirling. The story commences shortly after Jimmy and Arutha’s initial encounter in “Magician”. It begins right around the moment when Arutha and Anita are fleeing Krondor by boat and Arutha throws his rapier to Jimmy.

I had a much more favorable opinion of this book compared to the previous two! Jimmy is one of my favorite characters, so it’s not at all unexpected that I relished a story centered around him. However, I also really liked several of the other characters crafted for this tale and I thoroughly enjoyed the story itself. It was far more captivating to me than either of the first two books and it held my attention firmly from start to finish.

Nonetheless, there are certain elements that seemed a touch too coincidental and/or a bit of a stretch. These aspects might have been somewhat plausible within the context of the story, but they still pushed my suspension of disbelief just a little beyond the breaking point. For instance, Elaine’s body is in a room trapped in a pocket of slowed-down time to prevent her from dying while her husband and the magician attempt to find a means to heal her. Yet, her mind manages to escape her body and observe events happening in the castle in real-time and communicate with the children in real-time. Perhaps if she is somehow projecting her consciousness outside her body and far enough to evade the time trap, it could make sense that she can do these things. But it seems it would take time for her to achieve that, and the time elapsed while her consciousness is still within the time trap would translate to a significant amount of time passing outside. Yet she appears to pop in and out frequently, sometimes just a few minutes later, to observe and assist the children. Additionally, we were informed that she was losing consciousness for days or even weeks at a time, and yet she conveniently manages to regain it often for the sake of the story. Also, everyone in the surrounding area believes Elaine is dead, and yet her husband brought in healers over a period to try to help her before he abandoned hope and turned to dark magic, so surely word would have spread that she was still alive.

My complaints were relatively minor, though, and I enjoyed the story as a whole. I don’t truly believe this subseries added anything crucial to the main series. So, one could skip it without forfeiting anything of great importance if it doesn’t sound appealing. Each book in the subseries stands entirely independently of the others, so one could also simply pick and choose the ones that sound interesting. I liked the first book reasonably well after its slow beginning, and I liked this one a great deal, but I wouldn’t have minded omitting the second one.

Not as much Jimmy as expected. It seems that the anticipation for Jimmy in this situation didn't quite match up to the reality. He wasn't as prominent or as impactful as one might have hoped.

Moreover, I'm not a huge fan of this legends series. There's something about it that just doesn't resonate with me on a deep level. Maybe it's the way the stories are told, or perhaps it's the lack of a certain element that would make it more engaging.

Overall, while there may be some aspects of the series that others find appealing, for me, it falls short. I'll probably continue to watch it out of curiosity, but I'm not overly excited about it.