Middle of a three-book series, right in the middle of a 30-book series. I have a great love for Feist's works. However, I'm constantly on edge, fearing that I might hit a snag in the series and come across some content that I don't enjoy as much. Fortunately, that wasn't the case here.
To be honest, this is the first part of the series where the books are beginning a bit slowly, and the story isn't quite sticking with me as strongly. This is likely due to the first book in this trilogy being based on a video game and the fact that this is the first series within the larger storyline that isn't as "tight" in its continuity. The purpose of this mini-series seems to be to tell some other side stories centered around post-Riftwar Krondor. Although they may have a connection, especially through the characters, they also have a lot of standalone elements.
When I started "Assassins," it didn't immediately grip me, and I was concerned that I had found the bump in the road. But, the last one hundred pages or so made up for it, and the climax is truly fantastic. There's some really great magic in this one, as well as additional backstories for characters that readers of the Riftwar series will be familiar with.
There's no way I would recommend this book to people who haven't at least read the Riftwar series. But, if you did read the Riftwar and enjoyed it, you really can't go wrong here.
After reading "Krondor: The Betrayal", I was a bit concerned that the author's writing might have taken a downward turn. I had read one or two books from the Midkemia series out of context about 10 - 15 years ago, and I wondered if those were the last of the good ones.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case. This book was significantly better than the first tome of "The Riftwar Legacy". It shed the feel of a poor script for a mediocre RPG game and instead felt more like a proper story. This time, the focus was mainly on one person, squire James. We only got one new character, and I have a feeling we'll see more of them in the next books.
Once again, James didn't develop too much. He had a set goal and seemed unfazed by seeing gutted people or murderers. He was stone cold yet still joked around like an innocent kid. While this wasn't too bad, I have to admit it bothered me a little.
As a direct continuation of the first tome, we didn't have to worry about any major changes in the world. We knew what problems the protagonist would face. In fact, we almost forgot about the events in the first tome, perhaps a little too quickly, but considering it was an average book, that was probably a good thing. The new intrigue was more interesting, and I felt like I was right there with James as he discovered it. The pacing was still faster than in the "Riftwar Saga", but it wasn't as rushed as in the first tome.
The pace remained high, but not so high that it felt like a rush. The action was swift, given the importance of the task assigned to the protagonist. Also, the development didn't feel like a series of impossible lucky events. We could see how he achieved things and made things happen, something I had missed in the previous book.
I had complained about the conclusion of "The Betrayal", but this time it was much better. I felt the struggle and the hardships, and since I knew it wasn't the end of the problems, I also felt how much they had accomplished. And most importantly, it left me eager for more. It was thrilling and interesting from start to finish.
Now, with my hopes high once again, I'm looking forward to reading the third tome of "The Riftwar Legacy".