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Legends of the Riftwar #2

Murder in LaMut

raymond e. feist joel rosenberg

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The second novel of a major new Feist acquisition, returning to his best-loved series. Written with Joel Rosenberg. The second Riftwar collaboration, Murder in LaMut, written by masters of fantasy Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenburg. The heavy action was supposedly at Crydee these days which meant that the one place they could be sure the three of them were not going was Crydee. Come spring, the privateer Melanie was due in Ylith, and its captain could be counted on for a swift conveyance away for sure, and likely not to murder them in their sleep. That would be bad for business. But away where? That wasn't Durine's worry. Kethol would surely be able to find the three of them somebody who needed men who knew which part of the sword you used to cut with and which part you used to butter your bread, and Pirojil would be able to negotiate a price at least half again what the employer was ready to pay. All Durine would have to do was kill people. That was fine with him. Durine, Kethol and Pirojil are three mercenaries who have spent twenty years fighting other people's against the Tsurani and the Bugs and the goblins, and now it seems they've run out of Tsurani, Bugs and goblins to kill. The prospect of a few months of garrison duty offers a welcome respite; but then they are given an assignment that seems, on the surface, like cushy work -- to protect a lady and her husband and deliver them safely to the city of Lamut. It should all have been so simple! Raymond E. Feist is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Riftwar Saga, the Serpentwar Saga and the epic Krondor series. Joel Rosenberg is best-known for The Guardian of the Flame sequence. His other fantasy work includes D'Shai novels and the Keeper of the Hidden Ways series.

337 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2002
Series
Legends of the Riftwar

This edition

Format
337 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 2003 by
ISBN
9780006483892
ASIN
0006483895
Language
English

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About the author

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raymond e. feist

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Raymond 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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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
24(24%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Fremen13
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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Ever since I discovered a copy of Magician on audiobook, I have been determined to read this series in its entirety, preferably in chronological order. However, this is far easier said than done.

Legends Of The Riftwar is a three-book series written in collaboration with various others, which adds an extra layer of flavor to the original series.

I had several issues with this particular story. Let me take a moment to explain.

This novel centers around three mercenaries who work together as a team. They become snowed in during their latest mission and then find themselves drawn into the complex web of city politics as the nobles compete for the Earldom or Dukedom.

Firstly, aside from the discussion between the Dukes in the prologue, there are no familiar characters. This makes it a challenge to understand how this story fits into the overall narrative. Secondly, the title seems somewhat misaligned as the murder that is alluded to throughout only occurs near the end of the book. Thirdly, I struggle to see the significance or purpose of this story.

Despite these criticisms, I have to admit that I still found some enjoyment in the story. It's not a must-read, but it wasn't a complete waste of time either.
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beyondpixels24
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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This book seemed to be filled with a great deal of waiting for things to occur, and in between there was a lot of rather uninteresting material.

The murder that is mentioned in the title doesn't even take place until less than 100 pages from the conclusion of the book.

The three mercenaries were engaging, and witnessing the events unfold from their perspectives created a fantasy story of a type that I had never seen before.

However, the typical exciting and fast-paced story, along with the essential details necessary for a story to function, which I have come to anticipate from Feist, was absent.

It would appear that Feist ceded a bit too much control of the story to Joel Rosenberg (the co-author).

All things considered, this is not my favorite Feist book.
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Cerisine
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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I was truly exhausted from reading Feist when I made the decision to persevere and carry on with Murder in LaMut. However, to my great delight, I was met with the clever prose and dialogue that had unexpected undertones of Dickens. I think it's a safe assumption to attribute this to the influence of co-author, Joel Rosenburg. It's a murder mystery that builds slowly, with very little magic in sight. So, if you're in search of a story filled with sword and sorcery, this isn't the one for you.


I definitely didn't anticipate the twist regarding the culprit of the murder. The authors did an excellent job of keeping me in suspense until the very end. They chose to make their three main characters rather unsympathetic, which is always a risky move. And, as expected, I didn't have much regard for them. I listened to the audiobook of this almost in one sitting, allowing me to breeze through it. If I had taken a longer time to get through it, I imagine I would've been overcome with boredom. As I mentioned earlier, it's a slow build, with most of the action occurring in the last few chapters. This was especially true because I didn't really care about what happened to the main trio.


All things considered, I give this book three stars simply for its brilliant writing and execution.

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DimsTheImmortal
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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I fell in love with the captivating world of Midkemia when I first delved into Magician: Apprentice. And Magician: Master further solidified my affection for this enchanting realm. Feist's creation is incredibly detailed and rich, making it a pure pleasure to escape into.

I am following the reading order recommended by a fellow blogger for this series. It's not the order in which the books were published but rather a chronological one. It was a tough decision to make! But I just can't help it; I have a penchant for reading things in the order they occur. After starting with the four books of the Riftwar Saga, I advanced to Legends of the Riftwar.

Honored Enemy I relished as a straightforward action/war novel. I have a soft spot for troop movements and such, so it held my interest firmly. However, Murder in LaMut has its caveats.

You truly need to have a deep love for the world Feist has crafted for us to extract any joy from this novel. For the first third or so, I was simply glad to be back among Dukes and Barons, and the occasional mention of Crydee always brought a smile to my face. Regrettably, it devolved into an exercise in dull, small-town politics. I even have a slight inclination towards politics when it pertains to the fate of an entire realm, with kings and princesses and all that glorious stuff. But this was just an earldom, with more talk of Guy du Bas-Tyra than Prince Erland.

Lacking an intense interest in the setting, perhaps some enjoyment could be derived from the three alternating narrative voices. For me, though, while it didn't completely flop, it failed to capture my curiosity. The three mercenaries were rather interchangeable. In my mind, they became the big but slow guy, the small but slow guy, and the ugly but smart guy. This story could just as easily have been told with just one or two narrators, yet we had to keep up as the inner voice changed from paragraph to paragraph.

A good murder mystery is always entertaining, but unfortunately, the crime promised in the title occurs a mere 80 pages from the end. It is followed by a chaotic investigation that wraps up incredibly swiftly and just isn't satisfying.

Compared to the grandeur of the Riftwar Saga, these novels are intended to bring us closer to the individuals affected by the war. While I can appreciate the sentiment, it's only because I was a fan of the original novels that led me to this point. Sadly, no other familiar characters make an appearance; at least, none that I'm aware of from having read the Riftwar Saga and Honored Enemy. Fantus, the firedrake, does make an appearance, and I've always found him endearing and hilarious, but he's unable to really... TALK. That's okay; we don't have to have cameos, but if it's the world and the people in it that I love so much, I would have adored for them to show up unexpectedly. My fangirlism would have gone wild for sure!

I have a deep love for Feist's writing and his world, but I wouldn't recommend this particular novel to anyone except the most diehard fans of the series.
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ArchStanton
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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I've been a die-hard fan of Feist for the better part of my life.

However, I found myself having to force my way through this truly revolting piece of drivel. It's hard to imagine that he had much more than just the basic story idea. The characters we follow are nothing but scum, and they are well aware of it.

The reader really doesn't become invested in anyone except perhaps one or two side characters. And then there's that certain critter that loves attention.

The story was so ponderous and predictable that it felt like you could guess what was going to happen on pretty much every page. The characters do incredibly stupid things and make really, really stupid choices. I mean, \n  really\n stupid choices. And in the end, does it all work out? Well, we don't really know. The book ends abruptly, right at an event that the reader has been waiting for. But still, it feels like it should have gone on for a little longer, as there are just too many loose ends left dangling.

I would not recommend this book to anyone except for the most die-hard Feist fans, those who are completionists and simply have to read the entire Riftwar Cycle. And even for those of you, be warned: this is quite possibly the worst book in the entire Cycle.

And I'll refrain from letting my inner SJW talk about some of the things I was offended to read, because I'm not that kind of person. That's just not Raymond E Feist's style, not this sort of thing.
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Erydien
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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I’m done with reading this book. To be honest, I didn’t like it at all. It simply wasn’t the Feist I knew and loved! In fact, I can say that I don’t even really want to give a review because it feels so wrong since it wasn’t a “normal” Feist book.

I found myself really struggling to get through this book. This has never happened to me before with a Feist book. Usually, I can devour his works with great ease and enjoyment. However, this time was different.

Although I did think the characters in this book were somewhat enjoyable, they couldn’t make up for the overall disappointment. It just wasn’t what I was hoping for in this particular book. I was really looking forward to another great adventure and story from Feist, but unfortunately, this one didn’t meet my expectations.

I hope that his next book will be more in line with what I have come to expect from him.
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Fazerr
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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This is one of those stories that is just a right (or left if it has to be left) turn off the path of the main story.

It offers you a little breather before you dive back into the really big books again.

Plus, it’s just a good fun story.

If you read the book synopsis up there somewhere, you really get exactly what this book is about and what to expect with it.

It’s hard to add more without making a big mess of spoilers that just ruins the whole book.

This book runs a little slow at times but always picks back up, usually with a sword or knife, or maybe even just a fist or two.

Considering the main character(s) are hired mercenaries, you can’t really be expecting a simple little tiptoe through the tulips type of story now can you?

This book has some very cool murder mystery vibes going for it that work so well and are written very nicely.

The best plans, those being to keep people safe and get people from point a to point b safely, probably didn’t go as smoothly as expected.

That’s the spoiler I’ll give you.

More people should probably read this just to read it and see what they think.

It’s very good and so much fun!

You’ll find yourself immersed in a world of action, mystery, and adventure as you follow the exploits of the hired mercenaries.

The slow parts are just a build-up to the exciting moments that are sure to come.

So, give this book a chance and see for yourself why it’s such a great read.
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anniebananie
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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Probably one of my least favourite books in the entire Riftwar universe.

It's truly hard to believe that it took two authors, who borrowed so heavily from the Three Musketeers, and yet still managed to come up with a book that is so devoid of an interesting storyline and is filled with such bad writing.

The writing style is disjointed, making it difficult to follow the flow of the story. It is also stilted, lacking the natural rhythm and fluidity that good writing should have. Throughout the entire book, the writing is incredibly bad, with poor sentence structure, weak character development, and a lack of engaging dialogue.

Overall, this book is a disappointment and a prime example of what can go wrong when authors rely too much on borrowed ideas and fail to put in the effort to create a unique and engaging story.
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