I enjoyed reading Rides a Dread Legion, I found the story entertaining and engaging without being repetitive from previous novels. Feist has an ability to maintain a generational story-line without the characters being carbon-copies of their predecessors. I enjoyed the new plot twists that new groups bring to Midkemia and look forward to the next installment in this story-line.

As soon as the "biggest threat ever" is vanquished, Feist's next series introduces a bigger threat. This is part of his formula, and his ultra-powerful protagonists struggle mightily before winning the day, while the world around them is slowly wrecked.

In this book, Feist takes a very long time to set up his pieces on the board and introduces the massive danger that is so bad it is destroying the newly introduced race of super-elves.

While the reading is good, it does take a long time to set up, without much of the action I've come to expect.

Which is why the ending seems so strong and shocking. There is a twist which I didn't see coming, and a reminder that the reader shouldn't rely on the preconceptions which might be brought from earlier Feist novels.

My review is 3.5 stars, boosted up by the better than expected close to the story. In fact, I think the ending is the only thing that salvaged a book which sort of dragged.

I've been a fan of the Midkemia series for a long, long time. But, ever since the end of the Serpentwar series, I've enjoyed the subsequent books less and less. The latter series, such as the Darkwar Saga and Conclave of the Shadows, seem to lack the plot depth, character development, and quality of writing that I thought were the hallmarks of the previous series.

I seem to remember several years ago, REF commented on the Feistfans mailing list that he wanted to move more toward plot-driven stories. And, to an extent, these later books do seem more plot-driver in that there's less character development and events just sort of happen, without inspection, to characters that lack introspection. As a fan, this is not a style I enjoy; or, perhaps, it's that I don't enjoy REF's implementation of it, especially in contrast to the style in his earlier books.

Rides a Dread Legion is a continuation of this trend. Overall, it just feels rushed. There are some odd spelling mistakes ("Maarg" is mis-spelt "Maar"); there's much less dialogue; even though new characters are introduced, they aren't developed the way previous new characters were, e.g., Laurie, Roo, or, even, Talwin (who I thought was weakly developed in comparison to HIS predesesors). It may be a trivial change on the surface, but perhaps it's telling that, unlike previous stories, there's no quote to start RaDL; I still remember how apt "We were, fair queen, Two lads that thought there was no more behind But such a day to-morrow as to-day, And to be boy eternal" was for Magician.

So, I'll continue to read REF because I want to know how the story ends. But, I'm starting to suspect that at the end of this saga, I'll wish I didn't know how the story ended.

I have to start by saying that I am a long term fan and have read the entire series from that first book from the SciFi/Fantasy Book Club many years ago. I would have loved to give this book a 5, or even a 4, but I just couldn't do it.
First off, there just is not that much to the book. Ray (Hey, I've been a fan long enough to use a personal version of his name) must at this point believe that his fans know all about Midkemia and therefore does not need to waste much time with world building. Not that it was ever a strong feature of earlier works, but it was far better than represented here. Maybe that explains why the book is so short. In a time when I am reading contemporaries of R.F. (some newer to the scene) and finding massive stories loaded with rich characters and easily twice the length, I just have to ask, "What's up!"
I will, of course, continue to read the stories, just to know where Pug goes next. And I will admit that in the last few pages, he finally starts to realize that he has to not be just a player in the grand opera understanding only his part, but he needs to understand the opera itself. Launching himself towards godhood perhaps?
Anyway, read it, enjoy it, just don't get too disappointed when after a few hours of reading you turn the page and realize the book is done and you now have to wait for another year for the next, short installment.

Another great chapter in this saga.

It amazes me how Mr Feist is able to keep his books so fresh and enthralling...I cannot put them down until I have finished them. Other sets of books often fall in the quality of writing as they progress but not these. Of course there are some shocking moments but I don't want to spoil it for anybody.