Since Deadpoet suggested starting reviews under title of the
book.. here's one that i tried writing earlier after i finished
reading my last book....
Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E Feist:
Not the best but got
potential
Talon of the Silver Hawk comes home from his coming-of-age journey,
named an adult and expecting to settle down with a wife. Instead,
what he found was a village destroyed and a race reduced to the
very last man -- himself. In the search for his enemies and
vengence, Talon steps deeper and deeper into the world of magic,
schemes and politics of post-serpentwar Midkemia.
This book signifies a rather good effort (in my opinion) to bring
the world of Midkemia to the next stage of development. All those
so-called fans out there asking for familiar characters, please
re-read the series from Riftwar to Serpantwar carefully.... Jimmy
the Hand is DEAD. Arutha is DEAD. Sure there is room for
development of plots in between the 2 great wars but to me, who has
read his series time and again, I found books like Tear of the God,
Krondor the Assassins etc cliche, thin in plot and seemed like an
attempt to generate additional book revenue from a tried and tested
formula when the ideas ran dry.
Talon is refreshing. This book carries on from the last of the
Serpentwar series, which is Shards of a Broken Crown, in which Pug
fell out with the royal family's successor, Prince Patrick. and the
only reminders of the previous series were mentions of Pug,
Miranda, Jimmy and Dash (Grandsons of Jimmy the Hand)... which I'm
sure will come into the limelight in the subsequent books. Talon is
a new character and though there are undertones that he is a
combination of Arutha and Jimmy, the book has other pluses as Feist
introduces a new culture into the series, giving the world of
Midkemia a fuller third dimension. Talon also signifies a new age
for Midkemia, and after Kelewan and Demons, seem to imply there are
new threats to this world.
Feist has carried on his distinctive style that engages the reader
from page one to the end and to fully enjoy this book, one should
look at it from the point of view of reading about a new adventure,
rather than trying to find remnants of nostalgia. Though I miss my
favourite characters e.g. Jimmy the Hand, too, the fact that the
character was killed in Serpentwar series doesn't stop me from
enjoying this new beginning.