At the Gates of Darkness: Book Two of the Demonwar Saga

Raymond E. Feist

Apr 2010 · Demonwar Saga Book 2 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

“Feist has a natural talent for keeping the reader turning pages.”
Chicago Sun-Times

New York Times bestselling master fantasist Raymond E. Feist returns to beleaguered Midkemia and its capital, Krondor, in At the Gates of Darkness, the second volume in his enthralling DemonWar Saga of magic, war, and peril. An author the Science Fiction Chronicle proclaims, “Without question one of the very best writers of fantasy adventure practicing today,” Feist graces eager readers with his most astonishing adventure yet. Feist fans, readers of Terry Goodkind, George R. R. Martin, and Terry Brooks, and everyone, in fact, who loves superior epic fantasy will not want to miss At the Gates of Darkness.

Ratings and reviews

While this book was a bit more satisfying than the last, the ending was quite open, leaving much to be desired, especially since I believe the projected conclusion to the series as a whole is set for only three years from now. As a whole, i have enjoyed this month-long project of re-reading all of Feist's epic fantasy, but I must admit that part of me is more than a little relieved, too. I first read these books (up until what was published) over a decade ago and I fondly recalled them being one of my favorite series. Now, I don't know that I would say that is the case. Overall, there are a lot of repetitive plot structures (not to mention the chapter names!) and the characters peaked early in the series, to never become as unique or interesting by the end. I am sure that I will finish this series, more out of curiosity, but I doubt that I will ever re-read the books in this fashion again.

Feist needs a better editor. The writing in this book, along with all the books in his later series, is poorly written. He drastically overuses phrases and descriptions such as: "To a man" "Inclined his\her head" and many others I can't recall. The pace of the book is boringly slow, and I found myself skimming through most of it. Feist treats the reader like a child that needs constant reinforcement to understand even simple concepts. I wouldn't recommend reading unless you're already invested.

This book was hardly that, i have read prologues with more depth. I love the world of Midkemia and IMHO everything Feist had put out up until the decline that began with the Conclave of Shadows series was pure gold. Lately however the ever declining page count and increasingly shallow and derivative characters and plot lines are making me regret more and more each time i shell out for the newest Feist hardcover. Much to my dismay the completest in me will not allow book 3 of a series to be on the shelf in paper back form next to hard cover versions of books 1 and 2. i can only hope the next one will be able to exceed 300 pages without all of the font and margin trickery that is quickly becoming the only "magic" in these books.

About the author

Raymond E. Feist is the author of more than thirty previous books, including the internationally bestselling “Riftwar Cycle” of novels set in his signature world of Midkemia, the Empire trilogy co-authored with Janny Wurts, as well as a stand-alone novel, Faerie Tale. The Firemane Saga is his first all-new epic fantasy series. He lives in San Diego, California.