Mr Feist is one of the ‘old guard’, in my opinion, as far as fantasy authors are concerned. He is also, in my opinion, one of the more endearing of these. I loved Magician and it’s sequels, especially A Darkness at Sethanon. These novels established the setting and feel of the Riftwar canon. Prince of the Blood is the next in this canon, following A Darkness At Sethanon. It’s a stand-alone work, but it does have a place in the series and readers will recognise quite a few characters from the earlier novels, even though they’re quite a bit older this time round. The novel actually follows Prince Arutha’s sons, Borric and Erland, who are sent to Kesh on an important diplomatic mission. They are accompanied by Jimmy the Hand (now called James and a far cry from the thief boy of old), and Locklear, among others. It is a coming of age tale, which is a cliché in fantasy circles these days. I’m not sure what the opinion would have been in 1989 at the time of first publication.

It’s an enjoyable enough tale. The new characters introduced in this novel, especially the mercenary Ghuda Bule and the trickster Nakor, are much more interesting than the older (familiar) characters.

The novel wasn’t quite what I expected, though. It is not the high fantasy fare of the earlier riftwar novels. Not by a long shot. Prince of the Blood reads like a standard adventure tale, with a scattering of fantasy elements and some political intrigue. More sword and sandal, then, as opposed to high fantasy, which is an odd setting for a riftwar novel. This is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on personal taste. There is also a surprising amount of sexual activity in the novel, although none of it is explicit. I loved the desert setting and the sprawling palace of Kesh. It reminded me of the pulps and, in part, of Egyptian mythology. The novel also contains some plot devices and sequences that could easily have been lifted from an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. However, despite being a fun read, this novel fails to attain the same greatness as earlier Feist. It was still good enough to keep me hooked though, so I will continue to follow the riftwar novels. Next: The King's Buccaneer.