Jimmy the Hand

Legends of the Riftwar #3

by Raymond E. Feist, Steve Stirling

The third novel of Feist's successful collaborative series. From the endlessly inventive mind of one of fantasy's all time greats, comes a spellbinding new adventure of high magic, treachery and bloody war. This time in conjunction with master of alternative US history, Steve Stirling, Feist returns to tell the full tale of one of his fans' favourite most colourful Riftwar characters, pickpocket, montebank and confidence trickster Jimmy the Hand. Jimmy the Hand, boy thief of Krondor, lived in the shadows of the city. The sewers were his byways and a flea-ridden, rat infested cellar his home. Gifted beyond his peers, he was still but a nimble street urchin, a pickpocket with potential. Until the day he met Prince Arutha. Aiding the Prince in his rescue of Princess Anita from imprisonment by Duke Guy du Bas-Tyra, Jimmy ran afoul of Black Guy's secret police. Fearing reprisal and seeking an opportunity to advance his place in life, Jimmy fled the city and ventured north to the relatively safe haven of Sarth. Suspecting the rural villagers had never encountered a lad with his talent and nose for finding wealth - other people's wealth, Jimmy was unprepared for what greeted him. For Sarth was home to others who trod the dodgy path, and more, to a darker secret, a dangerous presence unknown to even the local thieves and smugglers. Jimmy's youthful bravado and courage plunge him deep into the maw of chaos and death.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Ebooks, Science Fiction, Adventure

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid enough.

I mean, this is the young Jimmy right after he helps out Arutha back in the first books. By all rights, it ought to be a simple cashing in on one of the best characters in Feistland, and for the most part, it is.

The novel reads episodic and pits Jimmy against his worst enemy -- himself -- as he uses his bump of trouble to uncover all kinds of bad situations where he must insert his catlike body. Sound good? It is, assuming you like teenaged thieves getting into trouble with women... or rather, because of women.

But all told? It's just solid enough. Jimmy's other exploits are generally much, much more epic.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have slowed down a bit on my progress through the works of Raymond Feist; it did take me almost a year to read this one (which is a bit crazy for a book that isn’t even 400 pages). I would like to think that this does not relate to any reduction in the quality of the story, but the last few books have been very different from the books early on in the series. Some might blame the fact that the last few may have suffered because they are collaborations. However, early on Feist collaborated with Jenny Wurts and those books were fantastic. My final thoughts on it are that, while they are different and maybe not quite as good, the main reason for my slowness is the reading slumps I have gone through over the past few years due to the pandemic and various other personal factors.

Jimmy the Hand is a bit of a misnomer title. Jimmy – a well known character from the Riftwar Series (the first four Feist books) – is indeed a character in this story that is one of his first adventures in the Riftwar era before most of the events that readers already know even happened. However, I would say that in the end, Jimmy is a minor character and most of the major plot points have nothing to do with him. I feel like Feist’s collaborator on this one (S.M. Stirling) already had the plot fully fleshed out without Jimmy in it and, when he got a chance to collaborate with Feist he just shoved Jimmy in there to make the connection to the original storyline. The story is pretty good, it is just that it has so little to do with Jimmy it is odd that he is the name of the book.

All in all, a decent read . . . especially for those looking for a little Riftwar nostalgia after being more than a dozen books removed from that time period.

[Baal Of · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some years back I read the first couple books in Stirling's Emberverse series, and did not like the second book at all, so I expected that this collaboration would perhaps not be my favorite of this arc. However, Stirling seems to have moderated some of Feist's worse writing tics, which made this volume more enjoyable than I expected. It's decent epic fantasy, clearly D&D / role-playing derived, which is fine. Characterization is a notch up from the previous book. I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars.

[Economondos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early adventures of Jimmy the Hand written with Steve Stirling. This is a great author pairing and came out with a really good book adding depth to the other 25+ books in Midkemia. How do you add depth to a universe so completely explored in other novels? By adding a new point of view and focusing on the underclass of the kingdom. A novel with a solid plot, good pacing, and well-done characters. 4/5

[YouKneeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jimmy the Hand is the third and final book in the Legends of the Riftwar subseries that takes place during Feist’s original Magician novel. This one is co-written with S. M. Stirling. The story is set shortly after Jimmy and Arutha’s first encounter during Magician, starting right around the part where Arutha and Anita are escaping Krondor by boat and Arutha tosses Jimmy his rapier.

I liked this one much better than the last two books! Jimmy is one of my favorite characters, so it’s hardly surprising that I enjoyed a story featuring him, but I also really liked some of the other characters created for the story and I enjoyed the story itself. It was far more interesting to me than either of the previous two books and it held my attention from beginning to end.

There are some pieces that seemed a bit too coincidental and/or too much of a stretch. These things might have been plausible within the context of the story, but they nevertheless stretched my belief a hair past the breaking point. Elaine’s body is in a room that’s trapped in a pocket of slowed-down time so that she won’t die while her husband and the magician try to find a way to heal her. Yet somehow her mind manages to escape her body and observe things going on in the castle in real-time and she can communicate with the children in real-time. Ok, maaaaybe if she’s somehow projecting her consciousness outside her body and far enough away to escape the time trap it might make sense that she can do these things, but it seems like it would take time for her to accomplish that and the time spent while her consciousness is still within the time trap would translate to a lot of time passing outside of it meanwhile. Yet she seems to pop in and out frequently, sometimes just a few minutes later, to observe and try to assist the children. We were also told that she was losing consciousness for days or even weeks at a time, and yet she conveniently manages to regain it frequently for the sake of the story. Also, everybody in the surrounding area believes Elaine is dead, and yet her husband brought in healers over a period of time to try to help her before he gave up and turned to dark magic, so surely word would have gotten out that she was still alive.

My complaints were pretty minor things though, and I enjoyed the story overall. I don’t really think this subseries added anything critical to the main series, so one could skip it without missing out on anything important if it doesn’t sound appealing. Each book stands completely separate from the others in the subseries, so one could also just pick and choose the ones that sound interesting. I liked the first book reasonably well after its slow start, and I liked this one quite a lot, but I wouldn’t have minded missing the second one.

[Tincangoat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jimmy the Hand is the third Rift war collaboration book (outside the Janny Wurts Empire series) that Feist wrote with different authors. This time the author is S. M. Sterling. Sterling is the author of Dies the Fire, the only other book I’ve read penned by him.

Overall, Jimmy the Hand is an OK read. I wouldn’t recommend it to friends, but I wouldn’t slap it out of their hands if they picked it up to read it either.

I thought the book would revolve chiefly around the exploits of Jimmy the Hand and starts out as such, but Jimmy seems to lose favor with Sterling about a third of the way through when new characters are introduced and the story moves from Jimmy’s exploits to those of Laurie, Bram, and her brother Rip. There’s a witch hunter in here somewhere, but I forget his name—Ahh, Jarvis Coe (had to look it up), which is sad because Coe is a very interesting and new character in the Feist universe that hasn’t been explored before. I’d read an entire series on him if Feist decides to follow up on that some day.

There are parts that are written well enough, but these are overshadowed by those that are not. The biggest problem is the children protagonists. As many authors and readers know, writing a book with children in adult settings is difficult. Often the kids either act too old for their age, or act their age and the story doesn’t progress because they are children trying to do adult work. That’s the issue with Jimmy the Hand, both issues actually. Sterling develops some of the children as older than they are, or younger than they are, or older than they are and unable to think as an adult would, or older than they are and thinking better than most adults would. This story telling could work, but at least stick with one characterization and develop it more. Don’t have a child older than his years design a successful physical confrontation with a man, and later describe how just month before he put itching powder in someone’s underwear. I don’t know any adults how flop between mature and immature, let alone any children. Unlike Sterling, Feist has a knack of rendering younger characters as viable players in adult-driven stories. Feist doesn’t force his young actors into a role they are unfit to play outside the boundaries of their age limitations. This is lacking in this story.

At times it feels as if Rip was put in the story as a simple prop needed to propel the characters and the plot forward. His involvement has something to do with a strange power to sense family members, but this power is never explained nor fully developed. Neither is it fully developed as to why these powers are important to the baron, nor is there an explanation or development of how the baron knows the children he’s captured have different powers; such as Neesa. It reads more like Sterling is telling the reader that the magician did it.

Feist isn’t the world’s greatest writer, in regards to thought-provoking stories, but his works are entertaining and this entertainment is what draws readers in and keeps them fans for life. I believe Feist is OK with that, I know I’d be if I could write as he. Sterling, on the other hand, misses the mark with this one, just as he did with Dies the Fire.

[Nikola Pavlovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great not terrible :D
I ne toliko losa knjiga i pored toga sto je naivna i samo na momente neizvesna.
Uz par dobrih opisa i potencijalno dobar zaplet svakako premalo za pisca Fajstovog kalibra.
Jos jedan filer rekao bih.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

l was very disappointed in this book. lt starts off well enough just after Jimmy helped Prince Arutha and Princess Anita escape Krondor. But after that it kind of goes off the rails.

[Literary Han · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Sharon Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, fast-paced and individual characters. I am not a big Feist fan but after some time away I've read a couple of his recently that I liked and Sterling has been one of my favorite authors for some time. The 'bad guys' are somewhat generic but not bad and the main characters are well done. It is a Riftworld book but can certainly be read as a standalone, though I'd have much preferred more of an ending rather than the 'riding off into new adventures' ending which it has.

Not sure I'd go out of my way to buy more in this particular series but I did like it well enough to look for more that my library system may have available. Not a 'take to a desert island' book but one I definitely did not put down willingly either.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover

Robbie de hand is het derde boek van de reeks Legenden van de oorlog van de grote scheuring. Robbie is een personage dat in redelijk wat boeken voorkomt en mijn absolute favoriete hoofdpersonage uit al deze boeken.

In dit boek krijgt Robbie het niet gemakkelijk na wat er gebeurt is in Krondor met Arutha en Anitta. Door een ongehoorzaamheid ten opzichte van de oprechte man wordt Robbie aangeraden om Krondor te verlaten tot alles een beetje gekalmeerd is. Samen met Flora vertrekt Robbie naar Nes, waar hij tegen wil en dank toch terug in een avontuur terechtkomt waar hij zijn volledige vernuft en vindingrijkheid nodig zal hebben. Samen met Jarvis Coe gaat hij de strijd aan om alles tot een goed einde te kunnen brengen.
Kan hij terugkeren naar Krondor of niet na dit avontuur?

Robbie de hand is een personage dat uitblinkt in vernuftheid en inventiviteit om een situatie naar zijn hand te plaatsen of om de beste informatie te verkrijgen.
Alhoewel hij soms verbluft is over zijn eigen kunnen of manier van handelen.

Zijn personage word verder uitgewerkt in dit boek en speelt zowat de hoofdrol, maar de rest van de personages worden niet vergeten. Ook zij worden uitgewerkt tot interessante figuren met hun eigen manier van denken en handelen. De actie word afgewisseld met wat rustigere periodes. En soms speelt er humor in de gesprekken, dit is eigenlijk vaak terug te vinden rond het personage van Robbie die maar niet kan geloven wie hij is. Zelfspot, ja ik denk dat dat de beste omschrijving is.

Het plot was weer goed opgebouwt.
Er worden gebeurtenissen verteld in het begin waar je pas op het laatste deel van het boek antwoord op krijgt. Dit hield mijn aandacht en interesse zeker goed vast.
De magie word niet vergeten en speelt een belangrijke rol in bepaalde gedeeltes. Zoals altijd.



  

[Yiota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raymond Feist is my favorite fantasy writer and his character Jimmy The Hand is one of my TOP 5 characters not only in his books, but like ever. So a book just for him is like paradise for me.

I think that everyone who reads Feist and read this book, can see the difference in the writing style and the way the story is presented because of Sterling. The book gives you an entirely different view on Jimmy's character and it's really different than the rest books by Feist. Instead of a huge wild war, we have a smaller adventure after the events at The Magician #2 of Riftwar Cycle. The story is not as impressive, but it is an easy read that can be read fast.

Jimmy is a young boy here, before he starts being awesome. It's funny because i never payed attention to him at that age at the rest books so it was a little difficult to connect with him. I like how honorable and a good man can be for a thief. I certainly didn't enjoy his character as much as the other books. He seems way more complex and interesting in the rest series while here, he is a simple character that doesn't stay at your mind at the of book. If he wasn't Jimmy, i would have forget all about him.

Still i quite enjoyed the book. It's one of the optional books written for the series of Feist. Certainly not as good as King's Buccaneer or Princes Blood but good enough. I have some of the rest optional books already at my shelves waiting to be read. I hope to do it soon.

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best of the Legends of the Riftwar books, it tells the story of what happens to Jimmy the Hand after he helps rescue Prince Arutha and Princess Anita toward the tale end of Magician Apprentice. It's a reasonable solid story, helped out by the fact that Jimmy is a personal favorite character, although some of the writing/editing is a bit sloppy. For example, in the first chapter Jimmy is described as "He was a boy of unknown age - perhaps fourteen, perhaps sixteen, no one knew..." A page or so later he is described as "His age was uncertain, perhaps thirteen years of age, perhaps fifteen..." Ignoring the discrepancy (we get it...his age is unknown), why describe it twice on consecutive pages?

I do wonder a little bit about consistency with some of the other books (since this was written retrospectively after many of Jimmy's future events were already written); nothing big, that I am aware of, but there are is a minor issue or two in this book which might contradict later events, although they're subtleties that I may be misremembering.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läsning 2: bättre än jag mindes. Fortfarande väldigt standardfantasy.

Läsning 1: Det är hemskt bekvämt att läsa Feist - hans sätt att berätta känns som ett par välanvända handskar; de är långt ifrån nya eller eleganta, men för allt vad de kan vara lite klumpiga och spruckna i sömmarna, är de mjuka, varma och välbekanta. Trösterika.

Jimmy the Hand handlar om en ung tjuv, som på sant sword and sorcery-maner bestämmer sig för att frita sin väninna och tidvisa älskarinna från den lokale hertigens fängelsehåla. Hertigen har inte letat efter henne specifikt, utan har arresterat alla tiggare, gatuprostituerade och ficktjuvar, för att statuera ett exempel. Förvecklingarna efter detta inkluderar minerandet av ett slottstorn, nervositeten inför att möta väninnans släkt i främmande stad, och ett längre samarbete med en dödspräst syftande till att stoppa användandet av människooffer som magisk medicin för att hålla den lokala baronens i koma fallna hustru vid liv.

Allt som allt en underhållande läsning, som inte gör anspråk på att vara mer än så, och inte heller är det. Välskriven genrelitteratur som inte tar sig själv på för stort allvar. Jag rekommenderar den för sådana läsare.

[Annika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really.

I love Jimmy The Hand. He's one of my favourite characters of the entire series. Therefore, I was very excited to read this book. Whilst it is entertaining, it just lacked...something...for me. I think there was way too much time spent on other characters and plot twists that didn't involve Jimmy.

---Update----

Interestingly, got to meet Raymond E. Feist last night when he came to town on his book tour. He mentioned that he felt this book was a bit unfinished and that he could have done more with it. Apparently Steve Stirling was very late with his deadline and handed it over with a story that was nothing like what had been agreed and only two weeks to finalise. Oops!

[Belinda Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly this complete butchering of pretty much my favourite character in the whole mythos was the beginning of the end for me.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je zou verwachtten dat met een titel als dit boek, Robbie een grote rol zou spelen, maar op ongeveer de helft van het boek merkt je dat de focus meer komt te liggen op de nieuwe personages.

De plot was niet erg boeiend tot de tweede helft. Hoewel dit het eerste avontuur van Robbie zou zijn, verwachtte ik op een of andere manier iets meer betrokkenheid van de jonge dief. Het verhaal voegde weinig toe aan de achtergronden van Robbie.

[William Bentrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jimmy The Hand, Legends of the Riftwar Book III by Raymond E. Feist and S.M. Stirling
This is the third book of this series I have read and my favorite. Jimmy is a thief with series ethical issues. He isn’t supposed to have any and he does. Jimmy finds himself banned from his home when he gets involved in an altruistic endeavor. That ban leads to more adventures fueled by his “non-existent” ethics.
The authors did a nice job in showing the differences between country and city living. The characters were bright, colorful and the female characters were portrayed as strong.
I enjoyed the book and recommend the series.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read Raymond Feist's books, so there were references to characters and events that I could tell were from other books but which I couldn't properly remember. However this worked OK as a standalone. Maybe I'll go back to re-read the original series.

[Bingbong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Jimmy the Hand, the character, but this book didn't feel like Jimmy the Hand, it felt like a different character with the same name. After saying that, I did enjoy the book, the story is a great idea, enjoyed the other characters. But this is not a real Raymond E Feist book,

After saying this I read that Raymond E Feist just basically allowed the other writers to take his world and choose a character and write the story. So great Idea, but not if you were expecting a Raymond E Feist book

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved revisiting jimmy's youth. Very enjoyable read.

[Chayong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this 4 stars primarily because I love Jimmy the Hand and find him to be one of the most endearing characters of the Riftwar, rivaling Prince Arutha. So anyone who would like to read more about him, even if it was as a footnote, like I do, it is no surprise that I really liked the book.

In terms of writing style, I find the prose too short after having gotten used to reading sagas running through several books. Nevertheless, given the restraints, the effort to create a plot that will not make too many changes on the already written future in the Riftwar Saga paid off well.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A passable fantasy novel, geared to Raymond Feist fans who will appreciate the origin story of Jimmy the Hand -- a character who appears in other Riftwar books.

Note that Raymond Feist did not actually write this book. In the afterword he admits to only penning the rough outline of the story and giving it to S.M. Stirling to actually write. I only mention this because Stirling, unfortunately, is not as engaging a writer as Feist.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not happy with this. Too many gaps in the story, it just didn't flow well. And the storyline didn't really involve me, or do anything to me, really. Lacklustre.

[Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of one of the older characters. Run-of-the-mill storytelling, doesn't bring much to the world. Ok for the fans but one of the weak ones (but still better than the Wurtz collaborations).

[Andrew Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up because c'mon, it's Jimmy the Hand!

[Amarinske · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars with an average of 7.4/10
My rating system:
1 star: 1.0-2.9/10
2 stars: 3.0-5.4/10
3 stars: 5.5-7.0/10
4 stars: 7.1-9.0/10
5 stars: 9.1-10/10
Rating based on plot, characters, and writing (2x)

Characters: 7.8/10
Plot: 7.8/10
Writing: 7/10
Genral enjoyment: 8/10

Review
Nice reversed damsel in distress trope. Two girls are saving the boy one of them is in love with. They aren't doing it all on their own, but they try it on their own. This was very well done and quite entertaining.
The whole plot running up to these actions was interesting and intriguing and quite dark as well. I didn't expect necromancers to turn up again in this book. It's so disturbing but makes for some good plot points. The backstory and motivations of the antagonist are very well done and directly cause most of the motivation for the actions of our protagonists.
Even though some of the characters don't seem to think their actions through properly and sometimes just do things, in general, they do think about what and when to do it. I'd say a good mix of the plot creating situations and the characters reacting to it. So partly character-driven and partly driven by the plot (which makes sense. In dangerous situations you just have to do it).

This is probably my fave of Feist's collaborative works in this series. The Empire Trilogy he wrote with Janny Wurts is still better, in my opinion. But I can't really compare an entire trilogy of tomes (500+ pages) with one book under 400 pages.

I do think that epilogue was unnecessary though. I didn't need the details on how his return exactly went. I could've guessed that by the situation he left in. You probably won't read this book if you haven't at least read Magician (and maybe the rest of that trilogy) so you'd know Jimmy returns to Krondor. When doesn't really matter much, because apparently it is on time to work in the rest of that plot.
I did wonder what had happened Jimmy had done in between the happenings he plays a part in the Riftwar Saga, but not about all the details. He's a thief, and a damn good pickpocket and hider. So I just thought he'd gone on living that life.

[Shelly Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5)
This is the second or third time I've read this, I don't know I've lost track, but I've never taken the time to review the book, or books since I'm rereading a dozen or two and half. If you haven't read any of the books before this one I will,as usual, recommend you go back in time and read a few others before you get to this. Do you have to? Nah, you can do whatever you like as long as you read but I think you'll enjoy it a bit better if you get a few of the big starter books out of the way first so you have that background of the character and world before you get to this. However, if you want to just do this one first, go for it. It's a lighter read so it might be what you want.
This book focuses more on Jimmy and his adventures out of Krondor but it doesn't just focus on him. There are a lot of times where he's not even in the story and other characters are taking center stage. This story deals a lot with children being stolen away and you don't know why this is happening. When it happens to one particular girl, she refuses to sit back and let her little brother be lost to her forever. Eventually her path crosses with Jimmy and from there a plan if formed... ish. There are at least two other branches of story going on but I really don't think I'm going to tell you anything more. One, because it's early and my words aren't working. Two, because I don't want to spoil anything at all since this is a fairly quick read and once you get started you'll, hopefully, be absorbed in the story as long as it's not ruined for you.
The main point of all of this babbling going on here is that this book is great fun and well worth reading. It's so much fun getting a character focused book. Getting a glimpse of something that you wouldn't see in one of the main story lines. It's like a behind the scenes, sort of. It's a terrific book and one I'll probably read a few more times before I expire.

[Sven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robbie de hand is het derde boek van de reeks Legenden van de oorlog van de grote scheuring.
Robbie is een personage dat in redelijk wat boeken van Raymond e Feist voorkomt.

In dit boek krijgt Robbie het niet gemakkelijk na wat er gebeurt is in Krondor met Arutha en Anitta.
Door een ongehoorzaamheid tov de oprechte man wordt Robbie aangeraden om Krondor te verlaten tot alles een beetje gekalmeerd is.
Samen met Flora vertrekt Robbie naar Nes,waar hij tegen wil en dank toch terug in een avontuur terechtkomt waar hij zijn volledige vernuft en vindingrijkheid nodig zal hebben. Samen met Jarvis Coe gaat hij de strijd aan om alles tot een goed einde te kunnen brengen.
Kan hij terugkeren naar Krondor of niet na dit avontuur?

Robbie de hand is een personage dat uitblinkt in vernuftheid en inventiviteit om een situatie naar zijn hand te plaatsen of om de beste informatie te verkrijgen.
Dat is in dit boek niet anders. Alhoewel hij soms verbluft is over zijn eigen kunnen of manier van handelen. Zijn personage word verder uitgewerkt in dit boek en speelt zowat de hoofdrol,maar de rest van de personages worden niet vergeten.
Ook zij worden uitgewerkt tot interessante figuren met hun eigen manier van denken en handelen.
De actie word afgewisseld met wat rustigere periodes maar dit stoort niet. Soms speelt er wat humor in de gesprekken.

Hoe verder in het boek hoe meer we te weten komen over het plot dat goed opgebouwt is.
Er worden gebeurtenissen verteld in het begin waar je pas op het laatste deel van het boek antwoord krijgt. Dit houd de aandacht en interesse van de lezer zeker goed vast.
De magie word niet vergeten en speelt een belangrijke rol in bepaalde passages.

Het boek leest zeer vlot, zoals we gewend zijn van Feist.
Zijn vier sterren meer dan waard.

REACTIES OP: ROBBIE DE HAND

[Doug Sundseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the life of Jimmy the Hand during the middle of the Rift War, starting with the escape of Arutha and Anita from Krondor. After various hijinks in Krondor, Jimmy has to leave the city and heads south to Lands End where he stumbles into other people's problems.

The character work is quite good, as usual for this series, but the plotting is weak. There is a great deal of stumbling about that results in everyone showing up at the location of the climax at almost the same time. In this case, "everyone" is at least seven viewpoint characters who do not coordinate that meeting. In fact, most of the story consists of various characters combining and separating in various combinations and without obvious reason.

This book is a collaboration between two authors whose work I quite like. But in some cases of collaboration within an existing series, the guest author works very hard to avoid any interference with the main storyline, and that seems to me to be the case here. We get new characters that have no existence before or after this book, main-series characters that are not affected in any lasting way, and a contrived plot.

All that said, the character work does a great deal to carry the story and it has many small vignettes that are fun to read. But in spite of starring one of my favorite fantasy characters, this is not a strong entry in the Rift War Cycle.