Rise of a Merchant Prince: Book Two of the Serpentwar Saga [Mass Market Paperback]

Raymond E. Feist (Author)

Book Description

Series: Serpentwar Saga | Publication Date: August 1, 1996

Surviving the wrath of the fearsome Sauur—a hideous race of invading serpents—noble Erik and cunning Roo have delivered a timely warning to the rulers of the Midkemian Empire, and are now free to pursue their separate destinies. Erik chooses the army—and the continuing war against Midkemia's dread enemies. Roo lusts for wealth and power—rising high and fast in theworld of trade. But with luxury comes carelessness and a vulnerability to the desires of the flesh. And a beautiful seductress with her ruthless machinations threatens to destroy everything Roo has built and become—summoning catastrophe into his future . . . and terror into his world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A usual problem with sequels?that they don't measure up to the original?applies to this follow-up to Shadow of a Dark Queen, which also suffers from unexpectedly stodgy prose and a paucity of action. Focusing on Rupert Avery's rise to power and influence in the mercantile class of the City of Krondor, the narrative follows "Roo" as he forms a business alliance with a merchant, Helmut Grindle, whose daughter, Karli, he marries for a multitude of reasons, none of which is love. Roo begins an affair of sorts with the nasty and calculating Sylvia Easterbrook but also manages to have two children with Karli. Meanwhile, his friend and compatriot Erik von Darkmoor travels back down to the land of Novindus to battle the Pantathians (the serpents referred to in the subtitle). Throughout, the pacing is slow and the characters less than persuasive. While Feist sows enough interesting seeds here to redeem this series in its next (and final) installment, this volume is up to neither snuff nor par.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Feist's new saga has a freshness of vision." -- --Publishers Weekly

"Has a natural talent for keeping the reader turning pages." -- --Chicago Sun-Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380720876
• ISBN-13: 978-0380720873
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Raymond E. Feist's previous novels include the first volume in the Darkwar Saga, Flight of the Nighthawks, as well as the Conclave of Shadows: Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, and Exile's Return; Magician; Silverthorn; Faerie Tale; Prince of the Blood; and The King's Buccaneer; as well as the four books of the New York Times bestselling Serpentwar Saga: Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King, and Shards of a Broken Crown; and the three books of his Riftwar Legacy: Krondor: The Betrayal, Krondor: The Assassins, and Krondor: Tear of the Gods. Feist lives in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly strategic, June 15, 2001

By 

Phome "phome" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rise of a Merchant Prince: Book Two of the Serpentwar Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

"Rise of a Merchant Prince" is exactly what the title portrays it to be: the rise of Roo from a common person (who narrowly escaped a death sentence in the previous book and was merely friend to Erik whilst off soldiering in Novindus) to the one of the richest people in Krondor.

Roo's tale is captivating and a refreshing change in the world of Midkemia. Feist, in showing the commercial side of Midkemia, portrays a maturity rarely found in the fantasy world. It completes Midkemia like no other adventure story could have. Roo's financial exploitives are realistic and believable, and Barnett's is more than another name to the reader - although I still don't pretend to understand options and futures, despite Feist's portrayal.

Erik also continues to mature (in the military world) in this book and we are reacquainted with members of the Royal family and other favourites from Feist's first series.

Strategically speaking, this book is brilliant: it definitely sets the stage for more: you just know that something (bad) has to happen to Roo's wealth, or at least to his marriage ... Roo's mistress, Sylvia (daughter of the other richest person in Krondor), has him completely wrapped around his finger. If all else fails, there's always the impending war by the Saaur or the mysterious third dark player ...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good continuation to a fantatic story, January 8, 2006

By 

Andrew Gray "Beezer Review" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rise of a Merchant Prince: Book Two of the Serpentwar Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

Rise of a Merchant Prince by Raymond Feist is the second book in the Serpent War Saga, the first book being shadow of a Dark Queen. This book seems to polarize fans of Feist, as they either love it or abhor it. Me, I really enjoyed this novel for several reasons. 1) It is a deviation from standard fantasy novels in that it doesn't focus on things that are `out of this world so to speak 2) the character development (mainly Roo's) is second to none, and 3) Feist can pen a tale with the best fantasy writers in the business today. With that said, there are a few things that I Wasn't overly fond of, but I will touch on those later in this review.

The main plot of this book is just as the title implies, which is the rise of a merchant prince who is Roo or Rupert Avery. There are a few sub-plots to continue the over-riding story of the saga as well, such as the Serpent's continuing domination of their continent and how that is being dealt with by the main characters Erik and the rest of the army. When I firs found out the plot centered on Roo and dealt a lot with being a merchant and trading etc, I was a little apprehensive as it didn't seem like all that interesting of a book to read. Yet, Feist MAKES it interesting. I have read some reviews on-line that say the pacing of this book is slow; but quite honestly, I didn't see that at all. In fact, I thought the book was hard to put down. There is just enough written about Erik and the army to move that story along, but this book is clearly written for Roo and the emergence he makes as a merchant and how powerful he becomes. With that said one of my complaints is it seemed almost to easy for Roo to advance as he does, but for fear of writing spoilers I won't say more.

As I mentioned above the character development of Roo is fantastic. Feist really does a great job at defining Roo and allowing the reader to see just what makes him tick. The character development of the rest of the cast of this saga seems to be lacking a bit in that nothing much new is really introduced for Erik or Calis. It almost seems like Feist was overly concerned with Roo that he may have `misplaced' the development of the other characters a bit. A minor detail, but none-the-less a little bothersome for those who really enjoy character development and the twists it can bring.

Overall, I thought this was a very good book and right on par with what I have become accustomed to when I crack open a Feist book. If you are a fan of Feist, I think you will enjoy this one if you know what to expect. If you are looking at starting to read a new series and are thinking about this series, I would caution you, and suggest you read Magician: Apprentice first and start from the beginning and get the background, you can't go wrong with that book. All in all a solid read and a enjoyable read for a fantasy reader.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping. A great book!, July 14, 2005

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rise of a Merchant Prince: Book Two of the Serpentwar Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

In this sequel to Shadow of a Dark Queen, author Raymond Feist takes us back to his magical world of Midkemia. Now that they have returned to the Kingdom of the Isles, Erik von Darkmoor has decided to reenlist in the fight against the dark powers that threaten his world, while Rupert Avery has decided to follow his original plan of marrying a rich merchant's ugly daughter and building a mercantile empire. But, life is going to prove interesting to both. Becoming a merchant prince is no cakewalk, and Roo will find his abilities taxed to the limit. And, the dark power rising in Novindus has not been deterred from its purpose.

Raymond Feist's Riftwar books were great, with epic adventure and magic, while his later books enjoyed a somewhat smaller scope. This book succeeds in walking on both sides of the street. While armies marshal and wizards weave great spells, we also follow the life of a man trying to build up his wealth and his personal life. And, I must say that it succeeds in doing both admirably.

I love stories of wizards and armies, and one gets a bunch of that here. But, I must say that I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Mr. Feist's tale of Roo Avery. I was captivated by the choices he made, both for good and for ill.

I am surprised to say that I enjoyed this book as much as I did the Riftwar books and Shadow of a Dark Queen! The action is gripping, grabbing you right on the first page, and drawing you along. Yep, this is a great book, and a wonderful addition to my fantasy library. I loved to presence of Boldar Blood, and hope that Mr. Feist will consider writing a book that develops the Hall of Worlds more!

I loved this book, and highly recommend it to you!