Better than "Shadow of Ararat" and that was a good book!
589919
Gate of Fire is pretty terrific.  The action is even better than in 'Shadow' and other than the slightly - well, silly - lesbian love scene with the tinkling of ankle bracelet bells on the beach (!), Gate of Fire  has all the things you look for in a sequel - explosions! death! insanity!  bands breaking up!  betrayal!  The author continues to mature as a writer,  there are still an abundance of smarty-pants italicized words to keep the  dead language mavens all giggly and happy, and the story grows more  compelling with each page.  New favorite character:  Mohammed.  Read it and  you are likely to love him best too.
1358110
I personally thought this book was fantastic! I saw it and it looked great so I didn't pay much attention to the fact that it was the second in the series, but it didn't matter. This book was so well written that it didn't need much understanding from the previous book to be able to understand what was happening in this one. I definitely fell in love with the book and writer.

Following High King Mikahl as he went on his journey to unite the eastern lands was entertaining. The vivd imagery provided made me feel like I could watch the light from Ironspike and see the foes he fought.

Hyden Hawks treasure hunt was just as exciting though. I would say his is one of my favorite adventures. The magic and danger with just a hint of fun was a treat to read and "live" through.

The changing points of view and storylines really entertained me and made the book flow better and feel like it passed along faster. I would totally recommend this book to someone else.
45706
Personally, I liked this book WAY better than the first one, although it did delve into a more noticeable form of "teen-chick-lit" (there are THREE romantic interests in this one O_o). The story is overall MUCH better than "Marked" though. There is less insane and uneven internal dialogue, and her interaction with the other characters have a much more interesting twist. Another plus for the book is that it was able to elicit a powerful response from me around page 220. I always like when books can stir me emotionally.

Sadly for the series, anyone who couldn't trouble themselves with the first book (and although I liked it, I completely understand why they wouldn't be able to get through it) will never know that this book is better than the first.
1201677
I really liked these two books. I have read a lot of reviews where people didn't think they were worthy successors for the Magician (And by that i mean Book 1 & 2 of the series.. Apprentice and Master) but I didn't find that was the case at all. While at first it seems that the scope and premise of Silverthorn (Book 3) is much more humble than that of the Magician, this is not the case and in fact these two books really are the culmination of certain events set into motion in the Magician and are a must read for those who want to get the full story.

I loved the new characters introduced in Silverthorn (and continued into "A Darkness at Sethanon" .. Book 4) and again I think Feist does a fantastic job of allowing the reader the time to really get to know each character, but the books will naturally channel you towards shameless favoritism.. ahem .. Jimmy .. That's all I'm saying.

Overall, it makes sense to have these two books in the one package as they are collectively one story, and if you were to simply read Silverthorn as a stand alone, you may find the ending slightly wanting in terms of action and closure. It would be kind of like reading The Fellowship of the Ring and giving up on the series because nothing really gets solved. Also, the two together are a lot cheaper than the two individually!

In conclusion, this is a great fantasy and while it may not tread any ground that you haven't came across before ,keep in mind they were written in the 80's.. So Feist may have got there first anyway ! Hope this helps, it really was a great read.
1338389
"The Sword of Shannara" begins with Shea and Flick Ohmsford are visited by the mysterious druid Allanon in their home in Shady Vale. Shea, who is half Elvin, discovers he is really of the bloodline of Shannara. Allanon tells him that the evil Warlock Lord is planning to take over the world. And since the Warlock Lord is of the spirit world, there is only way to defeat him... by having the sole heir of Shannara take up the sword of Shannara which is the only weapon which can kill him. And Shea is the last and only heir of Shannara! Together the three of them with the help of Balinor the Prince of Callahorn, Menion Leah the Prince of Leah, Hendel the Dwarf, and the Elves Durin and Dayel, who are the cousins of Elf King Eventine, must travel to the Druid's keep of Paranor to get the Sword of Shannara. But little do they know that the Warlock Lord is already having his army ready for war against the stronghold of Tyrsis and that he has already sent part of his army to take hold of Paranor... also, he has sent his Skull Bearers to destroy Shea...
Terrific tale but as I said it is very much like J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It's not just the plot but also the characters are very alike. For exampel you can easily think of Allanon as Wizard Gandalf, Shea as Hobbit Frodo, Flick as the faithful Sam, Hendel can relate to Gimli the Dwarf, the Elf brothers are much like Elf Legolas, and many more of the characters.
People who love J.R.R. Tolkien might be a little exasperated reading this book, finding the two books so alike, and yet, though I totally think "The Lord of the Rings" is fantastic, I was able to enjoy this book. Though I must warn you that the first 170 pages are pretty boring and I had a hard time to keep on reading. For this reason I gave the book 4 stars. But after reading a lot more, a found I couldn't put the book down!
My favorite character is Panamon Creel, the one-handed thief. Though he was very arrogant and proud, he was still a fun and interesting character. Two other characters is Menion Leah and Shirl Ravenlock, both whom fall in love later in the book. Menion Leah is such a faithful friend and Shirl is very devoted to him and stayed with him even though danger was very close.
So all-in-all, I strongly recommend the book though please don't be too disappointed in the very slow beginning and how very much alike it is to "The Lord of the Rings".
1469990
I stumbled across Robin Hobb when her&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Assassin-s-Apprentice-The-Farseer-Trilogy-Book-1/dp/055357339X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1)</a>&nbsp;was being offered up for free for Kindle. I love character-driven fantasy and the Farseer books are particularly good. I read everything of hers I could get my hands on so I was very excited when I saw she had a new series of books.

These books are set in the same world as the Farseer books but focus on completely new characters. However, I will say that I do recommend reading the other books set in this world because they provide really good backstory and set the stage. Also, I have to be frank, the other books are just much better.

While I enjoyed the two books in this series (this being the second one), they didn't keep me completely riveted the way her other books have.

If you're wondering whether or not to pick up this second book after finishing the first, yes, I do recommend finishing it up. This second book does start moving along faster and you become much more tied into the characters. There is more adventure and a bit more action to be had. And the conclusion is satisfying. If you're new to Robin Hobb, check out the Farseer books first. They are, hands down, her best work.
4095366
Is it possible for a sequel to be better than its 5-star predecessor?  Because that's what we have here.

The book starts 6 years ago, when King Gavilar was murdered. Jasnah didn't have a hand in it, but she is a suspicious character in general. Her work has been focused on Shadesmar, the veiled "place" where spren are developed and magic (and life) is unpredictable. Jasnah explains this to Shallan who delves deeper in the secrets of Shadesmar. And, like Kaladin, Shallan has her own spren friend.

We are looking at the return of the Radints, Voidbringers, and sentient spren of both good and bad.

This novel is much more rich in action and plot development than the first was, although character development wanes a tad.  And that is perfectly fine, because the action was beyond spectacular. I had to put the book down twice because scenes left me reeling.
252957
It's not only the story that made the book enjoyable - although it was well developed, flowed perfectly even with several characters, and had isanely addictive conflict. This book had a lot of small, explanatory details (and not in the I'm-never-going-to-get-through-the-end-of-this-family-tree-Tolkien way) that made it really stand out in an "ah! That makes sense" sort of way. Best of all, the ending gave me closure, but still left room for a great sequel. I look forward to the next one!
1666682
_Voyage of the Fox Rider_ takes the reader on a journey around the world of Mithgar in Aravan's specially-crafted Elven ship.  He is accompanied by Jinnarin, a Pysk, and Alamar, a Mage, who are searching for Farrix, Jinnarin's mate.  Although the story does involve quite a bit of action and adventure, it is primarily designed as a mystery:  what has happened to Farrix, and what is the meaning of Jinnarin's strange dreams?
This book is a must-read for any fan of McKiernan's Mithgar novels, as it fills in the early history of Mithgar and Aravan's sea-faring days (Aravan pops up again later in _The Eye of the Hunter_ and _Silver Wolf, Black Falcon_).  However, like all of McKiernan's longer works, _Voyage of the Fox Rider_ also poses some heavy philosophical questions.  Alamar and Jinnarin have an extended discussion concerning the definitions of good and evil.
If what you're looking for is a quick read, heavy on the battle scenes and light on character development, this book is not for you.  If you're like me, though, you want something that will stay with you long after you've put it down--and _Voyage of the Fox Rider_ does just that.
4915434
I'm a bit confused by some of the hate for this book, since I thought it was much improved from the previous book. While there are some problems, most notably Ms. Lackey's current practice of inserting pages of previous books into the current book, on the whole it moved the story along quite nicely.
I admit that I, like others, originally thought this would be a trilogy, although "Chronicles" does imply a longer series.  I've adjusted my thinking in that regard, which helped my enjoyment of the book tremendously.  In this installment, we learn Mags' real name and more about his origin, though not all.  Hints are given about Mags' true status--he's apparently important enough to send people looking for him, and for the head of state in his parents' country of origin to take a personal interest.  We also learn more about Karse, specifically how it got the way it was before Solaris and why Vkandis didn't step in sooner--and why Valdemar didn't just go in and perform regime change.  And Ms. Lackey introduces a new Suncat, which is enough for me--love the Suncats.  Secondary characters are moved along as well--the biggest development being between Bear and Lena.
To the problems in the book, besides the previously mention insertions (Ms. Lackey, if you're writing so many books you have to resort to this device, you have this avid fan's permission to slow down.).  I'm still not quite sure of how old Mags is and how long he's been at the Collegium.  Some passages seem to imply that it's been a couple of years, some that this it's been less than a year.  Mags at the start of the first book seemed to be about 11 or 12, in this book he seems to be 15 or 16.  Yes, the mine could have slowed his emotional and physical growth, but Lena seems quite young in the first book as well.  Of course I can assume that was her shyness, and I can just establish in my own mind that Mags was 14 but stunted due to conditions at the mine and that it has been about two and a half years since the first book.  But that's work that should be done by the author, not the reader.  And of course, Ms. Lackey puts in details about everyday Valdemar life, which I enjoy but others may not.
All in all, though, I thought this was a good continuation of the story, and I'm looking forward to the next book.
536823
Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans turned out to be a pretty great book. I say "turned out to be" because I almost gave up on it around page 50. The beginning is slooooow. Because this was sent to me for review, I decided to power through to at least page 100, and I'm so glad I did. Once Elliot left his "normal" life in New Orleans and headed off through the secret passage in his grandfather's basement (I'm a sucker for secret portals to other realms hidden in an old houses), things really started to pick up. Elliot's adventure in Pangrelor quickly takes on a very LOTR feel, complete with a large cast of important characters from various fantasy races. Smith did a wonderful job at not only introducing these different characters without overwhelming me as a reader, but he also wove in important information about the cultures and customs of all of his creatures without turning his book into a fantasy anthropological venture. Similarly, he withholds information about the history of the war (and the world) in which Elliot finds himself, something that usually bothers me to no end, especially when the characters who are "in the know" sit around whispering about it. Because Hooks, Woolf, Marvus and Jingo, Elliot's companions and friends, are doing their best to protect Elliot as he figures out how he fits into their world, this withholding of information worked. When everything fell into place at the end leaving Elliot free to save the day, it didn't seem trite or too convenient (for the most part) because Marvus and Jingo were there to show how it had been prophesied all along.

Now, about the illustrations by the famous Geoff Isherwood... I could have lived without them. The illustrations in the book are good, but I don't think they added to the story. Some crossed that horrible line where they became distractions from the text rather than an addition to it, but for the most part, they were just pretty pictures about what I was reading. They did not, as I had hoped they would, add any emotion to the characters, and without the captions underneath each one, it was sometimes hard to tell which character they were supposed to be depicting. And that cover. Don't let it keep you from picking up this book. Antiquitas Lost really is a LOTR fantasy quest type book, not a book about superheroes in space.

Book source: Review copy provided by publicist for review.
2180765
This book was written with a lot of thought and detail. Each chapter brings you closer to Mordor and the end. I enjoyed the way that Tolkin divided the book into sections, first your on a rescue mission to find Merry and Pippen, only to find out that they can take care of themselves just fine. And then your heading out with Sam and Frodo on a quest to destroy the ring. I enjoyed meeting the new characters like Theoden and Eomer, I didn't really like Eowyn though, she just didn't get through to me. I especailly liked meeting the brother of Boromir and learning more about his past and the people of Gondor. I have read the last book and the character of Faramir and Boromir's father shows through and you begin to see why they were as they were. I also really enjoyed the old characters of Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn. The ending of this book will leave you needing more, thereby forcing you to run out and buy the last one where everything comes to a wonderful close.
961568
This is my favorite book that I've ever read.  I stayed up till 5 in the morning reading it.  I think that this book is a bit better than The Golden Compass.  Maybe I'm crazy for saying this, but I find it much more exciting  than The Golden Compass even though it does have a few slow parts and a  little less imagination put into the storyline.  Perhaps I like it so much  because I often have dreams where I am on some sort of adventure like the  kind in The Subtle Knife.  I think that the whole "dust" theory  is quite impressive and that Will is a very interesting character; as well  as what he has to go through to become the bearer the knife--although he  doesn't necessarily want to have it in his posession.  He really adds to  the story even though he makes Lyra appear to be a "weaker"  character than in the last book.  I think that this trilogy would make a  really cool anime (Japanese animation) series or movie.  Over all, I think  that this book  has a superb storyline that I would recommend to several  people.  I can't wait for the next one to come out!
4385354
Heh, heh. While I read this book before the "Colours of Chaos," it's a good one to refer back to to compare Order mage Dorrin to his "shadow" rival Cerryl. While Cerryl's story is a bit more  polished and larger in scope, Dorrin's story is still not half bad, and  while many will undoubtedly bawk at its slow pace, "The Magic  Engineer" presents an absorbing, complex and fully realized world  filled with depth and texture. Since this book takes place at the same time  as his later "Colours of Chaos" novel, one can have fun seeing  the slight changes Modesitt does to the story by omitting certain scenes  and altering them to shape the book's point of view--or rather, he added  certain scenes and characters in "Colours of Chaos," however you  want to think is the "true" point of view (where's Leyladin?  Wasn't she in the same room as Anya and Cerryl? Gaaah! How could you forget  my favourite Modesitt love interest of all time? )
4372566
I was pleasantly surprised by this book and how the authors short and long term plots unfolded, or didn't.  To say that writing in the thoughts of a different sentient species is difficult is a huge understatement, but the author was superb with the character of Raz.  The world building was well done and not over the top with description. I typically detest multiple vantage point writing; however I believe that Child of the Daystar had just the right amount to bring variety to the story.  I have very high expectations for the follow up novel and hope that the author does not follow the George R R Martin philosophy in taking forever to write books.  Or follow him in writing books that clearly allude to an event that you wait 3 or 4 books to happen.  The action was very well spaced with dialogue that fit the characters well.  Overall an excellent pick up for the avid fantasy reader.
3712206
This was the first set of RAS books I read.  I read his NY Best seller, Sea of Swords, first.
This set of books is packed with very interesting characters, epic conquest, fatal flaws, but probably no redemption.  Its a solid book I thoroughly enjoyed reading.  I consider it, with all due respect and understanding of course, to be a better story than Lord of the Rings.
Even if this is your first of the Drizzt books, its still a good place to start as enough background is given to allow the characters actions to make sense.  If you later read Dark Elf Trilogy it will explain more.
This is a quite nice read which I thouroughly enjoyed so much so that I gave it to my sister for her to read.  It contains very small bits of character humor, but no silliness.  Its a serious book that is a lot of fun, thought provoking to some degree.  Its not jam packet with spells and D&D-ish things.  Its a real story focused more on characters than dice rolling confrontations.  Which is not what I expected from a book based on a game.
3150335
When I first read this book when I was twelve or thirteen I didn't think it nearly as good as it's explosive predeceser The Golden Compass, mostly because I liked the character of Lyra quite a  bit, and seeing most of the focus suddenly switch to this new character Will, (who at that time in mind was only a replacement for her other friend who died in The Golden Compass) was quite annoying.  However, now that I've read it again I see that it was not as bad as I thought and in fact, rivaled The Golden Compass itself as far as character development and plot went.  Anyway, in this book Will steps from his own world (our world) into a new one by chanceing upon a "window" from his universe into another one.  There, in Cittagaze, as it's called he meets up with Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon and they develop  a fast, though somewhat shaky friendship which continues to grow  throughout the book.  They soon discover the intire world is ruled by children, since as soon as they reach puberty the "specters" can get them and devour their souls.  Meanwhile, in Lyra's world, Lee Scoresby is traveling around the North in dangerous Tarter country to try to find Grumman, an explorer who holds a certain secret they may need...  Anyway, this was a great  book that I enjoyed quite a bit, and understood a lot better now  that I'm older.  My only minor gripe is that Mrs. Coulter and especially Lord Asriel weren't in the book much, and I love them!  Even though they're the bad guys pretty much, they are still fun and likeable characters who I sorely missed.  Especially  Asriel!  Luckily though, I'm now about halfway through The Amber  Spyglass, so I know he does return, the plot just didn't involve  him much in this book.  However, though these are supposed to be  children's books I wouldn't recommend them to anyone under thirteen or so, because not only can they be violent at times, but also I doubt a child of eleven or twelve would be able understand what was going on even, because of the highly cognitive writing style.