Amph A Feist Thread: At The Gates Of Darkness: DemonWar Finale (HTR Spoilers)

I am permitted HTR spoilers mods?

Anyway, believe this is due in the Spring in the US but over here in the UK, it officially came out last Thursday! My copy arrived Friday and I finished it yesterday.

For now I'll keep the comments general so as to not spoiler - as I need to know the rules here - but if permitted, details will follow.

Some time back Feist gave an interview where he mentioned 5 riftwars - the first of these was the war with the Tsurani, the second was the one with the Serpent Queen and then he sketched out 3 more in brief - DarkWar, DemonWar and ChaosWar. I say it was some time ago as after reading that interview I was inclined to return to his work having stopped at the dark finale that was Shards of a Shattered Crown and there's 6 hardbacks on the bookcase looking at me, so it's at least 7 years ago! But a more recent interview can be found here: http://www.fantasyguide.de/4683.0.html

The DarkWar epic was told in the Conclave of Shadows and DarkWar trilogies and was indeed suitably cataclysmic, with a major character death and a major amount of destruction. In the same interview, Feist had explained the DemonWar was short but nasty and having now read the books, I see what he meant, for it earns its description. Yet in its finale, this series does something unusual in that it goes against convention - to say more will require spoilers though.

Finally, in this final book of the DemonWar, it's clearer than ever that Feist is preparing for a final series. There are a number of revelations hinted at, which will likely be spelled out in the first book of the ChaosWar trilogy. The interview made it quite clear that this series will be of major impact as it draws it all to a close.

So that's all for now unless I'm the only one around here reading Feist's stuff? I wouldn't say it's the most incredible work I've ever read, but like Brooks, I always find Feist's work very entertaining and great for light reading.

 

You can absolutely discuss in HTR! Official Spoiler Policy

 

Thanks, then off we go....

At the end of Rides A Dread Legion a load of demons assaulted the Black Isle, laying waste to the Conclave and killing Miranda and Caleb, Pug's wife and son. At The Gates Of Darkness picks up some nine months to a year later, with the enemy plans starting to become clearer, but remains mysterious and Pug is finding that his bargain with Lims-Kragma lays heavily upon him, he fears losing Magnus.

In essence the plot revolves around how the Conclave work out that the demon horde is planning to come to Midkemia and their attempt to forestall that by destroying the gate. Added into this chaos is Belasco, who was brother to Leso Varen, although having been built up into such a threat, he features little in the book and is ultimately duped by the demon he thought he was outsmarting in serving.

The bigger revelations here are the nature of Hell and demon society, Feist reconciles this to the earlier works quite easily, but one notable mystery is Jakan's true nature. Similarly the revelation that the demon king Dahun was fleeing an adversary is intriguing. The obvious suspects are the Dread, but I wonder if that's too obvious. In the course of their escape from the demon, the Elven mage brothers find a rift gate of greater design than seen previously, even surpassing the work of Macros. (And talking of whom, yes he has a mention.)

So, if this is all leading to ChaosWar, what's on the cards? I would suggest at least the following:

The true agency behind all the riftwars
The nature of the Dread
Why the demons are under siege?
The Star Elves either go to war against everyone or acquiesce
A smarter ConDoin than his ancestor Patrick occupies the throne of Rillanon
Pug and the Magicians rejoin the Kingdom in some form
A grand alliance against the ultimate threat: The Kingdom, Tsurannunani, Kesh, Novindus and even the Dasati?