Rating: 
Summary: Another excellent chapter in the Riftwar Legacy
Review: Raymond E. Feist, one of the best fantasy authors writing today, does a superb job in Krondor Tear of the Gods, the 3rd installment in the Riftwar Legacy. This book covers the event covered in the PC Game Return to Krondor.The Tear of the Gods, the most powerful artifact of the Ishapian church that allows them to communicate with the gods, is sunk to the bottom of the sea when a powerful pirate named Bear tries to capture it. Aided by a mysterious magician named Sidi, Bear possesses godlike powers. Squire James, Jazhara (the new court mage of Krondor), Kendaric (a member of Krondor's Wrecker Guild), Brother Solon, and William must track down Bear, retrieve the Tear, and destroy the evil that has taken over the small town of Haldon's Head. Feist has added some interesting plot twists in this novelization of the game and has greatly expanded upon character depth that was originally present. By doing this, he avoided the walkthrough-like feel that was sometimes present in Krondor The Betrayal. Jazhara especially is discussed in far greater detail. William, Solon, and Kendaric are given more depth so that you care about them a lot more than you did when you played the computer game. If you haven't read any of Feist's books, I recommend starting with Magician: Master and Magician: Apprentice, the first two books in Feist's Riftwar series. You'll appreciate this book a lot more if you've read all the previous ones, even though it is a good read in its own right. The book is 372 pages long, but I read it all in one night since it was so good that I didn't want to stop reading it. A must-have for any fan of Feist. Even though this book is not due to be release in the US until March 2001, it is currently available in the UK and Australia. I purchased mine from Australia since I couldn't wait until March to read another of Feist's great books.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing offering from a usually solid author
Review: Book 3 of the Legacy of the Riftwar Out of the three Riftwar Legacy books, Tear of the Gods is by far the worst. I know that all three of these books are based on video games, and this does hurt the storytelling somewhat, but Feist was way too obvious with this book (I am not kidding you, there was a "rescue the baby" side-quest). I'm a longtime fan of the Riftwar Universe, and I'm looking forward to new books in Feist's new series, but this was just a bad book. Here's the story: Every ten years the Temple of Ishap replaces its most holy object, The Tear of the Gods. The Tear is a mystic gem that allows communication with the gods. Supposedly, if the Tear fails without a replacement there will be ten years with no hope because humanity will be shut off from the gods until a new Tear can be formed (a process that takes a decade). The Tear is being transported by ship when the ship is raided by pirates, including one bad man named Bear. There are still problems in Krondor as someone is trying to throw the Western Realm into chaos. Jazhara, the new court magician for Prince Arutha is arriving in the city and Squire James is sent to escort her to the palace. On the way they get involved in several escapades involving some nasty acts taking place. As the story progresses Feist brings together the continuing troubles in Krondor with the search for Bear and the Tear of the Gods. Like the other two books, this book is filled to the brim with action (as you might expect from a video game adaption). Some of it works, other times it just feels forced. Unlike Krondor: The Assassins, or even Krondor: The Betrayal (to a lesser extent), Tear of the Gods did not feel like it really had a coherent story. The characters were moved from place to place, but there was none of the depth that I have come to expect from Raymond Feist and his Riftwar series. Even considering this was part of a lesser series from Feist, I was still disappointed by Tear of the Gods. Video games and novels are two different mediums, and this felt like too much of a video game RPG plot (complete with side quests, mini-bosses, and boss strategies). Feist still has two more books planned in the Riftwar Legacy series, and hopefully they will be better than this offering.
Rating:
Summary: Required: Win98, Win2000, WinXP, PIII or better -- OH WAIT!
Review: This isn't a computer game, it's a book. I had to keep reminding myself of that. I appreciate the fact that Feist fielded a computer game for the die-hard fans, but the attempt to mix a computer RPG with literature that you can carry to the toilet to read just isn't working. For those who have read some/all of Feist's other works, you get some small satisfaction encountering a few of your favorite characters (hence the 3 stars), but this thing really runs in a very linear fashion, clearly the illegitimate offspring of a computerized plot. After quaking before the might of Milander at the Imperial Games, the few roman candles that Jazhara set off seem pathetic by comparison. Jimmy "The Hand" becomes a relatively generic basher and is done no justice by this type of storyline. I was almost ready to turn the page and see, "You've gained an experience level!" For Pete's sake, they had to go back to the "witch" on the hill three freakin' times before she gave them all of the info they needed! Give me Tomas Ashen Shugar full of raging, ancient Valheru power. Give me a good computer based role playing game. Just please, oh please, Mr. Feist -- don't try to give them to me together!
Rating:
Summary: Krondor Lite for the easily bored reader
Review: There's nothing inherently BAD about the Riftwar Legacy books, they're just not great either. They are ideal for someone who finds intricate plots confusing, or long sequences without "action" boring. These are like the Harlequin Romance novels of Krondor. In Tear of the Gods, poor Jimmy can't walk to work in the morning without having to kill a couple of cutpurses, then has to off a few more when going out for lunch, and rounding the day off with another fight to the death before turning in at night. It rapidly approached ludicrousness. We also get to meet the most impotent wizard ever, who is skilled enough to be hand picked to be the court magical advisor, yet can't seem to get a single spell to finish a street tough. She ends most fights by whacking them over the head with her staff, seems kind of sad really. Old fans of the Krondor books will enjoy seeing more background on some favorite characters, new readers will be very disappointed.
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