Rating: 
Summary: This book is just setting up for a new series
Review: The book was good, but Mr. Fiest forgot one little part..... the ending. The book just abruptly stops. You can just tell there will be another book written after this. This was a good book, but it did a terrible job of concluding an otherwise great series.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the last one.
Review: I purchased this book expecting to be disappointed, considering what a huge disappointment the previous book in the series turned out to be. Consequently, it was long after SoBC came out in paper back that I bought it on a whim of Rift War nostalgia. Maybe it was because my expectations were low, but I liked this book. One of Feist's main problems in recent books has been how to balance the plot between new up-and-coming characters (James & Dash, Erik & Roo, Owen & Duke Arutha) and older, more advanced, "Super" Characters. (Pug, Thomas, Miranda & co.) Thus this Cosmic evil of the "Nameless One" and dark powers to occupy the attention of the "Super Characters" and more mundane, yet in my opinion far more compelling, themes of war, intrigue, politics, love, hate, adventure, etc. for the newer "mortal" characters. I did not like cosmic, philosophical, quasi-religious, origin of the universe, theme that was introduced with the last book to keep our more powerful characters busy, but I thought that part of the plot was handled better in SoaBC. While I like to see Pug, Thomas & co. for old times sake, they have become so powerful that the author painted himself into a corner in the last book to provide worthy adversaries for them and then had to do a lot of cosmic hand waving to extricate himself. I would have liked to see Pug & co. doing their thing in the background while the story concentrated on what our mere mortal characters did with their "puny" abilities to tip the scales toward the good guys. Unfortunately, by dividing the plot between the two groups of characters, our newer characters are not as well crafted and fleshed out as they could be. I liked the fact that Prince Patrick was a Royal Pain, and not a walking clone of his ancestors. I liked Jimmy, Dash, Erik, and Roo. I enjoy watching them grow and struggle, overcome hardship and sorrow, just like I enjoyed watching Pug, Thomas, Arutha, and Jimmy "The Hand" before them. But, unlike their predecessors, these characters are not given quite the time, attention, and well crafted details to become larger than life heros. Feist does a better job in SoaBC with juggling the two plots, yet I still miss the magic, mystery, awe, and sense of wonder I found when I first picked up Magician all those years ago.P.S. I was also disgusted with the plugs for his upcoming "in between" series. They must have mentioned that "Incident" after the Rift War about 50 times! As someone who has read all of Feist's previous Midkemia books, I found this to be a turn off.
Rating: 
Summary: this book is far below what i've come to expect from feist
Review: while it was definately a good solidly written fantasy novel the quality of this book is lacking
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book !!!!!!
Review: This book is just great!!!! Although i hope that in the following saga more on the magician Pug and his wife !!!! Just hope that I would be informed of the next book if it comes out!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, makes us want more (literally)
Review: "Shards" is a bittersweet ending to an exciting series. Billed as the "conclusion to the Serpentwar Saga", it does indeed chronicle the end of the Serpentwar. Like life, however, it does not simply end "happily ever after". The end of the war leaves a lot of questions unanswered, although the turn of events between Nakor and Kahil certainly was an unexpected plot clincher. I for one am gratified that the stories of the characters we know best from this series (Pug, Miranda, Nakor, Gathis) will seemingly be back, as the end of this book certainly sets up the possibility of another book (or series) with them, and I fervently hope Feist produces the next chapters in their stories. Do not pick up this book thinking that all will be made right with everyone in Midkemia; it doesn't happen. Don't let this deter you from reading the book, however; it is stunning in its character development, and stunning in the changes wrought in many of the characters' lives. David Gerrold once wrote about certain Star Trek episodes being "good" or "bad" because they did or did not portray *definitive* episodes in the characters' lives. There are many, many definitive experiences here that happen to the characters, and for that reason I give the book four stars. It would be five, Ray, but your editors and/or proofreaders seem to have left you hanging in the breeze. The book is somewhat rife with grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes, and out-and-out confusing constructions and simple gaffs. Sometimes I had a hard time even following who was doing what, so bad were the errors. Other than that, I find nothing to detract from a very high recommendation. Midkemia fans, enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Better, but not best.
Review: I honestly hope that Feist plans to continues with this story line. The one thing that I admire him for is his characters, and I am truely glad that he admitted in this novel that the great men have indeed left the Kingdom. Jimmy and Dash have the potential, but with the ending of the story, we don't know if that potential will ever be reached. Also, Feist does little to let us know about the future of many of the more colorful characters of novels past. I would hope that in the next installment of Kingdom based stories (possibly with Jimmy and Dash as the main characters?) we could learn exactly what happens to Roo, Erik and Kitty, and the others that became staples in this saga. All in all, another good book, though it did leave me wanting to rush out to the book store in the hopes that the next series (barring Betrayal) had already been written.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome!!! Nice ending to a superb saga.
Review: I would recomend this book to all of my freinds. Feist has done it again! I can't wait until he publishes another.
Rating:
Summary: Great finish to a good series.
Review: At first I was disappointed to learn that the book was focusing on Jimmy and Dash. I never really liked their grandfather, but Feist put a whole new spin on them and their father, with the whole "living in the shadow of great men" thing. Arutha Jameson was great for the few pages in which we finally got to know him in. Roo and Erik are fun to read about as ever. I was disappointed with the treatment of Pug and Co. Feist seems to be getting far more comfortable than I would like with the whole "so powerful they cannot do anything" routine with his magic-users and Tomas. The battle/military scenes are great as usual, and Feist wisely makes his main characters other than the royal family, so court politics, something the author almost always does exceptionally, come into play. It is somewhat disappointing for Arutha ConDuin's family to be so unknown, but if they were the main characters the books would probably be rather boring. I enjoyed the first three books of this series, but felt they were missing something. This novel did not feel that way at all and the ending which a few other reviewers do not like, was quite a surprise, but is quite believable and fitting as well, in my opinion. I am not sure if it was meant as a definitive end to series in Midkemia (other than the Riftwar Legacy series), it could have gone either way. I for one would like to learn more about the Kingdom, the East especially.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Different
Review: I was disappointed to see some of the negative reviews to Shards. I liked it however it is definetly different from other Feist's. The first half was the part I found interesting as their is a sense among the character's that the great men have gone from them. Another part of this book I found interesting was Arutha emerging from a background piece in the last three books to a full-fledged character. The only major weak point I can think of is the end for Dash. I honestly don't see how becoming the head of the Mockers will help him save them. It would have been much more effective to remain a noble and use his power for their benefit.
Rating:
Summary: good book, good series, bad ending
Review: I thought this was a very good book right up to the end where it abruptly stopped. another book in this series could have ended the series properly.
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