Raymond E. Feist, Into a Dark Realm

Into a Dark Realm

Raymond E. Feist

Eos, Apr 2007, $25.95

ISBN 0060792809

Pug the wizard must leave his beloved Midkemia behind to journey into the vicious land of Dasati where evil sorcerer Leso Varen plans a war in honor of his "host The Dark God. At the same time, the aging mage begins his quest to prevent a blood bath in three nations; his grandsons Jommy, Tad and Zane enter the University of Roldem and join the already overly-extended Midkemia military.

As Pug searches for his powerful adversary, he meets free-thinking Dasati warrior Valko, who some will say is a traitor for allying himself with the enemy wizard. As the mentor and the student travel together, they battle many foes sent by Leso to kill them but their path is circuitous as Pug realizes they must journey beyond their reality to prevent the Desati invasion of his country and another peaceful neighbor; at the same time, Pug's grandchildren prove valorous in combat as war has begun in spite of his best efforts.

In book two of the Darkwar Saga (see FLIGHT OF THE NIGHTHAWKS), Raymond Feist provides a fun, epic fantasy that his horde of fans will appreciate though in some ways it has the feel of the middle book of a trilogy. The storyline is action-packed, filled with thrilling battles as the grandchildren become combat tested. Newcomers need to read the first book and in some ways the previous series (Pug wasn't always old), but feisty loyalists will appreciate the escapades of Pug and the next-next generation.

Harriet Klausner