![]() | By: Raymond E. Feist Joel Rosenberg Binding: Paperback Publisher: Voyager ISBN: 0006483895 ISBN-13: 9780006483892 Released: 02 Jun 2003 RRP: Average Rating: ![]() |




Rosenberg successfully exports Kethol, Piroji, & Durine from his Guardians of the Flame series & they are unlike any of Feist's normal characters. Most of the original Riftwar cast consists of nobles, Elves, & honourable folk. These three however, are only in it for the money. It is refreshing to realize that there are more than just despicable villians & honourable hereoes in Midkemia--we get a close view into the life of three commoners (albeit well traveled mercenary commoners ;-)).
Now that I think about it I believe I would have been disappointed if this novel had followed the usual Feist fantasy "formula" (not that his writing is truly formulaic) & been some sort of a grand quest. This novel was meant to be a divergent view into Midkemia & it succeeds admirably in my view. It isn't just the books that I enjoy, it is the worlds Feist has shown us & Murder in LaMut exposes an entirely new dimension of Midkemia.
One last point, the murder mystery proper doesn't show up until the end of the book--however I believe this is a mistake on the publisher's part when they wrote the description for the back of the book. Reallly this book is about Kethol, Pirojil, & Durine more than just the murder. Furthermore, the mystery may not be polished--but this isn't a world of precise police procedure, or modern investigative methods, & the three mercenaries aren't professional detectives. :-)
I would also reccomend The Empire Trilogy written with Janny Wurts for a similarly expansive & different view of Feist's world.

WHAT'S GOOD:
I know this is an unpopular book, but I think that's largely because it's such a radical change of pace & scale to Feist's other books, which puts Feist fans off. Personallly, I was interested to see how a very different type of story could be played out against the familiar background of the Riftwar. What we get is a classicallly-styled murder mystery, but where the sleuth's aren't Poirot or Miss Marple, but a trio of cynical, self-interested mercenaries. This clever twist is capped nicely by the final result of the investigations (I won't tell you whodunnit). .
WHAT'S BAD:
To be honest, apart from being set on Midkemia, there's very little fantasy to this story, which will put off those looking for wizards & dragons etc. Similarly, fans of 'Magician' will find this book too smalll scale & differently styled.
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