Silverthorn, By Raymond E. Feist

A year after the defeat of the Tsurani and the ascension of Lyam to the Kingship, Arutha to Prince of Krondor, and Martin to Duke of Crydee, things are starting to settle down. At least, enough for Arutha to make plans to marry Princess Anita. But life is not as smooth as many think, just ask Jimmy the Hand. As a master thief he sees all kinds of dark plots, not the least of which is the attempted assassination of Arutha, which leads them all into a swirl of intrigue and danger. For on the day of Arutha’s wedding, Jimmy foils another plot to take Arutha’s life, but only by misdirecting the crossbow bolt to hit Anita instead. If it was only the wound, Anita could hope to recover quickly, but there is poison at work which will steal her life unless a cure can be found. The only clue Arutha has is the name of the poison: ‘silverthorn.’ Because of a strong magic laid upon Anita by Pug, she now exists between moments, waiting until Arutha can return to her with the cure.

Oh, you foolish people who thought the Riftwar Saga was over, but no! It has returned again! And brought back with it a most engaging character whom we have seen briefly before, by the name of Jimmy. I don’t think I’ve ever read of a thief as a main character that wasn’t clever, quick, funny, etc. I don’t think authors can write them any other way. Not the least of which reason is the fact that only certain people are attracted to/are good at that profession, and so a stereotype is born. That aside, Jimmy does his part well carrying the plot forward, and lets us in for a great long running joke. ‘Well, you still need a Duke of Krondor.’ You’ll just have to read it to see why that is so good. And though Arutha is the main character and everyone is trying to kill him, he doesn’t seem to accomplish half as much as Jimmy, except nearly getting killed a lot.

Silverthorn doesn’t seem to have much to do with the rest of the Riftwar saga. Except for the fact that it is indeed the same world, same characters, and takes place only one year after the last book ended, I thought the Riftwar with the Tsurani was over. Unless Feist is trying to refer to something else, and in that case…Sadly I don’t think Silverthorn is as good an effort as Magician: Master, despite the fact that I like what goes on in it. A for effort, B for execution. In the sense that it feels like the fate of the world should hang on a plot’s shoulders, but all we’re doing is finding a cure for Anita. Which is a good thing, don’t get me wrong, but the fate of the world is more interesting. It’s fun enough to read, but not much else.