Sorry that I haven't been around to post regarding the books I've been reading lately. I have been slowly getting through Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. It's very good if you're deep into science fiction, for me, it's a bit much so I'm taking it slowly. I do play the game that was based on the book on occasion, Anacreon, and recently there was some kind soul who updated the game (neurohack, thank you) and although it isn't much more than it was, it's a lot better than looking at a few blips on the screen in DOS. Anyway, onto the Dark War Saga.

I have been working my way through the books by Feist regarding his world, Midkemia, for years now. I absolutely adore his way of writing. Midkemia is coming up against another huge war and Kelewan is involved now as well (the Tsurani home world). Pug and the Assembly of Magicians are working together in order to prevent the 2nd plane of existence from invading the first, which they live on. Pug, his son Magnus, Nakor and a new member of the group, Ralen Bek, are on a pilgrimage of sorts to the capital of the Dasati race in order to try and prevent this war from occurring. I don't know exactly what they plan to do and Pug sending himself messages from the future is a bit disconcerting regarding this in itself. Yes, that's right. Pug is sending himself messages from the future.

I also wish to mention that Macros the Black is back in the picture. I will not tell you where or what or how. Just that he is and you'll have to read the saga in order to find out why he is and what is going on with him. Turns out he got his just desserts, though.

This book is the second of this part of the Saga. So there isn't as much information as I would like. A lot of different people doing things and their stories being told. We've also been following someone on the Dasati plane to learn about him and that, of course, takes a very interesting twist as well.

So now, with all the information I have gained on what the Conclave, Pug and his travelling band, and the Dasati are doing I wait patiently for the next book to come out. Flight of the Nighthawks is the first book in the Saga and the next book is Wrath of a Mad God. It's really best to have read the entire series before delving into these books. It probably isn't entirely necessary, but you'd be better off knowing the entire story instead of starting somewhere in the middle of it.

I started reading the Feist books again while back, which is why I haven't been around and posting as much. I decided to start again from the beginning after reading the latest book in the long series because every now and then I learn something new. I literally read each book within three days (24 hours if you want to talk hours not including breaks and sleeping) and doing so has renewed my interest a hundredfold.

Following Pug through his trials as a boy in Crydee to becoming the most powerful magician on a foreign world and bringing the Greater Path magic back to his homeworld is amazing to say the least. The RiftWar Saga itself has 9 books. Three from the Midkemian side, three from the Kelewan side, and then I also include the 3 Legacy books that start 10 years after the RiftWar even though they aren't exactly during the RiftWar. There are things that happened which caused them to be linked to the RiftWar itself and having those three books puts everything into perspective.

I am missing one book still, A Shadow of a Dark Queen, because I had left it over at someone's home and when I went to retrieve it they told me it wasn't there and they'd never seen it. I was pretty darn sure I had left it on the coffee table, but never questioned them and never saw the book again. Eventually I'll buy a copy so that I can have a complete set again. People find it strange that I reread books! But when an author spends as much time on such an epic like this you end up having to sometimes. I've reread these books at least three or four times over the years as more books are written and added. I end up loving them more and more each time.

The SerpentWar Saga takes you on a journey to another part of the Midkemian world that no one knew was there, they have to travel by ship for several months to reach this other portion of land and because of it being such a long trip and most ships can't hold enough supplies to go that long without land, it's never been found or never proven to exist.

This new land, Novindus, is completely different from what the people of the Kingdom know. Instead of being ruled as the Kingdom or the other known lands it is more of a City-State system and whoever has the most money to pay for mercenaries stays in control of the land they've taken. Novindus never knows true peace and there is constant suffering.

The books in this series will take you to new heights in realism. You learn about the people from the nobility to the common, you learn their ways and thoughts, they have dreams and trials. You ride with them into battle and come out with bruises. The story brings you into it and you learn to love and hate throughout the story. You become entwined with the good and the evil, get upset when someone you enjoy following doesn't live to see another day and mourn their passing with the others in the story.

With so much detail provided in the books you feel as if you could close your eyes and be there with the people you're reading about. If you enjoy a good adventure story, these books are for you. You don't even truly have to enjoy fantasy, but that's always another plus. The worlds within are much like our own world during medieval times. So take a look at Magician: Apprentice and see if you wish to continue to follow Pug and others as their lives unfold, as they fight for the world they love, as they simply wish to live day to day in peace.