Reviews

The King's Buccaneer by Raymond E. Feist

takeahike's review against another edition

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I read this quite some time ago and know I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not sure to what degree. Enough, I know, to continue on with Feist's many books. It's probably somewhere around 3.5-4 stars.

psoglav's review against another edition

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3.0

UKUPNA OCENA (overall rating) - 6/10
Radnja (story) - 7/10
Likovi (characters) - 6/10
Pripovedanje (writing style) - 6/10
Okruženje (setting) - 7/10

Nakon odličnog početka, knjiga je obećavala mnogo više od Princa krva. Radnja je najavljivala epsku avanturu kao u Srebrnom trnu, međutim pisac je veštački produžio knjigu i u drugoj polovini opteretio čitaoca suvoparnom radnjom i dijalozima neinspirativnih likova. Isti šablon kao i u prvoj knizi "Sinova Krondora".

jamsl94's review against another edition

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3.25

It’s a solid adventure that is of better quality then other recent Riftwar reads. 

ellyrarg's review against another edition

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3.0

Mm, this was a good one. Lots of character growth, interesting and quick moving plot. A lot of it was spoon fed, but overall an interesting read.

Loved Nakor, annoyed that his poor friend died. Womp. Also found it novel to be adventuring with the next generation, as made clear at the end.

leeman_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

isaac_petherbridge's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

kenlaan's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed this much more than the previous book in this duology, Prince of the Blood. A fun adventure with some characters that grew on me (Nakor is my second favorite Feist character, after only Mara).

Keeping this short, this checks all the marks for a good swords-and-sorcery novel. An evil death cult of serpent priests, ship battles and piracy, thrilling sword battles, questionable unsavory allies, strange foreign cities, and the like.

It has the accompanying issues that swords-and-sorcery often do - women are sidelined compared to men (also, a scene near the end where one of the four younger male lead characters mentions how neatly things worked out, with each of them ending up paired with one of the four women, had me groaning a bit), and there's certainly a bit of the Western protagonists gaping at the barbaric ways of the foreign city they find themselves in - but I didn't find myself cringing nearly as much as I did with Prince of the Blood.

I thought this was a good continuation of the larger plot that Feist started in the prior books, whereas most of Prince of the Blood felt pretty standalone. I've had to get used to the way that Feist will jump forward years in between books, resulting in side characters dying of old age and former protagonists growing older and fading to the background.

kevinscorner's review against another edition

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4.5

The King’s Buccaneer is a swashbuckling entry into the Riftwar Cycle. In this second book in the Krondor’s Sons subseries, we follow Nicholas, Prince Arutha’s youngest son, who is competent but has lived a privileged and sheltered life because of his foot deformity. He and his squire Harry are sent to the border at Castle Crydee for some experience and needed hardening. But when Crydee is raided and two noblewomen and young people are kidnapped, Harry along with some familiar faces must travel across the Endless Sea to unknown lands to rescue their stolen people and uncover who is behind the plot.

This book was just another incredibly fun adventure like the previous book Prince of the Blood, although with much higher stakes and broader implications for the Riftwar Cycle series in general. The King’s Buccaneer has a lot to offer—from sea chases and battles, a trek for survival across desolate deserts, and clandestine missions in a foreign city. We get to explore more of Midkemia as they go below the equator to distant lands the Kingdom of the Isles know nothing about. And while this book tells a standalone story you can read on its own, it does lay groundwork for the next epic conflict after the events at Sethanon.

I am partial to introspective protagonists of which Nicholas may be an early example (compared to the more recent and modern trends that really deal with metal health issues of characters). He is just easy to root for and we spend a great deal more time with him as this was at least a third longer than the previous book with his twin brothers. I liked Harry and the many colorful supporting characters as well. I do wish though that Feist hadn’t felt the need to kill of that one character near the end.

eidolem's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dalicieux's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25