Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist – Review

Published: May 7, 1986

Publisher: Bantam

Series: The Riftwar Saga #3

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 346 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis:
A poisoned bolt has struck down the Princess Anita on the day of her wedding to Prince Arutha of Krondor.
To save his beloved, Arutha sets out in search of the mytics herb called Silverthorn that only grows in the dark and forbidding land of the Spellweavers.
Accompanied by a mercenary, a minstrel, and a clever young thief, he wil confront an ancient evil and do battle with the dark powers that threaten the enchanted realm of Midkemia.

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I’m quite proud of myself for making progress on this series in a somewhat timely manner. Silverthorn is the third book in the Riftwar Saga and primarily focuses on Arutha as he journeys to find a cure for a rare poison that has afflicted his bride, Princess Anita. As with the previous books, there are other POV chapters including Jimmy the Hand and Pug so things never get dull.

This book starts off with Jimmy witnessing an assassination attempt against Arutha but he interrupts it as he himself is out sneak thieving. Because he saves Arutha yet again, Jimmy is made a squire and given holdings he can take over once he comes of age. All the while these events are unfolding something dark is taking root in the city. Something that has power over death and it’s determined to take out Arutha thanks to some obscure prophecy. Once Anita is wounded, Arutha, Jimmy, and company set off northward to find the origin of the poison and hopefully a cure. Meanwhile Pug is doing his own research…

Silverthorn is yet another delightful return to the classic epic fantasy story. The good characters are just good, though a few are a bit rogueish. The bad guys are horribly twisted and evil. It’s fairly black and white with little grey area and it’s a nice change of pace from all the modern stuff I’ve been reading. I look forward to wrapping up the series with A Darkness at Sethanon soon!