Perhaps Feist's best book, but hampered by the fact that a) you really need to read the preceding books to appreciate the context of this one and b) the sequels take a much more drably traditional route to resolving many of the plots, and generally speaking most of the promise here isn't actually followed up on. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/the-reading-canary-the-serpentwar-saga/

3.5 stars

I bought this series in a book club deal back in 2000. This is the first time I've read it o_O

The key word in the title is 'merchant' - this is all about the economics of succeeding in business in Midkemia. It's slightly more interesting than it sounds! Only occasionally chapters are given over to the continued fight on t'other side of the world, until the final chapters jump back and forth between the two, now better tied together, story lines.

I might have liked it better if main character Roo wasn't actually a little unpleasant.

For a book written in 1995 and republished in 2015, you'd think they'd have ironed out any spelling mistakes throughout. Apparently not. Misspelling the protagonist's name, using wrong words in sentences and leaving out quotation marks are generally not considered okay things to do when writing a novel.

Prior to reading this, I came across a review that claimed "I didn't think I'd enjoy a novel with the words 'merchant' and 'prince' in the title as much as I did" and after finishing Rise of a Merchant Prince, I agree with that statement. I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. It has its flaws, some of them bigger than others but for the first 60% of the book I had a blast. The back end was still enjoyable but the focus was taken away from Roo, going back to Erik and his elite army unit for more than I would have liked. What they got up to was fine but occasionally losing me mid sentence in its descriptions was a downside. The encounters they make in the final 50 pages are worth their inclusion, sans what felt like a drag with the Pantathians. The action that takes place throughout is well written for what it is, it's not groundbreaking or masterfully crafted, rather it works at conveying what is needed to the reader, though Feist's writing blooms with Roo's social interactions and attempts to make a name for himself in Krondor.

Speaking of which

For a book that primarily takes place in Midkemia, you'd think a map for that would be included rather than JUST Novindus, a location that takes up less than 1/5th of the book. Include both maps (like the previous book in the series) or none at all. I still got a good enough sense of direction when places were described in relation to Krondor, given that the majority of Roo's story takes place there.

Anyway.

The story finished with unresolved/unsatisfying plot points. Nothing was really done with

Spoiler

Kitty

after they were introduced into the story, they just kinda did nothing until they were mentioned again 3/5th into the book.

Spoiler

The Sylvia and Karli situation

is just kinda left there at the end, perhaps to be covered in the next book but certainly not in this one. What felt like a great point to finish on is somewhat diminished by the inclusion of the epilogue, basically

Spoiler

time skipping two months to save the people trapped on the island, telling you everything that they were able to do to survive there over the course of 5 pages.

Yeah, I agree that as a reader you can feel better by knowing rather than waiting for the next book, but boy oh boy, were there a lot of

Spoiler

time jumps

throughout as well. Yes, I get it.

Spoiler

You can't reasonably expect to chronicle Roo's amassing of such wealth without using them while trying to cover everything Erik and company do within 500 pages.

I've found Feist has a habit for learning about something and writing a lot about it in his books. It may not be what actually happens but it sure feels like it. War, horses, tides, politics and now the stock market! He wrote about this really well, namely about Roo learning the ups and downs along with the reader while keeping it interesting the whole time. Whether or not it's realistic, I think enough artistic liberties were given to keep the reader's interest. I especially loved the idea of Barrett's place, I had jazzy cafe music playing in my head whenever scenes were taking place there.

In conclusion:

It's an enjoyable book about someone trying to make a living after life gave them lemons in the first book. Worth the read if you read the first one, potentially works as a standalone with the clarifications and reminders Feist superbly throws in throughout without feeling cluttered or unnecessary (mostly).