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A review by kenlaan
Rise of a Merchant Prince by Raymond E. Feist
4.0
Continuing my progression through Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Cycle, this is the 11th of 31(!) books, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Moving on from the events of the previous book, [b:Shadow of a Dark Queen|43908|Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, #1)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388212748l/43908._SY75_.jpg|1175877], Rise of a Merchant Prince shifts the focus from Erik and the war onto Roo Avery's attempts to establish himself as a rich merchant by whatever means necessary. This does seem, at the start, an odd detour, given the fact that an evil alien empire across the ocean is building an army with the goal of destroying all life on the planet, but I found it compelling nonetheless. I found myself enraptured by a scene in which Roo has to deal with a wagon, negligently driven by a drunken sailor, that's left parked in front of an important coffeehouse frequented by traders. Throw in a some well-written scenes in which Roo and his business partners decide how to best corner the futures market on grain, run-ins with the local Thieves' Guild, and a blood feud with a rival trading family, and you've got a strangely fun fantasy book.
Some readers might be put off by the fact that Roo is not an especially likeable character. He's a neglectful father and disloyal husband, with his focus entirely on his business empire. I was surprised that Feist decided to write a book with such a character as his protagonist, given that the previous 10 works were headed by pretty typical protagonists for the reader to root for. And I'm not sure if there was really anything interesting done with the fact that Roo isn't likeable. It was just an aspect of his personality, and nothing really came of it by the book's end. Maybe we'll see more character growth in the next.
Moving on from the events of the previous book, [b:Shadow of a Dark Queen|43908|Shadow of a Dark Queen (The Serpentwar Saga, #1)|Raymond E. Feist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388212748l/43908._SY75_.jpg|1175877], Rise of a Merchant Prince shifts the focus from Erik and the war onto Roo Avery's attempts to establish himself as a rich merchant by whatever means necessary. This does seem, at the start, an odd detour, given the fact that an evil alien empire across the ocean is building an army with the goal of destroying all life on the planet, but I found it compelling nonetheless. I found myself enraptured by a scene in which Roo has to deal with a wagon, negligently driven by a drunken sailor, that's left parked in front of an important coffeehouse frequented by traders. Throw in a some well-written scenes in which Roo and his business partners decide how to best corner the futures market on grain, run-ins with the local Thieves' Guild, and a blood feud with a rival trading family, and you've got a strangely fun fantasy book.
Some readers might be put off by the fact that Roo is not an especially likeable character. He's a neglectful father and disloyal husband, with his focus entirely on his business empire. I was surprised that Feist decided to write a book with such a character as his protagonist, given that the previous 10 works were headed by pretty typical protagonists for the reader to root for. And I'm not sure if there was really anything interesting done with the fact that Roo isn't likeable. It was just an aspect of his personality, and nothing really came of it by the book's end. Maybe we'll see more character growth in the next.