While I find Feists Riftwar Cycle incredible and overpowering, this has got to be it's weakest point. All his other works in the series are grand adventures, a mystery needing unfolding, a world needing to be saved but this is almost entirely about how Roo Avery accumulates his wealth save for a few pages here and there hinting at gritty grandeur where Calis and his Eagles fight the Pantathians.

But it is not even the lack of adventure that ruins this book for me, it's the fact that our beloved rascal courts a girl he doesn't want for her father's wealth and upon his death marries her out of guilt. He does not love her, nor does he love the children they have. He is never home, constantly busy with his trading company or his mistress who is only with him to gather information for her father.

In a way it might be refreshing with an "anti-hero" such as Roo but the way he recognizes the fact that he does not love his family without any guilt or remorse has made me lose all respect for him.

The only thing that saved this book were the few pages about the Eagles' journey in Novindus and as always, Pug!