KRONDOR: TEAR OF THE GODS

By: J.A. Hitchcock
Date: Friday, August 31, 2001

TEAR OF THE GODS is the third in the KRONDOR series based on the popular computer RPG, RETURN TO KRONDOR, and is the one that most closely follows that game. But you didn't have to play the game or read the other two books to get the gist of this one.

The story begins on the Bitter Sea, where an Ishapian ship called Dawn carries a religious and mystical stone, the Tear of the Gods - this sacred artifact is what keeps the "good" gods around and peace in the kingdom. A pirate ship, in the command of a monster of a man named Bear, attacks the Dawn and kills everyone aboard it. Bear and some of his crew board the Dawn in search of the Tear, but before it can be recovered, Bear goes down with the ship. Or so Bear's right-hand man, Knute, thinks (and hopes). Knute takes over command of the pirate ship and the treasure they were able to steal, then head for Krondor, where Knute plans to hide out until he is sure Bear is really dead and gone.

I'm not giving the plot away by telling you that Bear is quite alive and extremely angry. He is fueled by an amulet given to him by an evil sorcerer named Sidi, who hopes to bring upon the downfall of Krondor by procuring the Tear for himself and thus, the whole of Midkemia.

Bear finds Knute and tries to get out of him the exact location of where the Ishapian ship went down so that he can recover the Tear himself. But Knute is not so forthcoming and Bear goes on a rampage through Krondor, killing many people in his wake, including a character in a previous Feist book.


In the meantime, a new court magician arrives in Krondor, a beautiful woman named Jazhara who was at one time Lieutenant William's love. Squire James (known as Jimmy the Hand in previous books) meets her and immediately they are drawn into the terror Bear has wrought upon Krondor.

But Bear is not the only terror in town. A bloodthirsty beast awaits in the sewers below Krondor, thought to be a creation of King Arutha's sworn enemy, the Crawler. So while William goes after Bear, James and Jazhara fight the sewer beast to find a man who knows where the Ishapian ship lies.

The two pick up two more on their journey - Kendaric from the Wreckers Guild who has created a spell that can keep a wrecked ship afloat on a sea of solid fog (and quite a wimp, too) and Brother Solon, an Ishapian warrior priest who will help recover the Tear when it is found.

There are great battle scenes, some nifty puzzles and locks that James must figure out (that's why he was called Jimmy the Hand - he's a whiz at opening locks) and the interaction between the characters is true Feist.

The only part of the book I did not like was when Feist went "Anne Rice." When the foursome arrives in Haldon Head, where the Dawn is supposed to be off the coast of, they encounter civil unrest due to the townspeople wanting to kill the "witch" on the coast because of a string of murders that turn the victims into...vampires.

This whole scenario was rather unlike Feist's usual fantastical creatures (the one in the sewer is a wonderful horror), so I was disappointed with the whole vampire thing. I know Feist did it to introduce the "witch" to the foursome on their journey, but it could have been done in a more Feistian way.

Other than this one small part of the book, KRONDOR: TEAR OF THE GODS is excellent. The ending was perfect and left room open for more books (rumor has it the next is CONCLAVE OF THE SHADOWS, due out in November 2002). I am looking forward to more tales from Krondor.

KRONDOR: TEAR OF THE GODS

Grade: A-

Author(s): Raymond E. Feist

Publisher:  Harper Mass Market

Price: $7.99