Jimmy and the Crawler

This was the last piece of the Riftwar Cycle that I was missing and I'm glad to read it. I think it was a perfect little tale to wrap up the Crawler and Nighthawks tale with James building his spy network. This was just nostalgic to me. It was sad to read about the fate of a specific character but I'm glad to finally read about it and not just speculate.

God book. I have all of Raymond E. Feist's Midkemia books. Good reading.

So enjoy this author. Book in good condition.

Feist's work is always easy to immerse yourself in. This book makes for a nice afternoon's diversion, allowing for a brief visit in his world without committing yourself to a longer book.Like the Krondor series that preceded it, it benefits from Feist focusing more narrowly on a few key characters (necessary for a book of this length, but refreshing nonetheless). In his Chaoswar Saga, I often think that the narrative is weakened by trying to tell separate stories that don't touch each other closely enough, to the effect that none of those stories is quite as satisfying or excellent as what he achieves when he narrows his focus. So when Feist focuses on the characterization and intrigues of only a few characters at a time, I'm always interested.Jimmy and the Crawler did however disappoint me in two key ways. Firstly, as the long, long awaited conclusion to the Riftwar Legacy (Krondor) series, it was a let down. There were three books leading up to this story, and characters that we became very familiar with, and this book barely reintroduces us to them before they disappear once again, and this time with finality, into that melancholic netherworld of stories already told a decade ago. I'm not sure that the effort of resurrecting these characters was worth it to achieve this brief and somewhat depressing climax. Secondly, the book doesn't deliver on the intrigues and complexity that we expect from Feist, especially when dealing with a character like Jimmy. The progression of events is too simple and too easy. Enemies and challenges present themselves, and are overcome, with a sort of lazy convenience that trivializes the whole adventure and makes it seem like a petty affair compared to the much more enthralling events of the Krondor books. The climactic revelation towards the end is spoiled by the fact that by the time it presents itself we have already been subject to so much exposition explaining it that it was entirely predictable.This book is certainly enjoyable, both for the pleasure of reading Feist's writing and for the nostalgia value involved, but it was a let down. If you are a long time Feist fan, who cares about the events and characters of the Krondor books, this book will inevitably draw your imagination to the book-that-might-have-been if this story was given the time and effort that it deserved. I would only recommend this book to die-hard fans who are looking to complete their Feist collection.

Very disappointed in length and complexity based upon all of the previous books I have read from the author

I love all the Fiest novels, this was a good story that resolved a couple questions and added some more substance to what we know about Jimmy the Hand and Willie. It's not a full novel, more of a short story but I thought worth the $15

It was a nice addition to the Midkemia story. It was a lot of “recap” of what jimmy had done before and a bit of foreshadowing of what is to come, but ok. I would have liked it better if Feist had written more into the current story instead of all the exposition, but...it’s not my story to tell.

but truth to tell I enjoyed it anyway. This novella fits in to the larger story and gives some background to later plots involving Jimmy the Hand and his grandsons.It also lends a "human interest" story to Pug's son William, who also appears in later stories.As an avid Raymond Feist reader I would have preferred a much longer story, but this was a great short story in the manner of Feist's other writings. Lots of action. Recognised Characters. A useful background piece.If you like Feist's earlier works, you will enjoy this. Just remember that it is not his usual "Tome".

Blog: irenadams.comCaution, mild spoilers ahead.I absolutely love Raymond E. Feist's books. The Magician was one of the books that started an itch to write in me. The world that is created through the different sagas is exciting, attractive and full of adventure.The Riftwar Legacy saga always stood a bit apart from the rest of the series. The three previous books were part of stories retold after the video games came out, which I must say I’ve never played. But even though, they allowed to come back to the loved characters and fill some holes that came in the latter book (only due to the fact, that I read the books in a different order than the timeline would indicate).So when I finally had a chance, I procured a copy of Jimmy and The Crawler and started it immediately after it arrived.Jimmy the Hand was, and still is, my favorite character from the Midkemia world. His ties in the different circles of the world, his incredibly swift and clever mind, his way of getting into trouble and getting out of it, made him the most attractive character for me in the series.Jimmy the Hand and Arutha are the characters that I missed from The Serpentwar Saga and I wanted to have another taste of their presence in the books and The Riftwar Legacy was a good coming back to these interesting characters. Jimmy and The Crawler in itself was a good way to end the series that were opened for 13 years and needed closure.I must say, Jimmy and The Crawler was too short for me, and for a high-fantasy world that Raymon E. Feist had created. It was only 150 pages, while other books tend to be somewhere between 400-550 pages. But as another reviewer said, I think Raymond E. Feist wanted to wrap the series, but he was no longer as interested in keeping the story long and entangled as it is used to be in the other books.This is not a book for those who know nothing of Midkemia. Not only because this is the fourth and the last book in The Riftwar Legacy saga, but also because it is supposed that the reader will know different political tangles that have been addressed in the pages of the last sagas. This knowledge is needed to understand what is going on, why the relationship between the Kingdom and the Kesh is so difficult and why the demons are there.But it is a book to read for those who love Midkemia and Raymond E. Feist’s writing.

No spoilers.At just 144 pages and Kindle sized pages at that, this book runs at about 10p per page at the sleeve price compared to recent Feist Hardbacks running to 380+ considerably larger pages (and smaller text) running to around 4p.This book disapoints because it is a small book of paperback dimensions, in hardback and less than 10mm of pages. The thinnest feist book ever.IF you want a rip roaring roller coaster ride, the first action on page one is followed by 2 dead guys on page 72.This is a true Short Story... if that is what "Novella Edition" means.IF you have read everthing Feist has written and been enthralled and later confused at the last, then you should buy this book simply to make up the set BUT, you can live without it.Alternatively, borrow it from a Library and read on site because it won't take long.As a READ. I am 72/144 parts in and I am enjoying it but I cannot help but fear pages 140-142 as this is either a stand alone story told and finished (in which case... what was the point ?) or the start of another tale... but we have lived this life before, we know who lives and who dies so there is only 'story' we know from another viewpoint (much like this) or a new story completely like Talon of the Silver Hawk (another great series).Time will tell BUT as a fan, this book will dissapoint if you expect a 'full sized' story. It will delight because it is Feist.Feistian experts will want to place this book in the right timeline.Anita & Aruthrs kids are still babies. "Flight of the Nighthawks" is history and the "tear" is recovered, Gamina is still in the future... I hope I got this right from 50% of the way in.I am pleased to see the word "titbits" used instead of the much hated Americanism "Tidbits" but I did note a few modern language "youngisms", like ending the spoken word with ".... is all" which is a bit too much like a US soap but maybe it's me that's out of touch.Bottom line ?... wait for the paperback.

As usual for Mr Feist, a well-written, entertaining jaunt through Midkemia. Although this is a little shorter than the preceding trilogy, there is still enough tale to be compelling.

*****Warning******* possible spoiler alertI have been reading Fiest since 1994, and own every product he has published in the Riftwar world. As many of the other reviewers have stated, I too have noticed a decline in the quality of his novels since the Serpentwar saga. This book really bothers me. Like a lot! I appreciate Ray feeling that sense of duty to properly shade in some of his best created characters. Jimmy will remain one of the best characters ever created.This book felt less about about filling us in on missing details from previously created characters and more like finishing an idea that was never fully developed. The beginning of this book was good. It showed shadows of Ray's writing in the past and explored a city that I feel certain he enjoyed envisioning. The final 50 pages sucked. I say this of my absolute favorite author ever, but its true. Ray rushes to try and tie the knots and did a piss poor job. I knew Jazhara would die, and I wasn't entirely suprised that William has a hand in it; but OMG soooooooo rushed. For all of the "closure" and filling in the blanks on the crawler, this was not done well. I took an improv class once in college and the lesson learned is that if you invent and idea or character, you have to commit to it. Ray obviously has forgotten the parallel between improv and writing as he "kills off" characters with a callousness that suggests he is just simply tired with the whole damn series.Ironically, as I write this review, I am forced to consider a possible reason why this book gets published in the first place considering (in my eyes) how obviously misrepresented it is of the Author's talent. I believe that with his last two "series" Ray has become fascinated with Demon Lore and has really run out of patience and imagination in the world that he so well created and developed. It doesn't feel like he had a clear "end-game" scenario from the beginning and is using this newly discovered romance with "demons" to help him develop material to finish the riftwar series. Maybe this has been the case since Magician was published in 1981, but I don't think so. I felt thast several times, I was reading sentences to explain the ambiguities left behind with his previous "Riftwar" novel.The idea that "oh, wow the Crawler is a badass that causes kingdoms and criminals to fear; but PSYCH hes not really real- he's a demon" was just awful.The number of questions created in the last 20 pages with relation to demons makes me believe that this 150 page turd of a book was nothing more than a publicity stunt to promote Magician's end. I hope and pray as a truly dedicated fan that he is able to close out an amazing series with well thought out and planned endings that suggest that he had an "overall" vision from the get go. With the shortness and chaotic transfers that have become his chapters, I must admit that I am not optimistic. Please Ray, you owe it to your fans to write that truly great "ending" book that forever etches your legacy as a god of sci-fi and fantasy

Feist brilliant writer every book of his is brilliant