Honored Enemy | |||||||
Raymond E. Feist and William R. Forstchen | |||||||
HarperCollins Eos, 336 pages | |||||||
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A review by Steven H Silver
Dennis Hartraft was forced into the Riftwar on his wedding night, when a band of Kelewan warriors raided his father's holding,
killing everyone who was dear to Dennis. Nine years later, he holds a hatred of the enemy close to his heart and a desire to
ensure that all the Kelewan soldiers involved in the attack are killed.
The book opens with Hartraft's forces moving in an area where they are skirting the Kelewan troops under Asayaga. However there
are indications that a moredhel, or black elf, threat is also in the area and the two forces' only hope of surviving the moredhel
is to work together. Feist and Forstchen do an excellent job creating a palpable, and realistic, tension between the two
groups. The result of which is that the reader can never be sure that even the most minor incident won't result in conflict.
Even as the two groups fail to mix as a whole, there are indications that friendships can develop. Two of the younger
warriors, the Midkemian Richard Kevinsson and his Kelewan counterpart, Osami, are able to strike up a friendship. The priest
Corwin is willing to treat the wounds of men on both sides. Even Asayaga and Hartraft are able to treat each other civilly,
despite never fully trusting each other and their knowledge that when they are safe from the moredhel they will order their
troops to attack each other.
Although Honored Enemy is set against the backdrop of the ninth year of a major war, it isn't a war novel. The active
war remains consistently in the background, although its concerns are reflected in the relationships the characters build. It
is the relationships which form the crux of Honored Enemy.
While Honored Enemy is billed as book one of the "Legends of the Riftwar," that designation is misleading. The other two
novels, written by Feist with Joel Rosenberg then with Steve Stirling, are completely unrelated and, like Honored Enemy stand
on their own. To enjoy Honored Enemy, therefore, the reader need have no previous or additional experience with Feist's
worlds, although having it will enrich the reading experience.
Honored Enemy demonstrates that it is possible to write a novel of soldiers in a time of war without focusing almost
exclusively on the strategies, tactics and logistics of the war. To often, war novels seem to be treatises on how to conduct
a war, written with such detail that wargamers and reenactors could recreate every movement and death in the
book. Honored Enemy steers clear of this trap and is better for it, a novel that those who dislike warfare can enjoy.
If you're a fan of the Riftwar saga, reading Honored Enemy is a natural progression. If you haven't made an
acquaintance with Midkemia, Honored Enemy may not be the best place to start (that would be Magician), but you could
definitely read it without prior knowledge and get a feel for the series as a whole and see some interesting and good
character development.
Steven H Silver is a five-time Hugo Nominee for Best Fan Writer and the editor of the anthologies Wondrous Beginnings, Magical Beginnings, and Horrible Beginnings. He is the publisher of ISFiC Press. In addition to maintaining several bibliographies and the Harry Turtledove website, Steven is heavily involved in convention running and publishes the fanzine Argentus. |
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