Into a Dark Realm is the second book in Raymond Feist’s, Darkwar Saga. The first book is titled Flight of the Nighthawks with the third, and final book of this trilogy, titled Wrath of a Mad God. What started with the first book in the Riftwar Saga, Magician: Apprentice, and continued on in the Serperntwar Series, with more in the Serpentwar Saga, and the Conclave of Shadows Trilogy, is now in the latest installment of the world and characters. If you are even remotely considering reading this novel, and have not yet read all the previous novels, you really need to go back and start at the beginning. There are so many things that are alluded to, talked about, and consequences of, that if you do not have that previous knowledge base you may be hopelessly lost and confused.

With that said, the plot, or more aptly, plots of this book carries over right from the previous novel. There are three basic plots of this book. First, there is Pug and his group seeking to find more information about a dire threat facing the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. The second plot revolves around a new character on a new world and the actions he undertakes to come into his own and fit in on his ruthless world. The third plot line, features returning characters Jommy, Tad and Zane and the things the Conclave asks them to do in order to be prepared down the road. Being a fan of Mr. Feist’s previous work, I was really looking forward to this book and how it would progress the story. However, after finishing the novel I was rather disappointed by the story and plots. For one, the only plot I was really interested in was the Jommy, Tad, and Zane plot. That held my interest. However, the other two I really could care less about. It seemed to merely be repeated plot lines from past books. An evil threatens Pug’s world, he assembles a band of peoples and goes to fight it. With the talent Mr. Feist has shown over the years, this was very disappointing. I had to stop myself several times from merely skimming chapters until I got to a Jommy/Tad/Zane scene. The magic of Mr. Feist’s writing, is just not here in this book.

The characters are almost exclusively characters we have seen before in past novels. Pug, Miranda, Caleb, Nakor, Bek, Jommy, Tad, Zane, et. al. One benefit of being able to carryover characters is that Mr. Feist does not have to expend copious amounts of words to set them up. The reader knows what to expect and where the character is at in terms of development. With that said, if you are looking for character development for any of the major characters, aside from Jommy, Tad, and Zane, you will be greatly disappointed. Bek does have some development, but nothing that will make the reader say wow. Pug remains the ultra powerful character and Nakor remains enigmatic. As I was reading, I kept waiting for some development and I was continually disappointed. I am just thankful Jommy and gang were in this novel, or I may not have finished it.

Some things I did not care for with this novel were:

As I said above, the seemingly repetitive plot involving Pg running around to save the world(s) from the next great evil. With as rich and detailed as Mr. Feist’s world is, one would think there would be more plot diversity here.

Also, there is a ‘twist’ at the end of the novel that literally made me groan and almost throw the book across the room. It is quite clear from this novel that Mr. Feist has fallen in love with some of his characters and as such will not harm them or kill them off when it benefits the story. Sometimes, characters have to die, and stay dead for that matter. There is little surprise anymore when people keep popping up or running rampant through grave situations.

Lastly, when all is said and done, the basic story arc, is not really moved ahead that much from where the book started. It seems like this novel was a short story puffed up into that of a three hundred plus page novel.

The only real positives I see in this novel are:

Mr. Feist’s prose is still engaging, interesting, and easy to read. I have always felt comfortable reading his work. Like putting on an old pair of jeans. You know how they will fit.

Secondly, as I mentioned above, the three characters of Jommy, Tad, and Zane. They kept parts of this novel interesting and made me want to learn more about them and what they were up to. Sadly, they were the only characters in the novel I felt that way about.

I will certainly read Wrath of a Mad God, but if it is anything like this novel, it may very well be my last Feist novel I read involving these characters. For fans of Mr. Feist’s work who have stuck it out this long, I am sure you will want to read this book, if for no other reason then to get one book closer to finishing the story. For people who have not read Feist’s work, seriously start with Magician: Apprentice and work your way up and see if/when you feel like stopping reading his novels. It seems the last couple of novels penned by Mr. Feist have been hit or miss, and that is disappointing. I believe Mr. Feist needs to get back to the roots of what made his work so special in the first place and not all this multiple planes of existence stuff.