A Darkness at Sethanon
core novel 1986 Riftwar Cycle
Record
| First published | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.20 (73,374 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| Page count | 527 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-385-19215-0 |
| First-edition date | 1986-03 |
| Internal chronology | 7 |
Synopsis
A Darkness at Sethanon is the third novel in the Riftwar Saga and follows directly from Silverthorn as Murmandamus, a new leader of the Dark Brotherhood, gathers the forces of the moredhel and launches a full invasion of the Kingdom of the Isles, beginning with the fall of the city of Armengar. His true goal is to reach the Lifestone, an artifact of immense power hidden beneath the town of Sethanon, which he intends to use to annihilate life and resurrect the ancient Valheru lords. As the invasion advances, Prince Arutha fakes his own death in order to travel north and confront the approaching army, while Pug and Tomas search for the sorcerer Macros the Black, believing his knowledge is essential to stopping Murmandamus before the invading forces converge on Sethanon.
Where it sits
- Universe: Riftwar Cycle
- Series: The Riftwar Saga core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Raymond E. Feist
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1987: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 10.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Riftwar Saga: position 3 of 3: previous Silverthorn (1985)
- Internal chronology, within Riftwar Cycle: position 7 of 30: previous Silverthorn (1985) · next Servant of the Empire (1990)
Sources
- Crydee.com, Official Raymond E. Feist site
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Riftwar_Cycle
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Darkness_at_Sethanon
- https://www.sfadb.com/Raymond_E_Feist
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