Silverthorn

Infobox Book |
name = Silverthorn
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = "Silverthorn" first edition cover.
author = Raymond E. Feist
illustrator =
cover_artist = Kinuko Y. Craft
country = United States
language = English
series = "The Riftwar Saga"
subject =
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Doubleday
pub_date = May 7, 1985
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 352 pp "(first edition)"
isbn = ISBN 038519210X
oclc =
preceded_by = Magician
followed_by = A Darkness at Sethanon

"Silverthorn" is the sequel to Raymond E. Feist's Magician. Released in 1985 it was later followed by the final book in the "The Riftwar Saga", A Darkness at Sethanon.

Plot

A year after Lyam's coronation, Arutha returned to his city as the new Prince of Krondor, to begin plans for his wedding. He met a young thief, the very same Jimmy the Hand who had aided his escape from the city with Princess Anita, who now warned him that there would be an attempt on his life. Arutha bought the cooperation of Krondor's powerful and highly organized guild of thieves, the Mockers, to obtain more information on the assassins. Setting a trap, they captured two agents, who were revealed to be from the temple of Lims-Kragma, Goddess of Death. During interrogation, both prisoners willed themselves to death rather than divulge their plans. As the High Priestess of Lims-Kragma sought the truth from beyond the grave, one of the prisoner rose as a creature of the dead and begin slaughtering many royal guards, addressing Arutha as "Lord of the West" before being destroyed.

Injured in the attack, the High Priestess warned Arutha that the forces which opposed him were so powerful that they held the gods in contempt. Regardless, Arutha proceeded with his wedding. Another assassination attempt was foiled by Jimmy the Hand, but the poisoned bolt struck Anita.

With scant clues and a race against time for an antidote, Arutha led a party to the one place where any question may be answered, the great library at Sarth Abbey. Undeterred by Sarth's mighty defenses, two separate attacks were made with powerful sorcery, and both were barely repulsed. However, Arutha found that the poison was made by a rare plant, silverthorn, and that he must journey to the elves of Elvandar.

Now warned that Arutha's foes were formidable magicians, Pug asked the aid of one of his island's resident scryer. The vision of the future revealed a dark entity, speaking in ancient Tsurani, and was even capable of perceiving the scryer past the barriers of time and probability. With that knowledge, Pug recreated the rift to Kelewan, and with two companions, went to find out more about the enemy they face.

In Elvandar, the elven Spellweavers revealed that the silverthorn plant grew only around the lake Moraelin, in moredhel-held territory. Nevertheless, Arutha and his band sneaked past sentries, picked several silverthorn shrubs, and made their escape, barely escaping a moredhel general and his horde of undead Black Slayers.

In Kelewan, Pug and his companions were captured in ambush by Great Ones of the Assembly of Magicians for his role in the destruction of the Imperial Arena a year ago. Tortured by Tsurani inquisitors, his Greater Path magic neutralized, Pug turned to Lesser Path magic, becoming the first magician ever to master both paths besides Macros the Black. Gaining time, he explained his reasons to the Emperor, and was given reprieve to continue his search in the Assembly's vast libraries. Following a clue, Pug travelled to the northern wastelands of Kelewan, and discovered a lost race of people living in a forest under the ice.

With the antidote made by the elven Spellweavers, Anita was saved, and Arutha's enemies set back by the death of one of their generals. But the leader of the moredhel, Murmandamus, vowed that in a year, the long-awaited invasion into the Kingdom would commence.

Use in Other Fiction

Since its release, the term 'Silverthorn' has been adopted to describe any book in a series (although typically the middle book of a trilogy) that has served little purpose other than to set up a climax in the final book. This term can also be applied to a similar phenomenon in film or television series. This style of book typically has little overall substance, and is often quite poor when compared to the other books in the series.