hard to believe that I've never read any of Feist's novels but it's true. I'm interested in starting the Riftwar series. Which is the first book (our what book should I start with)?
Magician Apprentice would be the first book I would read followed by the rest of the Riftwar series.
Teh Riftwar Saga
Magician : Apprentice
Magician : Master
Silverthorn
A Darkness at Sethanon
Teh Riftwar Saga
Magician : Apprentice
Magician : Master
Silverthorn
A Darkness at Sethanon
I highly recommend co-currently reading
Daughter of the Empire
Servent of the empire
Mistress of th empire
At what point does Heir of the Blood fit in?
I honestly do not know. I never did get to any of his other books. R/L stuff at the time and right now I am in the middle of a few books. But I will start to read some more of his books soon.
At what point does Heir of the Blood fit in?
after Darkness at Sethanon..set in same world but 17 years later..
The Riftwar Saga sets the stage.
Magician: Apprentice
Magician: Master
Silverthorn
Darkness at Sethanon
Running concurrently to the Riftwar series, but showing the Tsurani Point of View is the Empire Trilogy written by Janny Wurts + Raymond Fiest. Personally I wasn't a fan of this.
Currently there is a set of novels written by other authors set during the Riftwar. I've read the first two in this Legends of the Riftwar[b] series, and its ok, but I'd read the other stuff first and come back to it.
There was also the [b]Krondor trilogy, which was probably the weakest of Feist's work. Still not bad, but again, I'd come back and read it after if you want stories about James/Jimmy of Krondor and William don Coin, two of the characters from the Riftwar. *I seem to remember reading that Feist got divorced around the time these ones were coming out, which might explain why they were a little weak compared to the novels before and after.
After the Riftwar ends, the main storyline shoots forward 17 years, in what I kinda refer to as the Transition novels, which introduce some new characters, as well as showcase some of the younger (and older) characters from the Riftwar all grown up. And lastly, they showcase the three sons of the Arutha from the Riftwar.
Prince of the Blood & The King's Bucaneer.
Events revealed in the King's Bucaneer lead into the Serpent War[b] series of 4 books, which takes place around 10 years (? maybe a few more) from the Transition novels.
? (Can't remember the name of the first one, <something> of a Dark Queen?)
Rise of a Merchant Prince
Rage of a Demon King
Shards of a Broken Crown
Then it goes into the [b]Conclave of Shadows[b] novels, which are at least 20 years after the Serpent War... maybe 40 years going by Erik von Darkmoor's age when he re-appears.
Talon of the Silver Hawk
Prince of Foxes (? I could have the title wrong on this one)
Exile's Return
The events in Exile's Return lead into the next series, [b]The Darkwar, however, I don't remember the titles of these last 2 books. But they were pretty good.
All in all, its a pretty grand tapestry of fantasy that stretches over a hundred years, although some of the characters (immortal mages and the like) are constant, others come and go. Or die. Or spawn (literally) progeny to populate new novels.
I'd reccomend it. If you like the Riftwar already, it only gets better as you read further into it.
I've never been able to get past the first page of anything he's written except Faerie Tale. This book is among my very favorite, and gets read about every other year or so, just around September-October. It's Fey-meets-20th Century rural NY. Just a wonderful book.
Faerie Tale is probably his best single book, Midkemia or otherwise. I'd highly reccomend it to anyone who likes fantasy or a little Stephen King-esque lite Horror.
There was also the Krondor trilogy, which was probably the weakest of Feist's work. Still not bad, but again, I'd come back and read it after if you want stories about James/Jimmy of Krondor and William don Coin, two of the characters from the Riftwar. *I seem to remember reading that Feist got divorced around the time these ones were coming out, which might explain why they were a little weak compared to the novels before and after.
That might explain it. While I was reading those, I became quite convinced they were written by someone else--a no-talent hack using Feist's name--kind of like there's a building full of people now writing books by "Robert Ludlum (TM)." Dunno.
There was also the Krondor trilogy, which was probably the weakest of Feist's work. Still not bad, but again, I'd come back and read it after if you want stories about James/Jimmy of Krondor and William don Coin, two of the characters from the Riftwar. *I seem to remember reading that Feist got divorced around the time these ones were coming out, which might explain why they were a little weak compared to the novels before and after.That might explain it. While I was reading those, I became quite convinced they were written by someone else--a no-talent hack using Feist's name--kind of like there's a building full of people now writing books by "Robert Ludlum (TM)." Dunno.
The other thing about the Krondor books is that they are based on a series of PC computer games, which Feist then cannibalized to turn into novels, since he wanted to incorporate the storyline back into the "main continuity" novels. Basically he introduced Sidi when he wrote the outlines for the games, and years later wanted to use him in the Conclave of Shadows/Darkwar novels, so.... plus since James is supposed to be such a badass rogue turned spy turned major political leader... it made since to give him some story time, rather than focus on Pug, Tomas and the other heavy hitters.
Anyways, you can totally see some of the computer RPG cliches/conventions in the novels, like fetch and retrieve sidequests, etc
Faerie Tale is an excellent read. Possibly his best book..
Absolutely. Ironically, I thought the Empire series was better than the original Midkemia books. It felt more unique and less like a D&D game given novel form. Not that that's a bad thing, but I think the two media are different. I liked the culture in Empire a great deal - although often harsh and difficult, it felt unique and developed.