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April 2008 ~ Issue One of BooksMonthly ~ Return to the Cover page |
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RAYMOND E FEIST FEATURE ARTICLE |
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Feist has a new book out this month, the final book in the DARKWAR SAGA, entitled WRATH OF A MAD GOD, published almost simultaneously by Voyager in the UK and the EOS imprint of Harper Collins in the United States. It's a terrific book, a great ending to the trilogy, and my SF/Fantasy book of the month for April. Read about Feist in this feature article.Raymond Elias Feist (born 1945, Los Angeles, California) is an American
author, mostly
specialising in fantasy fiction.
Biography
Raymond E. Feist was born in
1945 in Los
Angeles, and was raised in Southern California. He was born with the
surname Gonzales, before being adopted by Felix
E. Feist. He graduated with a B.A. in
Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San
Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who
would be a magician; he wrote the novel two years later, and it was published
in 1982 by Doubleday. Feist currently lives in San Diego
with his children, where he collects fine wine, DVDs, and books on a
variety of topics of personal interest: wine, biographies, history, and,
especially, the history of American
Professional Football.
Bibliography
Midkemia and Kelewan
Many of his works have been
set in the interconnected worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. Midkemia was originally created as an alternative to the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) role-playing
game. When Feist studied at the University of California, San Diego, he and his friends created
a new role-playing game based on the world of Midkemia. They
called themselves the Thursday Nighters, because they played the
Midkemia role-playing game every Thursday evening. After some time, when the
group changed and began meeting on Fridays, they became known as the Friday
Nighters. The original group have since formed a company called Midkemia
Press, which has continued publishing campaigns set in Midkemia. The Riftwar Saga The Riftwar Saga was the first
trilogy written by Raymond E. Feist. The books take place on the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.
Also formerly published under
the title Pug and Tomas and also published in two parts in 1992: 1. Magician: Apprentice 2. Magician: Master
The Empire Trilogy
Main article: Empire
Trilogy The Empire Trilogy
(co-authored by Janny Wurts) are set entirely in Kelewan. The
Empire and Riftwar Trilogies occur simultaneously. One major Riftwar character
('Pug'/'Milamber') appears briefly. The
series has a much stronger focus on intrigue and political maneuvering than the
former series.
Legends of the Riftwar
The Legends of the Riftwar is
set during the Riftwar, and occasionally feature "cameo
appearances" by favourite characters belonging to the co-author
(except for Murder in LaMut where the "guest" characters are
in the thick of the action).
Coauthor: William R. Forstchen
Coauthor: Joel
Rosenberg
Coauthor: S. M.
Stirling Riftwar Legacy
The Riftwar Legacy is set
about ten years after the Riftwar trilogy, and are based upon the storyline
featured in the PC games Betrayal at Krondor and Return to
Krondor.
Due to some copyright
difficulties regarding the rights to the storyline within the Riftwar Legacy,
these two books have been unable to be released, and on his mailing list, Feist
has said that it is unlikely that they ever will be, or, if they are, they
would likely be released as a single novel. Krondor's Sons
Main article: Krondor's
Sons Krondor's Sons feature many of
the characters from the Riftwar trilogy and are set 20-30 years later. They
revolve around the sons of Arutha,
the prince of Krondor,
and set the stage for The Serpentwar Saga.
The Serpentwar Saga
The Serpentwar Saga is set
about five decades after the Riftwar trilogy.
Conclave of Shadows
The Conclave of Shadows, while
set in Midkemia,
is geographically separated from the earlier books and connect only peripherally
as yet. Additionally, they are set approximately 30-50 years past the time of
the Serpentwar.
Darkwar Saga
Main article: Darkwar
Saga The Darkwar Saga will be one
of the final sagas about Midkemia, covering the 3rd Riftwar. Future
series will be set in Midkemia between this series and the 4th Riftwar (which
will only be one or two books long), depending partly on interest from publishers.
The 4th and 5th riftwars will be named Demonwar and Chaoswar respectively.
Other works
Computer games
Betrayal at Krondor
The computer game company Dynamix, a
division of Sierra On-line, released a critically acclaimed
computer game based on Feist's Riftwar series: Betrayal at Krondor. There are no real
"quests" in a traditional way - the featured characters in the story
do not gain experience to "level" up, but instead they are awarded by
equipment, money, information, spell books. They enhance their abilities by
using them, and as time passes. The events in Betrayal at Krondor are told in
the book Krondor:
The Betrayal. The game was released in 1993
and was re-released as freeware by Sierra when Return to Krondor was published. Return to Krondor
Sierra
On-Line released another computer game set in Raymond E. Feist's Midkemia. Return
to Krondor occurs a few months after the previous game, Betrayal at Krondor. It was released in 1998.
The story focuses around Squire James and his journey to save the Tear of the
Gods from the murderous villain Bear and the evil mage Sidi. The events in the
game are retold in the novel Krondor:
Tear of the Gods. Midkemia
Online
Most recently, Iron Realms Entertainment have announced
their plans to make a MUD
based in Midkemia. The project, dubbed "Midkemia Online" has no
official release date, however it is hoped to be released in 2008. Comic book adaptations
In 2005, A comic book
adaptation of The Wood Boy, a short story Feist had written for the
anthology Legends was produced by Dabel Brothers Productions. It was in
two parts, the second of which was never published. (Though it was later
produced in trade paperback form with another adaptation from Legends,
Tad
Williams' The Burning Man.) Soon afterwards, an adaptation of Magician
was released. DBP since has entered a publishing agreement with Marvel Comics,
which is now publishing the adaptation of Magician: Apprentice in it's
entirety, and the first six issues have been released as a graphic novel
hardcover. After almost one year of collaboration, DBP and Marvel parted ways,
with all the books, including Magician, being retained by Marvel. External links
Writing
Games
The Riftwar Saga is a series of fantasy novels by Raymond
E. Feist.
Works in the Series
Magician
Main article: Magician (novel) Magician was first published in 1982. It is the first book of the
Riftwar trilogy or Saga. It led to many books written by Feist in the world of Midkemia, which
was the setting for this book. Originally reduced in size by his editors, it
was re-published (after the author's fame grew) with the omitted text restored.
Magician is now published in two volumes in the USA: Magician:
Apprentice (ISBN
0-553-56494-3) and Magician: Master (ISBN
0-553-56493-5). The book is still published as a single volume Magician
(ISBN
0-586-21783-5) in the UK. Silverthorn
Main article: Silverthorn Silverthorn is the sequel to Magician and was released in
1985. A Darkness at Sethanon
Main article: A Darkness at Sethanon A Darkness
at Sethanon (1986) details how
Murmandamus, a new prince of the Dark Brotherhood, marshals the forces of the
Moredhel and invades the kingdom, with the intent of finding the Lifestone, a
powerful relic with which he will be able to destroy every living thing in the
world, so as to resurrect the Valheru Lords of old. Only Pug and Tomas can stop
this new evil, thereby ending the Riftwar. The Empire
Trilogy is a collaboration between Raymond
E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Written from a female perspective, it
traces the story of Mara of the Acoma's rise to power from a convent novitiate to
the most powerful woman on Kelewan. These three books are contemporary to the original Riftwar
Saga and feature some crossover characters, mainly from Magician
(Pug, the protagonist of Magician, appears twice in Servant of the
Empire). Mara struggles to rule her family after her father and brother are
killed in a trap by the Minwanabi, one of the most powerful families. Mara
quickly learns how to play the Game of the Council with skill and challenges
the binding traditions of her world. Despite many requests from
fans, both authors have ruled out any further novels featuring these
characters.
Novels
Daughter of the Empire
In the first book, Mara
becomes Lady of the Acoma after her Father and brother are murdered. She tries
to survive and learn how to wield the reins of power. This book is about her
personal growth from child to adult, from subject to ruler. This is an
introductory novel to the world and to Mara. As such, it focuses on the inner
workings of a Great House. She recruits Grey Warriors -
warriors who have been shamed and were traditionally outcast - to refill the
decimated ranks of the Acoma. She makes an alliance with the cho-ja, an
insectoid species. Mara also arranges a political marriage with one of her
family's enemies, the Anasati. Given a choice between the second and third son,
she makes the surprising choice of the third one, Buntokapi, who is generally
seen as incompetent and brutish; especially when compared with his older
brothers. Buntokapi soon proves to be both an abusive husband and an inept
ruling lord. Later in the book, Mara arranges the death of Buntokapi after she
becomes pregnant. Her first born child is a son named Ayaki. By the end of the
book, Mara has secured her family from immediate destruction and gotten revenge
by contriving the 'honourable' suicide of Lord Jingu of the Minwanabi - her
Father & brother's effective murderer. Servant of the Empire In the second novel, Mara
battles the Minwanabi again. Though Servant of the Empire continues to
chronicle Mara's rise to power, it also takes a deeper look at Tsurani society.
There is a more revolutionary approach to the story. Though Mara challenged her
society's norms in Daughter of the Empire, she is still a product of her
culture and doesn't question many of her beliefs and actions. In Servant of
the Empire, those beliefs are shaken by Kevin of Zun,
a Midkemian slave she buys. He becomes her lover and acts as a catalyst for
Mara's growth. Just as Mara learns that she is pregnant with Kevin's child, the
Emperor orders all Midkemian slaves to return to their home world. Mara gives
birth to her second child, Justin, after Kevin has left Kelewan. She learns to
not only be a great Lady of the Empire, but starts to take part in her nation's
politics. Mistress of the Empire In the last novel of the
series, Mara's actions in the first two books come back to haunt her. Although
revered by the general population as the Servant of the Empire, people whom she
had angered take revenge. Her son Ayaki is killed. A later attempt on her life
takes the life of her unborn child and leaves her able to only bear one more
child. Her last child, with her consort, Hokanu, is a daughter name Kasuma. The
revolution of Tsurani traditions and society is completed in this novel as the
Emperor is killed and Mara battles the Great Ones, a symbol of stagnation
within the Empire. Arakasi, Mara's
Spymaster, is focused upon more in this novel. The series ends with Mara
placing her twelve-year-old son, Justin, onto the Imperial throne. She acts as
his regent and is given the title Mistress of the Empire. She is
reunited with Kevin of Zun at the end. Krondor's
Sons are two novels by Raymond
E. Feist set in Midkemia, a fictional world. The two novels are set between
riftwars and explores Midkemia beyond the borders of the Kingdom of the Isles.
The main characters are the sons of Arutha
ConDoin, Prince of Krondor Prince of the Blood This novel is about Borric and
Erland conDoin's journey to the Empire of Great Kesh and their personal
growth. Twin sons to Arutha,
the Princes Borric and Erland have lived a life of relative luxury. Though well
educated and talented swordsmen, they spend their time brawling, gambling, and
disrupting their father's court. After the twins show no sign of maturity after
a year with the Border Lords, because Borric was Heir Presumptive to the throne
in Rillanon after the drowning of King Lyam's only son, Arutha decided that his
two sons could not afford the luxury of youth anymore. He sent them as
ambassadors to the Empire of Kesh for the Empress' Golden
Jubilee. Baron James (Jimmy
the Hand) and Baron Locklear accompany the twins. On the way to Kesh, the
embassy stops at Stardock. There James meets Gamina, Pug's adopted daughter and
they fall in love at first sight. James and Gamina wish to marry but need
Arutha's permission as well as giving his permission for the wedding to go
ahead Arutha promotes James to the rank of Earl. Gamina then joins the group as
they continue their journey south. Upon entering Kesh, Borric is
kidnapped by slavers. His companions believe that he has been killed and
sorrowfully continue onward to the capital. At the capital, the embassy is
introduced to imperial customs and meet the various people who form the Empire.
Erland enjoys an affair with the Empress' granddaughter, Princess Sharana,
while Locklear also pursues a relationship with the Empress' daughter, Princess
Sojiana. Later, after expressing unease about some of the things he had
learned, Locklear disappears and is accused of the murder of Sojiana. Meanwhile, Borric uncovers a
plot against the Empress and escapes from his captors. He travels from Durbin
to the capital city of Kesh, accumulating companions along the way including a
beggar boy, a mercenary named Ghuda Bule, and a trickster named Nakor. Ghuda and
Nakor feature prominently in following novels. Once in the capital, Borric,
with the help of Nakor and Ghuda, reveals the traitor within the Empire and
solves the mystery of Sojiana's murder. Tragically, however, Locklear is found
dead. The King's Buccaneer The King's Buccaneer features
Nicholas conDoin, third son of Prince
Arutha. Nicholas, as third son, was
third in the line of succession. However, due to his gentle nature and his
deformity, an underdeveloped left foot, his father, Prince Arutha, decided that
Nicholas would benefit from a rougher lifestyle than he was used to in Krondor.
Arutha sent Nicholas to stay with Martin, Duke of Crydee, Warden of the West,
and brother to Arutha and King Lyam. Nicholas is to learn what it means to not
be the son of the Prince of Krondor, and Arutha deems that Crydee, though twice
the size of when he was a prince in the keep there, is rough enough living to
make Nicholas learn to think for himself. Nicholas is accompanied by his
faithful squire Harry on the Royal Eagle, captained by Admiral Amos Trask to
the small town of Crydee. However, about a month, the towns of Crydee, Carse,
and Tulan are attacked by pirates, Tsuranni mercenaries, and Durbin slavers.
All three towns are destroyed. After the attack and kidnapping of Margaret,
daughter of Martin, Abigail, daughter of the Baron of Carse, and many others,
Nicholas, Trask, and Harry are accompanied by Marcus, the son of Martin, Calis,
son of Tomas and elf queen Aglaranna, the magicians
Nakor and Anthony, and Ghuda the mercenary to the island city of Freeport,
where Nicholas kills his first man, a pirate named Render. Through the death of
Render, and with the help of a girl thief named Brisa, they learn that the
captives were taken on a giant ship to the southwest. The crew of the Royal Eagle,
now named the Raptor, follows the captives across the Endless Sea with the help
of Anthony, who can sense the whereabouts of Margaret. After about two months
at sea, they spot the slave ship, and through magic, are first becalmed, and
then sunk. The survivors wash up on the shore of the continent of Novindus. The crew first must find a way
up the cliffs that surround the northeastern edge of Novindus. After a few
days, Calis, Marcus, and Nicholas are able to climb the cliffs. At the top is
an oasis, and the last water to be seen for miles. After some deliberation,
Nicholas decides to head southeast. After crossing the Hotlands,
Nicholas and company stumble upon a plot that appears to attempt to overthrow
the Overlord of the City of the Serpent River. However, it turns out that the
Overlord is a pawn of the wizard Dahakon and the Lady Clovis, who in turn take
their orders from the Pantathian Serpent Priests. After some time, Nicholas
makes contact with the clans of the City, Calis learns of the whereabouts of
the prisoners, and Nakor discovers the truth of the Overlord, Dahakon, and Lady
Clovis. Anthony makes a discovery in
the compound where the prisoners were held: the Pantathians had devised a magic
plague that would kill over half of the people in the Kingdom in an effort to
reach the Lifestone below Sethanon. The plague would be spread by copies of the
prisoners taken from the Far Coast. The prisoners were freed, an exact copy of
the Raptor was captured, and the journey home began. In the Bitter Sea, the sister
ship to the Royal Eagle, the Royal Gull, was overtaken and sunk. The Gull had
copies of prisoners still aboard. After the sinking of the Gull, a bireme
driven by the wizard Dahakon appeared, and Anthony summoned the magician Pug and the dragon Rianna to deal with
the evil necromancer. Retrieved
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krondor%27s_Sons" The Darkwar Saga is a series of fantasy novels by Raymond
E. Feist.
Concept
In the fantasy novels of
Feist, a Riftwar is war between two worlds that are connected by some
sort of dimensionless gap. In Feist's invented history there are several
riftwars. The first Riftwar between Midkemia and Kelewan is
described in the trilogy The
Riftwar Saga. This Saga is a continuation of Feist's preceding works
and so far suggests an upcoming, third riftwar. Raymond E. Feist has confirmed[1] that there
are five Riftwars in total. The Darkwar will be followed by the Demonwar
and Chaoswar. Works in the Series
Flight Of The Nighthawks Flight of
the Nighthawks describes the adventures of
two young boys, Tad and Zane, and their parent organization, the Conclave of
Shadows. This book picks up from Exile's Return (2004), the final book
in the preceding Conclave
of Shadows series by Feist. The book begins in the town of Stardock,
where the two boys have grown up with Marie, the mother of Tad, and
self-proclaimed mother of Zane. (Zane's parents died years earlier during an
attack by trolls on the town). Both boys have a tendency to get into trouble,
and when Marie's lover from her childhood, Caleb (son of the Magician Pug), comes back to Stardock, she begs
him to take the boys to be apprenticed. Caleb consents and travels with the
boys to The Empire of Great Kesh. Along the
journey they are ambushed by bandits and Caleb is fatally wounded. The magic of
his parents saves him but also links the boys to the Conclave of Shadows. As the plot unfolds the
Conclave hears of an impending conflict in the capital of Kesh. They discover
that the necromancer, Leso Varen, has entrenched himself and intends to use the
secret band of assassins, the Night Hawks, to cause chaos in Great Kesh. On the
eve of Banapis, the popular festival of the summer harvest, Varen reveals
himself (he has taken over the body of the current emperor of Kesh) and
attempts to kill the members of the royal court. He is stopped by the magicians
of the Conclave of Shadows, including Pug, Miranda, Pug's wife, and Magnus,
Pug's eldest son and Caleb's older brother. In the end Varen manages to escape
again through a rift into the world of Kelewan. Into a Dark Realm This book was published in the
UK in September 2006 (UK) and in the US in April 2007 (US). This book continues the
Darkwar saga and mostly concentrates on two groups of characters. The first
group consists of Pug, Magnus, Nakor and Ralan Bek who are attempting to reach
the Dasati home world. The main problem facing them is that the Dasati exist on
the Second Plane, a separate reality seen as one plane closer to the seventh
under-plane, known as hell (with the seventh upper-plane being heaven). The
second group consists of Tad, Zane and Jommy who are sent into training by the
Conclave of Shadows for their future as generals in the Conclave. The book also
reveals the purpose behind the Talnoy and the reasons for Macros hiding them on
Midkemia, (it is revealed that the Talnoy are the souls of 10,000 lost Dasati
Gods, banished after the Dasati Chaos Wars) preparing the scene for the final
book. This is very much an
intermediary book, setting up the scenarios for the final book in the trilogy
(although it could be argued the Conclave books make up a 6 book series). Pug
and his companions succeed in not only reaching the Dasati homeworld disguised
as Dasati Lessers, they also find allies working for the White (God of Good).
However, the main leader of the Dasati resistance known as the Gardener, whom
they meet is revealed to be none other than Macros
the Black. Wrath of a Mad God This book is now published. |
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