Fantasy Aficionados discussion

Okay my question is:
Has anyone read the series Riftwar?
I've heard that the first 2 are good as well as the Empire Trilogy. So can I skip 3 and 4 in Riftwar?
(I have OCD so I may not be able to anyway but I have to try if its not necessary to read them)


Riftwar Saga:
1 Magician: Apprentice and Magician
2 Magician: Master
3 Silverthorn
4 A Darkness at Sethanon

Empire Trilogy:
Daughter of the Empire
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire

I've read the Riftwar Saga, but not the Empire trilogy, so I can't help you. :(

That's okay Jason. Thanks anyway. :)

I have the Riftwar Saga in ebook format if anyone is interested.

Didn't Janny Wurts write the Empire trilogy? If so, she is a Goodreads author. She's an avid member to another fantasy group around here. I imagine that she'd write you back if you sent her a pm regarding your question.

This is on my list to read.

http://www.crydee.com/raymond-feist/book-synopsis/daughter-of-the-empire

No this Empire Trilogy is by Raymond E. Feist as well.
That's is his websites above.

I am in the process of acquiring the Empire Trilogy on ebook as well. :)

Does the Empire Trilogy feature Pug too? It's been so long since I've read the Riftwar saga I've forgotten everything except his name. And the "get through the door" test at the magician's academy.

I am not sure I haven't read this series yet but a friend of mine recommended it to me awhile back and I am just now around to getting it.

Has anyone read The Serpent War Sega? That was an awesome series, too!

Read all those two series and some people do say the last two are skipable in the riftwar series but to be honest those were my more memorable reads, it depends on which characters you get attached to in the books, if you like Arutha and James carry on with Silverthorn, a Darkness at Sethanon is a strange one for some people because of the journey that Pug and Tomas take which features a lot in the book and is rather a deeper look at Feist's world also Arutha and Martin go on a loosely related adventure which comes together for the finale. Maybe read the first two and come back to the series later, I read pretty much all the books in the wrong order apart from the Empire series.

I think the Empire series was partly or all co-wrote with Janny Wurts, Pug is mainly a part of history for the Empire because of his leaving do, but he does I think have a bit part in the last book.

Just figured I'd mention this to anyone interested.. We're currently doing a read of the Riftwar series in Fantasy Book Club Series... Before you think this is a group promotion, it's really not! I just have to mention it for all of the Feist fans out there. Raymond E. Feist himself is actually hanging around and doing a Q&A with us, it's pretty awesome to be able to interact with the man himself. So if anyone has any questions for him... Feel free to sneak over and throw them out there :)

It would probably help if I posted the link to the Q&A, in case anyone wants to check it out :P

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

thanks Dawn! I have a copy of Magician: Apprentice that I haven't finished (or shall we say started?) yet.

Awesome! Thanks, Dawn. I joined because they are currently reading the Malazan books, of which I'm currently tackling as well.

I would love to reread the Riftwar Saga again. I mean I would LOVE to, but my reading schedule is bogged down pretty thick. Who knows, though....

Well we're only doing one a month, and they are pretty quick reads... Hehe :)

It will be awesome when we get to the Empire books co-written with Janny Wurts (which I haven't read yet), because we'll have both of them around for Q&A. Love it!

I really like how they're set up for their monthly reads. It's very organized so that people can comment on the book at the same spots.

But now I have a dilemma concerning the Malazan books. It was my plan to read the entire series, if I enjoyed it enough, starting now, with the second book. After the second book I was going to reread Gardens and then move on to the third. But this group is reading the series and I'd really like to participate, so it looks like I'm going to have to put the second book down for the first...LOL.

It is neat the way they are breaking it up. I'm leading the Riftwar discussion, and I'm not nearly as organized as that. But Riftwar isn't nearly as complicated as Malazan, so I feel like a looser format works for it.

Just FYI - the Riftwar books start on the 1st of each month, and Malazan on the 15th. So they're reading Malazan number one from 2/15 to 3/15, and then number two after that.. So on and so forth. Just thought I'd clarify :)

I might fit in the Riftwar book's too, then. It's been something like 20 years since I read them and I've been wanting to reread them for a long time.

It hasn't been quite so long since I read them, but this is my first reread and I'm really enjoying it. Feist was one of the first fantasy authors I ever read, so he holds a special place in my heart :)

He was my first. Feist is the reason I love fantasy so much!

Ah sad. I've read every book Feist has written and loved the Riftwar saga but I think his works have steadily gone down in quality over the years. It's kind of strange as most authors really grow into their own over the years but Feist, in my opinion, has done quite the opposite. I still have a definite soft spot for his early works though.

I feel the same way, Grant.. I still read them, but it's definitely nowhere near how good it was in the beginning.

I know...it kind of depresses me. I Really loved alot of his characters ya know? Pug and Jimmy were just awesome. Having an author who disappoints you as time goes on is just kind of rough, ya know? It's like watching an athlete age. You remember their glory days when they were amazing and kind of wince when you see the shadows they've become. *sigh* poor Shaq.

Yeah.. I really wish he would create a new world, step outside of the Midkemia box.. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Oh well, at least I have to old favorites to reread I guess!

Feist's books were pivotal in my love of fantasy. His characters seemed to jump off the page at you. If you have not read the Empire Series I highly recommend it. It is one of my favorite re-reads.

That being said, I wish he would move beyond Midkemia too - I think his talent for world building is amazing. And I would love to see what else he can come up with.

By the way, Have any of you read his book Fairie Tale? As far as I know it's his only book outside of Midkemia - and it too is a very good book.

I read Fairie Tale, and from what I remember I liked it.. Didn't love it, but still definitely liked it. But truth be told, I barely remember it now. I think there were a couple parts that weirded me out, but that might have just been because when I read Feist I read everything right in a row, and Fairie Tale afterward. It was so vastly different than I expected based on everything else!

It was totally different - that's what I loved about it. I don't know what happened to my copy - but I'd love to re-read it.

I have been debating getting his latest series, I love him as an author - but I'm afraid he can't top Jimmy the Hand or Arutha or even Mara and Kevin. :(

slightly off topic: re worldbuilding

Have any of you read The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of the Belgariad and the Malloreon? It's not a story but rather the details on how Eddings created his world. It was pretty interesting reading to me.

No I haven't. I might need to pick it up though. I'm still working on collecting the Malloreon. Though I have read the Belgariad series twice. And I did enjoy their world.

As a novice writer myself - I am always fascinated by anyone who can build a world of their own. My world - is "getting there" lol.

I read the first of the Demonwar Saga, and will read the other two as well, but I'm not in a rush. It was ok, but nothing near his original work.

Mmhmm. I've read all Eddings works as well. The Rivan Codex was a tough read for me. It was interesting but I think it would turn off casual readers. I enjoyed The Redemption of Althalus (tho many didn't) but I absolutely despised The Younger Gods series. Belgariad, however, was classic! Loved it

I enjoyed Althalus - but partly because it felt like a 1 book version of the belgariad and the mallorean all rolled into one. I do manage to read it and the belgariad at least once a year, though.

The Rivan Codex...you're right. It's not for a casual reader. I didn't read it straight however. I do like to thumb through it while reading the Belgariad sometimes. *shrug* I'm a nerd. :)

Oh. My. God. The Younger Gods series was HORRIBLE. Soooo unspeakably horrible. Terrible. Atrocious even.

Grant wrote: "Mmhmm. I've read all Eddings works as well. The Rivan Codex was a tough read for me. It was interesting but I think it would turn off casual readers. I enjoyed [book:The Redemption of Althalus|1106..."

Ha! I think we're all nerds here, MrsJoseph!

*big grin* That's why I feel so comfortable.

Ok, so I'll spill it. My husband and I went out for lunch today. As we're sitting there this guy comes in holding a book, The Serpent Bride. Of course, since I've never read it I'm all over this book. He sets the book down on the table and I'm like "Umm, excuse me, sir. Umm, if you don't mind, er..." LOL!

He looked at me, laughed, and handed me the book. Not sure if I'm going to read it (Sara Douglass has never done it for me) but I'm glad he wasn't scared of the strange lady drooling over his freshly bought book. :-)

LOL @ MrsJoseph

MrsJoseph wrote: "slightly off topic: re worldbuilding

Have any of you read The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of the Belgariad and the Malloreon? It's not a story but rather the details on how Eddings ..."

no, but i'm reading Lost Encyclopedia. i suppose that's even more off-topic!

:-)

I've read everything Riftwar I know about. The 1st 2 are the best, especially Empire which is one of the best trilogies in Fantasyland, IMO. From there they are up and down. Some of the single books I really enjoyed, Jimmy the Hand, eg. I like the universe and want to revisit.

Leighann wrote: "No I haven't. I might need to pick it up though. I'm still working on collecting the Malloreon. Though I have read the Belgariad series twice. And I did enjoy their world.

As a novice writer mysel..."

The Malloreon is just as good as the Belgariad. The two series with Sparhawk are very good too.

My favorite of Feist has been with Mara. I've also enjoyed most of the rest of his though too.

I read the Riftwar and the Empire series back in the 90's. I must have liked Riftwar enough to continue on to Empire.

MrsJoseph, that if freaking hilarious!

Legsoffury wrote: "I read the Riftwar and the Empire series back in the 90's. I must have liked Riftwar enough to continue on to Empire.

MrsJoseph, that if freaking hilarious!"

;-) I'm a strange kind of girl.

The first 2 books in Riftwar are the best but the last 2 are the climax in the series and are thus needed to finish the war. Serpentwar are good but with different main characters. As mentioned above, I like the Servant series best because of the political intrigue and manueverings. I also enjoyed the ones with Talon the Silverhawk and his sword fighting abilities. A lot of the singles he has are based on previous series. I have the ones about Krondor to read but they are supposed to revolve around the city from the Riftwar series. The ones with Jimmy the Hand are also from the Riftwar series. There are two based on the families of the characters from Serpentwar. I've heard that after Exile's Return (right after King of Foxes with Talon the Silverhawk) goes downhill from there. I still have Flight of the Nighthawks to read as well and it's not supposed to be as good as the originals. Just my two cents.

I really enjoyed The Serpent War Saga. I thought it was right up there with Riftwar.

I really liked both the Serpentwar and the Conclave of the Shadows series, IMO it started going downhill fast with the Darkwar series.

You pretty much nailed it on the head Dawn

But FWIW, I've heard that his newest, A Kingdom Besieged, is one of the best books he's written in years. I'm actually looking forward to reading it! That's a feeling I haven't felt in a while... I just have to finish up one more in the previous series first, and then I'll be all over it.

I hadn't heard anything about it. I'll check them out, Dawn. Thanks for the heads up!

I loved Faerie Tale. It's the only Feist I've read, because I don't want to get into giant epic sagas (and I'm not really into that kind of fantasy any more, anyway.) Why can't these authors write more standalone novels??