Raymond Feist

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Raymond Feist

Raymond Elias Feist (born December 23, 1945 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American writer of fantasy novels .

He studied at the University of San Diego and worked, among other things, as a photographer and game developer. With one exception, all of his books are based on the fantasy worlds Midkemia and Kelewan. The world of Midkemia was designed as a variation of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game by the so-called "Thursday Nighters", a group of students from the University of San Diego, from 1975 onwards. In 1977 the Midkemia Press was founded, which designed and published products for the Midkemia role play world. Finally, Feist took the world of Midkemia as the basis for an idea for a novel, which he realized in 1979 in his debut novel "Magician". Due to the rapid success of the books, the name Midkemia is now almost exclusively associated with the author Raymond Feist, even if he refers to the "true" inventors of the world Midkemia in numerous forewords to his books.

In the meantime, 27 books have been published in the Midkemia cycle, which were often divided in the German translation.

The Fissure War sagas

The history of the world of Midkemia contains a series of warlike conflicts with beings from other dimensions and worlds, who reached Midkemia through magical openings, so-called crevices. Wars that have been brought about or prepared from the crossings of enemy armies through such rifts are referred to as rift wars in the history of Midkemia. The story of Midkemia contains five such split wars, which Raymond Feist wants to tell chronologically in his books. In addition to the five sagas that describe the content of the five wars (War 1 through the Riftwar Saga, War 2 - Serpentwar Saga, War 3 - Darkwar Saga, War 4 - Demonwar Saga, War 5 - Chaoswar Saga) Feist written a number of other works that are settled between the wars and primarily serve for transition and character development. The sequence of the Split War sagas shown below is the chronological and only recommended reading order.

The Riftwar Saga (German: The Midkemia Saga)

The War of the Fissures saga reports the events of the First War of the Fissures and subsequent conflicts. The main focus is on the characters Pug and Tomas. These books mark the beginning of the Midkemia cycle.

Krondor's Sons (German: The Midkemia Chronicle)

The two volumes of the Krondor's Sons series deal with the experiences of the sons of the Prince of Krondors, Arutha. The books are relatively independent, but should be read after the "Riftwar Saga". Volume 2 also provides the introduction to the "Snake War Saga". A third volume in this series with the working title "Return of the Buccaneer" was originally planned, but Feist discarded it.

The Serpentwar Saga (German: The Snake War Saga)

The main characters of this saga, which takes place a few decades after the events of the Midkemia saga, are Erik von Finstermoor and Rupert Avery. Only the last two volumes concentrate more on the well-known characters of the Midkemia saga. The snake war is also known as the second war of fissures.

  • 1. Shadow of a dark Queen , William Morrow 1994, ISBN 0-688-12408-9
    • The snake war saga 1 + 2 (contains: The blood-red eagles and The emerald queen from 1997), Blanvalet 2006, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24401-3
      • Released in 2016 as a shadow queen
  • 2. Rise of a merchant Prince , HarperCollins 1995, ISBN 0-00-224148-X
    • The snake war saga 3 + 4 (contains: The Dealers of Krondor and The Feud of Krondor from 1997), Blanvalet 2006, translator Andreas Helweg, ISBN 3-442-24432-3
      • Released in 2018 as Lord of the Coins
  • 3. Rage of a demon King , Avon Books 1997, ISBN 0-380-97473-8
    • The snake war saga 5 + 6 (contains: The Return of the Black Magician and The Wrath of the Demon from 1997 & 1998), Blanvalet 2007, translator Andreas Helweg, ISBN 3-442-24461-7
      • Re-release 2018 as the Demon King
  • 4. Shards of a broken Crown , Avon Eos 1998, ISBN 0-380-97399-5
    • The snake war saga 7 + 8 (contains: The Shattered Crown and The Shadow of the Black Queen from 1999), Blanvalet 2008, translator Andreas Helweg, ISBN 3-442-24486-2
      • Released in 2019 as The Splintered Crown

Conclave of Shadows (German: The heirs of Midkemia 1–3)

Again a few decades after the events of the Snake War saga, this trilogy tells the story of Talon Silverhawk, but also revisits the characters who previously played a role and now serve the "Conclave of Shadows" or high positions in have the rich.

The Darkwar saga (German: The dark war of Midkemia 1–3, formerly: The heirs of Midkemia 4–6)

The Darkwar saga deals with the 3rd rift war in Midkemia. The saga connects directly to the events of the Conclave of Shadows and also draws on the characters of this trilogy.

The Demonwar Saga (German: not yet announced)

The Demonwar saga deals with the 4th split war in Midkemia. It takes place around twenty years after Wrath of a Mad God ended .

  • 1. Rides a Dread Legion , Voyager / HarperCollins 2009, ISBN 978-0-00-726468-1 (currently no German translation planned)
  • 2. At the Gates of Darkness , Voyager / HarperCollins 2009, ISBN 978-0-00-729021-5 (currently no German translation planned)

The Chaoswar Saga (German: not yet announced)

The Chaoswar saga deals with the 5th rift war in Midkemia. She completes the Midkemia cycle.

  • 1. A Kingdom Besieged , Voyager / HarperCollins 2011, ISBN 978-0-00-726476-6 (currently no German translation planned)
  • 2. A Crown Imperiled , Voyager / HarperCollins 2012, ISBN 978-0-00-726482-7 (currently no German translation planned)
  • 3. Magician's End , Voyager / HarperCollins 2012, ISBN 978-0-00-726479-7 (currently no German translation planned)

Other Midkemia series

In addition to the Sagas of the Split War, Raymond Feist has implemented a few other book projects around Midkemia and it cannot be ruled out that the author will continue to devote himself to some other projects apart from the main story in the future.

The Empire Trilogy (German: The Kelewan Saga)

The Kelewan books are written with the author Janny Wurts and describe the story of Mara, the only female protagonist in the Midkemia books. The books sometimes take place at the same time as the events of the Split War trilogy, which is why knowledge of these books is advantageous.

  • 1. Daughter of the Empire , Doubleday 1987, ISBN 0-385-23393-0
    • The Chosen One , Goldmann 1998, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24748-9
    • The moment of truth , Goldmann 1998, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24749-7
      • as an anthology The Kelewan Saga I , re-published in 2016 as a daughter of the empire
  • 2. Servant of the Empire , Doubleday 1990, ISBN 0-385-24718-4
    • The slave of Midkemia , Goldmann 1998, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24750-0
    • Zeit des Aufbruch , Goldmann 1998, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24751-9
      • as an anthology The Kelewan Saga II , republished in 2016 as a servant of the empire
  • 3. Mistress of the Empire , Doubleday 1992, ISBN 0-385-24719-2
    • The black robes , Goldmann 1998, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24752-7
    • Decision Day , Goldmann 1998, translator Susanne Gerold, ISBN 3-442-24753-5
      • as an anthology The Kelewan Saga III , re-published in 2016 as Mistress of the Empire

The Riftwar Legacy (German: The Krondor Saga)

The Krondor saga takes place between the books of the “Riftwar Saga” and the “Krondor's Sons” books and largely reproduces the plot of the two computer games. Volumes 4 and 5 with the titles "Krondor: the Crawler" and "Krondor: the Dark Mage" were planned to conclude the series. These two volumes were never published as a result of legal disputes with the publisher of computer games. Instead, Feist published the novella "Krondor: Jimmy and the Crawler" in 2013 as a short version of the planned books.

  • 1. Krondor: the Betrayal , Avon Eos 1998, ISBN 0-380-97715-X
    • The Magician's Conspiracy , Weltbild 2008, translator Susanne Gerold
  • * 2. Krondor: the Assassins , Voyager / HarperCollins 1999, ISBN 0-00-224695-3
    • In the labyrinth of shadows , Weltbild 2008, translator Susanne Gerold
  • 3. Krondor: Tear of the Gods , Voyager / HarperCollins 2000, ISBN 0-00-224680-5
    • The tears of the gods , Weltbild 2008, translator Tim Straetmann

Legends of the Riftwar (German: Die Legenden von Midkemia)

These three books are set at the time of the First Fissile War and are independent stories, but before which one should definitely read the first books of the Midkemia saga. The books were mainly written by co-authors, while Feist only did the pure story specification and the subsequent correction. Originally another volume with the working title "Murder at the Three Swords" was planned, which would have been a direct continuation of "Murder in LaMut". But the unconvincing sales of the books finally spoke against it. Further books are not planned for the time being, as Feist wants to concentrate on his solo work in the next few years.

Other works around Midkemia

Short stories in Midkemia

Raymond Feist has written two short stories for the Legends and Legends 2 short story collections, which are set at the time of the First Fissure War: The Wood Boy , 1998 (German: Der Holzjunge in Der Siebte Schrein ), and The Messenger , 2004 (German: Der Bote in Legends - The Secret of Otherland )

Chronicles of Pug

Together with Stephen Abrams brought out a book called Midkemia - Chronicles of Pug in 2013 , which is "partly a diary, partly an atlas" (Original: "Part journal, part atlas [...]"). It contains numerous illustrations of various scenes from the Midkemia novels, such as B. the fight scene between Tomas and Dolgan against the Wraith. In addition, there are maps and other illustrations and diary-style summaries of the events for each section.

Midkemia reading order

It is difficult to find the correct reading order for the Midkemia books. The order that Feist himself proposed to proceed after the books were published makes the most sense. If you want to start a quick “march through” through the history of the Split Wars, you can also reduce yourself to the Split War sagas and the books in between (the order of the books under the heading “The Split Wars Sagas”), with the “Heirs” at the latest von Midkemia ”allusions to the“ Krondor Saga ”can be found. A completely chronological reading order, on the other hand, does not make sense. The following schematic representation shows the interdependencies of the various Midkemia series:

Schematic representation of the various series of books by Raymond Feist

The graphic represents a simplified chronological sequence of the historiography of Midkemia. Books that are further down on the vertical plane of the graphic take place chronologically later than books that are listed above. The boxes each contain all the books in a row. If the titles are arranged normally in these boxes, the reading order given is recommended; if the titles are staggered, the reading order is arbitrary. The connecting lines in the graphic show the interdependencies of the different rows. Simple connecting lines mean that it makes sense to read the rows connected to the row under consideration before reading the corresponding row (this means all rows that are in the graphic Above the row under consideration), as there are close connections between the individual rows in terms of content, which greatly facilitate reading comprehension. For example, before reading the “Serpentwar Saga”, at least the “Riftwar Saga” and the “Krondor's Son's” series should be read. Connecting lines with an arrow represent less significant dependencies. Rows to which a connecting line with an arrow points can be read independently, but reading the row from which the connecting line with an arrow starts is recommended in order to ensure complete understanding. For example, it is advantageous to read the “Riftwar Saga” before reading the “Empire Trilogy”.

APE issues

Feist wrote an “Authors Preferred Edition” (APE for short) for “Magician” (1992) and “Prince of the Blood” (2004), which is a revision and ultimately a more extensive new edition of the books. Especially in the case of Magician, some of the material for the first publication had been deleted, which Feist reversed with this edition. With the book "Prince of the Blood" he was not entirely satisfied, which is why he thought a revision was necessary. Further publications of this kind are currently not planned.

Other works

The Firemane Saga

Faerie Tale is a fantastic story about a family who moves into a new house that is hiding a dark secret. Here the author connects the real world with the fantastic world of Irish mythology.

In addition to the two short stories that are set in Midkemia, Feist has written three other short stories in his writing career, none of which are yet available in a German translation:

  • Profit and the Gray Assassin , 1982
  • Geroldo's Incredible Trick , 1995
  • Watchfire , 2004 (with Janny Wurts)

Computer games

There are currently two computer games playing Midkemia in the world. Raymond Feist later wrote the Riftwar Legacy, a direct book adaptation of the plot of the two computer games. A multiplayer role-playing game implementation of the world Midkemia was announced at short notice, a project that received little financial support and was therefore finally abandoned.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Feist, Raymond
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Feist, Raymond Elias (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fantasy writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California