Authors | Raymond E Feist

Raymond E Feist biography

Raymond E. Feist (the E. stands for Elias) was born in Los Angeles, California in the year that the Second World War ended (1945). Feist was born with the surname Gonzales but was subsequently adopted by Felix E. Feist and took the Feist surname for his own.

Raymond E. Feist was once married to Kathlyn Starbuck who was also a novelist. He currently lives in San Diego, California and has two children, a girl and a boy. Aside from writing fantasy novels Feist likes to collect fine wines and also has a passionate interest in the History of American Football.

Whilst graduating from the University of California in 1977 (B.A. with honours, Communication Arts), Feist had his first thoughts and ideas concerning writing a novel about a young boy who would become a great magician (read a review of Magician here). It was two years later, when he was out of work, that he finally finished writing Magician and his very first novel was published in 1982 by Doubleday.

The success of the Magician allowed Feist to become a full time author. He wrote two more books, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon, these books make up his highly acclaimed Riftwar Saga. Subsequently, in partnership with Jenny Wurts he wrote the Empire Trilogy, Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire. These three books focused on the Riftwar from the Tsurani side whereas the original series was viewed mainly from the Midkemia viewpoint. The Serpent War Saga (3 books) has also been published.

Raymond E. Feist regards Robert Louis Stephenson (Kidnapped, Treasure Island) and Alexander Dumas (The Three Musketeers) as major influences upon him and his writing style.

Role playing games and computer games have also played their part in Feists career. Whilst at University, he and his friends created a game centred on an imaginary world called Midkemia. He went on to create a back history for this world and this later becomes an integral part of his successful Riftwar Saga trilogy. In 1993, Dynamix released a game called Betrayal of Krondor. The game was based on the Riftwar Saga and was a critical and commercial success. The sequel, called Return to Krondor was released in 1998. The two games also have accompanying novels, Krondor: The Betrayal and Krondor: Tear of the Gods respectively.

Over fifteen million copies of Raymond E. Feists’ books have been sold worldwide. He is currently working on a supernatural fantasy novel called Tiger Mountain and a suspense novel called The Bully. There are also plans for a beginners guide to wine.

Bibliography

Legacy of the Riftwar

Krondor, The Betrayal
Krondor, The Assassins
Krondor, Tear of the Gods

Darkwar Series

Flight of the Nighthawks
Into a Dark Realm

Conclave of Shadows

Talon of the Silverhawk
King of Foxes
Exile's Return
Flight of the Nighthawks: Darkwar

The Serpentwar Saga

Shadow of a Dark Queen
Rise of a Merchant Prince
Rage of a Demon King
Shards' of a Broken Crown

Riftwar Saga

Magician
Silverthorn
A Darkness at Sethanon
As Prince Arutha and his companions rally their forces for the final battle with an ancient and mysterious evil, the dread necromancer Marcos the Black has once again unleashed his dark sorcerery. Now the fate of two worlds will be decided in a titanic struggle beneath the walls of Sethanon, as the link between Kelewan and Midkemia is revived.
Prince of the Blood
The Kings Buccaneer

Riftwar - Kelewan

Daughter of the Empire
At age 17, Mara's ceremonial pledge of servantship to the goddess Lashima is interrupted by the news that her father and brother have been killed in battle on Trigia, the world through the rift. Now Ruling Lady of the Acoma, Mara finds that not only are her family's ancient enemies, the Minwanabi, responsible for the deaths of her loved ones, but her military forces have been decimated by the betrayal and House Acoma is now vulnerable to complete destruction.
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire

Legends / Tales of Riftwar

Honoured Enemy
Murder In Lamut
Jimmy the Hand

Medkemian Trilogy

A Kingdom Besieged
The Darkness is coming… The Kingdom is plagued by rumour and instability. Kingdom spies in Kesh have been disappearing - either murdered, or turned to the enemy side. Information has become scant and unreliable; but one thing appears clear. Dark forces are on the move… Since Pug and the Conclave of Shadows enforced peace after the last Keshian invasion, the Empire has offered no threat. But now factions are rising and Jim Dasher reports mobilizations of large forces in the Keshian Confederacy. As the men of the West answer the King's call to muster, Martin conDoin - left as caretaker of Crydee Keep - will suddenly be confronted with the vanguard of an invading army. He reminds himself that he is a year older than his legendary ancestor, Prince Arutha, was when he stood firm against the Tsurani invasion, but Arutha had an army to command, and Martin is left with old men and young boys.
A Crown Imperilled
War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work. Jim Dasher’s usually infallible intelligence network has been cleverly dismantled; nowhere is safe. He feels that the world is coming apart at the seams and is helpless to protect his nation. Quiet palace coups are underway in Roldem and Rillanon; and King Gregory of the Isles has yet to produce an heir. In each kingdom a single petty noble has risen from obscurity to threaten the throne. Lord Hal of Crydee and his great friend Ty Hawkins, champion swordsman of the Masters’ Court, are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephané and her lady-in-waiting, the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella, out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found? Meanwhile, Hal’s younger brothers Martin and Brendan are attempting to hold the strategic city of Ylith against an onslaught of Keshian Dog Soldiers, and a mysterious force from beneath the sea. The Kingdom might lose Crydee and recover; but if Ylith falls, all is lost.