Raymond Feist & The Riftwar

[ShannonA]

Scifi.com has an article about Feist's Riftwar, which talks about the next book and finishes off with:


Feist recently signed a new six-book agreement, which will finish up the entire Riftwar cycle, he said. "The entire cycle will have five more books: two for the fourth Riftwar and three for the fifth and last, plus a bonus book yet to be determined," Feist said. "When the dust settles, the entire series of Riftwar-related books will number 30 volumes."


From http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=41852 if you want to read the rest.

I was surprised when I looked Feist up a few month ago and discovered that there were piles and piles of Riftwar books nowadays. I read the first four in high school and enjoyed them quite a bit, and read the first series he did with Jenny Wurts (?) sometime after college, and wasn't particularly enchanted by it.

Is any of the newer stuff any good?

[Quasar]

The recent legends series, which are kind of standalone stories co-written with other authors (like Joel Rosenberg for instance) and set during the original trilogy I've enjoyed. But I'm not sure if that has had a U.S. release.

The current series I haven't actually tried yet, I've been waiting for it all to be out in paperback and then read it so I don't get stuck like I am with Martin.

[Red Menace]

I was always mildly interested with the Midkemia books, they were never outrageously bad, never that exciting either. I finally lost interest when those extra-dimensional dinosaurs showed up. That just seemed too gimicky for me. But I got to give Feist credit, 30 Midkemia books will be an amazing accomplishment.

[vitus979]

I generally liked the original series, the co-written books with Janny Wurts (the "empire" books?) as well as the singles written between his first and second series (the Serpentwar Saga). I didn't particularly like the Serpentwar stuff so I've kinda fallen out and not read anything after that.


Because honestly, to me Midkemia was always about Pug + Thomas. I could get interested in other characters, but the core was always those two and their adventures.


Then again, I generally don't like "generational" sagas much, and by the Serpentwar books they'd more or less shifted to the next generation from what I can remember of it. :(

[grey_tinman]

I haven't read all of them, but I remember really liking The Serpentwar Saga; Shadow of a Dark Queen, especially. I found them to be fairly original and fun to read. I don't know if I'd feel that way now, but I don't think you'd be sorry. Rise of a Merchant Prince was really good. It was a character-based book, where some of his other books are just kind of epic fantasy. The main character was very well developed.

The last two in the Saga were fairly forgettable, but I remember liking them at the time.

I read The Riftwar Saga and liked it, but can't really remember what happened in them besides a few key events.

If I remember correctly, The Riftwar Legacy's first book was based on a video game and it really showed. I think I read the series,a but didn't like it nearly as much as the others I'd read.

His newest series with Exile's Return, etc. look pretty good, but I haven't had a chance to read them.

Hope that helps a little.

grey_tinman