The ''Empire'' Trilogy is a collaborative

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

of political

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novels by American writers

Raymond E. Feist Raymond Elias Feist (; born Raymond Elias Gonzales III; December 21, 1945) is an American fantasy fiction author who wrote ''The Riftwar Cycle'', a series of novels and short stories. His books have been translated into multiple languages and ha ...

and

Janny Wurts Janny Wurts (born December 10, 1953) is an American fantasy novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and series, including the '' Wars of Light and Shadow'', ''The Cycle of Fire'' trilogy and the internationally best- ...

, set in the fictional world of Kelewan.

Novels

The trilogy traces the story of Mara of the Acoma's rise to power from a convent novitiate to the most powerful woman in Kelewan. These three books are contemporary to Feist's original Riftwar Saga and feature some crossover characters, mainly from '' Magician'' (1982) (Pug, the protagonist of ''Magician'', appears twice in '' Servant of the Empire'' (1990) and once in '' Mistress of the Empire'' (1992)). Mara struggles to rule her family after her father and brother are killed in a trap set by the Minwanabi, one of the most powerful families in the Empire and longtime enemies of the Acoma. Mara quickly learns how to play the Game of the Council with skill and challenges the binding traditions of her world. The feudal Empire of Tsuranuanni as depicted in the series, features social and political institutions which show a clear influence both of

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inve ...

and Imperial China, while some of the characters have Nahuatl-influenced names. Both Feist and Wurts have ruled out any further novels featuring these characters.

''Daughter of the Empire'' (1987)

In the world of Kelewan, Mara of the Acoma must lead her followers through terror and peril while surviving the ruthless Game of the Council. Mara must plot, bend tradition, avoid assassination attempts, and trade her heart for power in order to save the Acoma from destruction.

''Servant of the Empire'' (1990)

Mara of the Acoma has now become an expert player in the Game of the Council through bloody political maneuvering. After buying a group of Midkemian prisoners-of-war, she discovers one of them, Kevin of Zun, is a noble who reveals himself a great asset in regards to the Game of the Council.

''Mistress of the Empire'' (1992)

After rising to power, Mara of the Acoma must face the power of the brotherhood of assassins, the spies of rival houses, and the might of the Assembly—who see her as a threat to their power.

References

{{The Riftwar Cycle Fantasy novel trilogies Collaborative book series Works by Raymond E. Feist