Raymond Elias Feist (; born Raymond Elias Gonzales III; December 21, 1945) is an American
fantasy fiction
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 dra ...
author who wrote ''
The Riftwar Cycle
''The Riftwar Cycle'' is the name given to the series of books authored or co-authored by Raymond E. Feist that revolve around the fantasy worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.
The Riftwar Universe
The majority of Feist's works are part of The Riftw ...
'', a series of novels and short stories. His books have been translated into multiple languages and have sold over 15 million copies.
Biography
Raymond E. Gonzales III was born in 1945 in Los Angeles and was raised in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
. When his mother remarried, he took the surname of his adoptive stepfather,
Felix E. Feist
Felix Ellison Feist (; February 28, 1910 – September 2, 1965) was an American film and television director and writer born in New York City. He is probably best remembered for ''Deluge'' (1933), for writing and directing the film noirs ''The ...
.
He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the
University of California at San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...
. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would become a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982 by
Doubleday. According to his official website, Feist lives in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
.
Works
The Riftwar Cycle
The majority of Feist's works are part of ''
The Riftwar Cycle
''The Riftwar Cycle'' is the name given to the series of books authored or co-authored by Raymond E. Feist that revolve around the fantasy worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.
The Riftwar Universe
The majority of Feist's works are part of The Riftw ...
'', and feature the worlds of
Midkemia and
Kelewan.
Human magicians and other creatures on the two planets are able to create rifts through dimensionless space that can connect planets in different solar systems. The novels and short stories of The Riftwar Universe record the adventures of various people on these worlds.
''Midkemia'' was originally created as an alternative to the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
''
role-playing game, by Feist and his friends studying at the
University of California San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is th ...
. The group called themselves the ''Thursday Nighters'', because they played the Midkemia role-playing game every Thursday evening. After some time, when the group changed and began meeting on Fridays, they became known as the ''Friday Nighters''. The original group have since formed a company called
Midkemia Press
Midkemia Press was an American game company that produced role-playing games and game supplements.
History
'' Midkemia'' was originally created as an alternative to the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (D&D) role-playing game. When Raymond E. Feist studied ...
, which has continued publishing campaigns set in Midkemia.
Feist acknowledges that the
Tekumel setting from
M. A. R. Barker
Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker (born Phillip Barker, November 3, 1929 – March 16, 2012) was an American linguist who was professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies and created one of the first roleplaying games, ''Empire of the Petal Throne' ...
's ''
Empire of the Petal Throne
''Empire of the Petal Throne'' is a fantasy role-playing game designed by M. A. R. Barker, based on his Tékumel fictional universe. It was self-published in 1974, then published by TSR, Inc. in 1975. It was one of the first tabletop role-pl ...
'' was the source for much of Kelewan. The original D&D campaign which he based his books on had an invasion of the Midkemia world by Tekumel. As a result, much of the background of Kelewan – the Tsurani Empire, the lack of metals and horses, the Cho'ja, the pantheons of 20 major and 20 minor gods – comes from Tekumel. Feist claims to have been unaware of this origin when he wrote ''
Magician''.
Other works
Prior to the end of the Riftwar Cycle, Feist's only novel outside the Riftwar setting was ''
Faerie Tale
''Faerie Tale'' is a supernatural thriller, falling within the subgenre of contemporary fantasy, by American writer Raymond E. Feist, first published in 1988.
It was translated and published in Dutch as ''Een Boosaardig Sprookje'' in 1989.
Pl ...
'', a fantasy story set in modern New York state. He has also published several short stories in various
anthologies.
The Firemane Saga
Feist is currently working on a new trilogy titled ''Firemane'':
#''King of Ashes'', released in late April 2018.
#''Queen of Storms'', released in July 2020.
#''Master of Furies'', released in June 2022
Bibliography
References
External links
*
Magnus & The Arts- 2018 Magnus & The Arts interview with Raymond E. Feist
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feist, Raymond E.
1945 births
Living people
American fantasy writers
20th-century American novelists
Writers from Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego alumni
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
Inkpot Award winners
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers