''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 Riftwar Universe, 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 and 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 ...

'' (D&D)

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

. When Feist studied 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 ...

, he and his friends created a new role-playing game based on their own original world of Midkemia. They 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, which has continued publishing campaigns set in that universe. 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'' 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 10 major and 10 minor gods - comes from Tekumel. Feist claims to have been unaware of this origin when he wrote '' Magician''.

Works

Most ''Riftwar'' novels' stories occur in chronological order following the publishing order, with a few exceptions. The Empire Trilogy starts during ''Magician'' and concludes after ''A Darkness at Sethanon''. The Riftwar Legacy occurs between the Riftwar Saga and Krondor's Sons. The Legends of the Riftwar novels occur between ''Magician'' and ''Silverthorn''. Novels are grouped into their respective series, with series ordered by the publishing date of the first novel in the series.

The Riftwar Saga The ''Riftwar Saga'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the first series in '' The Riftwar Cycle''. Works in the series Magician "To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan called Pug c ...

# '' Magician'' (1982), later republished in two parts in the United States as '' Magician: Apprentice'' (1986) and '' Magician: Master'' (1986) # '' Silverthorn'' (1985) # ''

A Darkness at Sethanon ''A Darkness at Sethanon'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the third and final book in ''The Riftwar Saga'', the first series of novels in '' The Riftwar Cycle'' . It describes how Murmandamus, a new prince of the Dark Brot ...

'' (1986)

The Empire Trilogy

# ''

Daughter of the Empire ''Daughter of the Empire'' is a political fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts Janny Wurts (born December 10, 1953) is an American fantasy novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and s ...

'' (1987) with Janny Wurts # ''

Servant of the Empire ''Servant of the Empire'' is a fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts Janny Wurts (born December 10, 1953) is an American fantasy novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and series, ...

'' (1990) with Janny Wurts # ''

Mistress of the Empire ''Mistress of the Empire'' is a fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. It is the third and final book in the ''Empire Trilogy'' and was published in 1992. It was preceded by ''Servant of the Empire'', which was publi ...

'' (1992) with Janny Wurts

Krondor's Sons ''Krondor's Sons'' is a series of fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. The books are part of The Riftwar Cycle and set on the fictional world of Midkemia. The two novels are set between riftwars and explores Midkemia beyond the b ...

# '' Prince of the Blood'' (1989) # ''

The King's Buccaneer ''The King's Buccaneer'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the second book of the '' Krondor's Sons'' series and was published in 1992. It was preceded by '' Prince of the Blood'' which was published in 1989. Plot int ...

'' (1992)

The Serpentwar Saga ''The Serpentwar Saga'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist. The novels revolve around two characters, Erik von Darkmoor and Roo Avery and also includes a host of previous characters from past novels, including Nakor ...

# ''

Shadow of a Dark Queen ''Shadow of a Dark Queen'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book in ''The Serpentwar Saga'' and was first published in June 1994. It was followed by ''Rise of a Merchant Prince'' which was published in 1995. ...

'' (1994) # ''

Rise of a Merchant Prince ''Rise of a Merchant Prince'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the second book of ''The Serpentwar Saga ''The Serpentwar Saga'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist. The novels revolve ...

'' (1995) # ''

Rage of a Demon King ''Rage of a Demon King'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the third book in his Serpentwar Saga and the eleventh book of his Riftwar cycle. It was published in 1997 in the United States by Avon Books and the United Kingdo ...

'' (1997) # ''

Shards of a Broken Crown ''Shards of a Broken Crown'' is a 1998 fantasy novel by American writer 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 ...

'' (1998)

The Riftwar Legacy ''The Riftwar Legacy'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist, 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 ...

# '' Krondor: The Betrayal'' (1998) # '' Krondor: The Assassins'' (1999) # '' Krondor: Tear of the Gods'' (2000) # '' Jimmy and the Crawler'' (2013) - a novella replacing the cancelled novels ''Krondor: The Crawler'' and ''Krondor: The Dark Mage''.

Legends of the Riftwar

# ''

Honoured Enemy ''Honoured Enemy'' (or ''Honored Enemy'' in the US, 2001) is a fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and William R. Forstchen. It is the first book written in the ''Legends of the Riftwar'' and is the only one of the series to be coa ...

'' (2001) with

William R. Forstchen William R. Forstchen (born October 11, 1950) is an American historian and author. A Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina, he received his doctorate from Purdue University. He has published nu ...

# ''

Murder in LaMut ''Murder in LaMut'' is a fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg, the second book in the ''Legends of the Riftwar'' series. Set in the fictional world of Midkemia, the book takes place chronologically during the ev ...

'' (2002) with Joel Rosenberg # '' Jimmy the Hand'' (2003) with

S. M. Stirling Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and his later time travel/alternate his ...

Conclave of Shadows

# '' Talon of the Silver Hawk'' (2002) # '' King of Foxes'' (2003) # '' Exile's Return'' (2004)

The Darkwar Saga The ''Darkwar Saga'' is a book series, series of fantasy novels by the American writer Raymond E. Feist. Concept In Feist's fantasy novels, a ''riftwar'' is war between two worlds that are connected by some sort of dimensionless gap (a rift). ...

# ''

Flight of the Nighthawks ''Flight of the Nighthawks'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book in the ''Darkwar Saga'' and was published in 2005. It was followed by ''Into a Dark Realm'' which was published in 2006. Plot introduction L ...

'' (2005) # '' Into a Dark Realm'' (2006) # ''

Wrath of a Mad God ''Wrath of a Mad God'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the third and final book in the '' Darkwar Saga'' and was published in 2008. It was preceded by '' Into a Dark Realm'' which was published in 2006. It was origi ...

'' (2008)

The Demonwar Saga

# '' Rides a Dread Legion'' (2009) # '' At the Gates of Darkness'' (2010)

The Chaoswar Saga ''The Chaoswar Saga'' is the final trilogy in the Riftwar Cycle series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist Raymond Elias Feist (; born Raymond Elias Gonzales III; December 21, 1945) is an American fantasy fiction author who wrote '' The R ...

# ''

A Kingdom Besieged ''A Kingdom Besieged'' is a fantasy novel by American writer by Raymond E. Feist, the first book in the trilogy '' The Chaoswar Saga'', the final saga in The Riftwar Cycle ''The Riftwar Cycle'' is the name given to the series of books authore ...

'' (2011) # '' A Crown Imperiled'' (2012) # ''

Magician's End ''Magician's End'' is a 2013 fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the third book in his '' The Chaoswar Saga'' trilogy and the 30th, and final, book in his Riftwar Cycle series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline ...

'' (2013)

Short stories

*Profit and the Grey Assassin (1982) in ''Fantasy Book'' (Journal) *The Wood Boy (1998) in Legends *The Messenger (short story) (2003) in Legends II

Other media

On February 2, 2022, Six Studios, a production company started by Jeff Huang and Carl Choi, announced it would develop the first six books in The Riftwar Saga into a TV series.

Hannah Friedman Hannah Friedman is an American writer, producer, musician and director. She is known for writing and producing roles in film and television, including projects with ABS, Amazon, CBS, Comedy Central, Conaco, Disney, DreamWorks, Hasbro, Imagine, ...

, Jacob Pinion and Nick Bernardone are attached to write.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riftwar Cycle, The High fantasy novels Works by Raymond E. Feist