Prince Who Was Promised Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Is Feist's Riftwar saga worth reading? It's one of those books I always walk past in the bookstore, so I didn't know if I'd give it a try. After all, ASOIAF and WoT are books I used to walk by, and I loved them. I can't say I mind if the series is to cliche...as long as it's told better than Eddings and Brooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathis Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Depends how you look at it. IMO its good only if you're a young teenager, in the same way Eddings is good for YA. But you say you like Wheel of Time, which is in the same boat, so go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Who Was Promised Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well...for future reference...I AM a younger teenager. Almost fourteen ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreverlad Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well...for future reference...I AM a younger teenager. Almost fourteen ;) Feist and his Riftwar saga (and Empire trilogy) are wonderful books for those who are just starting their journey into the world of fantasy literature. He covers most of the tropes, tells his 'coming of age' stories, and does an excellent job at keeping a quick pace with enjoyable characters. As a reader progresses through the many worlds of other authors though, Feist tends to seem a bit too basic and repetitive in comparison. When I was 14, Magician: Apprentice was amongst the first fantasies I had read and I loved it. He played a big part in turning me on to Speculative Fiction. I still pick up his books in paperback, but there doesn't appear to be anything exotic or original left for him to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Who Was Promised Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 I see. And I started my path to fantasy in 1st grade with LOTR and Hobbit. And Belgariad. What're the books about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreverlad Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I see. And I started my path to fantasy in 1st grade with LOTR and Hobbit. And Belgariad. What're the books about? Well, Midkemia, the world in which this story (primarily) takes place, was originally created by a group called The Thursday Nighters, a group of avid D&D players who hosted their own campaigns. When Feist turned 30, he decided to write novels about the world, taking place some 500 years before the era of the game. The story is about a Kingdom being attacked by an invading army from another world. You're shown the stories of two boys coming of age and finding their destinies, (light) political intrigue, the rise of a royal family, and a fair share of information regarding the metaphysics and philosophies of the magic system. His entire series of books thus far (the 16 main books of the Midkemia series) span approximately 100-150 years and show the various wars and legacies wrought by the original introduction of rifts into the world. There's magic, sword fighting, cosmic wars, demons, eternal beings and the rise and fall of nations contained within the series. If you're a big fan of ASoIaF, Feist may be a bit of a letdown, but he was one of the big authors who helped usher in the 'big' era of Fantasy, alongside Jordan and Co. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Feist and his Riftwar saga (and Empire trilogy) are wonderful books for those who are just starting their journey into the world of fantasy literature. He covers most of the tropes, tells his 'coming of age' stories, and does an excellent job at keeping a quick pace with enjoyable characters. As a reader progresses through the many worlds of other authors though, Feist tends to seem a bit too basic and repetitive in comparison. When I was 14, Magician: Apprentice was amongst the first fantasies I had read and I loved it. He played a big part in turning me on to Speculative Fiction. I still pick up his books in paperback, but there doesn't appear to be anything exotic or original left for him to say.This is exactly how Feist found me, except I was 16. All I read then was Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein, and Star Trek/Star Wars books and I was looking for something different. I had never played D&D as a youth, my parents being the kind of ones who always commented on how dangerous it was to play the game, not out of hatred of fantasy just a victim of all the misinformation put out there. I was so naïve when I first started reading these books that I thought it was so neat how so much of it reminded me of this cartoon movies I loved as a younger kid, "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King" :blush: I devoured every one of his books I could get my hands on, I thought this was the most amazing series I had ever read.But because of Feist I went on to GRRM, Jordan, Goodkind ( :ack: another noob mistake) found this forum which has continued to enrich me by letting me know of Bakker, Erikson, Lynch, Abercrombie, and the rest. I will be eternally grateful fo his books leading me to where I am now.Reading Feist after reading GRRM will seem like a step down the fantasy evolutionary ladder, but I think it's still worth it as long as you don't go in with high expectations. They are fun reading, especially the first four, and if you read them and are still interested, you can go on to read the Empire trilogy by Feist and Janny Wurts, which while still not as good as ASOIAF, it steps up the political intrigue and tones down the magic quite a bit. When I reread the Empire books today they've remained the most intersting of the Rift War books and sequels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski the Swift Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Love the guy. I still re-read the first Riftwar and the Empire Trilogy and love them about as much as I loved them the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wizard Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I think the Riftwar Saga is excellent, Feist is one of my favourite authors. The earlier books are some of my favourites but the more recent ones haven't lived up to their predeccessors. Part of what I enjoyed about books like Magician, The King's Buccaneer and Rise of a Serpent Queen were that they split the story between the mundane and the magical. I enjoyed there being a balance between Pug's story and people like Aruthra's. In the more recent books like Wrath of a Mad God there's very little of what's happened to Aruthra's ancestors which I would have liked to know more about. The focus is too much on Pug and co. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I really like Feist's early stuff, in particular the Empire trilogy and Riftwar Saga. I is one of my favorite series of all times. His later stuff declines in quality and I have not read anything beyond the Krondor trilogy. The Serpentwar Saga is interesting as one of the books, The Rise of the Merchant Prince is all about financing and supplying a war, without any battles. I thought that the first time I read a book about just about the economics of a large scale war in a fantasy setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreverlad Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 The Serpentwar Saga is interesting as one of the books, The Rise of the Merchant Prince is all about financing and supplying a war, without any battles. I thought that the first time I read a book about just about the economics of a large scale war in a fantasy setting. I was going to mention that. I was a bit put off when I first started reading RotMP, but by the end of it, I was enthralled. Feist is a bit too reliant on telling Coming-of-Age stories (There's one in just about every book) but RotMP did an excellent job of using the trope differently. More though, he managed to use the exercise to show the financial underbelly of war and politics. It's still amongst my favorites from him, if only for the unconventional nature of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Feist and his Riftwar saga (and Empire trilogy) are wonderful books for those who are just starting their journey into the world of fantasy literature. He covers most of the tropes, tells his 'coming of age' stories, and does an excellent job at keeping a quick pace with enjoyable characters. As a reader progresses through the many worlds of other authors though, Feist tends to seem a bit too basic and repetitive in comparison. When I was 14, Magician: Apprentice was amongst the first fantasies I had read and I loved it. He played a big part in turning me on to Speculative Fiction. I still pick up his books in paperback, but there doesn't appear to be anything exotic or original left for him to say.True enough. However, I still believe any fantasy fan who reads his first books would really enjoy them. They're not just a stepping stone into the genre, they are the genre. Doesn't get much better in terms of traditonal swords and sorcery style fantasy. I'm 21 now, have been reading his books for nearly a decade now, and I'm still a fan. Though admittedly his last few books would not entertain many who are not already fans going into them. :uhoh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Who Was Promised Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 So is there a "Big Bad" in the overall plot, or do the antagonists change in each story arc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreverlad Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 So is there a "Big Bad" in the overall plot, or do the antagonists change in each story arc? In the grand scheme of things, there's likely one "Big Bad", but after the first two books, the books are usually divided into two plots: a 'Cosmic' plot and a realm-wide plot, both interrelated. In essence, kingdom level events are usually the trickle-down effect of something happening on a cosmic scale. Bad guys range from nutty rulers to invaders to simple politics to wizards to gods, etc etc. Each series of books expands the mythology and trouble, leading to what will be the ultimate drama in the end. Problems with a Duchy lead to problems with a Kingdom then a Continent, multiple continents, the planet, two planets, the universe itself. Give the first 2 books (Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master)a try and if you like them, you'll probably keep going. Edit: Cosmic characters remain through the series with realm/kingdom level characters changing as the decades and events change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Who Was Promised Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Oh okay. So I'm guessing the highest "Big Bad" would be a god? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 All the events involve the Gods and their interactions, in one way or another. So... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wizard Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 In the grand scheme of things, there's likely one "Big Bad", but after the first two books, the books are usually divided into two plots: a 'Cosmic' plot and a realm-wide plot, both interrelated. In essence, kingdom level events are usually the trickle-down effect of something happening on a cosmic scale.In the more recent books there's very little of the 'realm-wide' plot, it's all Pug, Nakor and Thomas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 It mainly concerns the central, powerful figures of the books because the series/cycle is coming to an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreverlad Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 In the more recent books there's very little of the 'realm-wide' plot, it's all Pug, Nakor and Thomas. As Prince is unfamiliar with the stories and characters, I've been trying to refrain from mentioning characters by name. Not knowing which characters come and go is half the fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Who Was Promised Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well, my mom's taking back some books to the library today...so I think I'll go with her and get Magician. If I like it, I'll buy it as well as the next (two) book(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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