Raymond E. Feist

Raymond E. Feist
Raymond Elias Feist at Salon du livre 2008 (Paris, France)
Born	1945 Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	American
Period	1982–present
Genres	Fantasy
Notable work(s)	Magician
Relative(s)	Felix E. Feist
www.crydee.com

Raymond Elias Feist (born Raymond E. Gonzales III, 1945) is an American author who primarily writes fantasy fiction. He is best known for The Riftwar Cycle series of novels and short stories. His books have been translated into multiple languages and have sold over 15 million copies.^[1]

Biography

Raymond E. Gonzales III was born in 1945 in Los Angeles, and was raised in Southern California. When his mother remarried, he took the surname of his adoptive stepfather, Felix E. Feist.^[2] He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would be a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982 by Doubleday. Feist currently lives with his children in San Diego, where he collects fine wine, DVDs, and books on a variety of topics of personal interest: wine, biographies, history, and especially the history of American professional football.^[3]

Works

The Riftwar Universe

The majority of Feist's works are part of The Riftwar Universe, and feature the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.^[4] 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 (D&D) role-playing game. When Feist studied at the University of California, San Diego, 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 Midkemia.^[5]

Other works

Feist has published three non-Riftwar novels, the first of which, Faerie Tale, is a dark fantasy set in the state of New York. He has also published several short stories in various anthologies.

Bibliography

Riftwar Universe

The Books of the Riftwar Cycle (missing The Empire Trilogy, The Riftwar Legacy, At the Gates of Darkness & A Kingdom Besieged)

1 The Riftwar Saga

1. Magician (1982), later republished in two parts in the United States as Magician: Apprentice (1986) and Magician: Master (1986)
2. Silverthorn (1985)
3. A Darkness at Sethanon (1986)

2 The Empire Trilogy

1. Daughter of the Empire (1987) with Janny Wurts
2. Servant of the Empire (1990) with Janny Wurts
3. Mistress of the Empire (1992) with Janny Wurts

3 Krondor's Sons

1. Prince of the Blood (1989)
2. The King's Buccaneer (1992)

4 The Serpentwar Saga

1. Shadow of a Dark Queen (1994)
2. Rise of a Merchant Prince (1995)
3. Rage of a Demon King (1997)
4. Shards of a Broken Crown (1998)

5 The Riftwar Legacy

1. Krondor: The Betrayal (1998)
2. Krondor: The Assassins (1999)
3. Krondor: Tear of the Gods (2000)

6 Legends of the Riftwar

1. Honoured Enemy (2001) with William R. Forstchen, aka Honored Enemy
2. Murder in LaMut (2002) with Joel Rosenberg
3. Jimmy the Hand (2003) with S. M. Stirling

7 Conclave of Shadows

1. Talon of the Silver Hawk (2002)
2. King of Foxes (2003)
3. Exile's Return (2004)

8 The Darkwar Saga

1. Flight of the Nighthawks (2005)
2. Into a Dark Realm (2006)
3. Wrath of a Mad God (2008)

9 The Demonwar Saga

1. Rides a Dread Legion (2009)
2. At the Gates of Darkness (2010)

10 The Chaoswar Saga

1. A Kingdom Besieged (2011)
2. A Crown Imperiled (2012)
3. Magician's End (TBA)

Novels

• Faerie Tale (1988)
• Der Silberfalke (2003)
• Serpent Queen (unpublished)

Short stories=

• Profit and the Grey Assassin (1982) (Set in the Riftwar Universe) in Fantasy Book (journal)
• Geroldos Incredible Trick (1997) in A Magic Lovers Treasury of the Fantastic (ed. Margaret Weis)
• The Wood Boy (1998) in Legends (ed. Robert Silverberg)
• One to Go (2002) in Thieves World: Turning Points (ed. Lynn Abbey)
• The Messenger (2003) in Legends II (ed. Robert Silverberg)
• Watchfire (2004) with Janny Wurts in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy (ed. Al Sarrantonio)

Role Playing Games

• Tulan of the Isles (1981) with Stephen Abrams published by Midkemia Press
• Jonril, Gateway to the Sunken Lands (1982) with Stephen Abrams published by Midkemia Press

References

External links

• Crydee.com - The Official Raymond E. Feist Website
• Elvandar.com - Official online atlas to the worlds of Raymond E. Feist
• Raymond E. Feist at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database