''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 & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' (D&D)

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

. When Feist studied at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, 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 Midkemia Press is an American game company that produced fantasy role-playing game supplements in the early 1980s. Today it exists as a rights holder for its principal campaign setting, the land of Midkemia. History In the mid-1970s, Conan La Mott ...

, which has continued publishing campaigns set in that universe. Feist acknowledges that the Tekumel setting from M. A. R. Barker'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-pla ...

'' 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 ca ...

*# '' 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 Br ...

'' (1986) *

The Empire Trilogy The ''Empire'' Trilogy is a collaborative trilogy of political fantasy novels by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts, set in the fictional world of Kelewan. It is the second trilogy in Feist's ''The Riftwar Cycle''. Novels The tril ...

*# ''

Daughter of the Empire ''Daughter of the Empire'' is a political fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Published in 1987, it is the first book in the Empire Trilogy, ''Empire'' Trilogy and was followed by ''Servant of the Empire'' in 1990 ...

'' (1987) with

Janny Wurts Janet Inglis "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 intern ...

*# ''

Servant of the Empire ''Servant of the Empire'' is a fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Published in 1990, it is the second book in the ''Empire'' Trilogy, preceded by 1987's ''Daughter of the Empire'' and followed by '' Mistress ...

'' (1990) with

*# ''

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 publ ...

'' (1992) with

Krondor's Sons ''Krondor's Sons'' is a book series, series of fantasy novels 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 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 i ...

'' (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 Nak ...

*# ''

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 199 ...

'' (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'', preceded by '' Shadow of a Dark Queen'' and followed by '' Rage of a Demon King''. Plot summary Erik von ...

'' (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 Kingd ...

'' (1997) *# '' Shards of a Broken Crown'' (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 series occurs between the ''The Riftwar Saga, Riftwar Saga'' and ''Krondor's Sons'' series chronologically in the universe of ...

– Takes place chronologically between the Riftwar Saga and Krondor's Sons *# '' 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 The ''Legends of the Riftwar'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist along with three different co-authors William R. Forstchen, Joel Rosenberg and S. M. Stirling. Concept In the fantasy novels of Feist, a "Riftwar" ...

*# '' Honoured Enemy'' (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 n ...

*# ''

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 ...

'' (2002) with Joel Rosenberg *# '' Jimmy the Hand'' (2003) with S. M. Stirling * Conclave of Shadows *# '' Talon of the Silver Hawk'' (2002) *# '' King of Foxes'' (2003) *# '' Exile's Return'' (2004) * The Darkwar Saga *# ''

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 ...

'' (2005) *# ''

Into a Dark Realm ''Into a Dark Realm'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the second book in the '' Darkwar Saga'' and was published in 2006. It was preceded by ''Flight of the Nighthawks'' and followed by the final book in the saga, ...

'' (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 origin ...

'' (2008) * The Demonwar Saga *# '' Rides a Dread Legion'' (2009) *# '' At the Gates of Darkness'' (2010) * The Chaoswar Saga *# '' A Kingdom Besieged'' (2011) *# '' A Crown Imperilled'' (2012) *# '' Magician's End'' (2013)

Short stories

*Profit and the Grey Assassin (1982) in ''Fantasy Book'' (Journal) *The Wood Boy (1998) in

Legends A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief. Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to: Narrative * A fictitious identity used in espionage Books, comic books, and theater * ''Legend'' (Gemmell novel), a 1 ...

*The Messenger (short story) (2003) in Legends II

Other media

The videogames ''

Betrayal at Krondor ''Betrayal at Krondor'' is an MS-DOS-based role-playing video game developed by Dynamix and released by Sierra Entertainment, Sierra On-Line in the summer of 1993 in video gaming, 1993. ''Betrayal at Krondor'' takes place largely in Midkemia, the ...

'' and ''

Return to Krondor ''Return to Krondor'' is a role-playing video game set in Raymond Feist's fictional fantasy setting of Midkemia. A sequel to 1993's ''Betrayal at Krondor'', it was released for Windows on the PC in time for the 1998 Thanksgiving and Christmas s ...

'' were developed with input from Feist and take place during the Riftwar cycle, their stories were also novelized by Feist as part of his Riftwar Legacy books. 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 Cycle 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 Nick Bernardone is an American writer, producer and director from Syracuse, NY. His credits include ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', ''30 Rock'', ''Marvel's Wastelanders'', '' The Walking Dead'' and ''Fear the Walking Dead''. Nick has been nomin ...

are attached to write.

References

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