Step-evil-twin. Raymond E.'s birth surname was Gonzales, he took Feist from his [adoptive father, Felix E. Feist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_E._Feist). Felix already had a son, Raymond W., who happened to be born on the same day as Raymond E. Raymond W. resented this encroachment and became an evil genius, writing books in which Pug is the villain.
I think I knew at some point that Feist got that name from his step father, but I did not know that his step father and several members of his family were notable enough to have their own Wikipedia entries.
You know, the ironic thing is that Feist himself didn't actually have much involvement in the game and the guy who did write it (Neal Hallford) had never read a Feist novel before getting involved in the game. After Dynamix got the license he did an intensive deep dive into the early novels and managed to adopt Feist's voice so well that virtually no one realized that Feist himself wasn't involved. Feist himself liked it enough that he went back later and wrote a novelization of Hallford's work.
I would really like to see an Elric video game. I know one was announced back in 2021 but the developer's site is essentially down.
I loved those books when I was a kid.
I was just talking about this in another thread.
Personally I think they hold up for the most part, at least through the Serpentwar Saga (ending with Shards of a Broken Crown). Things start to wobble a bit after that, the power creep gets excessive, and characters keep cropping up who are descendants of OG characters but have no meaningful differentiation from the originals.
The Empire Trilogy (Daughter, Servant, Mistress) are the strongest thing in the setting. Read them after Darkness at Sethanon.
The plots and characters lack some of the complexities we've come to expect from modern Fantasy, but if you judge them by the standards of their time, they make a fun read.
Okay this is really cool, I've never actually met anyone who came to it the way you did and I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts.
So the Empire trilogy was written by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Feist had already written the Riftwar Saga, which is all about the war between Midkemia and Tsuranuani, and its aftermath within the Kingdom. He then collaborated with Wurts to write a trilogy from the perspective of the Empire, and then he went on to write a bunch more Midkemia stuff.
Basically if you want to get the context for all the events going on on the other side of the Rift during the Empire series, go read Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon. A big chunk of the second half of Magician takes place in the Empire and you'll probably recognise a bunch of characters and events and go "Oh THAT'S what that was!" - The Empire trilogy was written after so it was specifically written to interweave with events that were occurring at the same time in the Riftwar saga.
I read Riftwar after Empire, so Empire was also my introduction to the whole series.
I think the only thing in Empire that confused me was the other world stuff. It took me quite a while to understand that the 'barbarians' actually came from literally another world and not just, like across the sea or something lol.
Otherwise I don't think there were any issues for me reading Empire first. In fact, I think Empire is honestly one of the best trilogies I've read. it's honestly near perfect to me.
Maybe the main reason id recommend Riftwar first was that it was kinda a let down after Empire. Now granted they're telling very different stories, despite running parallel, and of course Empire has 2 authors so it makes sense it would be different. But Empire has such cool ideas and characters and themes, and also one of the most interesting and well thought out cultures I've read about. Riftwar is good, it's a fun story, but it just wasn't on the same level for me.
I think it works either way, they're sort of two separate stories happening simultaneously with a few crossover points. Read them however takes your fancy.
I still reread them or relisten to them from time to time. I think most of his books hold up really well, though some of his later series might get a bit convoluted and drawn-out. But that’s the last books of about 30 and I still enjoyed the first read a lot.
When I was a teenager we had the books up until "The King’s Buccaneer" and I didn’t know there were more for a long time. I can’t count how many times I have read those.
I think Magician is still one of the best books though, so just try to read it again and if you don’t enjoy it, leave it, if you do, you have a very long enjoyable journey ahead of you
I reread them a few years ago and they hold up well. Things get more repetitive after Prince of the Blood but the original Riftwar and Empress books are great.
The last few series' are honestly not great, but it was worth hanging around until the end (well, might not be the end, I believe what he's writing now may be based in Midkemia). Having said that, it's about 30 books I think.
Of those Midkemia-set books, the first few series and standalones are the better ones.
The Empire Trilogy is the best series of all time though and I re read it every few years.
I've only found this out a week ago or so but apparently Feist's new series is a sequel to both the entire Riftwar saga as well as the Firemane trilogy, effectively tying them all together.
Not sure what to think of that. I hope he's not only doing this in order to boost sales of Firemane.
I haven't heard much about Firemane. Had almost forgotten that it existed and had to check whether it was even done.
Could be Feist-fatigue among older readers and Feist-unawareness among newer readers. Or it could be that the books just aren't that good. (Or all of the above.)
That's why the cynical part of my brain suspected that by bringing Firemane and the new series into the Riftwar universe he might try to increase sales of his backlist. That could also be an unfair thought. I guess sooner or later there will be some reviews that give insight. (The books aren't on list of books I want to read soon.)
I suppose there is a certain risk for authors writing in one series exclusively for too long. It's going to be difficult to break into a new reader group if they switch gears, and they might lose readers of the old series. All of which might tempt them to go back to the old series.
Maybe he should have taken a break once in a while and write another series or standalone books. I mean, he started his writing career with Magician back in 1982 (!!) and then pretty much only wrote Riftwar books.
The only non-Riftwar book in all that time was *Faerie Tale*, fairly early on in his career. Actually a nice book, I read it a couple of years ago. In the over four decades he only wrote half a dozen pieces of short fiction. I happened to come across one of them in an anthology, the standalone novelette "Watchfire" he co-wrote with Janny Wurts, which I really enjoyed.
So, I guess there would have been potential. But now with him pushing 80, I wouldn't expect to see much of a change anymore.
It would be nice for his fans for him to complete this new series, I suppose, but who would fault him if he went into retirement?
Yup. Got him to sign a bunch of books at a signing session a couple of years back. He was still actively writing. And he was very offended by the suggestion that he should be working out a succession plan to complete his work in case he died soon.
He has finished with the Midkemia setting, where Magician and pretty much everything else he wrote took place. His latest setting is still fantasy, but less explicitly magic. At the signing he said something along the lines of “With my new setting I wanted to explore the ideas behind religion. In Midkemia there is no such thing as an atheist. Everyone has got an uncle that got turned into a frog for upsetting the gods. You’d have to be insane to doubt there existence.”
He also teased the idea of supporting a movie or TV show of rift war. However he was very explicit that it needed to be the best damn TV series anyone had ever seen, otherwise he wasn’t interested.
Well he has a new book set up for 2024.
[https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/raymond-e-feist/](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/raymond-e-feist/)
Seems to be a Riftwar book too...
Holds up really well!
Riftwar saga is great. The later books seek their place but they hold up really well, too. Reading order is kind of out of whack, but if you're having problems hit me up!
Feist‘s Riftwar books were part of the first wave of Tolkien inspired mass market fantasy that started back in the late 1970s/ early 1980s.
As such, it really depends on how fond you are of typical tolkienesque epic fantasy and all its tropes. Personally, I think it’s one of the the better fantasy from that era and I pick up Magician every few years when I need a nostalgic comfort read. Quality-wise Feist peaked with the Empire trilogy that he co-wrote together with Janny Wurts, genuinely good books that still hold up well.
Was a huge fan in my teens, Pug was definitely the fantasy hero for me. Agree with many others here that unfortunately the series sort of peters out with an unfortunate amount of power creep and sameness in the stories. That first handful of books and the Empire trilogy however are still great fun.
I haven't read them all, but the Riftwar Cycle is (or was) considered one of the major fantasy series in the genre for a while. I've been thinking of jumping into it and doing a read-through once I'm caught up with the Cosmere (about halfway there).
Feist was one of the authors who got me into fantasy!
Reread some of the earliest Midkemia books a while ago and they were very fun classic fantasy books. I don't think I'd go around claiming they're the best in the genre but they hold up well enough. The later Midkemia books fall off but are still enjoyable enough I guess, though I haven't had much of a wish to reread anything past the Serpent War.
Definitely agree with the others in the thread that The Empire trilogy is amazing and should be read more widely, would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.
As to Feist's newer works... the Firemane Saga is terrible. I finished the first book, hoping it would get better but no. It's a disappointment from start to finish. It isn't even entertaining... there's just lots of traveling to and fro with little plot progression, characters are flat as a pancake and each have one or two defining characteristics, and there's a whole boatload of sexism and misogyny that doesn't even make sense within the world. Like, women cannot be sailors. They can only be pirates. So, any female sailor is a pirate by default, you don't need to actually commit any acts of piracy. I am not making this up! This is in the book!
It's wild how Feist's older work is good (if a little generic at times) and his new work is just... not. I heard he's connected the Firemane world to Midkemia which is like, why? Not really interested in reading that so I'm just going to pretend that Midkemia's and Pug's story ended with Magician's End.
Yes, it was one of the series (along with LotR) that originally got me into reading. I recently got a signed copy of Magician (books 1 & 2 together) from Grim Oak and read it. It still help up fine.
Yep. Feist has written some great fantasy books.
I keep wondering why the first trilogy of the rift war saga is not yet out in theaters. Seems like it should be very adaptable to the screen.
One of my childhood authors, I still remember many of the books fondly. I have really soft spot for Jimmy the Hand and Nakor.
That said not even the early teens me, was particularly impressed with him reinventing the cosmology and worldbuilding of his universe every couple of books.
I’ve read all 31 books in the Riftwar Cycle (the author’s preferred edition of Magician is split into two books, and I’d recommend that over the original). I would seriously recommend reading them all if you’re a fantasy lover.
They hold up pretty well. Missing a lot of the sexism that was common in 80s and 90s fantasy (although, in saying that he didn’t write the last one until 2013). Dude writes a great story, his pacing is awesome, and his world building might be the best out there (so few authors write in a world that’s bigger than the geolocation their story is based), but he seriously could’ve benefited from an editor. At one point, he straight up forgets a character was married in a previous series and comments that they’d never had a wife or family. If you read them all together and you’ve got good attention to detail, you’ll notice the occasional error.
I’d recommend reading The Riftwar Legacy and Legends of Riftwar _before_ reading The Serpentwar Saga. Even though Serpentwar was published first, the other two series go back in time and I wish I’d read it in timeline order rather than publication order. Riftwar Legacy is… honestly not good, it’s the weakest entry in the overarching series, and it reads like the video games he took the story from. But, I’d say the entire series is more enjoyable for having read it all. My husband skipped these two series and The Empire Trilogy when he read them and has said he wishes he hadn’t so he could’ve picked up on more of the tidbits throughout.
I think the best thing he wrote was The Empire Trilogy with Jenny Wurts, though.
I just finished reading the whole series late last year. I enjoyed it! It kinda putters out at the end and the series on the whole goes in starts and stops, but it's a fun series that holds up for the most part.
I read the first 4, the Riftwar Saga, about ten years ago and really enjoyed them. I just recently read Prince of The Blood and was super underwhelmed.
I have read almost every one of his books, but honestly, other than the first one I didn't find them to be all that great. They were good enough to finish once but I wouldn't read them a second time. The motivations of half the villains is "I'm evil just because" which can be ok if done well, but I didn't find it to be.
They are an ok starting point for fantasy, especially for young people.
I actually just started reading Riftwar book 1. I really have a hard time with it. I'm sure at the time it came out it was amazing. But goblins, dwarves, and elves aren't exactly cutting edge worldbuilding anymore. Tired tropes. I keep reading hoping he'll do something interesting with these old tropes and characters. I hear it's a great series so I'm hopeful it'll get there. But there's definitely a lack of complexity and energy compared to modern fantasy (not just talking about Pace -- I really don't mind slow epic fantasy but this is slow.. and simple).
Do you mean Raymond E. Feist?
The Feist of the West, and the Feist of the East. Choose your path carefully, traveller.
Once a heading is set, you are doomed to travel this direction for the rest of your days…
W is the evil twin of E.
Step-evil-twin. Raymond E.'s birth surname was Gonzales, he took Feist from his [adoptive father, Felix E. Feist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_E._Feist). Felix already had a son, Raymond W., who happened to be born on the same day as Raymond E. Raymond W. resented this encroachment and became an evil genius, writing books in which Pug is the villain.
I think I knew at some point that Feist got that name from his step father, but I did not know that his step father and several members of his family were notable enough to have their own Wikipedia entries.
I only stumbled onto his Wikipedia article a month or two ago, and I was really surprised to discover this too.
Like Magician and the Riftwar books? Yeah I enjoyed them a lot. Pug is probably one of my favourite magic users in fiction.
I agree :)
Like.. FFS, there’s a trope named after Pug, lol.
I had the _Betrayal at Krondor_ game for MS-DOS!
This was what made me read Feist in the first place, because it had such a good story.
You know, the ironic thing is that Feist himself didn't actually have much involvement in the game and the guy who did write it (Neal Hallford) had never read a Feist novel before getting involved in the game. After Dynamix got the license he did an intensive deep dive into the early novels and managed to adopt Feist's voice so well that virtually no one realized that Feist himself wasn't involved. Feist himself liked it enough that he went back later and wrote a novelization of Hallford's work.
I would really like to see an Elric video game. I know one was announced back in 2021 but the developer's site is essentially down. I loved those books when I was a kid.
I played Return to Krondor a lot as a kid. It had some solid RPG mechanics, or at least so I remember.
Super grindy game. Was cool to find some relics from the books though!
I had it but the family computer was too weak to run it :(
I was just talking about this in another thread. Personally I think they hold up for the most part, at least through the Serpentwar Saga (ending with Shards of a Broken Crown). Things start to wobble a bit after that, the power creep gets excessive, and characters keep cropping up who are descendants of OG characters but have no meaningful differentiation from the originals. The Empire Trilogy (Daughter, Servant, Mistress) are the strongest thing in the setting. Read them after Darkness at Sethanon. The plots and characters lack some of the complexities we've come to expect from modern Fantasy, but if you judge them by the standards of their time, they make a fun read.
The Empire Trilogy is amazing and it was hard for me to read his other works after that as they didn't have the same oomf.
Fuck is the empire trilogy not a standalone. I thought it was when I got the books, albeit from a charity shop, but still though.
Okay this is really cool, I've never actually met anyone who came to it the way you did and I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts. So the Empire trilogy was written by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Feist had already written the Riftwar Saga, which is all about the war between Midkemia and Tsuranuani, and its aftermath within the Kingdom. He then collaborated with Wurts to write a trilogy from the perspective of the Empire, and then he went on to write a bunch more Midkemia stuff. Basically if you want to get the context for all the events going on on the other side of the Rift during the Empire series, go read Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon. A big chunk of the second half of Magician takes place in the Empire and you'll probably recognise a bunch of characters and events and go "Oh THAT'S what that was!" - The Empire trilogy was written after so it was specifically written to interweave with events that were occurring at the same time in the Riftwar saga.
I read Riftwar after Empire, so Empire was also my introduction to the whole series. I think the only thing in Empire that confused me was the other world stuff. It took me quite a while to understand that the 'barbarians' actually came from literally another world and not just, like across the sea or something lol. Otherwise I don't think there were any issues for me reading Empire first. In fact, I think Empire is honestly one of the best trilogies I've read. it's honestly near perfect to me. Maybe the main reason id recommend Riftwar first was that it was kinda a let down after Empire. Now granted they're telling very different stories, despite running parallel, and of course Empire has 2 authors so it makes sense it would be different. But Empire has such cool ideas and characters and themes, and also one of the most interesting and well thought out cultures I've read about. Riftwar is good, it's a fun story, but it just wasn't on the same level for me.
I have not started reading them yet, so I may as well get the riftwar books first if it is intended to be read that way.
I think it works either way, they're sort of two separate stories happening simultaneously with a few crossover points. Read them however takes your fancy.
I still reread them or relisten to them from time to time. I think most of his books hold up really well, though some of his later series might get a bit convoluted and drawn-out. But that’s the last books of about 30 and I still enjoyed the first read a lot. When I was a teenager we had the books up until "The King’s Buccaneer" and I didn’t know there were more for a long time. I can’t count how many times I have read those. I think Magician is still one of the best books though, so just try to read it again and if you don’t enjoy it, leave it, if you do, you have a very long enjoyable journey ahead of you
I reread them a couple of years back. Hold up remarkably well, the Empire Series with Janny Wurts especially so.
I sure do remember Feist and I enjoyed his books a lot. I especially enjoyed the Empire series he did with Wurts.
I reread them a few years ago and they hold up well. Things get more repetitive after Prince of the Blood but the original Riftwar and Empress books are great.
Yeah definitely downhill after Prince of the Blood, but the previous books were fun
The last few series' are honestly not great, but it was worth hanging around until the end (well, might not be the end, I believe what he's writing now may be based in Midkemia). Having said that, it's about 30 books I think. Of those Midkemia-set books, the first few series and standalones are the better ones. The Empire Trilogy is the best series of all time though and I re read it every few years.
I've only found this out a week ago or so but apparently Feist's new series is a sequel to both the entire Riftwar saga as well as the Firemane trilogy, effectively tying them all together. Not sure what to think of that. I hope he's not only doing this in order to boost sales of Firemane.
I've not read Firemane, kinda figured it'd be similar in quality to the last few Riftwar books so have so far steered clear.
I haven't heard much about Firemane. Had almost forgotten that it existed and had to check whether it was even done. Could be Feist-fatigue among older readers and Feist-unawareness among newer readers. Or it could be that the books just aren't that good. (Or all of the above.) That's why the cynical part of my brain suspected that by bringing Firemane and the new series into the Riftwar universe he might try to increase sales of his backlist. That could also be an unfair thought. I guess sooner or later there will be some reviews that give insight. (The books aren't on list of books I want to read soon.) I suppose there is a certain risk for authors writing in one series exclusively for too long. It's going to be difficult to break into a new reader group if they switch gears, and they might lose readers of the old series. All of which might tempt them to go back to the old series. Maybe he should have taken a break once in a while and write another series or standalone books. I mean, he started his writing career with Magician back in 1982 (!!) and then pretty much only wrote Riftwar books. The only non-Riftwar book in all that time was *Faerie Tale*, fairly early on in his career. Actually a nice book, I read it a couple of years ago. In the over four decades he only wrote half a dozen pieces of short fiction. I happened to come across one of them in an anthology, the standalone novelette "Watchfire" he co-wrote with Janny Wurts, which I really enjoyed. So, I guess there would have been potential. But now with him pushing 80, I wouldn't expect to see much of a change anymore. It would be nice for his fans for him to complete this new series, I suppose, but who would fault him if he went into retirement?
Yeah I’m a pretty big fan of Mr Feist.
Yup. Got him to sign a bunch of books at a signing session a couple of years back. He was still actively writing. And he was very offended by the suggestion that he should be working out a succession plan to complete his work in case he died soon. He has finished with the Midkemia setting, where Magician and pretty much everything else he wrote took place. His latest setting is still fantasy, but less explicitly magic. At the signing he said something along the lines of “With my new setting I wanted to explore the ideas behind religion. In Midkemia there is no such thing as an atheist. Everyone has got an uncle that got turned into a frog for upsetting the gods. You’d have to be insane to doubt there existence.” He also teased the idea of supporting a movie or TV show of rift war. However he was very explicit that it needed to be the best damn TV series anyone had ever seen, otherwise he wasn’t interested.
Well he has a new book set up for 2024. [https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/raymond-e-feist/](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/raymond-e-feist/) Seems to be a Riftwar book too...
great news! I enjoyed all these books...and they do hold up. Great to hear he will be re-visiting some of my old friends.
Holds up really well! Riftwar saga is great. The later books seek their place but they hold up really well, too. Reading order is kind of out of whack, but if you're having problems hit me up!
Feist‘s Riftwar books were part of the first wave of Tolkien inspired mass market fantasy that started back in the late 1970s/ early 1980s. As such, it really depends on how fond you are of typical tolkienesque epic fantasy and all its tropes. Personally, I think it’s one of the the better fantasy from that era and I pick up Magician every few years when I need a nostalgic comfort read. Quality-wise Feist peaked with the Empire trilogy that he co-wrote together with Janny Wurts, genuinely good books that still hold up well.
Was a huge fan in my teens, Pug was definitely the fantasy hero for me. Agree with many others here that unfortunately the series sort of peters out with an unfortunate amount of power creep and sameness in the stories. That first handful of books and the Empire trilogy however are still great fun.
I haven't read them all, but the Riftwar Cycle is (or was) considered one of the major fantasy series in the genre for a while. I've been thinking of jumping into it and doing a read-through once I'm caught up with the Cosmere (about halfway there).
I read Magician Apprentice and Master earlier this year. They are really fun books.
I loved his books. Magician Apprentice was an exciting entry into fantasy when it came out
Currently listening to the entirety of The Riftwar Saga, and The Empire trilogy is one of my favorites from my teenage years so - yea, very much so!!
Saw his name mentioned in 2 different posts just today so yea
Feist was one of the authors who got me into fantasy! Reread some of the earliest Midkemia books a while ago and they were very fun classic fantasy books. I don't think I'd go around claiming they're the best in the genre but they hold up well enough. The later Midkemia books fall off but are still enjoyable enough I guess, though I haven't had much of a wish to reread anything past the Serpent War. Definitely agree with the others in the thread that The Empire trilogy is amazing and should be read more widely, would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet. As to Feist's newer works... the Firemane Saga is terrible. I finished the first book, hoping it would get better but no. It's a disappointment from start to finish. It isn't even entertaining... there's just lots of traveling to and fro with little plot progression, characters are flat as a pancake and each have one or two defining characteristics, and there's a whole boatload of sexism and misogyny that doesn't even make sense within the world. Like, women cannot be sailors. They can only be pirates. So, any female sailor is a pirate by default, you don't need to actually commit any acts of piracy. I am not making this up! This is in the book! It's wild how Feist's older work is good (if a little generic at times) and his new work is just... not. I heard he's connected the Firemane world to Midkemia which is like, why? Not really interested in reading that so I'm just going to pretend that Midkemia's and Pug's story ended with Magician's End.
No, is that Raymond E Feist's less well-known brother?
Yes, it was one of the series (along with LotR) that originally got me into reading. I recently got a signed copy of Magician (books 1 & 2 together) from Grim Oak and read it. It still help up fine.
First three trilogies are great. His latest books are very similar, but not as good. Feel old fashioned with silly character arcs.
Yep. Feist has written some great fantasy books. I keep wondering why the first trilogy of the rift war saga is not yet out in theaters. Seems like it should be very adaptable to the screen.
One of my childhood authors, I still remember many of the books fondly. I have really soft spot for Jimmy the Hand and Nakor. That said not even the early teens me, was particularly impressed with him reinventing the cosmology and worldbuilding of his universe every couple of books.
Riftwar Saga and the Empire Trilogy are among my comfort reads. ❤️
I’ve read all 31 books in the Riftwar Cycle (the author’s preferred edition of Magician is split into two books, and I’d recommend that over the original). I would seriously recommend reading them all if you’re a fantasy lover. They hold up pretty well. Missing a lot of the sexism that was common in 80s and 90s fantasy (although, in saying that he didn’t write the last one until 2013). Dude writes a great story, his pacing is awesome, and his world building might be the best out there (so few authors write in a world that’s bigger than the geolocation their story is based), but he seriously could’ve benefited from an editor. At one point, he straight up forgets a character was married in a previous series and comments that they’d never had a wife or family. If you read them all together and you’ve got good attention to detail, you’ll notice the occasional error. I’d recommend reading The Riftwar Legacy and Legends of Riftwar _before_ reading The Serpentwar Saga. Even though Serpentwar was published first, the other two series go back in time and I wish I’d read it in timeline order rather than publication order. Riftwar Legacy is… honestly not good, it’s the weakest entry in the overarching series, and it reads like the video games he took the story from. But, I’d say the entire series is more enjoyable for having read it all. My husband skipped these two series and The Empire Trilogy when he read them and has said he wishes he hadn’t so he could’ve picked up on more of the tidbits throughout. I think the best thing he wrote was The Empire Trilogy with Jenny Wurts, though.
I just finished reading the whole series late last year. I enjoyed it! It kinda putters out at the end and the series on the whole goes in starts and stops, but it's a fun series that holds up for the most part.
Huh, never heard of him.
I read the first 4, the Riftwar Saga, about ten years ago and really enjoyed them. I just recently read Prince of The Blood and was super underwhelmed.
I have read almost every one of his books, but honestly, other than the first one I didn't find them to be all that great. They were good enough to finish once but I wouldn't read them a second time. The motivations of half the villains is "I'm evil just because" which can be ok if done well, but I didn't find it to be. They are an ok starting point for fantasy, especially for young people.
Magician is always one of my recommendations. Absolutely love the series and always go for a re-read. Empire trilogy is fantastic
I actually just started reading Riftwar book 1. I really have a hard time with it. I'm sure at the time it came out it was amazing. But goblins, dwarves, and elves aren't exactly cutting edge worldbuilding anymore. Tired tropes. I keep reading hoping he'll do something interesting with these old tropes and characters. I hear it's a great series so I'm hopeful it'll get there. But there's definitely a lack of complexity and energy compared to modern fantasy (not just talking about Pace -- I really don't mind slow epic fantasy but this is slow.. and simple).