Raymond E. Feist

The majority of Feist's works are part of The Riftwar Cycle, and feature the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.[5] 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 role-playing game, by Feist and his friends studying at the University of California San Diego. The group 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.[6]

Feist acknowledges that the Tekumel setting from M. A. R. Barker'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 20 major and 20 minor gods – comes from Tekumel. Feist claims to have been unaware of this origin when he wrote Magician.[7]

Prior to the end of the Riftwar Cycle, Feist's only novel outside the Riftwar setting was Faerie Tale, a fantasy story set in modern New York state. He has also published several short stories in various anthologies.

Feist wrote a new trilogy titled Firemane, published in 2018–2022:

1. King of Ashes, released in late April 2018.
2. Queen of Storms, released in July 2020.[8]
3. Master of Furies, released in June 2022[9]