The Riftwar Cycle is the name given to the series of books authored or co-authored byRaymond E. Feist that revolve around the fantasy worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.
The majority of Feist's works are part ofThe Riftwar Universe, and feature the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.[1] 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 theDungeons & Dragons (D&D)role-playing game. When Feist studied at theUniversity 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 theThursday 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 theFriday Nighters. The original group have since formed a company calledMidkemia Press, which has continued publishing campaigns set in that universe.[2]
Feist acknowledges that theTekumel setting fromM. A. R. Barker'sEmpire 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 byTekumel. 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 fromTekumel. Feist claims to have been unaware of this origin when he wroteMagician.[3][4]
MostRiftwar novels' stories occur in chronological order following the publishing order, with a few exceptions. The Empire Trilogy starts duringMagician and concludes afterA Darkness at Sethanon. The Riftwar Legacy occurs between the Riftwar Saga and Krondor's Sons. The Legends of the Riftwar novels occur betweenMagician andSilverthorn.
Novels are grouped into their respective series, with series ordered by the publishing date of the first novel in the series.
The videogamesBetrayal at Krondor andReturn to Krondor were developed with input from Feist and take place during the Riftwar cycle, their stories were also novelized by Feist as part of hisRiftwar 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, Jacob Pinion andNick Bernardone are attached to write.[5]