All the Krondor books are good. The Riftwar Saga is a fascinating Fantasy series that really keeps you guessing, and the characters are some of the most interesting I've seen in fantasy. I read Betrayal at Krondor mainly because of the game. You see, the hardcover book was on sale for $5, and the game was bound into the book on a CD Rom for free. After reading the book, I went and bought the next one in the series and enjoyed it as well.
In essence, the free bound-in copy of the game really did sell me on reading the rest of the series.
Now, of course, I am more than happy to buy a GOG version of the game and Betrayal At Antara.

I'm going to have to disagree here (at least with Magician, I don't know the others). It's the most derivative book I've ever read in my entire life.

I mean, come on, there are dwarves, elves, men and ... a dragon.

At one point they go through a mountain ... and one gets lost, seemingly dead.

They have a 'council with the elves', the leader of which is .... a beautiful female.

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? I mean, there are more but I've forgotten them by now because it was all so silly and what have you. That's not to say it's bad because it's good and does have some nice ideas, when he's not blatantly stealing others. Seriously though, have we fallen so far now that we honestly consider decent books 'great'?

The worst part is that Tad Williams' "Dragonbone Chair" again is a derivative of Magician. The beginning of the book is a blatant copy of Magician, and later there is a blatant copy of the Lothlorien chapter of Lord of the Rings. In comparison "Magician" is subtle.

Anyway, your enjoyment of the books should depend on how old and/or experience you are. If you 40+ and have read and enjoyed ASOAIF, Malazan and R. Scott Bakker, Raymond E. Feist just isn't gonna do it for you.

So I've now read the Riftwar Saga books and played the game. I find I'm agreeing with the critics of the books for the most part, as the books aren't particularly original or even that well-written. But they do have pretty good worldbuilding for what they are, with a society that operates similarly to feudal Europe (and another, rather different society that I won't spoil), and this makes them a good setting for the game. And playing the game after reading the books is very interesting, because they're tied together so much. The game is basically a full-fledged sequel to the books. So while the books on their own may not be that compelling, I do recommend reading them if you're planning to play the game. I think it makes both the books and the game better when they're paired.

In fairness, the books were conceived and written at a point where what you were looking at largely was THE fantasy genre as most people knew it - the fantasy genre of today is vastly more complex and diverse; it's easy to forget how much it has changed in a relatively short time (or how much of today's fantasy genre would have been dismissively written off as too bizarre even a couple of decades ago).

I like that the books tie in with the game in a very natural and continuous way, but given how diverse my reading interests are (and how poor my drive to actually read can sometimes be) I doubt I'll ever prioritise reading the Krondor and Antara books over others I'm excited about unless I REALLY enjoy the game, but I'd like to go in knowing roughly what the readers of the books do. Could anyone give me a short summary (i.e. a few bullet points) summarising what you would know from the books going into the game or might pick up on that you otherwise wouldn't?

Started the game recently and I'm enjoying it, especially it's literary quality.

I don't think there are any books for Antara. That game had an original setting because they'd lost the license to use Feist's world.

Anyway, it's hard to summarize what you'd learn from the books, because most of it is getting to know the characters and the world. Many characters from the books appear in the game and some are even playable characters, so those who have read the books will know these characters already. The actual plotline of the books is referenced too, but it's pretty easy to get a summary of that from Wikipedia if you want. I liked the way the events of Betrayal at Krondor tied into what happened in the books, but my favorite part was being able to explore the places I'd read about and meet characters I knew.

I played BAK long before reading any of the books, and I didn't find myself confused about the setting. The descriptions in the game manual and from right clicking portraits and such in-game will tell you everything you need to know about the world to understand the plot.

This is true; the game does a good job of explaining everything. But players who have read the books will know a fuller backstory for the characters and places.

yes read them all and started again

If anyone's still wondering about this, here's my answer:

The first three books (Magician, Silverthorn, and Darkness at Sethanon) are some of my favourite fantasy books. They're pretty much the epitome of "high fantasy." It's a bit cliche, but it's nonetheless fairly well-written, and the plot is paced well so that it keeps you interested while still leaving opportunities to get to know the characters.


Personally, I like it this way. I've never been a huge fan of darker and more mature fantasy series because to me, they occupy a strange sort of middle ground: They're too serious to make for good, mindless reading, but they're not really serious enough to make for stimulating or provocative reading, so they're kind of this weird thing where I don't really know what to do with them.

That being said, the Magician series does tend to get darker as it goes on (actually starting in the very next book, the one about the Serpent Queen), but it still never really leaves that high fantasy atmosphere.


I guess what I'm saying is that they're some of the best books you could bring to the beach.

I have played the return to Krondor for some years ,at least twelve. and I one point Itried to read the books-I think the game is better but it's all a matter of taste bout the books anyway-worth a look.


I wish there was a Elric and Stormbringer game here...love those books best for sword and sorcerey.more than Fafredand the grey mouser ,Tolien,Conan and Kull, Krondor,etc etc-just my taste is all.

My personal favorite fantasy writers are:
J.R.R Tolkien Silmarillion, Children of Hurin,The Hobbit, and LOTR

Michael Moorcock The Champion Eternal Series

& newly found writer which automatically became one of my favorite
Raymond E. Feist

His books may be too long for some (400 pages). Which is almost equal to Frank Herbert's amount of pages.
The audio book was about 30 hours long, even though the narrators read swiftly.
I recommend all those who enjoy fantasy, take a look and to read all of his books. Also Moorcock's Champion Eternal Series.

P.S
Don't pay attention to Good Reads. Feist's, and Moorcock's books have a 3/5 to 2/5 score. Read them and make your own opinion.

Have Fun
gogwitcher300

I played the game first and then got the books. It was exciting to read about "places I had been" in a matter of speaking.
Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon are the better books for people who enjoy the game. Magician was okay.
The stuff after Darkness really went of the rails though...
When Betrayal At Kronor came out it was really something.
A 386pc with a 4x CDrom and that disc was magic!

the books are good up untill the deamons appear and a major character or 2 gets killed off. bleh....the other commenter is right starts to go downhill fast around serpent queen.
I think because the author was out of ideas

additonal info theres also a beutiful offical walktrough book wich is a great read with even a few secrets altough most if not all are known on BAK website