The Empire Trilogy

[lapis star]

Daughter of the Empire,Servant of the Empire,Mistress of the Empire should be read in that order. Good reads so far,I am halfway through Servant of the Empire. The first book was a bit hard to get into at the beginning,but once it gets going,hang on its an awesome read about Kelewan,gives new perspective of the Tsuruanni,and you get a bunch of new characters to enjoy.Pug and Laurie make a brief cameo appearance in book 2.-James

[williamjm]

I did think Servant of the Empire was one of Feist's best books. I liked all the intrigue in it between the different factions.

[Kulgan]

Like many others, I found the first book hard to get into, but once I did, I became totally immersed in their culture. Tho some people might find it strange, the books reminded me very much of the old miniseries 'Shogun'.

[devilsgrin]

this series is by far my favourite of Feist's works... this may be due to it being a collaboration, with an author well known for her ability to flesh out characters - something Feist can be guilty of not doing far too often.
The intrigue, the brutality of such an obviously 'civilised' race. Mara of the Acoma became one of my absolute favourite ficticious characters after Servant of the Empire. Kevin of Zun too. I found his Midkemian perspective was sometimes necessary as a guide for Kelewan and its alien mind-set.

[Quokka]

Great series and I think it was a brilliant idea to do it as a collaboration, it does read differently to most of Fiest's stories which only helped to build the feeling that it was taking place on a world alien to Midkemia. I think it even adds something to teh experience if you later go back and re-read the Riftwar series, having that extra knowledge of the 'enemy' in the back of your mind.

Edit: I had forgotten about Kevin but your right DG he was a great character.

[Kulgan]

I agree - after reading the Empire trilogy you almost have t go bace and re-read the riftwar, because you now have a perspective on the war from both sides.

I'm also glad that I read the Empire before ever reading 'Honoured Enemy'. Knowing what I did about the Tsuranni allowed me a far more in-depth understanding and perspective of the Tsuranni, their code of honor and conduct, etc. I still consider HE one of the best books in the series.

[lapis star]

So I have read all the Empire trilogy books. Fiest and Wurts need to team up again.The trilogy had a happy ending,but I see so much more to write here. Mistress of the Empire actually brought me to tears at the end. WOW I'm a 50 year old man and this made me cry.-Lapis

[Grimward]

I read the Empire series when it came out, Kulgan, and while the code of honor very much reminded me of things I had heard or seen dramatized about ancient Japan (not a scholar of native Japanese history, so I humbly beg indulgence here!), it always kind of irritated me that I couldn't put my finger on what I had seen that it reminded me of most. You, however, have hit the nail on the head; it's very much like that old "Shogun" series.

Have to agree about "Honoured Enemy", too. I've said elsewhere on this site that I thought some of his other recent work hadn't lived up to his early stuff, but I'd forgotten about this collaboration with Forsythe, which is clearly the exception. Only complaint about HE was that it was over too soon!

[Kulgan]

First of all, Lapis, you are not the only one who has been so moved by Ray's works. I'll be 60 soon and both my wife (whose age I won't mention, lol) and myself have been brought to tears more than once while reading these books. We both cried a lot when Jimmy died, and that wasn't the first or last time Ray has moved us so deeply.

Grimward, thank you for the kind words. Yep, the code of Bushido is very evident in the Tsuranni code of honor. IMO Shogun was a milestone in that it allowed a lot of us an in-depth look at feudal Japan, and I learned a great deal about it. Wish all miniseries were that good. And yep, as far as HE goes, I wish it had gone for a little longer - say about another 300 pgs.

[dekket]

The Empire Trilogy is my favourite of all the Kelewan/Midkemia series of books, but then, other than the original Magician, I prefer the Collaborations (with other authors, such as Janny Wurts in this case) much better than the Feist only works.

[Morgasshk]

Originally Posted by lapis star

So I have read all the Empire trilogy books. Fiest and Wurts need to team up again.The trilogy had a happy ending,but I see so much more to write here. Mistress of the Empire actually brought me to tears at the end. WOW I'm a 50 year old man and this made me cry.-Lapis

Janny Wurts has stated she would not be writing with Ray again, wasn't any bad experience or anything, mainly a time factor of two people working together whilst other projects on the go...

Well, that was about 10 years ago she said that, so who knows now...

[lapis star]

Arakasi was a "Jimmy the Hand " type in this series,and yes when Jimmy and Gamina died I was very sad,but it worked well in books.

[sci-fi girl]

The first book was a bit difficult to get into but once I did, wow !!! This trilogy is one of my favorite. And not only the end made me cry.
The intrigue, the plots, the civilization, everything was so rich and I wish I could find some time to re-read the Riftwar saga now that I know a little more on both sides.