Book suggestions similar to Serpent War saga, Riftwar Legacy etc by Raymond E. Feist

[dreamcatcher.]

Hi

i am a big big fan of the series by Raymond E. Feist. Books like Magician, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon etc, the serpent war saga, riftwar legacy and the Empire series telling the story of mara of acoma. i love the series alot and have been searching for books that are of that sort or along that lines. i have been unsuccessful so far in my quest to find a book to quench my thirst for such books. can anyone who has read that series recommend any other titles that are just as good if not better?

your recommendations would be much appreciated. thanks.

 

[AJ_]

Hi dreamcatcher

You might like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. The first book is A Game of Thrones.

 

[dreamcatcher.]

thx

hey AJ

thanks for your suggestion. i shall take a look at that series.

dreamcatcher.

 

[Brys]

I'd suggest first looking at the main influences on Feist:
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber -

Two of the finest creations in the history of modern fantasy

Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance -

A modern classic by one of the great fantasy and science fiction writers of the 20th century. A rare tale of an Earth so far in the future as to be nearly unrecognisable to the contemporary reader

These form a lot of the basis for Krondor in particular as well as the character of Jimmy the hand. Both are excellent authors, often humorous and a big influence on Feist. I actually prefer the authors who influenced him to his own writing.

Another one Feist recommends is the Compleat Enchanter -

Whimsy and fantasy mingled with genius. Lighthearted tales that stand the test of time and rank among the best ever told

A very accurate analysis, I think.

Then take a look at some of the top epic fantasy series today:
A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin (especially as you like the Empire series - has the same kind of levels of intrigue, but with better writing and a much darker tone)
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
The Prince of Nothing by R Scott Bakker

Guy Gavriel Kay's standalone novels tend to be excellent as well, particularly the Lions of Al-Rassan and Last Light of the Sun.

There are tons of other fantasy novels that I've read that I'd say are better, but they're all very different stylistically to Feist.

 

[Self]

Hey,
Erikson's Malazon is nothing like the work of Feist in my opinion, nor is Bakker. I wouldn't read either of these expecting them to resemble Feists style.

Not having read the books listed as Feist's influence, I cannot comment on them but George Martin is certainly an excellent recommendation.

Another author to consider, less in depth than Martin or Feist, but probably closer in style, would be David Gemmell. The pages seem to turn themselves and the book is finished before you know it.

 

[Brys]

They're in the same subgenre - Erikson and Bakker are a lot closer to Feist than Mieville or Harrison.

Erikson has the same kind of high magic, inventive setting as Feist - particularly of the Kelewan setting, but I admit Erikson is a huge amount more complex than Feist and not as similar as Martin (who manages to write excellent traditional epic fantasy). Bakker's somewhere between Erikson and Martin. The main point though is that they all write within the same subgenre (epic fantasy), and as these three represent the best offerings of epic fantasy today, it's logical to recommend them - no one needs to stick to reading books almost identical stylistically to Feist.

Gemmell's not a bad author and some of his writing's genuinely entertaining, but I maintain that his predecessors (Fritz Leiber and Robert Howard in particular) were far better writers and far more enjoyable to read.

 

[Self]

Hey again Brys,
I understand where you're coming from, but I'm having a little trouble placing Feist & Erikson into the same epic fantasy category. Not trying to start an argument with you (or anyone) but the original question was asking for other works similiar to Feist and in my opinion Erikson & Feist are chalk and cheese. That being said, Erikson & Bakker both are very popular and your recommendations may be exactly what the the enquirer desires, just trying to warn them that it may not be what they're after.

 

[Brys]

Actually it was more along the lines of "can anyone who has read that series recommend any other titles that are just as good if not better?", so he's enjoyed Feist but he wants other novels that are equally good or better - not the same. Erikson and Bakker both fall easily into the epic fantasy subgenre definition and have many of the elements of traditional fantasy - they utilise them in a different way to Feist, but there's always going to be some differences between authors. Erikson draws from roughly the same influences as Feist (Leiber, Moorcock, Vance, Zelazny...), but he generally writes on a much larger, more epic scale. Feist is closer to swords+sorcery in some of his books but almost always remains firmly within the epic fantasy subgenre. Bakker might just be classified as historical fantasy, but there's enough magic in and enough divergence from history for it to be easily fit into the epic fantasy subgenre as well. The key components of epic fantasy are:
pre-industrial scale
epic conflict
secondary world (ie not set in the real world)
magic

of those, all three authors qualify with ease. The difference comes when you start assuming common traditions or cliches within epic fantasy are part of its defining features, such as the quest, or orphan who grows up to be a hugely important person etc. Bakker I can't really see your contention with actually - he writes Tolkienesque epic fantasy, but he writes it well and in his own way.

There was a reason I wasn't recommending Gormenghast, or Viriconium or Perdido Street Station - they aren't at all similar to Feist, even if they are a lot better than what Feist's written.

 

[Self]

Thanks for the lecture Brys - probably went way off track as to the original question asked, but if somebody got something out of it, well and good. Either way, hopefully Dreamcatcher has picked up on what we are both trying to say, and assisted with their enquiry.

 

[Felsenkind]

I have read the complete Saga around Pug the Magician. Starting from "Magician: Apprentice" all the way to "Magician's End". I enjoyed it a lot.
I wonder that nobody in this thread so far has mentioned R.A. Salvatore. I admit it has been very long, since I read the Dark Elf saga (starring Drizzt Do'Urden) but you might want to look into that.

Cheerio

 

[Matthew.P]

I do really like those books (and I would highly recommend the Dark Elf saga) but theirs also Crimson Gears that is actually releasing I think on July of this year. I am really looking forward to it and suggest it if you like science fiction novels.