The Raymond E. Feist Internet Resource Index
http://www.unc.edu/~smrussel/Feist_Resources.html

NEWS ARCHIVE 2
2/25/99 - 10/17/99

Barnes & Noble Loves Ray (Don't We All?)
4:05 pm
Larry Siegel posted this:

I was just in Barnes&Noble tonight. And thir October/November edition of "Explorations" which is their SciFi/Fantasy booklet.. has what I think is not just an AMAZING review/plug for KtA but for ou in general.... the reviewer has put you up on a pedastel.. and is praising you like you wouldn't believe.

I'm gonna try and find an electronic copy of it.. or type it in and post the whole thing to the FAQ site.... but here's a part that you will hopefully find flattering.... (it's the last paragraph and is in reference to how suspenceful the book is and how bad he wants the sequel) :)

"Mr. Feist, if you're listening, I want you to know that you are going to be toturing millions of readers with this novel.  If there's an ounce of sympathy in your body, you'll publish the third book in this series as soon as is humanly possible."
-P.G.A

Tear of the Gods Release Date
4:05 pm
Ray posted this about the release date for Krondor: Tear of the Gods:

March would be cutting it very close as I don't think the books going to be handed in until December or January.

Atlas of...
4:02 pm
Ray recently posted this, about his upcoming projects:

Steve Abrams and I are writing an "Atlas of Macros the Black," and we're also talking about a Midkemian Encyclopedia.

This project was initially known as the Atlas of Krondor. Here's what Ray said to clarify the issue:

Well, it's not an Atlas OF Macros, if that's what you mean.  It's Macros's personal atlas of the world as he knew it.  It originally was the book Steve and I were doing to tie into the games, the "Atlas of Krondor" thing; but as the computer license is lying fallow now, we decided to go in a different direction with it.

Ray's North American Tour Dates
11:51 pm
Ray is having another tour of the States and Canada, and here is the first look at the schedule:

Here is, at this point, the latest in my sojourns around the world to flog the latest book.  If you wish to join me and get things autographed, here's where I'll be.

Tuesday November 9 CHICAGO	The Stars Our Destination 1021 W Belmont Chicago,  IL 60657	6PM Talk/Signing
Wednesday November 10 DAYTON	BOOKS & CO. 350 E. Stroop Rd. Dayton, OH 45429	7PM Talk/Signing
Thursday November 11 ANN ARBOR	Borders Books and Music 612 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI 48104	7PM Talk/Signing
Friday November 12 TORONTO	Indigo Book, Music & Cafe 300 Borough St, Unit 775 Scarborough, ON M1P 4P5	5:30PM Talk/Signing
Saturday November 13 TORONTO	Chapters "Festival Hall" 1:45PM 142 John St, Toronto, ONT  M5V 2E3	2PM Talk/Signing
Wednesday November 17 HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA	Barnes & Noble 7777 Edinger Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92647	7PM Talk/Signing
Saturday November 20 SAN DIEGO	MYSTERIOUS GALAXY 2:15PM 3904 Convoy Street #107 San Diego, CA 92111	2:30PM Talk/Signing

Greatest Game Ever
4:41 pm
Betrayal at Krondor garnered the 44th spot on PC Gamer's "The 50 Best Games Ever" list, in the November 1999 issue. Here's what they had to say about the classic:

The best computarized adaptation of any literary fantasy series, Sierra's Betrayal at Krondor contains all the elements that make a roleplaying game great - involving story, simple interface, characters with personality, and a gameworld large enough to take days to traverse. With its linear storyline but sprawling terrain, players could spend hours on mini-quests before ever delving into the main plot. The game's story was developed in collaboration with Raymond Feist, the author of the Midkemia novels on which the game is based, and the touch of a professional storyteller is evident throughout the whole affair. If there's any justice, Betrayal at Krondor will go down in history as one of the finest PC roleplaying games for the PC.

Miranda's Origins
4:40 pm
Ray posted this about Miranda, and the events of the never-written Return of the Buccanneer:

I doubt I'll go into detail anywhere.  I think (and remember, we're talking over ten years back for something I didn't get around to writing) it was going to be something like Miranda shows up and saves Calis's butt, and one of the sub-plots is she won't tell him who she is or where she comes from. I was always heading to the "she's Macros's daughter," and she was snooping around in Novindus because she'd finally gotten free of the Keshian secret police (and I don't remember what the deal was there, except maybe there was a very powerful magician in Kesh who had a spell on her or some such) and was looking to find her mother.

Part of the tension was going to be her and Calis becoming lovers and him not entirely trusting her.  Wanted the readres to be shouting, "No, she's playing you for a fool!"

Croation Release
4:38 pm
John Bunting posted more foreign edition news:

For those who are interested here is the detail of the Croatian book Rays work is published in IIRC it was Faerie Tale

Monolith 002: Almanah znanstveno-fantasticne knjizevnosti; Davorin Horak, uredio; meki uvez, zast. kutija; 1999. g. Nasa cijena: 290.30 kn

I will post the cover art to my site in the next few days

John later said that you could purchase the book at www.unival.hr

Krondor: the Assassins
3:17 pm
Ray posted this bit to the list, about the purpose (in terms of the overall story arc) of KtA:

Assassins is a book that bridges between the action of the two games, and came about when I decided I needed to resolve some issues related to secondary plot themes in both books, i.e. why there are suddenly Izmalis running around in the sewers of Krondor in RtK, who is Sidi, etc?

For those of us in America, be patient: the book should be out in the next month (finally!).

Dutch Covers
9:32 pm
John Bunting posted this message to the list:

I have just uploaded the Dutch covers for Shadow of a Dark Queen and Prince of the Blood

To view http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm

Select 'Netherlands Editions' Button

To see a larger image click on the thumbnail

A Goodbye
9:26 pm
Hunter Nielson announced this week that he is ending his site, Sorcerer's Isle, this week. It is sad to see any Feist site go. Good luck to you in the future, Hunter.

Map Site Update
9:25 pm
Ralph "Rand McNally" Askren sent me this email:

Many of you have asked if I would create a scale of miles for the Triagia map. I finally got around to it. The scale is based on that found in the hard cover ADAS map (thank you John Bunting for sending me a scan over a year ago), the Triagia map at the Midkemia Press web site, the map of Triagia in MP's Jonril: Gateway to the Sunken Lands, and numerous comments made by REF on the list. It is not "official" but is as close as I can make it with the info available. I have created a new framed page to play around with the scale and measure various distances. Visit the Unofficial Atlas and check it out. Enjoy! The address is http://www.shoalcreek.com/feist.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Ralph's map is perhaps the best Feist thing on the internet. Everyone needs to go to the site and admire it.

Dash & Jimmy
10:37 pm
Ray posted this teaser about Conclave:

Dash did, and became a VERY wealthy businessman.

James will show up in Conclave of Shadows, so I'm not telling you what he did. <g>

Ray's Science Fiction Novel
2:40 pm
Ray has had a science fiction novel in his targets for a while now. It doesn't look like he will get to it for a few years, but this should whet your appetite:

The Final Countdown was a relatively simplistic plot, dealing with a time paradox that turned out to be different than what the main character thought it would be.

There are similar elements, obviously, but trust me when I tell you that the book I'm planning is quite a bit more complex and vast: I won't be dealing with just a single aircraft carier, and there won't be any unexplained "magic" as to why the carrier went back in time, and it won't be a round trip.  They're back there for good.

For those that don't know, The Final Countdown was a movie in which an aircraft carrier travelled back to the 1940's in an attempt to prevent World War II.

Return to Krondor on the PSX2
4:29 pm
No, its not going to happen, but Ray did post this interesting bit about what Sony wanted during the game's development:

You don't need a "developers license," but you do need a developer's deal with Sony.  We talked to Sony at one point because they wanted us to hold off on RtK and make it a PSX2 exclusive product.  We'd be who knows where had we agreed (who knows, maybe Havas wouldn't have dumped Pyrotechnix if it was currently retooling code to make the game work over on that platform); but it would most certainly have been a very different game.

Krondor Novels
4:08 pm
Some people felt that Krondor the Betrayal lacked the depth of Ray's previous novels. Here's his thoughts on the subject:

The Krondor books are first and formost "swashbuckle" i.e. adventure tales with little of the depth of the other work.  That's intentional on my part and partly due to the underlying origins of the work.

Once in a while it's fun to have a "shoot-em-up" instead of always dealing with heavy stuff in the "emotional wear and tear" department.  The next one, however, will be darker.

About Computer Games
9:50 pm
Ray posted this about Return to Krondor:

Dynamix, 7th Level, and Pyrotechnix employees created all the characters that weren't in the books prior to the games, i.e. Limm, Lysle, Jazhara, Sidi, etc.

It could be any or all of the above.  I think most people found BaK did a better job of doing what it set out to do than RtK did achieving its goals. There are many reasons, but in short, it works or it doesn't.  For me, they both had problems (in fact, Bak had many more story problems than Rtk, while RtK had more game problems than BaK).

It has NOTHING to do with my novels.  It's 100% unrelated.  The marketing department at Sierra decided to name it "Betrayal In Antara," to attempt to capitalize on BaK.  We hit them with a cease and desist letter when they tried the first press release calling it the "Sequel. . ."  They stopped that rather than face a lawsuit they couldn't win, but they did get heavy into the "from the people who brought you BaK," which was techinically true (same parent company) but factually BS (everyone associated with BaK was long gone).

Nothing at present.  We're at the last stages of disentangling ourselves from Sierra now that Pyrotechnix is dead.

John Says...
9:47 pm
John Bunting has made a flurry of posts recently:

For the Collectors,

I have recently verified that the UK  Magician Hardcover was reprinted in 1988, and has the same cover as the early Paperback
If you would like to see the cover and details go to

http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm

"UK Editions" button

Look for the 1988 HC, if you want to see the full cover, back and front, click the thumbnail.

Next word of an interview on his site:

For those who are interested  I have posted to my website an interview with Ray, which he was gracious to provide for me for inclusion in the program of FantasyCon XXIII.

It can be found at

http://www.crydee.com/feist/interview/iviewindex.htm

Select the 'FantasyCon XXIII' button

Finally:

I have just uploaded the cover from the German Paperback of KtB which is due in October 2000. It can be found at -

http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm  'German Editions' Button

Krondor the Betrayal - Die Verschwörung der Magier

The resolution of the larger image is not too good, but will be replaced as soon as I can get a better one.

List Virus Alert!
11:03 am
To all members of the FEISTFANS-L mailing list, be wary. A message seeming to come from REF had an attached file, happy99.exe, which is a worm and could damage your system. DO NOT RUN THIS FILE! Delete the message immediately.

John Strikes Back!
10:23 pm
John Bunting posted this note about his site:

I have just uploaded the cover from the German Paperback of SOABC which is split in 2 parts, the first part being due in October '99. It can be found at - http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm  'German Editions' Button

A new page has been uploaded that contains the titles of the books, abbreviations, and the series to which they belong. It is still under construction and will be updated with info on which book was the 'First Edition'. It can be found at - http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm  'The Series' Button

Another new page uploaded contains information and cover images of some of the other books that have Ray's works in them, Computer games, Audio tapes or articles by Ray. Again this is incomplete and under construction. With larger images being made available in the near future. It can be found at - http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm    'Other Works' Button

I have also Finally added Ray's Bio which can be found at - http://www.crydee.com/feist/refindex.htm    'Biography' Button

European Tour
4:49 pm
Ray posted this final itinerary for the book tour:

Wednesday 15 September

Evening event at Heffers, 20 Trinity Street, Cambridge 18.30
Contact: Sean Flynn
Tel: 01223 568525
Format: Talk, Q&A and signing

Thursday 16 September

Evening event at Waterstone¹s, 91 Deansgate, Manchester 19.00
Contact: Ariel
Tel: 0161 837 3050
Format: Talk, Q&A and signing

Friday 17 September

*FANTASYCON*

Drinks reception: FantasyCon welcomes Raymond E Feist at Dillons, 15.00
128 New Street, Birmingham

Panel: GoHs in conversation: Raymond E Feist, Louise Cooper, 17.00
Robert Rankin, Graham Masterton, Mike Tucker

Saturday 18 September

FANTASYCON

Raymond E Feist in conversation with Stan Nicholls 11.00

Mass signing at Dillons, New Street, Birmingham 16.30

Sunday 19 September

FANTASYCON

Panel: Where Next? Fantasy and the Millennium. Raymond E Feist, 12.30
Louise Cooper, Tom Arden, Sarah Ash, Gill Alderman, Mark Chadbourn
Millennial Fantasy. Is there such a thing? What Does the 21st Century hold
in store for Fantasy fans and authors?

The British Fantasy Awards 16.00

Wednesday September 22

Lunch with the winner of the Bruna Online Feist Competition.
The meeting will be filmed by Bruna Online.

Thursday September 23

Interviews with the Flemish press

19.45 h Arrival at Cultureel Centrum De Bussel Oosterhout for Literary Evening with Raymond E. Feist
20.15 h Public interview with Kees van Toorn. At the end your fans will have the opportunity to ask questions.
21.30 h Signing Session

Friday September 24

Den Haag for a visit to Elf Fantasy Shop.
14.00 h - 14.30 h Interview with Elf Fantasy Magazine
14.30 h - 15.00 h Photo by CARP
15.00 h - 15.30 h Public interview with Stefan Struik of Elf Fantasy Shop. At the end your fans will have the opportunity to ask questions.
15.30 h Signing session

Saturday September 25

12.30 h - 13.30 h Interview with Elvin Post, Algemeen Dagblad (daily paper)
14.00 h - 15.00 h Public interview with Kees van Toorn. At the end your fans will have the opportunity to ask questions.
15.00 h Signing session

Midkemia Press RPG Supplement
9:00 pm
John Bunting found this interesting item:

For those who are interested, the Sorcerers Apprentice Magazine issue 17 had the Village of Hoxly <sp>  by Midkemia Press

Copies of this are still available, at reasonable cost

Here are the contact details:-

postmaster@flyingbuffalo.com

Flying Buffalo Inc/PO Box 1467/Scottsdale, AZ 85252 USA   
Ph: 480-945-6917 /FAX:480-994-1170 /Ans Mach: 480-994-0658
www.flyingbuffalo.com

Other Midkemian Press titles can still be ordered from Steve Abrams. Information can be found on the MP website. Also, The Black Tower is available for free in PDF format.

Formation of the Kingdom
8:58 pm
Ray posted this note about how the Kingdom of the Isles came to power on the mainland of Triagia:

The Kingdom began on the Island of Rillanon. They conquered their neighbors to form the Kingdom of the Isles (that's how they got the name).  Their first foothold on the mainland was the conquest of Bas-Tyra.  From there it was just expansion until they ran into the Empire.

At roughly the same time, the rebellion of the Keshian Confederacy caused the Empire to pull its forces to the south, allowing the Free Cities and Queg to become independent, and giving Isles more room to grow.

CRPG Update
7:25 pm
Here's the latest word from Ray on the status of Midkemian computer games:

Nothing planned at this state.  We're still trying to get dis-entangled from Sierra after Havas shut down Pyrotechnix and cut back Sierra Studio.

There have been hintings all along that a massively multiplayer role playing game is in the works...

Conclave
7:24 pm
Ray posted this about the cast of characters in the new series:

You will see very few of the characters you're familiar with in the new series, and when you do they will be in minor or cameo roles.

Consider it a new series, just one step this side of a new world.  Same background issues, but new players.

Map Update
11:37 am
Ralph Askren posted this update regarding the Unnofficial Atlas:

For those interested, I have made a few more cosmetic improvements to the map of Triagia at the Unofficial Atlas. Yes, the image file keeps getting bigger and the load time longer. I hope you will think it worth the wait. Check it out at http://www.shoalcreek.com/feist.

Order of the Riftwars
7:31 pm
Ray posted this message about the place of The Conclave of Shadows in the overall scheme of five Riftwars:

The 3rd Riftwar will take place after the Conclave of Shadows series starts.  I don't know if that's going to blend in or if I'll start a distinct series.  It depends on where the story of the Conclave takes me.

Roldem
3:50 pm
Wondering about the size of Roldem? Ray posted this:

As far as size, think England.

Meecham's Fate
3:48 pm
Ray posted this in response to a question about Meecham's fate:

There's one reference to him, and I can't remember which book, maybe in KB. After Kulgan's death, he left Stardock, and no one knows what happened to him.

Return to Krondor Deal
3:47 pm
Psihawk posted this message to the list:

I was in Comp USA yesterday... and over by the special $19.99 RtK... they have a special preview version of the RtK Prima Hint Book... which covers chapters 1 and 2.... and they're giving it away for a penny.

British Tours
9:04 pm
Ray posted this about book tours in Britain:

My signings in the UK are becoming more frequent, as this is the 2nd year in a row I'm in Old Blighty. I expect we'll be doing something major for the 20th Anniversary of Magician in 2002.

The Gods
8:04 am
Ray posted this message about the Midkemian gods:

Well, it's nothing terribly profound, and I wouldn't say this was my personal belief system, but in the universe I write about, the gods come in two flavors, greater and lesser.

The greater gods are basically the energy that drives the universe.  The closest Earth equivalent would be the Hindu "Trimurti" the three faces of the Ultimate, Brahama, Shiva, and Vishnu, one who builds, one who destroys, and one who preserves.

The greater gods care nothing about humans.  They are so far above us that we're so many gnats on a piece of rotting fruit in the gutter of a city they're flying over at 36,000 feet.

The lesser gods are the ones humans interact with.

They are the more central impulses of the universe, given expression by humans who worship them.

So love, hate, fire, the sea, vengence, justice, etc. all gain expression through worship.  As the worship varies, so varies the aspect of the god.

Then there are local gods, who achieve power through devotion in a local area.

That's about it off the top of my head.

Krondor the Betrayal Review
8:03 am
J.A. Hitchcock posted this message to the list:

If you're interested, a review I wrote of Krondor the Betrayal is up at EON Magazine at

http://www.eonmagazine.com/archive/9908/REVIEWS/reviews_frameset_reviews.htm

Click on PAPER, then on KRONDOR THE BETRAYAL.

I'm currently reading KtA and will also be reviewing it for EON Magazine.  I'll let you know when that review is up.

Krondor: the Assassins Synopsis
8:00 am
John Bunting announced on the list that he has a synopsis of KtA on his site. Its US release date is set for November 9.

European Tour Dates
1:00 am
Ray posted two messages about his upcoming book tour. The first message lists dates in England:

Here's what I know so far. More info to come as I learn it.

Evening event at Heffers, 20 Trinity Street, Cambridge 18.30

Thursday 16 September

Evening event at Waterstone¹s, Deansgate, Manchester 19.00

Friday 17 September

Fantasycon reception at Dillons in central Birmingham at about 3pm.

Saturday 18 September

FANTASYCON

Sunday 19 September

FANTASYCON

So, unless you're coming to Birmingham, it appears that Cambridge and Manchester are the only other options. I think we may squeeze one appearance in London, but I could be wrong.

His second post is about stops in Holland:

At this time, this is what I know I'll be doing in Holland:

Provisionary schedule for the visit of Raymond E. Feist to the Netherlands

Thursday September 23

Oosterhout.

19.45 h Arrival at Cultureel Centrum De Bussel Oosterhout for Literary Evening with Raymond E. Feist
20.15 h Public interview with Kees van Toorn. At the end your fans will have the opportunity to ask questions.
21.30 h Signing Session

Friday September 24

Den Haag for a visit to Elf Fantasy Shop.

15.00 h - 15.30 h Public interview with Stefan Struik of Elf Fantasy Shop. At the end your fans will have the opportunity to ask questions.
15.30 h Signing session

Saturday September 25

Donner Bookstore Rotterdam.

14.00 h - 15.00 h Public interview with Kees van Toorn. At the end your fans will have the opportunity to ask questions.
15.00 h Signing session

So, it looks as my visit has been cut to three public days, with a day and a half of business stuff mixed in. I'll stick around as long as needed to sign books at those events. Hope those of you near those cities can drop by and say hello.

Australian Release Information
12:59 am
Concerned reader Simon Brown sent me this note:

I picked up a copy of "Krondor the Assassins", yesterday Sunday 29th, in Sydney Australia.  It cost $36.95 AUS.  It appears to have been release early in a few stores around Sydney.

Crydee.com Updates
2:33 pm
John Bunting posted this update:

I have uploaded the Proof cover of the US edition of KtA to my site

http://www.crydee.com/feist/refindex.htm

Select the  US Proof Button, then select the KtA thumbnail for a larger image

The Final cover can be seen here

http://www.crydee.com/feist/isbn/isbnindex.htm

Select the US Editions Buttons, then select the KtA thumbnail for a larger image

The books ISBN is 0-380-97707-9 and the Expected release date 9 November

Krondor: the Assassins Foreign Release
2:28 pm
Apparently, Krondor: the Assassins is going to be released on September 6 in Australia and the UK. Advanced Reader Copies are already floating around (some are on eBay). I've also received mail saying it is in general release now in Australia, so call your local bookstore and check!

Bobby's Burial
2:08 am
Ray posted this message to the list about Bobby's final resting place:

Ya.  It won't get mentioned, probably, in forthcoming books, because there's probably no scene where it would make sense to, but he did get him and bring him home.  Big funeral in Krondor with his ashes spread at sea.

Krondor: the Assassins ARC
2:07am
Anyone with some money to burn might want to check out this eBay auction of an advanced reader's copy of Ray's next book.

New Web Sites
6:25 pm
I've added several new sites to the Link Page. The first, Legends of Krondor, is a general site. Secondly, The Midkemian Fantasy Webring is a new ring. The last site has a biography of Ray and some book reviews.

Conclave Title
6:23 pm
Ray posted this about the title of the first Conclave novel:

Actually "Talon of the Silver Hawk" is a character's name.  The book title, I think, may end up being "Hawk Ascending."  Or I may use the character's name for the title.  I don't know yet.

Arutha In Depth
11:06 pm
Ray posted this very interesting bit about Arutha:

Arutha (the Prince) has no fear of personal failure, i.e. "being good enough."  If he has a character flaw, it's a vanity, what middle management types call "the error of preciousness," the certainty that he's irreplaceable.   It comes from being very, very good when you're very, very young.  He's learned a thing or two by the time we reach the Krondor series, which is why he's willing to delegate to James.   His only fear of failure is involved with not getting the job done, and that's not fear so much as concern that something might prevent him; he never for a moment doubts his own ability.  His own wisdom, time to time, but never his ability.

Arutha Jamison lived in the shadow of two great men all his life, and as a result he took little pleasures in his own talents and worried about what he saw as lacks in comparison to his father and his namesake.

Further along in the post he discusses the conDion's values:

All three of Borric's sons were concerned with duty, not wealth and power.

Someone earlier in the thread alluded to the Kennedys.  Despite their well publicized foibles, the fact is two of the brothers were war heroes, Joe dying in combat as a bomber pilot, and JFK's well reported rescue of his crew despite his own wounds on PT 109 during World War II.  And despite wealth, most Kennedys are raised with an almost "nobless oblige" a requirement to give service to the nation.  Those that don't go into politics often work quietly for charity or educational foundations and institutions.

In a sense, that's much like the line of conDoins before the twins.  They don't think in terms of personal wealth and power, but in terms of duty to the nation.

"Duty" if often overlooked in today's society, possibly because of our growing cynicism during Korea and Viet Nam.   So in short (aren't you glad I finally got around to that?) the answer is "those characters were driven by duty.  Not honor, not greed, not a lust for glory, but rather to do the best they could by the people to whom they were responsible.

Midkemian Critters
10:58 pm
Ray posted this note to the list about Midkemia's more nefarious denizens:

In the _game_ of Midkemia, you got the full blast of every critter from every damn FRP you can imagine, so you could see minotaurs and gnolls.

In the literary Midkemia, I've tried to cut down the monster population, for a couple of reasons, dramatically and practically.

So major non-humans, elves in all their flavors, dwarves, gobblins, and trolls.  Giants have been mentioned, but I'm treating them basically as horribly mutated human stock (might be a story there somewhere).  The serpent people and tiger people were magically mutated by the Valheru, and are not naturally occurring.

There may be a few other intelligent races lurking around, but nothing gets really strange until after the 5th Riftwar, and from that point forward, nothing is impossible.

The New Site
11:53 pm
Sorry for the last week's silence. Moving in to UNC was a hassle :) But I'm here now and this is the new location of the site. Hopefully it will be stable :) My email address is now srussell@unc.edu. Please let me know if there are any problems!

Atlas Info
11:52 pm
Ray reveals more facts about the Atlas:

Well, the "Krondor" banner is what it will be published under, and it will center on Krondor, but eventually we hope to get around to the entire world.  As we get father from Krondor in this first one (and maybe only one, but we can hope) we'll be seeing less detail.  By the time you get to the world map there'll be lots of "here there be dragons," kind of stuff.

Jimmy's Tale
11:48 pm
Ray posted this about the setting of the Jimmy the Hand Tales of the Riftwar story:

Remember in Magician, when Arutha is rescuing Anita from Jocko Radburn? He throws Jimmy his sword when he sees the boy trapped on the docks? We start about an hour later. So, basically, we're going to tell the "1st" Jimmy the Hand solo adventure story. We haven't decided yet, but I think the title will be Tales of the Riftwar: Jimmy the Hand.

More on Eastern Realm Politics
6:30 pm
Ray posted more details about the political situation in the east:

The Eastern Kingdoms are small states that cause constant friction on the Kingdom's eastern border.  The Armies of the East often don't fight, but there are constant skirmishes and much political intrigue.

A few of those states are related by political marriage to either Roldem or the Kingdom of the Isles, but if you want a historical Earth model, think of the Kingdoms and Duchies of Italy or Germany before it was unified.

Owyn Returns (Kind of...)
6:27 pm
Ray posted this note, clarifying Owyn Belafonte's future (after Betrayal at Krondor) in light of the Conclave series:

Actually, Owyn will not return.  He may be referenced by name during the Conclaves series.  He returned to his father's estate, gave up practicing magic, and was eventually given a title and estates of his own.

The problem with Owyn was fitting him into the larger Midkemian concept I had before Betrayal at Krondor was developed.  There were no significant Magicians named "Owyn" mentioned or referenced in Prince of the Blood and King's Buccaneer, so suddenly having him show up in the Serpent War would have been difficult.

The situation, however, was there was no good way to somewhere in there mention Owyn and his choices.  To have Pug idly referencing him that many years later would have seem forced.

So, eventually Owyn caved and did as his father wished.

But he had a son who shows up in Conclave.

My guess would be that Owyn's son, raised on tale's of his father's grand adventure, seeks out Pug to join the Conclave and fight whichever baddies are threatening Midkemia.

More on John's Site Change
4:15 pm
In addition to the note below about the new URL for John Bunting's site, it has been renamed to The Raymond E. Feist Reference Pages.

Site Update
1:14 pm
This has been a really slow week for news. However, I have been putting the final touches on everything for the switch to this sites' new home, the University of North Carolina web server. Although I am leaving for UNC on Saturday, I am not sure when the move will occur. I am going to try to get the new site up this week so I will have a little bit of time to troubleshoot it before moving in.

The Realms
1:13 pm
In response to a question about the political division of the Kingdom into two realms, and the nature of the Eastern Kingdoms, Jeff Czyz posted this explanation:

Rillanon is the capitol of both the Kingdom and the Eastern Realm. Bas-Tyra is one of the oldest duchies within the Kingdom and, like you said, is located within the Eastern Realm.

...

The Eastern Kingdoms are small nations to the east of Rillanon.  A few of them include the Kingdom of Roldem, the Duchy of Olasko, and Ceresia, among others.  From REF awhile back:

'There are roughly fifteen areas, and truly only two "Kingdoms," while the rest are "Duchy of. . ." or "Land of the . . . " and there's a large disputed area.'

John Bunting's Sites Change URL
1:09 pm
John Bunting has moved all of his websites to a new web server. The Links page has been updated accordingly. His two sites of interest to Feist fans are the WebRing Home and his large Feist site.

Future Novel Plans
11:07 pm
There has not been much news of late, as the mailing list is embroiled in a theological debate. However, Ray posted this little bit when asked about writing about the Riftwar from Kesh's perspective:

Someday, maybe, but it'll be future history, not during the previous books.

Poll Results
4:46 pm
Here are the results from the latest poll, "Did you beat Return to Krondor?":

63.9% Yes
16.2% Never played the game
13.9% No, I'm still playing though
5.8% No, I gave up

The new poll topic is "How eager are you to read Krondor: the Assassins?"

Krondor: the Assassins UK Cover
4:34 pm
John Bunting has posted this note:

I have just posted the UK KtA cover at my site

http://www.magic-box.demon.co.uk/feist/refindex.htm

Follow the Publication Information and then UK Editions Clicking the thumbnail will give a larger image.

John has one of the nicest Feist websites around. I suggest you check it out.

Conclave Characters
4:30 pm
Several questions were posted this week about the cast of the Conclave series. Most were about possible appearances of Erik, Roo, Dash or Jimmy, and what happens to the Serpentwar heroes after Shards of a Broken Crown. Ray posted a few different messages about the topic:

I am not going to follow Dash and James.  You will catch glimpses of James in the Conclave of Shadows series, but I don't know about Dash.  But we pick up maybe 30 years after the end of Shards, with Patrick on the thone.

There is no need in the new books to make any reference to Roo, Erik, Luis, etc. given who they were and where they were.  It would be as false as having a character left over from a novel set in Los Angeles, showing up 30 years later and at some pont having him say, "You know, I used to know these guys out in L.A.," and then having him drone on to fill in background and history.  As those characters have no bearing on the current story it would be false.

Feel free to make up your own ending for Roo, Luis, & Erik's lives.  Stick them into the "happily ever after," category.

You know how governments are: Roo got some of his money back, but I believe I had him reflecting on that at one point in Shards, that he'd never get back half of what he had put in.  I think he also recognized the hand of Duke James somewhere in his success, so he didn't feel as if he was cheated somehow.  He probably also realized late in life that the game was what was important to him, the earning the money as opposed to having it.

BOOK TOUR!
4:12 pm
Ray posted information on these upcoming appearances. Be sure to write these dates down!

(Subject to change)

Tuesday, November 9 - Chicago, Illinois
Arrive The Stars Our Destination, 5:45 PM
1021 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL 60657
Contact: Alice Bentley, (773) 871-2722

6:00 PM - Reading/Signing

Wednesday, November 10 - Dayton, Ohio
Arrive Books & Co., 6:45 PM
350 E. Stroop Rd., Dayton, OH 45429
Contact: Sharon Roth, (937) 297-6365 or 297-7895 (fax)

7:00 PM - Reading/Signing

Thursday, November 11 - Ann Arbor, Michigan
Borders Books and Music
612 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Contact: Eric Olsen, (734) 668-7553

Time Not Yet Available - Reading/Signing

Friday, November 12 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Indigo Books & Music
155 Bloor St., Toronto, ONT, Canada M4W 1A5
Contact: Ephram Spiegelman, (416) 925-3536 x 5108

Time Not Yet Available - Reading/Signing

Saturday, November 13 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Arrive Chapters "Festival Hall," 12:45 PM
142 John St., Toronto, ONT, Canada M5V 2E3
Contact: Joanne Struch, (416) 595-7349

1:00 PM - Reading/Signing

Saturday, November 20 - San Diego, California
Arrive Mysterious Galaxy, 2:15 PM
3904 Convoy Street #107, San Diego, CA 92111
Contact: Mary Elizabeth Hart, (619) 278-4004

2:30 PM - Reading/Signing

Following Ray's announcement, there were a few questions about the proper etiquette at a signing. Ray's responses:

A few stores try to push the "he's only signing the new one, and you have to buy it here," nonsense but most don't.

The rule-of-thumb is not to make people behind you wait, so I usually sign three and send those with more to the back of the line.  If I'm pressed for time, that means that everyone gets something signed.  If I'm not pressed (most of the time) then that insures that those who have only the new book, but find themselves behind the obsessive collector type fan who has 100 different editions don't blow their entire lunch hour waiting for me to get past one guy.

Bring some of your old ones, buy the new one, whatever makes you happy.

And in a later post:

If it's got my name on it, or was published as part of a promotion, i.e. game, map, CD, etc.  I'll sign it.

I've been to one of Ray's book signings, and they are pretty cool events. If you can go, I highly recommend it. And nothing is better than a signed hardback...

French Editions
4:09 pm
John Bunting posted this to the site about new French editions:

I have just uploaded the new French covers to my site for Magician Apprentice and Magician Master

Http://www.magic-box.demon.co.uk/feist/isbn/isbn-fr.html

Larger pictures can be seen by clicking on the image

It looks like the Magician Apprentice has been re-released or the publisher has changed.

Ray responded with this:

I think they just changed the type treatment and used the same art by Don.

OUT OF TOWN
3:19 pm
I will be out of town next week, for the last time until school starts. I am leaving for the beach tomorrow morning and will be back on Sunday, August 1. Sorry for the disruption. More news when I return!

Conclave Details
3:17 pm
When asked whether Erik, Roo & Co. will show up in future books, Ray responded in the negative, and offered this information on the characters in the next series:

They are done.  Next series after Serpentwar is Conclave of Shadows, some 30-50 years (I haven't decided yet) after Serpentwar, and located in the Eastern Kingdoms.

The only characters who may show up will be those who have business in the King's Court at Rillanon.  I'm pretty certain James will show up as Duke of Rillanon, but he'll be a minor character.  Obviously there will be some dealing with King Patrick, but most of the action takes place beyond the borders of the Kingdom of the Isles, so anyone else who shows up will be a cameo.

Online RPG
3:32 pm
When asked if a massively multiplayer online role playing game set in Midkemia, Ray responded thus:

Can't comment on that yet.

Focus on the word "yet." Another clue of what is (hopefully) to come...

Future Books
3:29 pm
Ray posted a very informative note today about future book plans, including the subjects of the three Tales of the Riftwar novels:

No Empire books. Janny and I had discussed it sometime back, and decided we didn't have another story to tell there.

The books at this point are:

The current project, Krondor: Tear of the Gods.

Three in the Conclave of Shadows, the first of which is titled Talon of the Silver Hawk.

Three in the Tales of the Riftwar series, a murder mystery set in LaMut during a winter's garrisoning co-written with Joel Rosenberg. A "march or die" type combat novel co-written with William R. Forstchen. And a "Jimmy the Hand" novel co-written with S. M. Stirling.

And Steve Abrams and I are going to do the Atlas of Midkemia.

More Legends Information
1:49 pm
John Bunting posted some more information on the sequel to Legends. Here is his post (in italics) and Ray's responses:

There is going to be a Legends 2 but IIRC it is planned for 2001 or 2002, I was told it would be a new set of authors, but they have a long time to change their minds And there will be a special Leather edition.

News to me, and I would have thought Silverberg would have been trying to get all the same authors, again, as it's the single biggest collection of heavy hitters out there.  Except for Ann Rice and David Eddings, name me a New York Times/Times of London bestseller not in that volume.

I wonder if the paperback is all of the hardback or only half of it? There is a lot of text to cram in such a small book

The paperback will be in at least 2 volumes as I understand it.

Krondor: The Assassins Release Date
11:58 am
There have been several conflicting reports, but it seems that right now the UK and Australian editions of KtA will be released on the same day, possibly September 6. The US version should follow soon after, hopefully sooner than the current November date.

More eBay Fun
11:57 am
Steve McCarthy also posted today that a signed Leather edition of Magician is available on eBay:

For you collectors out there - Ebay Auction # : 132469033

Currently at $137.50.

Legends Sequel
11:53 am
Steven McCarthy posted a note to the list about a future Legends short story compilation. Here is his post (in italics) and Ray's response:

I was just browsing B&N and I saw that the paperback of Legends (Aug release if you must know *g*) is titled Legends - Volume I. Kind of begs the question doesn't it? Will there be a Feist story in volume 2?

I think so, but I honestly don't know.

Steven also said that the audio version of Legends is split into four parts.

Poor Steve
8:09 pm
No news today, except for the unfortunate fact that I had two wisdom teeth cut out of my head this morning. No, I don't look like a chipmunk yet, but give me time to swell :)

Who Is Erick Wodjeck?
5:26 pm
Alex Loke mailed me this information on Erick Wodjeck, who was mentioned yesterday to have been "writing the (now defunct) sequel to RtK:"

Just some word on Erick Wodjeck in reference to what Ray Feist calls the 'Roll-Playing Game'. Erick Wodjeck is a writer for the Palladium, Rifts and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seriess of pen and paper role-playing games - and a consultant for computer role-playing games. According to Ray, Erick designed the system used in RTK 'ad hoc' of computer generated dice rolling.

Thanks Alex!

New Look
8:47 pm
As you certainly noticed, I have fiddled a bit more with the look of the site. The changes at the top are meant to make getting to the news a little easier, and providing easy access to other parts of the site. If you have any comments or problems with the new look (it hasn't been tested in Netscape) please email me. Thanks!

Return to Krondor Sequel Tidbit
8:43 pm
Since the demise of PyroTechnix, a sequel to Return to Krondor is not certain. However, we do know that there was one in the planning stages (with the working name Captains of Krondor). A post by Ray this weekend hinted at it a bit more:

Nope, not going again.  As for the game we were demoing, if you mean the CRPG, that's Return to Krondor and it's out.  If you mean the roll playing that was done to promote the game, that was an ad hoc game run by Erick Wodjeck who was writing the (now defunct) sequal to RtK.

I'm assuming Mr. Wodjeck worked for PyroTechnix (I'll check the credits). There have been recent hints by Ray at an online Midkemian RPG. Hopefully more news will surface about that in the near future.

eBay Auction - What Happened?
8:39 pm
Last week two old manuscripts were up for auction on everyone's favorite outage-prone auction powerhouse, eBay. However, they were taken off the block prematurely. Here's what Ray had to say over the weekend about what was up for auction:

OK, here's the story.

1st, Pete Schneider, the gentleman offering the ms. for sale, is an old friend, going back to the days when he was a publicist at Doubleday and he was flogging Magician above and beyond. He was one of my first allies at Doubleday and is an all around good guy.

The manuscript was one of two I photocopies and sent to Doubleday. I did my originals on an old C. Itoh 410a letter quality printer back then, and I was required by contract to send 2 copies of the ms. (That's a hangover from the days they wanted your original ms. and the carbon paper copy!) The little perforations along the sides where the tractor feed strip gets pulled off jammed their copiers when I sent them Silverthorn, so I went down to the local "copy it yourself" palace and spend $80 to make two copies to send to them.

One of them went into production, which is the one I eventually got back with copy editors, proof-readers, and editors queries and corrections on it. The other got sent down to publicity. That's the copy Peter has.

Anyway, that's what he means by "original" in that it's the state prior to copy edit so you can see some of the really dumb stuff I wrote before a very talented copy editor named Elain Chubb got her mitts on it.

Map Updates
8:36 pm
Ralph Askren posted this note to the mailing list:

I thought you might be interested in some minor, mostly cosmetic, changes to the map of Triagia in the Unofficial Atlas. The file is a bit larger so be ready for a slighlty longer load time.

As I've said before, Ralph's map is the best online map, and probably the best one you'll find anywhere (save for Steve Abram's basement - maybe). Be sure to check it out.

Out of Town
8:13 pm
I'll be out of town until late Sunday. Updates will resume then, along with a new site design I am working on. More information next week. And if you think a certain feature would add to the site, please mail me with it. Sorry for the disruption, more news Sunday!

New Poll
8:12 pm
Hunter Nielson has put a new poll on his website. The question is: "Do you like Sierra's Midkemia-based games, or do you feel they do little justice to Ray's books?"

Auction Follow-up
5:36 pm
Ray posted this about the eBay auction:

I know the seller.  The Faerie Tale galley is legit, but I think we've got some confusion about the MS for Darkness.  I'll give him a call and see what's up.

Feist Manuscripts on eBay
3:55 pm
Beth Frantz posted this very cool notice on the list:

For the collectors out there:  items 130551244 and 130555811, in the rare books category.. 2 Feist manuscripts on eBay.  One is Faerie Tale, starting at $150, and the other is Darkness at Sethanon at $400.  I have no idea if these are even reasonable prices for this sort of thing, but I have to admit they would be pretty cool to have.

That rush you hear is some of the die-hard collectors reaching for their credit cards. Good luck!

Licensing and Ray's Works
3:12 pm
Fans are always eager for more Feist products (be they games or a movie or TV show) and Ray always says "show me the money" (okay, I'm paraphrasing). In this post he explains the whole licensing situation:

Krondor's the title of the game.  Steve and I aren't Lucasfilm or Disney, where we can break up a franchise into pieces and get seven different companies to put out games:  "OK, you guys get the Timmon and Pumba game, and you guys over there get the Little Simba Learning games, and those guys over there get the Simba and Rifiki 10-12 year old Learning game, and that bunch gets. . . ."

"Krondor" is the name of the product, but that license was exclusive for works I've done.

Now, that license is now over and we could limit one to something like "Elvandar," or whatever, but part of the appeal of the game is to cover ground.  One of the big bitches of RtK was "not enough territory."

In any event, we'll be more than happy to listen to anyone who comes to us with an idea.

And that's a point I would like to stress.  I get lots of e-mail and regular mail from fans who say, "You should do a game about . . ."  or "You should do a movie about. . . "

I don't do games or movies.  I license them.

Just so folks understand why I don't pay attention to suggestions on what the next game should be (unless you've got your checkbook open and own a software development/publishing company).

He further elaborated in this post:

A license really is a simple concept (with a very complex application), that says, "I own something (_Magician_) and you want to do something with that (make a movie), so you'll pay me money to let you do it."

That's only one example.

Substitute "make a game," "do a comic," "record radio shows," etc. for make a movie in the above.  Same things.

This is the reason the very common suggestions (or demands) of "Make a movie about Magician" or "Make a real time strategy game of the Riftwar" are mostly useless, since Ray is not a developer.

Return to Krondor's Success
3:08 pm
Ray posted this mail on the success of Return to Krondor. It has garnered neither the critical acclaim or high sales of its predecessor (although Ray notes that it is still selling) and the development was more expensive, and the demise of PyroTechnix cast a pale shadow over the game, regardless of its success. Here's Ray:

Tough question to answer.  In terms of raw units sold, it made a profit, and it's still selling, so the longer it's out there, the more profitable it becomes.

In terms of expectations, that's hard to answer because there were so many factors involved with the game that had nothing to do with writing code, putting words on paper, or scoring music and voices.

I think it would have been much happier for everyone if the game had made everyone go "wow," which is pretty much what most game makers are looking for.

I think it also would have been a much happier pass if Havas hadn't closed down Pyrotechnix within weeks of the game's release.  That certainly killed any pleasure those of us associated with the game might now be feeling.

If you didn't know, Havas is the name of the European (French maybe) company that purchased Sierra Online from Cendant, and preceeded to shut down several development units and reorganized a bit. Oh how we miss the days of Ken and Roberta Williams...

Sight Modifications
7:59 pm
I spent some time tonight doing some minor tweaking on the site. Most obvious is the new image of the cover of Krondor: The Assassins. It replaces the little advertisement for the Return to Krondor Soundtrack CD, which can still be found at Voice of the Arts' website (and its very good - I highly recommend it). And remember that although the tentative release date for KtA in the USA and Australia is November, it will be released a bit earlier in the UK.

About Elves
3:37 pm
Ray posted this note to the list explaining the differences between Elves:

Gorath is a Northern Mountain moredhel, and they tend to be big, strong, and fast.  Other clans may be faster but weaker, stronger but slower, etc. Most elves are at the upper end of human normal range for agility, but some are also stronger and more hearty.

He went on to describe Calis' unique powers:

Calis is unique.  His powers come as much from his father's alien nature as they do from the elf side of his family.

News Archives
10:29 pm
The News Archive file was getting quite large, so I divided it into two. From now on, there will be separate archive files, each being approximately 200k. See the bottom of the page for more details.

What's in the APE
5:01 pm
When asked about the differences between the original published version of Magician and the Author's Preferred Edition, Ray had this to say:

IMHO, there's a significant different.  In terms of raw word count, about 30,000 words or so more.

I think the APE is a superior version of Magician due to its expanded background information and several really nifty scenes. If you have only read the original version, I highly suggest picking up a copy of the APE. Its like revisiting the past, but with a few interesting tweaks.

Interview
5:00 pm
An interesting new interview with Ray, conducted by J.A. Hitchcock for DragonScroll, is available here. Among the high points are an image of the cover of Krondor: The Assassins, and this bit:

Magician: Apprentice will get a special salute with a 20th Anniversary special hardcover edition and new cover art in England/Australia in 2002. Feist may write an afterward, but he couldn’t confirm that yet. He also didn’t know if there is going to be a US edition or not.

"Bantam Doubleday Dell is aware of the UK edition and is going to have to talk to the publishers about doing one in the states," he adds.

Very cool sounding. Hopefully the USA can get in on the deal, though.

Website Update
3:57 pm
John Bunting, whose name is on this site more than mine is, posted this note to the list:

I have updated the covers on my site for the Hungary and Czech editions

Some interesting new artwork from Don Maitz

Czech

MOE     POB     tKB pt1 tKB pt2

Hungary

SOADQ   ROAMP

Follow the Publication links on my site below

His site can be found here.

Krondor: The Assassins Australian Release Date
3:24 pm
There have been conflicting reports about the release date of Ray's next book down under. First, Ray generalizes on the date:

This time it should be on or before the US date, perhaps as early as September.

Next, John Bunting shares his knowledge:

Harper Collins have stated that the UK edition has an official publication date of 6 September, and they are checking on the OZ version for me, but believe the same.

 Angus and Robertson have said September also

so we could guess that it might be September, a bit later than Ray thought it might be.

Finally, Steven McCarthy gives a very early date:

Amazon.co.uk say July 19th and I double checked that in a local bookstore today - same date there.

In any event, we know that the book will be in stores within a couple months.

Netherlands Tour Still On
4:00 pm
Ray settled the fears of several Dutch fans with this announcement:

Actually, the problem with the translations into Dutch are being taken care of.  The visit in September is still scheduled.  Cities, times, dates, and places will be announced when they are firmed up.

Conclave Clues
3:55 pm
In a most uncharacteristic move, Ray posted a little bit about the opening scene of the first novel of the next series, The Conclave of Shadows. The book is still a couple years away, and these juicy bites will certainly create some anticipation:

How I start a novel?

Depends.

Often I have an image and it's "this guys sitting on a mountain top. . . wait, it's a kid. . . . ok, what's he doing?

And that's how Conclave of Shadows is going to start, for example.

Other times, I have a task, such as introducing characters.  Prince of the Blood, Silverthorn, Daughter of the Empire,  and King's Buccaneer were all books that had openings developed around the need to introduce a character.

They end up looking the same, because in the example above of the kid on the mountain top, that's how I introduce him to the reader.  He's Talon of the Silver Hawk, last of the Orosini and what he's doing on that mountain and who he is, etc. starts the entire Conclave of Shadows series.

Of course this led to several wild guesses as to the origin of Talon and who the Orosini were, to which Ray responded:

The Orosini are not Tsurani or dwarves, they are a mountain people in area of the Eastern Kingdoms.

You haven't met any of the people of the Eastern Kingdoms, though you do meet a couple in Assassins, from the Duchy of Olasko.

Anyway. . . the rest is most certainly WUTNB stuff.

Yes, it is now totally acceptably to be extremely curious about Conclave.

Preordering in the UK
3:35 pm
amazon.co.uk has listings for Krondor: The Assassins and The Atlas of Midkemia. KtS is listed at 368 pages, while the Atlas weighs in at 256 pages, which is particularly odd considering Steve and Ray have not yet started working on it.

Another New Poll
4:23 pm
Hunter Nielson announced that his website has a new poll. The topic is "What place in Midkemia would you most like to visit?"

More Tour Information
4:18 pm
More information on Ray's upcoming book tour came out today. In two posts, Ray generalized on where he would and wouldn't be:

Nope.  In the last four year's I've done North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York City, Long Island, and Washington, D.C.  Probably next time around we'll be back up in the Pacific Northwest.

Idaho, like the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Iowa, Kansas, and a few other spots is "fly over" country as far as my publisher is concerned. It would take a lot of noise from your local bookseller to get me there.

Also, Nick Boalch posted some information on Ray's appearance at this year's British Fantasy Society FantasyCon XXIII:

Ray will be one of the Guests of Honour at this year's British Fantasy Society FantasyCon XXIII, which takes place at the Britannia Hotel, Birmingham, from 17th-19th September 1999.

I quote from the latest Prism:
"We are delighted to announce that world-wide best-selling Fantasy author, Raymond E Feist, will be appearing at FantasyCon. This is thanks to Jane Johnson at HarperCollins who was pulled out all the stops to ensure that FantasyCon is the place to be in September. Feist...will be with us for the weekend, speaking about his work, characters, worlds and anything else that seems appropriate, and taking part in out public signing on the Saturday afternoon."

Tickets are £40 for BFS members, £50 for non-members up until the 31st July, after which they are £45 and £55 respectively. Email Peter Coleborn <peter@alchemypress.demon.co.uk> for more details.

Poll & Site Updates
7:33 pm
I've finally caught up with all the news from my vacation time. If I missed anything though, please let me know. Secondly, I've added all recent submissions to the FEISTFANS-L Members Listing. Finally, the poll has been reset. The results of the previous poll, "Which upcoming Feist project most excites you?" are as follows:

33.3% The Conclave of Shadows
26.1% Tales of the Riftwar
21.6% Krondor: The Assasins & Tear of the Gods
18.9% The Atlas of Midkemia

There is a new poll topic: "Did you beat Return to Krondor?"

Preliminary North American Tour Information
7:32 pm
Ray posted this, the first good information about the upcoming tour:

OK, here's some preliminary info on the North American tour this year.

Dates will probably be between November 8th and November 13th.  Dayton, OH; Anne Arbor, MI; Toronto, Ontario; Chicago, IL.

I'll also be doing at least one signing in the greater Los Angeles area and at least one in San Diego, probably a week or so after these dates.

Please do not ask me this store or that.  Time and places to be announced later this month.

Krondor: The Assassins UK Release Date
7:29 pm
John Bunting posted this note:

I have been advised by Harper Collins that the formal date of release will be the 6 September.

The USA and Australian editions will follow shortly after that (yes, the UK version will be released first).

Mailing Books to Ray
7:27 pm
For anyone wishing to mail Ray some books to sign, his mailing address will soon change:

Effective May 1st, 1999, the new address according to the Post Office is:

Bitter Sea Company
PMB 32
P. O. Box 5005
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067

After November 1st, they will not deliver mail to 5005-32.

More info on mailing books to Ray can be found in the FAQ.

Czech Buccaneer
6:47 pm
John Bunting posted this about the Czech editions of The King's Buccaneer:

Just received my Czech editions

TkB is in two parts
pt 1 Crydee
pt 2 Novindus

POB has a nice cover with scantily clad keishan woman on balcony with dagger in hand.

Australian Tour Location
6:43 pm
Ray posted this about one possible stop on his next Australian tour:

I'm pretty sure we'll do Canberra in 2002.

Of course nothing is final yet as his publisher decides where Ray goes. If you want Ray to come to your town, you need to convince your local book store to talk to the appropriate publisher (Avon in the USA, HarperCollins in the UK and Australia).

Reading Ray's Novels Promotes Sexual Health
6:37 pm
Maybe not, but Shards of a Broken Crown was found listed on The Sexual Health Network. Here's the original post about the listing:

Ray check this out, your book is in section 5

http://www.sexualhealth.com/library/author.htm

Everything else seems to have a medical association of sorts.

I wonder if it is something to do with the book title <g>

And Ray's response to the arousing news (sorry, couldn't pass that one up):

It may have been a donation by someone, as a fund raiser.

Uh huh :). Prince of the Blood or Rise of a Merchant Prince would probably be more appropriate, however, as they include more "scenes of passion" than Ray's other novels.

The Buccaneer Shall Never Return
6:34 pm
After writing The King's Buccaneer, Ray planned on writing a sequel that detailed Calis' original Crimson Eagles. However, those plans were scrapped with the creation of the Serpentwar Saga. When asked if he would ever go back and tell the story, Ray said no. He explains in this post:

Much of the effect of switching publishers and starting the Serpentwar was to change events in the Return of the Bucaneer, so that if I was to write it today, it would be a pretty grim, unrewarding novel.

Calis finds Bobby. Calis, Nicholas, and Bobby go to Novindus. Nicholas destroys a "pirate" fleet. Calis forms the Crimson Eagles. Calis gets the spit kicked out of him and his men, barely escapes with his life, meeting Miranda along the way.

Some of the material I had planned for RotB turned up in Shadow, so I really wouldn't be able to do the book I wanted to do.

Release Dates
6:32 pm
Ray posted this note about the current status of the Atlas of Krondor:

Steve and I are under contract to Avon and Harper UK to do an "Atlas of Krondor." It's one that I would love to see finished within the next year and published in 2001, before the 20 year anniversary of Magician.

Also, Ray posted this about the release of Krondor: Tear of the Gods:

I will finish writing it before Christmas, but you'll probably see it in the fall of 2000.

Translation Problems
6:22 pm
For a while now, Ray has voiced his displeasure about certain foreign-language translations of his works. There has been quite a bit said about this during the past week, and here are the important parts. First, a summary of some of the original translation errors:

That was simply the translator not having e-mailed or mailed or called me. He assumed "cry = "tears," in that case.  He could have just as easily assumed it was "shout," which it also isn't.  In other words, it's meaningless.  I stuck two syllables together.    He did the same thing with LaMut, because he assumed "Mut" meant dog, which it doesn't.  That would be mutt, anyway.

Things like that.  He was being very techincal, which is the heart of the problem, and without my permission, which is the major difficulty I have with this.

Later, Ray said this about dealing with the situation (and he's made similar statements several times since):

I'm having some serious conversations with Mr. Jonathan Post of the publisher this week.

Finally, Ray posted this about note about the unfortunate result of all these recent troubles:

At this time there is no news.  Presently, the Holland trip is on hold.  If it is reinstated, it will be the original dates in September.

Intellectual Property vs. the Internet
6:19 pm
There seems to always be a general interest in fan fiction, role playing games, and other fan-created works set in Midkemia (these are frequently bad things, btw). In response to a recent thread about such items, Ray posted this:

If someone calls something to my attention, then I go and investigate.

If someone is creating a game, any system of RPG, using Midkemia as a setting, my characters as NPC's, naming PC's after my characters, etc. in the privacy of their own home, that's no problem.

If they run a game via e-mail, privately, that's no problem.

As soon as they solicit players or put up a web page, things start getting murky.  In general, if someone does it privately, I've got no complaint.

If they do it publicly, they're probably going to eventually be told to stop it by myself, my agent, my lawyer, etc.

This may seem harsh, but you need to realize that anything that dilutes Ray's rights to his own works is a serious matter.

Game Music Online
6:17 pm
There is a new website, Game Music Online, from which you can order game soundtracks, such as the Return to Krondor soundtrack.

Independence Day
8:45 pm
Yes I'm a day late on this. I hope all of my fellow American's out there ate a lot of burgers and hot dogs and Independence Day.

I'm Back!
7:10 pm
I have returned from my trip to England and Scotland, and much to my delight there are over 400 messages from the mailing list waiting for me to process. I have also been awake for over twenty-one hours and just kinda running on fumes, so I doubt I'll get anything read tonight. However, the news shall flow again, hopefully starting tomorrow. Sorry for being gone so long and now this, but give me a few days and I'll get back on schedule. Thanks!

English Legends
12:48 pm
The trade paperback of Legends, a short story collection that includes Ray's Wood Boy, is now available in the United Kingdom for approximately 11.99 pounds.

Ray Doesn't Speak
12:45 pm
Ray was recently prodded by a user about Pug's power in comparison to Sidi, and who exactly Sidi works for. Here is the post and Ray's reply:

Hey Ray, if Pug is now the most powerful mage on Midkemia, what does that make Sidi. I mean, Pug never was able to defeat him. Another question, is Sidi Nalar's (Oops, I'm under his control now) avatar? Is that why he's so invincible?

I'm not talking.

So we can assume this will be a primary topic of an upcoming book or books.

More on Dutch Editions Controversy
9:30 pm
Ray posted this elaboration on the problems caused by the Dutch editions:

My Dutch publisher seems hell bent on ignoring the part of the contract which states they must run all changes by me.  They're changing the names of characters, again, though this time it's spelling, rather than completely.  In Magician, Jimmy became Robbie.

European Tour in Jeopardy?
5:20 pm
There has been a recent controversy over the practice several of Ray's foreign-edition publishers have engaged in: changing character's name when it makes no difference (linguisticly). In response to a recent post about this occuring in the Dutch editions, Ray posted this:

I was SO pissed off about the ongoing abuse of my character names, I deleted the letter from whichever of you kind soles alerted me to the problem.  Could you please re-send, so I can forward it to my agent.

To say the least we are not amused.

More on this to come, but at this point I must inform some of you that the trip to Holland in September is now in jeopardy.

Don't get too freaked out just yet if you are in Holland. I'll post more information when the final determination is made.

A New Champion
9:45 pm
There is a new holder of the "Better Late Than Never" heavyweight belt. It is Intelligamer, who posted its review of Return to Krondor, giving it 3 1/2 stars. The skinny:

Although overall the game has some problems: too short, awkward control and view interface, and sometimes weird chapter breaks, the plusses outweigh the minuses. If you like your role playing games a bit more cerebral and not frantic, the good graphics, interesting magic and combat systems, and well crafted story line make Return to Krondor a game worth playing.

Intrepid News
5:20 pm
As you may remember, several friends of mine publish a sci-fi/fantasy fanzine, Intrepid. The third issue will be published soon, and I wanted to announce that it will contain an interview I conducted with Ray and my review of Krondor the Betrayal. This is a quality publication, so please check their website for more information.

Sorcerer's Isle Updates
4:20 pm
Hunter Nielson has updated his website with several new features, including a chat room, a message board and a weekly poll.

Hungarian Editions
4:12 pm
John Bunting, the source for information on foreign editions of Ray's books, recently posted this message:

A new Feist book was recently published:

Raymond E. Feist: A kalmarfejedelem titka (Rise of a Merchant Prince))
Beholder, 1999, paperback, 412 p.
Price: GBP 4.50+ postage

This is the second part of "Sotet kiralyno arnyeka"

Anyone interested email the following or contact me for further details: bouchal@mail.inext.hu

Sierra RTK Board
4:10 pm
I missed this before, but Sierra Studios has moved its Return to Krondor forum to a new address.

Ray Speaks
4:05 pm
Ray posted several messages this past week, so let's begin. First, he sounds off on Macros, everyone's favorite enigma:

I'm not going to beat anyone over the head, but the point of this message is to observe that some folks just can't seem to understand things unles they're painted with a REALLY big brush.

Macros is dead.

If he shows up anywhere, it would be a violation of the existing continuity, because Pug had the most interaction with him and repeatedly observed that he hadn't seen him or heard about him between the end of Darkness and in Rage. So how could I write a story with Macros in it unless I concocked something whereby he stopped his attempt to turn into a god, went off and did the good deed, then swore whoever he did to secrecy, then went back to being a god, and Pug never caught wind of it.

NEVER happen.

If Macro's character ever shows up again it will be either as a flashback, or as part of the Tales of the Riftwar project because one of the other writers wants to do a Macros story at the time of the Riftwar.

As for the legend, 99% of Midkemia doesn't know who Macros is.  So there is no legend.  There's a legend about The Black Sorcerer being in residence on Sorcerer's Isle, which continues because Nakor kept it alive for a while, and now Pug is currently The Black Sorcerer.  It keeps pests away from the island.

Next, we have an excerpt of another post and Ray's response to it:

Anyone who's read the Serpentwar series knows Sarth has relocated, and kinda goes by the title 'That Which Was Sarth". Back in Silverthorn we learn about the prophecy in which all that remains will be "That Which Was Sarth".  Is this something yet to happen (The Cataclysm of Ray's RPG?) or was Midkemia destined for something worse with the Serpentwar?

I'm not talking.  That's 5th Riftwar stuff.

Finally, Ray posted this in response to someone's suggestion that Sierra re-write Betrayal at Krondor using a more modern engine:

Never happen.  There's no profit in it for Sierra.  You could always write them and suggest it, and who knows, someone there might think it's a wonderful notion, but I doubt it.  The computer game industry hasn't been around long enough for the economic logic of your suggestion to be apparent.  Maybe in ten years.

I'm Back
4:00 pm
Lot's of news has accumulated over the weekend, so I'll start the postings... And I'm doing this all on my brand new IBM ThinkPad 600E laptop. Very cool system. Also, I'll be slowly migrating this website to my new space at UNC, so there may be disruptions. Sorry in advance.

Future Novel Plot...
10:40 pm
In response to a question about the "tainted" Alma-Lodaka artifacts, Ray posted this message about Valheru treasures:

There is only one catch of uncorrupted Valheru artifacts left on Midkemia, and how that impacts Tomas and what it means relative to your questions will have to wait until I write the book in which they are found, which I should warn you is many years off.  So don't lose sleep over it.

Poll Results
10:35 pm
Here are the results of the recent poll, "Is Ray Feist your favorite author?"

82.4% Yes
17.5% No

A new poll has been posted.

Quiet Week...
10:30 pm
Sorry about the lack of updates this week, but frankly there just hasn't been anything worth talking about. I did however update the FEISTFANS-L Members Listing. I'm leaving tomorrow for my orientation session at UNC, so updates will resume this weekend.

Correction
8:05 pm
An alert reader notified me that in a previous update, the titles listed were of Czech editions, not Swedish. I've corrected the post.

Upcoming Computer Products
3:35 pm
My sources inform me (ooh that is fun to say) that there is definitely development on an online product involving the Krondor franchise. There is also development on a project not involving the Krondor franchise. Unfortunately, that is all the information I have and it only confirms earlier assumptions (except for the part not involving the Krondor franchise - who knows what it is that Ray & Co. have up their sleeve).

Czech Novels
3:30 pm
John Bunting posted this about the Czech editions of Ray's novels:

For those with an interest here are the available titles They are paperbacks.

Mag I - Magician I
Mag II - Magician II
Zlo v Sethanonu - Darkness at Sethanon
Dcera Imperia - Daughter o the Empire
Spravce Imperia - Mistress of the Empire
Kralovksa krev  - Prince of the Blood
Královský Bukanýr I - Kings Buccaneer Crydee
- " -                       II - Kings Buccaneer Novindus

TRN - Silverthorn is apparently unavailable

Anyone wanting a contact address to purchase please email me.

Swedish ROAMP
8:05 pm
John Bunting posted this note about an upcoming edition of Rise of a Merchant Prince:

If anyone is interested it looks as though the Swedish edition of ROAMP is out

The cover can be seen here: http://www.sfbok.se/cv/38973.jpg

Ray Speaks (A Lot)
8:00 pm
Over the weekend Ray posted several announcements and other juicy bits of news. First, some news on Ray's next novel:

1) Krondor: the Assassins, FINAL DRAFT, was handed in yesterday, so it's now officially done.  Publication dates in Australia, UK, and US should be somewhere close to the original July, September, and Novermber, respectively.

2) the Tales of the Riftwar project is starting to firm up.

3) I'm tired. . . <g>

Yes, you read that correctly - the Aussies are getting KaS before the US and UK. Ray clarified this in a subsequent post:

South Africa, like New Zealand, gets the export editions from HarperCollins UK, so if you get he hardcovers, you'll get them about the same time as Oz.

Second, Ray posted information on an upcoming Croation edition of Faerie Tale:

For those of you who must have a copy of everything, we just sold the rights to Faerie Tale to a croatian publisher, KZ-Zagrebcks Naklads in Zagreb, Croatia.  I'm notifying you because it looks to be a short printrun, about 800 copies. Also it's in an anthology, so they may be abridging it, though there's nothing in the contract about that.

It's handled by Intercontinental in Chelse, but through another of their agent in Budapest Hungary.

The address for KZ-Zagrebcka Naklads is

Lhotkina 6
10000 Zagreb
Croatia

Don't start bugging them until I agree to terms and sign the contract, OK? <g>

Out of Town
10:05 pm
I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, and will not return until Sunday. More news then.

New Poll
10:00 pm
Jason Martin has a new Feist poll on his website.

FEISTFANS-L Members Listing Updated
3:40 pm
I've added all recent submissions to the FEISTFANS-L Members Listing, including the first member from Russia.

Memorial Day
3:35 pm
I'd like to ask all of you in the US to take a moment to remember all the brave soldiers who have died for our freedom and those currently deployed around the world, especially in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf, and along the Korean border.

Dutch Feist Website
7:15 pm
There is a new Dutch Feist website, with information on several of the Dutch translations of his novels. I can't read any of it, but I'm sure its good stuff.

Thanks
4:00 pm
Just wanted to say thanks to Desslock's RPG News for posting a note about the site. If you are looking for information on all the RPG happenings, be sure to check Desslock's first.

RiftMUSH Address Change
11:15 pm
Due to problems with lag, RiftMUSH has changed servers. The new address is pug.leenux.org:4202. Remember that you need a telnet client to connect. If you are having router DNS problems, try connecting by the IP address, 150.135.88.235:4202. For more information, check out the RiftMUSH Status & News Page.

Tales of the Riftwar Information and Publishing Schedule
9:00 pm
Ray posted this message today which clarifies his thoughts on working with Janny again:

BTW, just to make it crystal clear (and some of you will screw this up anyway when you post it on other boards or tell your friends), I never said I would not write with Janny again (she was one of the writers I talked to about this project; she's just too busy.  If we do a second bunch, she may be in that group).  What I said was Janny and I would never do another Empire book again.  Big difference.

So, if the first set of Tales of the Riftwar novels are successful, apparently we can expect more. This second message discusses the possible settings of the Tales novels:

Most of the fantasy work I'm going to do will be in Midkemia.  I say "most," because I don't know when I'm going to go for a little jaunt to a place for a bit, like I did with the Saaur homeworld or Timmery (or however the hell Neal spelled that place in Betrayal).  But the heart of the action will be Midkemia.

If any of the Tales series is from the Tsraunni point of view it will be because the other author convinces me it's a good story idea.

For the record, I think Neal spelled it Timmiriannia, but that's coming from memory and probably not accurate. Anyway, this final bit further clarifies the publishing schedule for the next few years:

I'm going to be working on Tear of the Gods next (Return to Krondor's story), then Conclave of Shadows I.  At the same time, I'll be setting up this series, so they'll both be underway at the same time.

Better Late Then Never...
4:30 pm
Yes, this is way late, but for the sake of being complete, there is (and has been) a preview of Return to Krondor posted on GameSpot UK. Enjoy!

Game Soundtrack Awards
9:20 pm
The Adrenaline Vault has posted an article Game Music Gets Official Grammy Nod. Here is an excerpt:

It has been a long, winding trail to Grammy recognition for game music, but the growing community of gaming composers can at last trumpet sweet victory. This afternoon, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences issued a press release announcing their decision to allow music from interactive games to compete in the annual Grammy Awards competition.

Chuck Mitchell's Return to Krondor Soundtrack has widely been considered as one of the best scores for a game, and may just qualify for such an award.

More Publishing Info
2:35 pm
As previously mentioned, a UK publisher for the Tales of the Riftwar series has been signed, HarperCollins. This does not mean the book will be published first in the UK, however, as Ray explains in this post:

In the case, the UK publisher bought rights before an American publisher. This is not to say they will publish the books first.

As for which comes first, usually the US edition comes out first.

Forgotten Webpage
11:35 pm
I was browsing through my web stuff tonight and found an old page I did that is not on the Link Page. It is a map of Crydee and the surrounding area. Check the date on the image: 1995. Old stuff.

Elaboration
5:00 pm
Here are two more posts by Ray describing the publishing details and structure of the new novels:

They will be published in the UK by HarperCollins.  No US publisher yet. As for when, I suspect the first book will probably be a late 2000, early 2001 publication.

Nothing firm yet.

These dates show that the Riftwar Legacy will be completed before the first Tales of the Riftwar release, with Conclave of Shadows following later. Ray's current US publisher is Avon (under the EOS label), and I would suspect they will continue the relationship. The second post was in response to a question about the structure of the novel, whether they would be collections of short stories:

These will be novels, actually. Stand alone novels, but obviously part of the Riftwar continuity, so connected in that sense. I'm looking at stories that take place in other locations during the time of the novel, so while Arutha's fighting the siege of Crydee, what's his dad doing over on the west side of the mountain, that kind of stuff.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
2:00 pm
I was innocently browsing when my email client alerted me that a new message had arrived. It was from Ray and the subject was "Announcement." This got me very excited. Here is the message:

As I've said before, when there's something to tell you, we'll tell you.

This is to announce, that I've agreed in principle to begin work on a new series, TALES OF THE RIFTWAR.

Tales will begin with three books, each to be co-authored by myself and another writer. The first three writers who have come aboard (tentatively; you never know if last minute stuff will screw up a deal) are:

William R. Forstchen, author of several fantasy novels as well as the Lost Regiment Series (one of my personal favorites).

S. M. Stirling, author of some of the best SF being written today, including the Draka series as well as Island in the Sea of Time and Against the Tide of Years.

Joel Rosenberg, author of more SF/F than I can shake a stick at, including the Guardian of the Flame series.

These will be full on collaborations, similar to the ones I did with Janny.

No characters or subject matter has been decided upon, so don't ask (and PLEASE don't suggest), save the stories will take place during the events of the Riftwar and immediately thereafter.

I don't read much, so I don't know anything about the three authors mentioned, but rest assured that Ray would not write with anyone who would compromise the quality of his work, so we can expect (at least) three really great books. Note that they are set during the Riftwar, which is generally more popular than the Serpentwar novels. I am not sure if these will be written before or after the Conclave of the Shadows or other Riftwar Legacy novels.

More Book Information
12:55 pm
Ray posted this today about the release schedule for his next two books:

No, Asassin's just finished Sunday, with rewrites this week (then into production), and Tear is staring right after that, with an eye towards finishing before the end of the year.

Avon needed the cover art for Tear because it's one of their big books for a huge Year 2000 promotion they're doing.

Covers don't always come last.

Cover Art Information
2:05 pm
Although the cover art has not been posted on the internet, here's Ray's description of the look of Krondor: The Assassins and Tear of the Gods:

Solid colors, metalic type.  Foreground art a lighter variant of background color, ala KtB.  Assassins is black with a sword motif, and Tear is blue with a gem on a pedestal.

FEISTFANS-L Members Listing Updated
11:35 am
I've added all recent submissions to the FEISTFANS-L Members Listing. If you have previously submitted your information, please check the site and make sure it is still current. Thank you.

Poll Results
11:30 am
Here are the results from the previous week's poll, "Would you regularly watch a Krondor television show?":

84.7%
Yes
11.9%
Perhaps
3.2%
No

The new poll topic is "Is Ray Feist your favorite author?"

Feist Postings
11:25 am
Ray made a few postings over the weekend about the status of Krondor: The Assassins. This book covers events in Betrayal at Krondor not shown in Krondor the Betrayal, mainly the death of the Upright Man and the turmoil among the Mockers as the Crawler gains power in the Krondor sewers. Several months ago PC Gamer published the prologue and first chapter of the novel, and a summary can be found here. On to the current status of the novel:

I finished the epilogue about fifteen minutes ago and will start on rewriting the 1st 13 chapters in an hour.  I should have the  draft back (1st rewrite) by Friday.

Then it's wait for copyediting.

Also, here's some info on the publishing schedule for the novel:

It's going to be a "crash," i.e. they're going to push it through production fast as they can, but I believe it's been rescheduled for September in Oz, same as in the UK.

New Quiz
11:20 am
Jason Martin has added a Feist quiz to his website.

Miscellaneous News
3:25 pm
Sorry for the lack of news recently folks, but there just hasn't been much to talk about lately. Hopefully I will be going to see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (whew!) this weekend, and if so I will post some thoughts on it when I get back (yes, I will be out of town again... having a girlfriend one and a half hours away requires commitment). Also, I graduate high school tonight! Finally, I can release myself from the grasp of inefficient public education and move into the slightly less-efficient grasp of public higher education - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Go me! Finally, the site topped 33,000 hits yesterday. I want to thank everyone who supports the site. You make it all worthwhile.

Midkemia Press's Tahitian Vacation
3:20 pm
Steve Abram's has posted an interesting page all about his recent trip to Tahiti. Want to know how expensive it can be to have fun in a foreign land? Check it out under the What's New section.

Poll Results
7:50 pm
The poll has been changed. Here are the results from the previous topic, "Are you interested in a massively-multiplayer RPG set in Midkemia?"

55.4%
Yes, but I would not pay a monthly fee
41.3%
Yes, and I would pay a monthly fee
3.2%
No

The new poll involves the persistant rumor that there will be a Krondor television show, much like Hercules or Xena (Ray has admitted there have been some talks in the past, but there is nothing concrete... so don't pester him about it <g>).

On a Lighter Note...
7:45 pm
Adam Manley posted this to the mailing list recently:

I thought some folks might find some sort of sad humour in this . . .

Our local newspaper gives a number of top 10 lists every week . . . music, movies and paperbacks, I believe.

Well, no surprise, Shards of a Broken Crown has been ranked somewhere in the top 10 for new release paper backs since its release . . .

What really makes me wonder though . . . let me quote the listing directly:

8. Shards of Broken Glass, Raymond E. Feist

Sometimes one just has to shake their head.  Of course, it's a free newspaper . . .

Krondor Series
4:20 pm
Many readers, including myself, have been under the impression that the Krondor series was going to be a trilogy. However, Ray said today that "There will be more than 3.  Eventually."

Are You Experienced?
8:00 pm
The Hall of Worlds: A Raymond E. Feist Experience has moved to a new location. This site has lots of general Feist information, and promises book summaries, art galleries, character notes, maps, and more.

Possible European Tour
9:00 pm
Ray posted this to the list about an upcoming tour:

Actually, we were negotiating for a trip to the UK in addition to my first trip to the Netherlands.  I have no dates/places yet, but at this point we're talking about me appearing in Amsterdamn, 's-Gravenhage, Rotterdamn, and possibly one or two other cities, Utrech, Haarlem, Arnhem, or Groningen.

And I'll also probably be making a few other stops in the UK.

Details when I have them.

This was in response to post that an annoucement that Ray would be attending FantasyCon XXIII in September. Also, I'll be out of town for a few days. More news then.

Soundtrack Review
4:40 pm
I have posted my review of the Original Soundtrack from Return to Krondor. My conclusion: it is a great CD.

Let me preface this review by stating that I am not a music person. I have never trained on any instrument or learned the intricacies of a musical score. I have not been exposed to any great variety of music, either - certainly nothing along the lines of Chuck Mitchell's score for Return to Krondor. That being said, allow me to present a non-technical perspective on the soundtrack CD.

Releasing an album of music from a computer game is not unprecedented. A few years ago, LucasArt's released a soundtrack CD for The Dig amid considerable hype (the game and CD never lived up to that hype). However, Voice of the Arts' work on Return to Krondor has elevated the concept of music in a PC game to a new level. Chuck Mitchell has proven that music is an intricate, exciting and necessary element in interactive media. I do not remember seeing a single review of Return to Krondor that did not heap praise upon the music and sound effects in the game. They were truly astonishing. Every element of the plot was carried along by the dramatic score. From the haunting opening theme to the fast-paced battle music, the game's beautiful graphics were accompanied by amazing audio.

The most recognizable influence on Chuck Mitchell's score is midieval, although several other musical styles are mixed in, recalling the diversity of the characters and locations in the game. As I listened to the fourteen tracks on the CD, I immediately remembered events from the game. "Krondor Life" reminded me of the hours exploring the dark alleyways and lighted streets of the capital of the Western Realm. "Evil Afar" and "Dark Temple Revolt" hold true to their insidious overtones, inviting chillbumps and hinting of danger lurking around the corner. Some of the tracks are heroic, reminding one of a great epic poem. All told, the CD will take you through many emotions, many experiences, and it is all enjoyable.

My only complaint about the CD would be its length: approximately thirty-five minutes. However, this is easily overshadowed by the album's high quality. The Original Soundtrack from Return to Krondor is available for $14.95 (plus shipping and handling) from Voice of the Arts. See their website or call 1-888-AUDIO45 for ordering details. Chuck Mitchell and Voice of the Arts set a precedent for music in a computer game, and this album is a clear statement of their work. If you enjoyed Return to Krondor and want to further experience one of the elements that made it a great game, I highly encourage you to order the soundtrack CD.

FEISTFANS-L Members Listing Updated
3:50 pm
All entries received since 4/4/99 have been added to the Member Listing.

Languages
11:00 pm
Ever wondered how many publishing deals Ray has? Wonder no more: United States, United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Japan, Czech Republic, and Denmark. The rights to publish in Korea and Greece have been sold, but there are no contracts.

Rumor Mill
10:55 pm
Chris Wright posted this to the mailing list:

I heard from a Sierra rep that you and Sinjin got along quite well, and that Sinjin has interest in making another Krondor sequel (although this was nothing more than speculation on her part).

Of course we know all this already, but a Sierra employee actually talking about it is kinda odd, and might have some meaning...

Initial Thoughts
10:50 pm
Until I can put together a more comprehensive review, let me just say that the Return to Krondor soundtrack is very good. I highly recommend it. More thoughts later...

Poll Results
5:10 pm
The results of the most recent poll, "Which Feist game is better?" are as follows:

75%
Betrayal at Krondor
25%
Return to Krondor

Please vote in the new poll, "Are you interested in a massively-multiplayer RPG set in Midkemia?" Rumors have been flying around lately, so lets show the bean counters that there is support for such a game.

Gamespot UK... Finally!
4:55 pm
Tossing aside the notion of timely game reviews, Gamespot UK has posted a positive review of Return to Krondor, giving it an 8.7 out of 10:

Overall, Return To Krondor is a decent game and I've enjoyed playing it a great deal. It may not be quite up there with Baldur's Gate in my affections, but the two are very different in style. As a Feist fan, this was something I'd looked forward to and I was not disappointed ­ a couple of smallish flaws kept it out of the classic zone but it's still a solid, and very enjoyable title.

Sadly, though, the Brits decided to toss in a bit of American bashing:

Krondor is located on the fictional world of Midkemia, so the characters could theoretically have any accent, real or otherwise, and that would be OK. In reality, though, it doesn't quite work that way. Most of the characters sound like Americans trying desperately hard to do regional British accents ­ and failing abysmally. There's the Dick Van Dyke school of Cockney, plus American-Irish, American-Scottish, American-West Country and, most bizarre of all, American-Lancashire. Since some characters do just speak vanilla American, why not all of them? At least American actors can manage their own accents!

Bloody hell!

Soundtrack
3:30 pm
I received my copy of the Return to Krondor Soundtrack today, so as soon as I can listen through it a few times I'll post some thoughts.

Return to Krondor Soundtrack Now Available!
9:40 pm
Voice of the Arts has released the Original Soundtrack CD for RtK. It contains 14 tracks by composer Chuck Mitchell, and costs $14.95 plus shipping and handling. See the VotA website for more details, including samples and a track listing. Here's some praise for the game's music:

"I was blown away when I first heard the music for Return To Krondor.  Chuck Mitchell and Voice of the Arts has taken game music to a new plateau.  It's a soundtrack in the tradition of the great adventure film scores from Captain Blood to Star Wars." - Raymond E. Feist

Ranked "Excellent" "The music is wonderfully done..." - Gamer's Alliance

"...the music and SFX are first rate." - Antagonist Games Network

"...and the sound and music are perfect." - Alteredworlds

FEISTFANS-L Members Listing
11:05 pm
Feeling a sudden stroke of motivation, I updated the Members Listing with all submissions received since mid-February.

Ray's Next Book
10:40 pm
Ray posted that Krondor: The Assassins should be released in August.

Kirk Woll's Site Closed
10:40 pm
One of the largest and oldest Feist sites has shut its doors, as Kirk Woll's site has closed down. Some of the content may be moved to another site in the future. Also, Roldan's Feist message board has moved to a new location.

Interview
10:35 pm
This announcement was posted on the mailing list:

I have just uploaded to my site

A Conversation with Raymond Feist about his new book, 'Faerie Tale'

which is a press release from Grafton books in 1989, reproduced with the permission of Harper Collins

It can be found at the following address: http://www.magic-box.demon.co.uk/feist/refindex.htm, click on the 'Faerie Tale Interview' button

New Site
5:30 pm
There's a new site about Ray's books, with links to Amazon.com and a biography. You can find it here.

Out of Town
5:30 pm
I forgot to mention it before I left, but I've been out of town the last few days. And tomorrow I'm leaving again. I'll be back on Saturday the third.

Better Late Than Never
3:00 pm
Wewp! Entertainment has posted a review of Return to Krondor, giving it a 6/10 rating. Here's the skinny:

It's hard to come up with a group I can recommend spending $45 on RtK to. Feist fans will be put off by the interface, the camera angles, and the unimpressive story. BaK fans will be put off by the interface, the camera angles, and the linearity and lack of sidequests. In general, RtK does not seem worthy of Feist's name. If you want a great game based on his world, download Betrayal at Krondor, or pick up the CD in a bargain bin if you can. You'll like it a lot more than you would RtK.

Midkemia Online
11:50 pm
Two recent posts by Ray seem to hint at a future online Midkemia project. The first is in regards to a request to start a message-board based RPG:

Sorry to rain on your parade, but for reasons I can not make public at this time, Steve and I can't permit any such undertaking.  If you did something like that privately, for example, among you and a few friends, that would be something eles, but a web site where anyone can blunder in?

For the rest of you, infer from the above what you will.  There will be an announcement in the coming months.

Obviously Ray seems to want to protect the property in online entertainment forms. This was furthered by the next post, regarding RiftMUSH:

RiftMUSH is still OK with us at this time.  The guys who started it, Mark, Josh, and the others, all knew that someday it would come to an end.  That day hasn't arrived yet. <g>

So could a massively multiplayer role playing game be in the future? Ray sure seems to be hinting at it, and that would definitely be cool.

Don Maitz Site
1:55 pm
Added a link to the Don Maitz Official Webpage. Don is the artist of many Feist covers, including the Magician APE's. He is married to Empire Trilogy co-author Janny Wurts.

Shards Paperback
1:55 pm
Ray said that the US edition of the Shards of a Broken Crown paperback started shipping last week, so you can expect to see it in the UK and other markets soon.

Congratulations!
2:10 pm
List member Andre Mathieu posted this announcement to the list today:

I became a father on Saturday, March 13 at 2:00 to a beautiful baby boy. 7lbs, 10oz and full of vigor!

Congrats, and best of luck Andre!

Ray Speaks
12:45 pm
Here are a few posts from Ray that are of interest. The first regards an official statement on the future of the Krondor license:

I thought I might by the end of this week, but one of the people involved in this evolution is in the hospital right now and things are on hold until he's out and we can discuss some things.

Next, Ray speaks of the Atlas, and seems to hint that there will be more than one in the future:

This is not a game supplement.  Think Atlas of Middle Earth and you have a better notion of what we're heading for, but on a more localize scale.  This 1st one will be Krondor and the immediate area around the Bitter Sea, with some information on the rest of the world.

There are lots of really good artists, but we want a specific look, and we have to see who is available out there and what the budget will require.  We will not be using anyone who has done a similar project before, to keep an original "Midkemian" look.

Finally, here's Ray's plans for the next few novels:

SF book is currently on hold.  Dark fantasy is currently on hold.  Next two projects are Krondor: The Assasins and Krondor: Tear of the Gods.  The Conclave of Shadows is not a Riftwar, per se, and I do not know how long a series it will turn into.  It is currently imagined to be, roughly, three novels.

Sinjin Speaks!
6:20 pm
Sadly, though, there aren't too many answers. Desslock's RPG News snagged an email from Sinjin, ex-manager of PyroTechnix, about all the happenings recently. I'll not repost all of it now, but here's the first little bit. Check Desslock's for the rest:

I think that Dave's comment speaks for itself. I have spoken with [Krondor author] Ray [Feist] and he's pretty committed to keeping the franchise growing and developing, whether it's with Sierra or another publisher. I am sure Ray and the management at Sierra will figure out what the best way to proceed is in the near future. I am also confident the final outcome will be communicated by Ray and Sierra when the decision has finally been made. Everyone has to give them time to make an intelligent decision on this.

A New Home for the FAQ
6:05 pm
Ray Chiang, the keeper of the FAQ, switched jobs and in the interim, the site is under Psihawk's control:

http://www.psihawk.com/feist

At least until Ray gets back.. I've 'taken over' the FAQ site...For now it's up... as it was with a few minor changes..... I need to go through it and do some updating here and there.....and when I get to that point I'll start all the big publicity of the url :) (btw john... I need to change the webring entry for the FAQ....)

I do know some of you have the FAQ memorized... so here's your chance to speak up..anything drastically wrong or out of date will

Anyone seeing any updates/broken links/incorrect info, please e-mail webmaster@psihawk.com and I'll get to them ASAP....

I've updated the link on the Links Page to reflect the change.

Future of Krondor
6:00 pm
Ray hasn't announced the future of the Krondor franchise, but IGN-PC has posted an interview with Dave Grenewetzki from Sierra, and this is what he said:

IGN-PC: With the closure of Pyrotechnix, is that the end of the Krondor games?

DG: At this time, we have no immediate plans for further games in the series.

Questions? Comments?

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