Riftwar: The World On The Other Side Books In Order

Publication Order of Riftwar: The World On The Other Side Books

The Empire Trilogy book series is an exciting series of epic fantasy, political fantasy, high fantasy, science fiction, and romance stories. It was written as a collaborative project by renowned American writers named Ray E Feist and Janny Wurts. This series’s three books were released between 1987 and 1992. The authors have set the novels in a fiction world known as Kelewan. Every book follows the life story of Mara, who belongs to the Acoma family. She starts from a convent novitiate and rises to power by becoming Kelewan’s most powerful lady. The three novels are contemporary to an original series penned by Feist, Riftwar Saga. Some of the characters from the original series make crossover appearances in this series as well.

Initially, Mara is introduced as a girl who struggles to lead her family following the killings of her brother and father by the members of the Minwanabi family by setting a trap. The Minwanabi family is shown as one of the most influential and powerful families. They have a longtime enmity with the Acoma family. As time goes by, Mara learns the tricks of the trade and becomes a smart player of the Game of Council. She develops the required skills quickly and goes on to challenge Kelewan’s binding traditions. The writers have also depicted the Tsuranuanni’s feudal Empire in this series, which features political and social institutions and shows the clear influence of Imperial China and feudal Japan. Some of the characters mentioned in the books have names influenced by Nahuatl.

After the successful worldwide release of the third novel, both the authors declared that they were not going to add any more novels in this series. They were quite content with the amount of success the series had received and didn’t want to ruin the fun by extending the series unnecessarily. Many critics thought that it was wise of the two writers to decide not to add further titles to the trilogy as they already gave it a good ending. But, the fans of this series wanted more and were hopeful that Feist would come up with another story set on the same lines as this series. Now, Raymond Feist hopes to create some exciting stories that can match the Empire Trilogy books and entertain his fans.

The debut book of the Empire Trilogy series written by author Raymond E. Feist is entitled ‘Daughter of the Empire’. It was released in 1987 by the Spectre publication. The plot introduces Mara’s story as she struggles to safeguard her followers through peril and terror, and survive the ruthlessness of the Game of Council at the same time. She is told by her mentors that she must learn to bend tradition, plot, deal with her heart, and avoid assassination attempts to gain power and prevent the destruction of the Acoma family. Initially, Mara is seen as a 17-year-old girl. When she is about to take her ceremonial pledge for goddess Lashima’s servantship, she hears the terrible news of the murder of her father and brother in battle.

Mara is asked to take control of the family and become the Ruling Lady. She discovers that the longtime enemies of her family, the Minwanabi, are responsible for her loved ones’ deaths. And if she doesn’t stop the decimation of her military forces, she might soon witness the destruction of the vulnerable Acoma. Soon after taking command, an assassination attempt is made on her life, but she succeeds in saving herself by listening to the advice of her loyal military commanders Papewaio and Keyoke, her nurse Nacoya, and the wits of her own. In order to suit her requirements, Mara keeps bending traditions. First, she decides to hire grey warriors in her military force. These warriors are soldiers who formerly worked for fallen Houses and are considered outcasts traditionally.

One among those soldiers is Arakasi. He is a well-known Spy Master and has a wide network of secret informants. But, his network could not help him to save his ex-Lord, who was destroyed by the Minwanabi. Arakasi still trusts his informants and keeps them close. The next step that Mara takes is making an alliance with the cho-ja colony’s Queen. This colony comprises of gifted artisans and fierce warriors. With this alliance, Mara succeeds in improving the strength of her military and her future financial condition from potential exports by the insectoid colony’s artisans. The most fierce decision that Mara takes after taking charge is arranging for her political marriage. She offers to get married into the Anasati family, the second most fearsome and powerful enemy of her family. The Anasati give her the choice of marrying either their second or the third son. But, Mara makes the bold decision of marrying the third son named Buntokapi, who is considered brutish and incompetent.

Following the marriage, Mara comes to know that Buntokapi is an excellent military leader and a much smarter person than others think him to be. What shocks Mara is that Buntokapi turns out to be an inept lord and an abusive husband. When she becomes pregnant, the alliance of the Acoma and the Anasati is secured. As she sets her next plan in motion, Buntokapi begins to feel that he is falling prey to Mara’s machinations and commits suicide as per his family’s ritual to save the honor of himself and the family. In the end, Mara succeeds in killing the Minwanabi family’s Lord Jingu on his own land during a celebration that was attended by Kelewan’s many noble families. With this, she establishes herself as the most fearsome lord and a powerful ruler and also avenges her brother and father.

The second installment of the series is known as ‘Servant of the Empire’. It was published by Grafton publication in 1990. This novel continues to show the political advances of Mara and describes how to becomes an expert at playing games with the Council. She learns the art of political maneuvering and causes a lot of bloodsheds to take place in her hunger to gain more power. When Mara comes across an important asset named Kevin of Zun from the Midkemian POWs, her hunger grows even more. Mara’s power, social standing, and wealth grow enormously in quick time, but she continues to face threats from powerful enemies, who want to assassinate her at any cost. Therefore, it seems quite clear that she is treading dangerous waters despite her numerous triumphs. Lord Desio emerges as a great threat to her as he takes an oath to finish her entire family. But, Mara manages to defeat him and destroys the Minwanabi instead. In the meantime, she indulges in a romantic relationship with Kevin and becomes pregnant with his child. Subsequently, Mara takes the role of Servant of the Empire.