Riftwar reading order (Magician, 1982)

This is an entry map through the Riftwar Saga, the Empire / Krondor’s Sons interleave, and the Serpentwar Saga. Crydee, the official Feist site, recommends written (publication) order. That order does not keep every trilogy in a neat block. The page follows that recommendation through Shards of a Broken Crown, then names the later cycles instead of pretending a shortened chart is the whole cycle.

Faerie Tale is a standalone. It is not Midkemia.

The Riftwar Saga

US split: Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master (both 1986 in the US split) are Magician cut in half. Read Apprentice then Master if that is the edition you have. They are not books 1 and 2 of a different series. Then Silverthorn.

Empire and Krondor’s Sons — written order

The Empire trilogy is co-written with Janny Wurts. It is the Kelewan side of the rift war, not a new universe and not optional-looking homework you skip by starting there. Crydee’s alternate list says the Riftwar Saga is the prerequisite. The Empire books are not required to follow only Midkemia, and they are still the wrong place to meet Pug.

Contested block-read, labeled: written order puts Prince of the Blood between Daughter of the Empire and Servant of the Empire. Some readers finish all three Empire books before either Krondor’s Sons novel so they do not leave Kelewan mid-trilogy. House rule: the table is the written order, which is the order Crydee recommends. The block-read is allowed if you already want Kelewan uninterrupted — Daughter, Servant, Mistress, then Prince of the Blood and The King’s Buccaneer. Do not start on Daughter of the Empire.

The Serpentwar Saga — next cycle

Stop after A Darkness at Sethanon if you only wanted the original three. Stop after Shards of a Broken Crown if you wanted the early cycles and not the rest of a lifetime.

Later cycles — not this table

After Serpentwar, Crydee’s written order continues through the Riftwar Legacy (Krondor: The Betrayal and its sequels), Legends of the Riftwar, Conclave of Shadows (Talon of the Silver Hawk first), the Darkwar Saga, the Demonwar Saga, and the Chaoswar Saga. That long run closes with Magician’s End (2013). Those books are not tabulated here. They are not on-ramps.

Krondor: The Betrayal, Talon of the Silver Hawk, and Magician’s End are especially easy to mistake for book one. They are not.

Firemane is a different Feist series. King of Ashes is that door, not Magician. Dragonwar opens with A Darkness Returns (2024). It is a later join between shelves. It is not Riftwar book one, and it is not where a first Midkemia visit starts.

House rule: Magician → Silverthorn → A Darkness at Sethanon, then the written-order table through The King’s Buccaneer, then Serpentwar if you want the next war. Everything after that waits until you already know you want the rest.

Common mistakes

• Starting with Daughter of the Empire because the Wurts books look like a cleaner trilogy.
• Counting Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master as two different novels plus a third Magician.
• Starting with Krondor: The Betrayal because a game tie-in says “the beginning.”
• Starting with King of Ashes or A Darkness Returns because those covers are the ones in print.
• Treating Faerie Tale as Midkemia.

What to read next

1. The Belgariad (David Eddings) — If you want another 1980s quest five with a clear book one and companions that spoil.
2. Osten Ard (Tad Williams) — If you want the other long epic people start on a sequel-era prequel. The Dragonbone Chair first.
3. Shannara (Terry Brooks) — If you want another multi-cycle shelf where the entry map is not the whole bibliography.
4. The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan) — If one long publication order with a farm-door book one was the point.
5. Stop after A Darkness at Sethanon. The first three are a complete visit.

FAQ

Magician or Daughter of the Empire first?
Magician. Empire comes after the first three.

Are Apprentice and Master two books?
They are one novel, split. Then Silverthorn.

Do I have to read the Empire trilogy?
No, if you only want Midkemia. Yes, before you treat Kelewan as familiar. Not first.

Where does Prince of the Blood go?
In written order, between Daughter of the Empire and Servant of the Empire. A block-read of Empire first is the labeled alternate.

Is A Darkness Returns book one?
No. Dragonwar, 2024. Start at Magician for the Riftwar Cycle.

Is the series finished on this page?
No. This is an entry through Serpentwar. Later cycles end the old run at Magician’s End and are not fully listed here.

Sources

• Crydee, written reading order — official publication order and years through Magician’s End. Opened 2026-09-23.
• Crydee, series as named — which trilogy each early title belongs to. Opened 2026-09-23.