Product Description

A newly revised edition of Raymond E. Feist' s continuation of his classic Riftwar series. Set twenty years after the events of the Riftwar, Prince of the Blood follows the adventures of Prince Arutha's sons in the dangerously unstable Great Empire of Kesh. Set twenty years after the events in The Riftwar Saga, Prince of the Blood follows the adventures that erupt when a group of powerful nobles attempt to overthrow the Empress of Kesh, bitterly dividing the court. In the centre of the conflict are the two princes of Krondor, Borric and Erland. When Borric escapes and makes a desperate journey back tothe court to warn of the traitor's plans -- which if they were to succeed, would start a war that would twar the Empire apart. From the author of the phenomally successful novels in The Riftwar series comes the newly revised tale of swashbuckling adventure in one of the most popular fantasy worlds ever created. Prince of the Blood is the classic, action-packed saga of conflict and love, magic and legend, from the master of epic fantasy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12218 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

From the Author
When did you start writing?
If you mean when did I seriously start writing, that was in 1977, the year I graduated from University. I really got serious a year later which was when I took a rough coming-of-age story and started turning into Magician, my first published novel.

Where do you write?
I have a home office.

What are the pros and cons of being a writer?
The same as with any self-employment: you’re your own boss, you set your own schedule, you determine the quality of the product, etc. The downside is you have no corporate safety net, no unemployment insurance, no health care benefits, no retirement plan, so you bear responsibility for all of those things. It is not a job for the timid.

What writers have inspired you?
Too long a list to cover them all. Anything good, in one fashion or another influences. There are some very obvious names, to begin with: Shakespeare, Marlow, Dickens, the Russians, Twain, Melville, and some slightly less obvious, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alexander Dumas, Anthony Hope, and the other "boy’s adventure" authors. Also, historical authors like Mary Renault, Rosemary Suttcliff, and Thomas Costain. And the pulp authors: Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Ridder Haggard, A. Merrrit, and among fantasy writers, Fritz Lieber. Toss in as diverse a range of writers as Zane Grey and Louis L’amour in westerns to Dashel Hammett , Raymond Chandler, and John D. McDonald in mystery, to comedic writers like Max Schulman and Dan Jenkins. I could keep going, but that’s the tip of the iceberg.

How important is a sense of place in your writing?
Tough question to answer in brief; every element in a fantasy has to “make sense” to the reader. You can not condescend to your art because it’s “make believe,” so even though the place in which I set my work is a fantasy world, it has to feel “real” structurally, else the reader will ultimately be unhappy.

Do you spend a lot of time researching your novels?
Only enough to convince the reader the characters know what they’re doing. I don’t have to be the expert; I just need to be persuasive.

Do your characters ever surprise you?
All the time. In fact, as I get older, more and more often. I suspect this is a function of my subconscious coming up with better story notions than I had originally planned.

How much of your life and the people around you do you put into your books?
In specific, none of it; in general, all of it. The old saw is that writers write what they know. It’s like what actors call “sense memory.” You have to sell emotion and there has to be a foundation of validity or it will not work. How did it feel when you saw your book in print for the first time? A little disbelieving, and very pleased.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing now?
Probably looking for a job, given this economy. My last one was in the health field as an administrator.

About the Author
Feist is one of the world's leading fantasy writers. His Riftwar and Serpentwar Sagas have been global bestsellers for years. Born and raised in Southern California, Raymond E. Feist was educated at the University of California, San Diego, where he graduated with honours in Communication Arts. He is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Riftwar Saga.

Customer Reviews

Where has the fantasy gone?
After reading the first threee books of Feist's amazing riftwar saga I looked forward to Prince of the Blood. But I was in for a surprise. Firstly, this book is set some twenty years after the events of the riftwar, so Feist decided to kill off some older characters during those years. Secondly, the fantasy elements that made his first books, seem to have disappeared. Thinking I was buying a fantasy book, I was quite disapointed. But the good story and characters nearly make up that. If you enjoyed the first books, and you really want to know whats happens to the twin boys, Borric and Erland during their cross into adulthood, I fully recommend it.

Its Feist - its brilliant.
The revised edition is not in fact that much different to the original. Where in Magician and the other Riftwar books you build up rapour with the characters, the original Prince of The Blood didn't really do this for Prince Arutha's sons Borric and Erland - the revised edition definitely repairs this.This revised edition follows the movements of The royal princes on a vistit to Great Kesh. However, waylaid by a band of soldiers, Prince Borric, heir apparent to the Kingdom goes missing and is presumed dead. Borric is captured by slavers and taken to Durbin where he escapes with the help of Suli, a pathetic thief. He choses to continue on to Kesh, to warn his brother Erland of the plot to incite war between the Kingdom and Empire by a faction of the Keshian Court.Its an absolutely brilliant read, fans of Feist's previous works will definitely enjoy this, and those who aren't will do so too. Though, I still feel the same regarding both editions... Buy it - its great!

I loved this book!
In this sequel to A Darkness at Sethanon, author Raymond Feist takes us back to his magical world of Midkemia. Arutha's sons, Borric and Erland, are growing up to be wild; given to drinking, gambling and wenching. However, Borric is destined to be King of the Isles, with Erland being a mere step away from the throne. And so, the boys are packed off to the Empire of Great Kesh, to represent the Kingdom at the Empress's Diamond Jubilee. However, there is a conspiracy at work in Kesh, and one of its goals is the death of Borric conDoin! The twins are going to have to grow up, and quick, if they are to stay alive!

This book is a decided step away from the Elves and Wizards theme that dominated Mr. Feist's early works. Instead, this book places the (non-magical) main characters in a situation where they must use their wits and abilities to succeed - a theme that dominates the rest of his Midkemia books.

Overall, I must say that I loved this book! I really enjoyed the exotic setting, with the author mixing in familiar Earth cultures in an entirely unfamiliar arrangement. Also, even though I do like wizard characters, I thought that Mr. Feist still did a good job of using magic as an integral part of the story, even if it is not the central part.

So, I would say that I liked the setting, I liked the characters (a very nice selection of different sorts, but working together in an entirely believable way), and I liked the story. As a matter of fact, I would say that if this is not my favorite Midkemia story, it is one of my top 2! I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to all fans of Fantasy literature!