Empire Trilogy

About the Empire Trilogy series

When the Riftwar Saga's invasion crosses to Kelewan, Feist and co-author Janny Wurts turn the camera around: the Empire Trilogy tells the same interdimensional war from the Tsurani side, through Mara of the Acoma, a teenage girl forced to become Ruling Lady of a nearly destroyed noble house after her father and brother are killed in battle. Where the Riftwar Saga is fairly traditional Western sword-and-sorcery, the Empire books are court-intrigue political fantasy built around Kelewan's rigid, honor-bound Game of the Council -- Mara survives and eventually dominates through strategy, alliance-building, and ruthless political maneuvering rather than swordplay, making her one of fantasy's most distinctive protagonists precisely because she rarely fights her battles with a blade.

Published between 1987 and 1992, the trilogy stands as both a direct companion to the Riftwar Saga -- overlapping the same war from the opposing empire's perspective, with Pug himself appearing as a supporting character -- and a fully satisfying story on its own, following Mara from powerless teenager to one of the most powerful figures in the Tsurani Empire. Wurts, an accomplished fantasy author in her own right, is credited as full co-author throughout. Readers can start the wider Riftwar Cycle with either the Riftwar Saga or here, though most recommend the Riftwar Saga first for the fuller sense of how the two storylines intersect.

How to read this series

Read in publication order: Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire, Mistress of the Empire. The trilogy can technically be read independently of the Riftwar Saga -- Mara's political rise stands on its own -- but reading Magician first adds context for the war happening in the background and for Pug's role as a supporting character here. Within the trilogy itself, publication order is also the only sensible order: each book picks up directly where the last left off in Mara's political career.