Win a years supply of Voyager books!

Just a reminder to take part in our Feast of Feist competion for you chance to win a Voyager new release book every month for a year! To take part, all you need to do is read as many of Raymond E Feist’s Midkemian Riftwar Cycle books as you can between now and the release of the next and final book, Magician’s End in May 2013 and post a review of it in our Forums. You can review as many or as few as you like, but we’ll be looking for a combination of quality and quantity.  Our Sales National Account Assistant Vanessa shared her thoughts about reading Feist’s first book, Magician:

“I didn’t grow up with Feist as many did; I was only introduced to him a few years ago, but I proceeded to devour the entire series since. I was just finishing up the newest George R R Martin title and was scouring about for my next fantasy pick when a friend recommended Feist. I was shocked he hadn’t started reading the Song of Ice and Fire series and he was just as amazed that I had never read a Feist novel, so he gave me his copy of Magician and promised me I wouldn’t stop until I’ve read them all. He was right.

There’s a fair bit of debate about the difference between Martin and Feist, and how it feels to read one after the other. Martin may have more complex characters and his novels may be grittier, creating a world that has a more realistic feel with a smattering of brutality, which is what I love about the series, but perhaps that’s what made me love Feist as well. After reading with one eye open terrified my nearest and dearest characters would get hauled off to the slaughter, Feist was more of a comfort blanket that took me back to the fantastical world of sorcerers, princesses and elves.

However, I still found it a fantasy world with a twist – the introduction of the Tsurani into Midkemia and Pug’s subsequent capture meant that there was another world to delve into, with all its complexities and its culture being worlds away from what Pug is used to. Feist gave me that bit of Martin’s world, where everything isn’t as black and white as a storybook whilst still providing me with a quest, and heroic characters that I could count on being around for a while. Don’t get me wrong – as the series progresses I did mourn for certain characters and their demise, but there’s a nice sense of the good will triumph that I’ll admit to leaving me with joy in my heart. After all, that’s what fairytales and fantasy teaches you as a child – good will defeat evil, the hero will conquer.

If you haven’t read Feist, pick up Magician now. And don’t stop with that one. Read the Empire trilogy that takes you into the Tsurani world and introduces you to Mara and her struggle to understand the culture of the slaves brought from Midkemia. Have fun with Jimmy the Hand, whom I dare you not to like, and the generations that follow him. Regardless of whether you fall in love and reread the books over and over again or move on to another world, the series is a must read.”