Who is Greater Piers Anthony or Raymond E Feist ?

[BAYLOR]

Two of the most popular writers of this era Piers Anthony whose most famous creation is Xanth series though he done other books and series of note vs Raymond E Feist who has given us Rift War and his Midkemia books. Of the two , which do you think is greater and has had the most impact. ?

 

[nixie]

For me Raymond E Feist, could never get into Anthony.

Correction @BAYLOR, yes Feist gave us Midkemia but Riftwar is part of Midkemia not separate books.

He also wrote the Empire series with Janny Wurts, again related to the Riftwar but set on Kelwan.

He has just finished a new series The Firemane Saga that is not related to his previous books.

He also gave us Faerie Tale a delicious standalone set on our world.

Without Feist I'd never have explored the world of fantasy, sure I read a lot of horror and books on black magic.
I had a misconception of Sci-fi, fantasy I thought was aimed at teenage boys wet dreams and science fiction spaceships with little true substance. The front covers used to be really bad.

Then in my early twenties I picked up Magician, opened my eyes to a whole new world, probably if I hadn't picked it up I would never have found my way here twenty years later.

Feist is not the greatest writer and his books are generic but he tells a good yarn and I probably forgive his mistakes far more than I do others.

 

[BAYLOR]

Piers Anthony's novels Ghost , Cthon , Pthor . All Three of the terrific books.

 

[Bick]

These are two entirely unrelated authors who wrote in completely different styles. Moreover, they didn't overlap at the peak of their popularity - Anthony, who is 88, was most popular from the late 60s through to the mid 80's, while Feist, who's 12 years younger, didn't become popular until Magician in 1982, and was most popular in the 90's and 2000's. Why are we comparing them?

 

[Pyan]

Agreed - the two authors have so little in common, that it's almost impossible to compare them, or say which is "greater".

"In one hand I have 500gms of cheese, in the other, 500gms of chalk. Which is better?"

 

[BAYLOR]

These are two entirely unrelated authors who wrote in completely different styles. Moreover, they didn't overlap at the peak of their popularity - Anthony, who is 88, was most popular from the late 60s through to the mid 80's, while Feist, who's 12 years younger, didn't become popular until Magician in 1982, and was most popular in the 90's and 2000's. Why are we comparing them?

Agreed - the two authors have so little in common, that it's almost impossible to compare them, or say which is "greater".

"In one hand I have 500gms of cheese, in the other, 500gms of chalk. Which is better?"

Ive read both of them ans am well aware of how different they are . Why am I comparing them Because they overlap both are still with us technically , they're both contemporaries.

 

[Bick]

Okay, for what it's worth, I think Anthony was the better writer. He was more inventive, more varied in his output, and greater natural talent if you like. He damaged his reputation with several books of dubious taste, too much reliance on slightly juvenile puns, and he demonstrated an unsavory focus on underage girls in some novels, which wasn't terrific. That said, I feel Feist's talents were narrower and more derivative (albeit a decent writer within his field).

Of more interest than the comparison, per se, is what folk think of Anthony on his own merits. I'm sure he splits opinion.

 

[SilentRoamer]

For me Raymond E Feist, could never get into Anthony.

Correction @BAYLOR, yes Feist gave us Midkemia but Riftwar is part of Midkemia not separate books.

He also wrote the Empire series with Janny Wurts, again related to the Riftwar but set on Kelwan.

He has just finished a new series The Firemane Saga that is not related to his previous books.

He also gave us Faerie Tale a delicious standalone set on our world.

Without Feist I'd never have explored the world of fantasy, sure I read a lot of horror and books on black magic.
I had a misconception of Sci-fi, fantasy I thought was aimed at teenage boys wet dreams and science fiction spaceships with little true substance. The front covers used to be really bad.

Then in my early twenties I picked up Magician, opened my eyes to a whole new world, probably if I hadn't picked it up I would never have found my way here twenty years later.

Feist is not the greatest writer and his books are generic but he tells a good yarn and I probably forgive his mistakes far more than I do others.

Hey Nixie,

People often mention the RiftWar and then kind of include the SerpentWar as part of that (I mean it is sandwiched in between events at both ends of the Riftwar Saga). I actually really enjoyed the SerpentWar Saga but I think the Empire trilogy with Janny Wurts is probably the best written of all his works.
Nixie - what would you consider novels like Tears of Krondor and Murder in la Mut? Part of the extended Riftwar?
Also - have you read any of the Firemane stuff and should I dip my toe into it?

Feist will always have a special place for me - Magician is a wonderful book.

 

[nixie]

Hey Nixie,

People often mention the RiftWar and then kind of include the SerpentWar as part of that (I mean it is sandwiched in between events at both ends of the Riftwar Saga). I actually really enjoyed the SerpentWar Saga but I think the Empire trilogy with Janny Wurts is probably the best written of all his works.
Nixie - what would you consider novels like Tears of Krondor and Murder in la Mut? Part of the extended Riftwar?
Also - have you read any of the Firemane stuff and should I dip my toe into it?

Feist will always have a special place for me - Magician is a wonderful book.

Murder in Lamut along with Honoured Enemy and Jimmy the Hand are collaborative works set during Riftwar, you wouldn't miss out not reading them but they are entertaining.

The Krondor Legacy ( Tears, Betrayal, Assassins, Jimmy and the Crawler) are sandwiched between Silverthorn and Princes of the Blood, Locky has been sent away due to some indiscretion, introduces us to William, again not essential read but they did answer some questions I had from later books.

Firemance is a departure from Riftwar, if you expect a carbon copy or similarities, no. OK he likes his thieves and assassins but it is a departure. His female characters are better portrayed, the magic is not in your face. The third book is next in my to read pile.

 

[hitmouse]

Ive read both of them ans am well aware of how different they are . Why am I comparing them Because they overlap both are still with us technically , they're both contemporaries.

By the same token why not compare Anthony with Haruki Murakami? They are both alive, so by your definition they are contemporaries, they both write fantasy. I don't think it really holds up after that.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Ive read both of them ans am well aware of how different they are . Why am I comparing them Because they overlap both are still with us technically , they're both contemporaries.

I think it's hilarious how people take the time to criticise the premise of your post.

Compare whoever you want. I might do a Danielle Steel and J.R.R. Tolkien comparison

 

[The Ace]

It has to be Feist.

The trouble with Anthony, as I've said several times, is that you never know what you're getting. Sometimes absolute brilliance with a touch of humour, sometimes something so awful you want to bleach your brain. Anthony is living proof that gold and muck come from the same shaft.

 

[The Big Peat]

I would have thought it would have made more sense to compare Feist with say, Eddings or Brooks or Williams and so on. Comparing authors from similar moments seems to offer better chances for conversation. Or even maybe present a list of people from the same era for a bigger pool of discussion?

But since the question is in front of us -

The only Piers Anthony book I've read is the last book in Biography of a Space Tyrant. It had a gripping plot, perfectly fine writing, and a lot of skeeziness. Since then, I've only known more of him through people who enjoyed him as teenagers, or though discussion of the reputation he got through being exceedingly skeezy. I am distinctly not a fan of putting people's flaws front and centre in their reputation but sometimes people give you nowhere else to look.

So that remains the only book of his I've read. I feel vaguely like I should try some of his other books as someone interested in the history of the genre, but truth to tell, rooting through influences and what not, he doesn't feel all that important. Popular in his day, but something of a dead end in terms of enduring legacy.

Not that I'm sure Feist has had an enduring legacy either. Still, I like his stuff. I think he peaked with Serpentwar and the in-between books, and I think he did some interesting stuff with his influence blend there. Like, the Serpentwar Saga is two kids join the Dirty Dozen, then one of them becomes Gordon Gecko and the other sticks in what is kind of the Black Company, with some background Moorcock cosmic level shenanigans. Strip out the cosmic stuff and it could almost be a Ruritanian romance, which makes sense when you read his influence list and realise he's a historical swashbuckling novel guy who fell into a D&D group and therefore wrote fantasy rather than historical swashbuckling. It's a shame he never really managed to get the swashbuckling and cosmic stuff to sit in the same novel neatly post-Magician, which is a bit of a stodgy read for me but its sheer imaginative scope and tying together of family saga with high level D&D shenanigans sits very highly in my memory.

Also The Empire Trilogy is a banger.

 

[BAYLOR]

It has to be Feist.

The trouble with Anthony, as I've said several times, is that you never know what you're getting. Sometimes absolute brilliance with a touch of humour, sometimes something so awful you want to bleach your brain. Anthony is living proof that gold and muck come from the same shaft.

I got tot about the 5th Xanth novel in that series.

 

[BAYLOR]

I think it's hilarious how people take the time to criticise the premise of your post.

Compare whoever you want. I might do a Danielle Steel and J.R.R. Tolkien comparison

Danielle Steel vs Tolkien .Hm . No, I don't think I'd ever want to go there because of the terrible tongue lashing bruises and teeth marks I would get from entire forum if I ever did such and insane this as that.

 

[Bick]

I think it's hilarious how people take the time to criticise the premise of your post.

It's pretty funny when people take the time to criticise people who take the time to criticise the premise of the thread, too.

 

[The Big Peat]

I for one am startled that when asked to offer their opinion, people offer their opinion.

 

[Bick]

We have a clear answer, anyway, it’s either Anthony or Feist. Definitely one of them.

 

[SilentRoamer]

It's pretty funny when people take the time to criticise people who take the time to criticise the premise of the thread, too.

Does the induced feeling of hilarity really count as criticism?

I for one am startled that when asked to offer their opinion, people offer their opinion.

Except an opinion wasn't offered in the original reply, the subsequent post DID offer an opnion but the first post merely served to criticise the premise (which could form part of the answer if presented that way).

Anyway Bick is correct, we have the answer. It is definitely Anthony, or Feist, or both, or maybe neither.

 

[KiraAnn]

Don't know of Raymond E Feist, so...