Flight of the Nighthawks
The Conclave of Shadows, the undercover organisation charged with the protection of Midkemia, have problems: the evil magician Leso Varen is still at large and thousands of portals to a parallel dimension inhabited by the cruel and fiendish Dasati, have been discovered in Novindus.
Leso Varen, a powerful and malign magician with the power to possess and transport himself from body to body, and his Nighthawk assassins are plotting chaos and annihilation in the royal house of Kesh. The Nameless One is awakening and needs Varen to help him re-emerge completely and tip the balance of good and evil in the world, plunging Midkemia into darkness and ruin.
But when the Conclave attempt to warn the Emperor, it becomes clear that many of the truebloods – nobles related by birth to the Emperor – are already Varen's slaves, both willing and unwitting, and the Conclave are forced into a race against time to save Great Kesh before evil engulfs the land.
Flight of the Nighthawks begins a brand new series from the master of fantasy, set on a grand scale; revisiting the exotic political-intrigue of Great Kesh (touched upon in the classic Riftwar books), and carrying the reader into a dark underworld of crime and black magic.
Raymond E. Feist
Raymond Elias Feist (born 1945, Los Angeles, California) is an American author, mostly specialising in fantasy fiction.
Feist was raised in Southern California. He was born with the surname Gonzales, before being adopted by Felix E. Feist.
He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would be a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982.
The Darkwar Saga
The Darkwar Saga consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series The Riftwar Cycle
Book Reviews
Many people have said that Flight of the Nighthawks is classic Feist, but I have to disagree with them. Flight of the Nighthawks is a nice and readable fantasy book and it features some familiar characters, but it's just not as good as Magician or Silverthorn, which is one of the best Midkemia books I've read. If you like Feist's books, you'll probably enjoy reading this book.