For reasons far too complex to detail, I am indebted to the following people:
To William Wright, Lou Aronica, and Mike Greenstein, for bringing order out of chaos and getting the program pointed in the right direction.
To Adrian Zackheim, for getting me to Hearst Books; Robert Mecoy, for keeping the inertia heading in the right direction and being the world’s most indefatigable cheerleader; Liz Perle McKenna, for taking time from a very busy schedule to keep a perplexed author informed; and John Douglass, for some timely hand-holding. All were my editors for a while during that chaos.
To Jenifer Brehl, my editor, for hitting the ground running and not missing a step.
To everyone else at Hearst Books/Avon, for getting behind the series.
To Jonathan Matson, for all the usual reasons.
To my children, Jessica and James, for showing me magic every day.
And to my wife, Kathlyn Starbuck, for more reasons than I could ever list here.
Raymond E. Feist
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
June 1996