The Quest

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The Quest

UK First Edition Cover
Author	Rufus Fairfax
Language	English
Genre(s)	High Fantasy/Adventure
Publisher	Hat Publishing
Released	1954-1977
Media Type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)

The Quest is a series of twelve epic high fantasy/adventure novels written by influential English author Rufus Fairfax. The most famous and sucessful of all the books is 'Volume I: Dantàrin's Quest', which as of 2006 has sold 27 million copies worldwide. The series remains popular today and is often cited as a key work in the fantasy/adventure genre.

[edit] The Series

The Quest sets itself apart from any other fantasy series in its unique approach to structure. Volumes I-III focus on three different characters whose own personal quests overlap with each other throughout each of the three books. The same can be seen in Volumes IV-VIII and again in Volumes IX-XI, but with different sets of characters in each. The final book, Volume XII, comprises main characters from each of the eleven previous books.

[edit] Rufus Fairfax

Rufus Fairfax was born in London on July 25th 1894. In 1901 both his parents were killed in a tragic accident involving fire and cliffs, and he spent the rest of his childhood growing up in an orphanage in West Ruislip. It is interesting to note that he would incorporate the accident into the last chapter of Volume XI: The Mountain Of Constant Flame.
When Rufus reached the age of eighteen he seemed to dissapear off the map. In a report taken from a local paper, this quote was attributed to orphanage co-ordinator Peggy Sanderson:
"Rufus was always a very quiet child, but no one expected this.The day after his eighteenth birthday we couldn't find him anywhere and finally found a note in his bedroom which simply read 'Thank you. I wish you all the best x'. I hope he's OK"
It was thirty seven years later that the world would hear of him again. In 1949, Rufus approached Hat Publishing with the first few chapters of a book called 'The Adventure Of Time Itself'. This would later become 'The Quest Volume I: Dantarin's Quest', and would be published for the first time in 1954. Eleven more novels and international success followed. In 1966 there would be a tearful reunion with Peggy, where Rufus publicly apologised for leaving so suddenly.
Rufus Fairfax died on April 27th 1977 from a heart attack at the age of 82. At that time, Volume XII:The Quest had not been released, and it was not known whether Rufus had even finished it. Public uproar followed and many of The Quest's most ardent fans wrote to the publishers demanding something that would round off the series. However, two months after his death, the Fairfax family revealed that the final installment of the series had infact been finished and they allowed it to be published later in the year, dedicating it to his memory.

[edit] Recent Developments

During the winter of 2001, sales of novels in the Quest series increased by up to 420%. This dramatic rise was attributed to the success of The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring film, in a time when the public interest in fantasy/adventure story telling had grown tremendously. Experts said that many other fantasy/adventure novels experienced sales increases, and similar increases were also seen in the two following years with the releases of The Two Towers and The Return Of The King. More recently, in July 2006, the Fairfax family have discovered Rufus's lost journals. Included among them was an original preface to Volume I: Dantàrin's Quest, which was left out of the first publication. As of October 2006, all copies of the book will feature this preface.

[edit] Quotes

"I find that the term 'author' is far too broad. I prefer to think of myself as an epic fantasist'

- taken from a rare interview with Rufus Fairfax in 1967.

"Many years ago I found myself locked in a battle with a dragon, deep inside the dungeon caves. A place closer to the edge than any mortal man has been. I hope to god that I shall never return there, for there are horrors lurking in the mist which are beyond anything you can possibly imagine. Yet, you Dantàrin, must go there. Never in my life did I wish to send a man to such a terrible, but the fate of Callarin and New Earth depends on it. Do you understand me? I will teach you the way of the mage, and when you are ready your quest shall truly begin."

- Ferucian's famous speech from Chapter 7 of Volume I: Dantàrin's Quest.

[edit] Links

The Quest Official Site - Currently unavailable, expected to be updated soon.
The Quest on MySpace - Official MySpace site for The Quest series, currently uploading one chapter of Dantarin's Quest per week, available to view for free.