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story identification - Fantasy book series with non-human races and labyrinth


I'm trying to identify fantasy book series I encountered some time ago. Here are things I remember:



  • it was a fantasy setting but with some s-f elements; with many worlds and possibility to travel between them; resembling Planescape setting a little,

  • the two main races were non-human and probably hostile to each other,

  • a labyrinth (?), which somehow played an important role in the plot,

  • a protagonist was some kind of emissary and was sent on a mission to another worlds

  • time period: 80s - 90s


Does anyone know what it is the name of the series?




Answer



The Death Gate Cycle is a series of seven fantasy novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman that involves planar travel and contains quite a few sci-elements. The books were released between 1990 and 1994.


The series features:



  • Travel between multiple elemental planes of existence: the Plane of Fire, Plane of Earth, Plane of Air, Plane of Water.

  • The the Sartan and the Patryns, two godlike races, are locked in a war to control the other, "lesser" races (Dwarves, elves and humans).

  • The Labyrinth is a prison world that figures largely into the Sartan/Patryn conflict. Spoiler alert:

    The Patryn are imprisoned there.





  • One of the main characters is Haplo, a agent of the Patryn who travels among the Elemental worlds at his master's request.


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