Magician is the first book in a series of books about the lands of Midkemia and Kelewan. Specifically it is the first of 3 books that make up "The Rift War Saga". There are two versions of the book available, as the book was revisited by the author and re-edited to restore material which the ... Read review
Like a venerable patriarch, Magician stands at the head of a great tribe of fantasy ... more
writing. When Raymond Feist's enormous novel was published, critics called it "the best new fantasy concept in years", and Feist has refined and explored that concept o...
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Like a venerable patriarch, Magician stands at the head of a great tribe of fantasy ... more
writing. When Raymond Feist's enormous novel was published, critics called it "the best new fantasy concept in years", and Feist has refined and explored that concept over a dozen novels. His "concept" was to bring together two (and later, more) whole, intricately realised fantasy worlds. Midkemia is a Tolkienian realm, a European- Medieval series of kingdoms in which magic is prominent, and where men share the earth with dwarves and elves. Feist's genius was inventing another sword and sorcercy realm based more closely on eastern models, the Empire of Tsuranuanni, as vast as Ancient China, as formalised and devoted to the arts of war as a samurai Japan. A magical rift in time-space brings these two worlds clashing together, and the young boy Pug and his soldier friend Tomas are thrown into the ensuing maelstrom of invasion and epic battle, before embarking on a more fundamental magical journey towards the very roots of evil itself. Feist's two sequels to Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon complete the richly conceived Riftwar Saga, and Feist has gone on to chronicle other aspects of his invented worlds. More recently he has returned to the world of Medkemia, and to his hero Pug, with the Serpentwar saga, beginning with Shadow of a Dark Queen and continuing with Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown. Heroic Fantasy is a crowded-enough field, but Feist stands out in it for his sheer inventive power, the scope and range of his narratives, the diversity of his characters and his thundering battle sequences. Start reading here, and you may find yourself unable to stop until you have followed the saga right up to date. --Adam Roberts
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1-5 of 38 reviews of Magician - Raymond E. Feist
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Magical
Advantages: A riveting read Disadvantages: Book is heavy on the hand!
Magician is the first book in a series of books about the lands of Midkemia and Kelewan. Specifically it is the first of 3 books that make up "The Rift War Saga". There are two versions of the book available, as the book was revisited by the author and re-edited to restore material which the publishers had insisted on cutting for the first issue of the book (they felt it was too long, and had problems binding it because of the thickness ... ...Fantasy and Sci-Fi books, and Magician has been a firm favourite that I have read and re-read many times.
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The Story
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Initially, the story concerns two young boys, Tomas and Pug, who live in a border castle at Crydee, an outpost of the Kingdom. Pug is an orphan, adopted by the Baron of the Keep, and Tomas is his best friend. They both dream of becoming soldiers and much of the early ... more
Magician is the first book in a series of books about the lands of Midkemia and Kelewan. Specifically it is the first of 3 books that make up "The Rift War Saga". There are two versions of the book available, as the book was revisited by the author and re-edited to restore material which the publishers had insisted on cutting for the first issue of the book (they felt it was too long, and had problems binding it because of the thickness of the book). In the USA, Magician is still released as two separate books.
I read a lot of Fantasy and Sci-Fi books, and Magician has been a firm favourite that I have read and re-read many times.
------------ The Story ------------
Initially, the story concerns two young boys, Tomas and Pug, who live in a border castle at Crydee, an outpost of the Kingdom. Pug is an orphan, adopted by the Baron of the Keep, and Tomas is his best friend. They both dream of becoming soldiers and much of the early story is about the keep and their adventures.
This all changes however with the appearance of a boat, on the rocks, which is discovered by Pug and Tomas. The boat is like nothing anyone has seen before, and contains strange men who speak a language not known on Midkemia. At the same time, the goblins and dark brothers (dark elves) are moving in large groups through the mountains near Crydee, and making more frequent attacks on outlying villages.
Tomas is apprenticed to become a soldier, and Pug is apprenticed by Kulgan the Court Wizard. Tomas trains well, but Pug is unable to learn magic, despite having great aptitude for it, and demonstrating magical feats which according to Kulgan are not possible.
Soon, the Baron, Kulgan, and an entourage which includes Pug and Tomas set off with a small force of troops to see the King in order to begin mobilising the armies of the Kingdom, as it is apparent that a large force is gathering.
It is at this point that things go wrong and Pug is taken by the enemy, back to their homeworld of Kelewan. He begins a voyage of personal discovery, and we jump between Midkemia and kelewan following the stories of Tomas and Pug, and the progress of the war.
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Feist is an extraordinarily good story teller. He keeps many characters involved in the story and gives the reader a broad overview of the political problems in the Kingdom. Troop movements are covered and all of the details are well thought out and planned. There are no larger than life heroics, until late in the book and these are fully justified by the text. The book is well balanced and well thought out.
The characters too are well rounded and very believable, particularly given that there are so many of them involved in the storyline. We learn of the various ways in which the native races of Midkemia cope with the attacking forces. We also are presented with a very human situation - the clash of two different cultures with very different approaches. There is a darker magical problem lurking behind, but in Magician this is mostly incidental.
Many comparisons have been made to the Lord of the Rings, but in my opinion, most fantasy books have as their basis very similar plotlines. It is the way that the plot is developed and textured that differentiates an average book from a great one, and Magician certainly rates as great. There are many original ideas, and the realism level is excellent.
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If you like fantasy, Magician is a must read. It will keep you guessing and, keep you fairly enthralled in a story which moves with pace and diversity.
-------------- Other books -------------- The books in the Riftwar saga are:-
Magician Silverthorn A Darkness at Sethanon
These were followed by books set in Kelewan, which were co-written with Janny Wurts:-
Daughter of the Empire Servant of the Empire Mistress of the Empire
There are then two one-off books,
The Kings Buccanneer Prince of the blood
Feist then began another excellent saga - the Serpentwar Saga
Shadow of a Dark Queen Rise of a Merchant Prince Rage of a Demon King Shards of a broken crown
Sadly he then sold out and produced the Riftwar Legacy, a series of books based on the computer game that was written:-
Krondor - The Betrayal Krondor - The Assassins Krondor - Tear of the Gods
Luckily he got over this and there has been some good press about Conclave of Shadows. Only book 1 has been released:-
Talon of the Silver Hawk
There is also another series: Legends of the Riftwar, which appear to be other peoples stories written with the help of Feist. Honoured Enemy, the first of these isn’t too bad, but it is clearly not written by Feist - just edited and approved.
----------- More Info -----------
Visit www.crydee.com for lots of background info, reviews, synopses etc.
Advantages: Good Read, Developed Characters, Some Original Ideas, Well Written Disadvantages: Very Typical Storyline
Magician is Feist's first book, in a long series set in the richly detailed world of Midkemia. It works as a standalone book, or as part of the series. Feist's writing style is well, feisty to say the least, and it'll have you gripping the book in anticipation of every next page. American copies of this book are split into two volumes Magician : Apprentice, and Magician : Master, I don't know why, it's not that long a book.
Unfortunately, whilst ... ...gets rescued by the Master Magician Kulgan whilst out in a storm, who sees great potential in him. When the apprentice day comes, no one wants to take on young Pug, and embarrassed and ashamed, he sees he's not wanted… but Kulgan offers to take him on. Pug of course, falls in love with the Princess, but he has to leave her to go on a journey. On this journey some close people to him die, and I'm not going to tell you how or what happens to ...
Athravan 04.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist
Advantages: gripping work with lots of fine detail. Disadvantages: takes over your life.
...and then trained as a magician under their system (hence the title.) Tomas finds that his magical armour is not entirely benevolent, and both young men must grapple with ancient forces for the good of their worlds. There is no battle between good and evil, only men and women caught up in war and politics. At first, the invading army seems like the evil bad guy cliche, but as the plot evolves, you start to see them as people, as flawed as anyone else, ... ...moments of redemption. This book has a massive pace - in 680 pages, Feist covers nine years of war, politics, love, training, magic and two civilizations. The writing is amazingly dense, containing huge amounts of detail, vast swathes of action and still managing to get in some characterisation for all of the major and a good few of the minor characters. The attention to detail is what really makes the book work - the number of fantasy books I've ...
Bryn_Pearson 01.12.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist
Advantages: A classic of the genre, easy to read, good characters Disadvantages: None that I can think of
...that I have ever read, Magician is probably the only one that I read every year. It is such a great story (and I read so many books) that i re-read it just to refresh my memory and so that I can escape this often mundane world of ours.
I first started reading fantasy novels after reading Stephen King's 'Eyes of the Dragon' which he wrote for his children. (I was a big horror fan in my teens.) Then I read the first three Dragonlance novels and it ... ...me Magician by Raymond E. Feist.
Such is Feist's narrative and style that I didn't put the book down for three days (I was on holiday), except to eat etc. It is an epic tale, mainly about an orphaned boy, Pug, taken in by his home castle's cook. The cook has a son, called Tomas, of the same age and the first couple of chapters deal with their friendship, the trials of youth and the upcoming Choosing, when the various youths are apprenticed by the ...
cjkace 13.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist
Advantages: A good book that is hard to put down Disadvantages: Can be a little slow at times
...to their dramatic futures as Magician and Prince of the Elves.
How those futures are achieved however is a long and twisted tale that is well worth sitting down and getting into. Pug and Thomas live in a castle at Crydee – A minor province in the principle realm of Midkema. At a time when all the boys are having their apprenticeships sorted out Pug is forgotten and finds no Master to serve until the Castle Magician takes him on. He feels that Pug ... ...from planet earth.
The Magician is of the same genre as Lord of the Rings but is good enough to be a classic in it’s own right. As the first book in the Riftwar series it’s a wonderful introduction to the people and places that will occupy your minds as long as you are reading the books.
The storyline is so exciting that when Feist takes the time to expand his descriptive skills and get you into the picture you’ll find yourself wanting to skip ...
philipjohn001 15.09.2003 (25.10.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist
Advantages: good if you want to get into fantasy books Disadvantages: got to buy the other books to see what happens
...an apprenticeship, until the Dukes Magician steps forward and announces that he will take Pug. Grudgingly Pug accepts. Unknown to himself, his journey of power and danger has just begun. Although quick with his learning Pugs attempts at magic continuously leaves him frustrated as the most simple tasks go wrong, but with the magicians encouragement he slowly masters the powers within him.
The story broadens and soon the kingdom is thrown into turmoil ... ...and Pug and Thomas are taken on a long journey of adventure fraught with danger.
Over time their chosen paths separate them. Thomas becomes a great swordsman achieving amazing feats, whilst Pug is taken to the strangers world not knowing what his future holds for him as he struggles to come to terms that he might forever be a slave to these strange people who regard the dark cloaked figures as the “Great Ones”. What happens next can ...
nitebabe 25.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist
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As a fantasy reader when you pick up the first book in an established series like the 'Riftwar Saga' by RaymondE. Feist, you know you will be getting a good read. At least seven books make up this series. So a book like Magician: Apprentice is probably a fair bet for when you're in the mood to commit to a new series.
Magician: Apprentice probably won't be the best book you've ever read, but will likely keep you curious enough to read through the next book, and the next...Magician: Apprentice starts the Riftwar Saga, a collection about the war that rages between two worlds linked only by a magical rift through space and time. The story is set on two planets at war with one another and chronicles the life and times of two characters, Pug and his foster brother Tomas. The story starts in the sleepy little town of crydee, an outpost in ...
Advantages: A good continuation of Feist's first novel Disadvantages: Need to get the third book to finish the plot off!
Silverthorn is the second book in the Riftwar trilogy by RaymondE. Feist, (published by Grafton, ISBN 0-586-06417-6), and follows on from his first work, Magician.
The characters from the first fantasy saga are developed even more, with the likes of Jimmy the Hand and Arutha Prince of Krondor battling against the Mockers and trying to save Midkemia from dark powers. The same plotlines are continued, the idea of the Enemy is introduced and developed further, and the book is well written as is its predecessor.
As a fan, I would recommend that you read Magician first, so that you learn about all the ways of this fantastic world before taking up the thread of plot in Silverthorn.
The second book is shorter than its prequel, only 432 pages this time, but the ending leaves you hanging, you expect another chapter or two, but ...
Advantages: If you've read the first two books, this is a must Disadvantages: None
This is the final installment in the Riftwar Saga by RaymondE. Feist (Grafton ISBN 0-586-06688-8).
The first two installments, Magician and Silverthorn, really only set the scene compared to this work, which spans the final years of the war between the Tsurani and Midkemia and the battle of Pug and Macros the Black against the old Enemy.
This work rounds the plot threads off very ingeniously indeed, and still you want to read more when you get to the 527th page!
The characters are all developed to the fullest, the scenes are well scripted, and once again Feist's creative literary talents make the battles depicted seem to come alive with colour and sound and intensity as you read them. Not just for fantasy lovers this one, but anyone who enjoys good plots, thrillers, cliffhangers, battle strategies, warfare....the list ...
