I trained as a singer and actor, and currently teach singing as a specialist teacher at primary scho...
I trained as a singer and actor, and currently teach singing as a specialist teacher at primary school level, as well as for Stagecoach Theatre Arts. I'm also doing up a flat that I bought with my Fiancee in March and pontificating at my leisure...
Member since:17.02.2003
Reviews:35
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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.
------------ Summary ------------
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:-
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.
Very good review but a few big plot lines have been omitted mainly - the adoption of Pug into Borics family, the loss of Tomas in the mines and Pugs time on Kelewan but yet again we could all write a 20 page synopsis of this book as there is so much in it. At the end i also think instead of listing all the following books you should of just mentioned that the series is ongoing and that this book is the best introduction you could have into the world of fantasy fiction and never mind Narnia or Middle Earth. Feist rocks
034keb 05.08.2006 16:33
Good interesting review.
naomithesugarplumfairy 09.03.2004 21:59
i want o write a goos review on a good book (i am inspired!) any suggestions? xnaomix
Jun 24th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
