Magician - Raymond E. Feist

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). ...
...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. ...

iainc 24.06.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

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 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...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) · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

Magician is the first book of the ‘Riftwar’ trilogy. The trilogy is set upon the worlds of Midkemia (the homeworld) and the alien world of the Tsurani. Magician if followed by Silverthorn and a Darkness at Sethanon. The world of Midkemia is a world similar to Tolkien’s Middle Earth, with the traditional elves and dwarves, and monsters, such as trolls, goblins and the mysterious dragons. Magic again plays a major part, with many ...
...orphan boy becomes the greatest magician of two worlds, and is given a name at the last. Feist’s fantastic descriptive writing style, makes the read an enjoyable one, in one of the greatest modern. Feist seems unsatisfied to have created his own world, so he created two. Not only that but he has created several races of animals to inhabit the Tsurani world. Feist has created some very complex characters, which I’m sure will continue ...

Kirk 28.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

Magician is the first book in a trilogy based predominately in the land of Midkemia. Darkness at Sethanon, the second in the series, is more like a separate interlude, while Darkness at Sethanon, culminates the story started in Magician but leaves a few loose ends for the next series (or two or three!) The lands and inhabitants. MIdkemia is a land similar to Tolkien’s Middle Earth, with sprawling hills, dangerous caves, abandoned fortresses ...
...characters are similar in style to many of Tolkien’s greatest characters, but there are a few original characters that are both funny and intriguing. Although I still believe ‘Lord of the Rings’ to be the greatest Fantasy series ever written, Magician and the subsequent books come a clos second. ...

Simoncook1 04.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

When I first picked up this book 4 years ago I was bored and hoping to find a book that could hold my interest for more that 15 minutes. I didn't put it down until i was finished. I was hooked from the first page. The characters were amazing. I felt like I knew them personally, they held my affection and loyalty. I loved the plot, the setting, the magic, and the adventure. From this book I went on to the next 3 in this series which were just as good, ...

david1978 24.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...who becomes apprenticed to the Magician Kulgan, and Tomas who begins his teens as a soldier. It follows their experiences and trials as the pair grow to manhood under the attack of a mysterious and cultularly different Army from the world of Kelewan; the Tsurani. This story is excellent and Feist uses a fantastic writing technique that flows beautifully, allowing the reader to fully integrate with the book and almost feel and see the magic unfold ...
...feats and excellent battles all wrapped up in a world of intrigue and politics, this will keep any Fantasy reader salivating for more. Even if you have never read fantasy before I'm sure you will love this book. He is almost as good a page-turner as the Da Vinci Code author, Dan Brown; and Feist certainly gives Tolkien a run for his money. My book retailed at £7.99p and was well worth every penny. It was the new-revised edition but came with a much ...

leniewskid182 03.08.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

The Magician is the first book is Feist's Fantasy Riftwar saga. There are now 11 books in this series and 2 computer games. I think the popularity of the series can be traced back to this first book. It is defenitely Feist's best book and if you have enjoyed any other books then he has written then you should buy this. Magician tells the story of a boy called Pug who lives on the far coast in Midkemia. Midkemia is invaded form another realm by the ...
...inconsequential happenings. Since Magician I think his books have generally gone down hill. The epic scope of the first book has been replaced by a rather laboured attempt to keep the reader buying the books. Since the Magician the magic has been absent from Feist's saga. You tend to get the feeling he is simply churning yet another book. The stories are all based in the same world but they are inhabited by very different characters. The characters ...

Duncan1 21.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...apprentice for a magician. The magician accepts the apprenticeship more out of pity for Pug than expecting Pug to have any real talent. The Magician is the tale of Pug and his friend Thomas, and how they both move towards their destinies in the land, while meeting dwarves, elves and a multitude of dangerous creatures. The book begins slowly as Pug attempts to learn magic, but the difficulties he encounters hint at a possible greatness within him. ...
...above many others and pushes Magician close to Lord of The Rings. Magician draws us in to a deep plot that will span several books and is never truly told. There is much suspense and danger throughout the book involving meetings with Dragons, amazing transformations to some of the main characters as they progress through life and become heroes. Magician is a very good book that will appeal to many readers, although I suspect that those devoted ...

LeighCook 20.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

...people in the book. In Magician this is taken to a new level which only few authors can achieve- the multiple characters all leading their own story lines gives the reader a sense of anticipation when the character is next mentioned in the book. I have frequently wanted to skip a few chapters to see what has come of someone in the book. The book is a true great, as are the 11 books that come after it- read everyone because as soon as you pick up ...

Saul_Walker 13.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

In Magician, Raymond Feist lays the groundwork for a fascinating series of novels, with broad scope, interesting characters, and a deeper level of detail than many fantasy works. However, particularly in this first and foundational novel, the plot is relatively slow and the characters are as yet undeveloped. It is the knowledge of the rest of the series awaiting which allays this somewhat, since much of the material (especially in the author's Preferred ...
...next three volumes. As an aside note, it is when I take into account not only the Riftwar saga as such, but also the subsequent books set in Midkemia, and the "Empire" series, co-authored by Feist and Janny Wurts, that the real richness of the Midkemian Universe becomes evident. While the Tsurani culture borrows heavily from oriental culture, and many aspects of the topography and political nature of the Midkemian world are not developed (especially ...

zigototo 29.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist

Always having been an avid reader of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, I picked up Feist for the first time about 5 years ago, and started with his first work "Magician", the new revised edition (ISBN 0-586-21783-5), published by Grafton. I am so glad I did! The book is simply yet engrossingly written, and is, as the author attempted, a "ripping good yarn". If you are new to this genre of work, and think you will be off put by goblins, trolls, elves and orcs, think ...
...up the Riftwar Saga is riveting from start to finish, from Pug waking up on the beach as a 12 year old boy right through to the 681st page, and even then you'll be wanting to pick up the sequel straight away. The world is described beautifully, the characters are well developed, the plots and twists are intricate, and some of the battle sequences are so unique that it is no wonder that Feist needed the help of so many others to create this fantastic ...

MikeScoates 03.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Magician - Raymond E. Feist