Customer Reviews

Magician (Unabridged)

This was my first Feist book, and what an excellent read it turned out to be. The characters were introduced at timely intervals, so they didn't overlap. The plot of the book was never lost , but in the middle you cover such a lot of ground it becomes hard to follow. It all comes together in the end with quite a bang. The characters develop realistically, and the twists and turns they go through in the cause of fate, adds a real feeling of realism. There is one charachter who is instrumental in the final chapters, and you suddenly realise that you had knowledge of him from the very first part of the book. I've read a lot of fantasy books in my time, but I cannot recall a time when I have had been wrong in guessing what would happen next. This had me on the edge of my seat more times than I can remember. If someone asked my to recommend a good book for a long journey this would be it, If you are a fantasy fan and you haven't read it already it is a must. If you have never read a fantasy book before, I couldn't think of a better one to start with.

Fantasy stories tend to rely on stock characters, as well as some pretty standard clichés. Characters such as the na�ve but uniquely gifted young boy and his powerful yet mysterious instructor, and clichés such as the seemingly undefeatable foe and journeys across great distances that function as the backdrop to passages into adulthood. Depending on your point of view these can either be negative or positive aspects of the genre. But considering this is my absolute favourite genre of all- obviously these are characters and clichés I just can't get enough of, even if I must occasionally trudge through those plainly unimaginative and painfully formulaic examples.

'Magician' however, whilst containing all these characters and clichés and more common themes besides, is an exceptionally original and absolutely gripping novel. At first Pug is the uninspired hero, who aspires to the service of the Duke of Crydee and in companionship with his boyhood friend Thomas begins his unrelenting pursuit of that goal. But the twists and turns in Pug's story are unlike those in most fantasy stories- his ascendance into adulthood and the form his service to his country takes are completely different from that of his fellow apprentices and indeed his fellow heroes in fantasy.

Concepts of space and time, as well as the mastery of magic are areas terrifically brought to life by Feist and it's in the education of Pug in these arts that this book really comes into its own and where all competition is completely blown away. Clearly Feist has done a lot of research into this area, particularly in regards to some unequivocally harsh teaching techniques that seem to take their inspiration from Eastern philosophies, as do the 'undefeatable' foes and their far-off land. And it's in the culture-clash and the repercussions of such differences between these two peoples that makes this story truly compelling and makes this finely printed, but effortlessly readable book...totally gripping, ground-breaking fantasy. If you love fantasy, you'll LOVE 'Magician' and to add one more cliché into the mix...it's magic!

This is a brilliant book as are most of the books that came after that are part of the series. I got this book many years ago when it first came out and now as a 35 yr old, i still think its one of the best I ever read. I had just finished Lord of the Rings and was delighted to get stuck into this one. I am a bookworm so I'd like to think I know a good book when I read it and I loved this, it was a page turner and I couldn't wait to get stuck into the other books in the series, highly highly recommended, would have made a great film (although it might have been a crap film, probably hard to get the whole story in). Loved it.

I enjoyed this book. And as it was written in the 70's I think it is unfair to compare it to books that have come since that use similar plots and twists.
However there is little that is revolutionary in this book. I enjoyed the plot immensely, and as always some characters were more interesting than others, but I did feel that we never really got inside any of them, or understood how they felt the way they did. Too many seem to accept massive changes with little complaint or introspection . And the device of leaping forward chunks of time in one sentence stunted their development for me.
Overall I definitely lately recommend a read if you are a fan high fantasy. But it does not top my list as an entry point for new readers to the genre in the same way as Lord f the rings or the dragonlance books.

Check your brain at the door and just enjoy the ride. A bit over dramatic at times but still worth the read if you like the genre.

A real page turner and thoroughly absorbing. This is the revised edition and to be honest it isn't noticeably better or worse than the original. Still one of the most engaging novels of its type.

As a person who has long wished enjoy fantasy genre books, I was so happy to be immersed into the Magician. The moment I finished the book I purchased the sequel. The adventures of Pug and friends are something I know will give me hours of entertainment and I believe these books do exactly what they were made to do, take the reader into a new world of danger, excitement and magical experiences. Magician (Riftwar Saga)

Where to go after Tolkien and Lord of the Rings? Here's not a bad place to start.

Epic fantast is overloaded with authors these days, each offering what could be called 'map' fiction. You know the type of book- big map in the front intended to show the epic scope and scale, and depth of the world you're about to enter.

Magician goes one better than most- it has two maps, and two fantasy worlds across which the story unfolds. A neat trick, and one handled quite well in this first book of the riftwar saga (although it stands well enough on its own).

In this, the revised edition, you get 600-odd pages of story with nearly ten years of events (compared to LotR's 1500 pages covering about a year). Loads of things happen, and mostly at a break-neck pace- no bad thing, and for those wanting a bit more action with elves and dwarves and dragons than you get in Tolkien, you get plenty of that.

This is very much an American book though. The characters we begin with are humble enough, but instead of Frodo-like epic heroism resulting in permanent scarring and having to leave the world they've saved, here Pug and Thomas go from young boys to well powerful beings rather rapidly. Nothing wrong with that per se, and here it's very good. In later books , it's a problem for Feist in where he can take the characters (just like in Dungeons and Dragons games from childhoos- if you cheat on your stats nad make yourself super powerful, it's hard to generate any real dramatic tension to what happens). So it's the American dream in fantasy form- anyone can end up the world's most powerful magician (against the melancholic realism of duty in LotR).

Don't look for high quality literature here- the writing at times is clunky ('and a and b were there, along with c and d and e and f and....'), and even potentially interesting female characters end up rather subordinate to the men (just love interests in the end). If you want literate fantasy it has to be George RR Martin BUT this is a lot of fun on its own terms.

Magician is not a terrible book. However, I'm perplexed at the acclaim it has received elsewhere. It's a plodding tale which aims to be an epic in the style of Lord of the Rings.

The stories of the two main characters, Pug and Tomas, were fairly interesting but I found the supporting characters very dull. If I came to a chapter focussing on Arutha, Martin or Roland I groaned internally.

I think I would personally have preferred the book to have been a simpler, old-fashioned fantasy romp with the focus on Pug and Tomas. The depth of the characters, and world, simply couldn't sustain an epic-style fantasy for me.

As with many fantasy novels, the influence of Tolkien is not difficult to spot. At times, Magician goes a little too far in paying respect to the master. In one sequence, a band of travellers are unable to use the preferred route on their journey and instead are forced to travel through the mysterious and feared Dwarven tunnels known as the "Mines of Moria". Well, they aren't actually called "Moria" but they may as well be! Books which have a similar style or tone to LOTR will certainly draw the interest of many fantasy fans but to blatantly reuse plot points from Tolkien is a real turn-off for me (maybe I'm harsh in this regard as I stopped reading the "Wheel of time" one third through due to copy and paste "Tolkienism")

As I said initially, Magician is not an awful book. Credit goes to the author for the idea of the "rift" which introduces the novel idea ( novel at least in a traditional fantasy tale) of multiple worlds and, as noted, the essence of the Pug/Tomas stories are fun. However, there wasn't enough here to sustain my interest across a very long, and pretty average, fantasy novel.

This is the first book in what is to become a complete saga based around the mythical worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.
This edition is a re-release, with several important plot details added back in. In my opinion, this is the better version of the book. What was missing from the first edition (which I also own) was replaced. Thus the reader gets a more emotional read.
The story itself is set, as are most fanasy books, around the coming of age of two young boys (Pug and Tomas). Unsuprisingly, both are to become great heros in the trilogy. However, unlike many other writers, Feist is able to generate a certain charm and mystery which captivates the reader.
By keeping the story firmly concentrated around a few key players, Feist engages and captures the readers imagination. The tension is kept at an acceptable pace, at times making it impossible to put the book down!
Although the book itself is almost 1000 pages long, it takes very little time to actually read. At the end of the book I could remember feeling that I had to know what came next, and that I wished Raymond Feist would write FASTER. Even now, when I re-read the book (as I have done many times before) I am compelled to start the next book immediately.
If anyone has not yet read Feist, this is a tragidy for only the reader can lose. Be prepared for Feist to take over your life. You will eagerly await the next book. You will find yourself re-reading books for years to come.
Let us all hope that the author has many more books in him.