Magician : Master

Rating:
Summary: The second best book I've ever read...
Review: The best was the first one (Magician:Apprentice). These books have an intriguing plot line and many amazing characters. I couldn't stop reading either of them. A must for Fantasy lovers.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book . . .
Review: Magician: Master is the absolute most outstanding book I have ever read, second only to Magician: Apprentice, the prequel to Magician: Master. If I had my way, I would rate this book a six out of five stars. In Magician: Apprentice, the orphan boy known as Pug trains under the master magician, Kulgan. As fate would have it, he also rescues the Duke of Crydee's Princess, Carline, and obtains the rank of Squire. With his newly found position, Pug quickly makes a name for himself, though he still tends to play with his lifelong friend, Tomas. When an alien vessel crash lands on the jagged cliffs known as Sailor's Grief, Pug and Tomas investigate the wreckage. After several tense meetings and councils, the aliens, known as the Tsurani, eventually appear in Midkemia and commence their massive invasion. On the way to the Kingdom capital of Rillanon, Tomas is separated from the others, is found by a dragon,and obtains a mystical armor. At the end of the first chapter of the war, which is known as the Riftwar, Pug is captured. On the Tsurani homeworld of Kelewan Pug becomes a Great One, one who is a master magician of the Greater Path, and soon becomes the most powerful magician on both worlds. As the war drags, Tomas falls in love with the elven Queen, Aglaranna. Tomas soon merges with the Valheru who once donned the mystical armor, and they become as one. Like a flying beacon he flies through the Tsurani ranks, bestowing death upon all who are so unfortunate to have been caught in his path. The story comes to a surprising conclusion at the end, and Feist creates his characters with such depth and detail that it is easy to imagine the characters in the world that he creates through his books. Book II of the Riftwar four book set (it's really three, but the original Magician was separated into Apprentice and Master), Magician: Master is definitely one of the best books ever written . . . if you like fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: GREATEST EVER!
Review: I used to read all the time, I didn't have much else to do. But then I stopped for years. I found this book and I couldn't but it down. I think it is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. I highly recomoned it.

Rating:
Summary: Active, inventive, and fun!
Review: Magician: Master, is one of my personal favorites. The unsuspected leaps and turns around every corner hook the reader nearly immediately. An inventive book with a great storyline and excellent imagination, especially if you read Magician: Apprentice.

Rating:
Summary: First Midkemia, then the universe!
Review: I bought a copy of the original Magician (with no embellishments) for $2 on a bargain table more than 15 years ago, simply for the magnificent representation of a jewelled dragon on the cover (I've never seen that edition again). It sat on the shelf, unread for months. After all, I was far to logical and practical to want to get involved in reading fantasy (even though I could appreciate an elegantly designed dragon). But all impulse book buyers suffer those times of "all these books and nothing to read", so I eventually picked it up. I must admit for the first few pages I wondered if I could really be bothered, but before I realised, I was 30+ pages beyond the 20 page barrier (... if I can't get involved within 20 pages, it gets tossed...) and realised I'd been transported - I was there, in Crydee. Then began the marathon reading sessions, including about several Midkemia and Kelewan sequels. Within a short time, I progressed from fantasy to SF fantasy, straight on to "hard core" sci-fi. Me, who had previously never seen a purpose to speculative fiction! Suddenly I found I could open my mind to absorb all these wonderful, imagined realms. Even though I can take my sci-fi straight now, I always remember I came to it via fantasy, and to a very large degree, I have Feist to thank for that.

I lent the Magician out several times, but it didn't return from the last lending. So, when I was fortunate enough to attend a book signing by Raymond E Feist in Melbourne many years ago, along with the book he was flogging, I purchased another copy, personally dedicated to me. It has never been lent, and never will be. For me, it is one of "those" books; one that helped shape my reading habits.

I don't know if the book signing was badly publicised or Melbourne only contained about 10 Feist fans, but after our books were signed, along with the other 9 or so who turned up, I was treated to a wonderful little Q&A time with this storyteller. Those we admire often take on larger-than-life proportions, and the generousity this quite ordinary bear of a man showed his (disappointingly) small group of fans revealed a man of impressive stature.

My reading tastes changed and I didn't read any Feist for years, until a recent binge when I read from the Prince's Buccaneer (which I'd owned, unread, for about six years!) up to date (from the library) in about a month. (I was a bit sick of the endless highly detailed battle scenes, but that was a small criticism - after all, most of it was the SerpentWAR series!) I slipped back into Midkemia (and the other worlds - it doesn't stop at Kelwan!) like I'd never been away and picked up with all my old friends and met new; grieving at Arutha's death and falling in love with Calis along the way.

After browsing the reviews posted here, it seems people either love the Magician or hate it. Like a lot of other books, you can easily pick it full of holes if you have particular areas of expertise, or if you refuse to give yourself over to the fantasy (fantasy, remember, is where anything can happen). In the end, it's a just a story, fortunately for us entertainingly told by an enthusiastic storyteller, leaving you wanting more from the characters who somehow endear themselves.

With all the thousands of books out there, I rarely reread, and even with 15,000 extra words, haven't been compelled to read the embellished version. However, for the hours spent frantically turning pages (sometimes all night), for introducing me to the realms of fantasy via Midkemia and Kelewan, and through it, the infinite realms of sci-fi, I can only rate this a 5-star book.

Rating:
Summary: An Epic
Review: This first offering in the Riftwar Saga is probably one of the best examples of epic fantasy that you'll likey find. Its main success lies in the "time-jumps" used in the novel - an unorthodox approach that often skips years at a time. In this way we come to fully appreciate the long struggles that the characters must undertake, giving a sense of realism to the whole situation. The characters themselves are subsequently brought to life, aided by a colourful examination of their changing hopes, classic adventures and enlightening interactions. The pace occasionally slows, but not enough to prevent this one from being a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I read the Empire Trilogy and loved it, and so I turned to the 'original' Midkemia books. Unlike "Empire," which had me unable to stop turning pages--so much creativity and depth!--"Magician" failed to take me anywhere. The characters were one-dimensional and I could not care for a single one. They seemed to do no more than wave their arms and recite their lines. What disappointed me the most, however, was the lack of plot development. Situations of 'great import' and 'impending doom' were created in terrifying numbers; so many arose and were then resolved within pages or, when they spanned the entire book (the golden armor and the 'link' between it's ancient owner, for instance...and I'm sorry, gold is a soft metal, and magic or not, should NOT be worn as armor) they were transparent and flimsy. Dire and doom in lesser amounts and fuller development without abrupt resolutions would have made the plot smoother, not to mention credible...and yes, believability IS essential to the make-believe of fantasy.

In Feist's defense, I will credit "Magician" as being his early work and, as he says, 'a ripping yarn' that he wanted to tell when he had no pretensions of craft. So I will forgive the inadequacies, and yet move on to his more recent works in hopes that they possess the depth, refinement and originality that the Empire Trilogy did...or perhaps I will discover how much influence Janny Wurts had in the process of giving life to Tsuranuani.

Rating:
Summary: The magican apprentice
Review: The best book I have ever rea

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Gripping, Imaginative.... PERFECT!!!
Review: it was wonderful, the characters all interacted perfectly, in a gripping saga set in an imaginative world... the tsurani, greater & lesser path magic... magneficent and perfect!

Rating:
Summary: Probably the best book I have ever read in my life, amazing.
Review: Magician is an excellent book, it tells of the boy Pug who is an orphan. On the day where all the 13 year old boys are chosen for a career by the head honcho's, Pug gets chosen by the magician. In the first half he has trouble with his magic, but in the second half he really kicks some ass and gets the girl. Once you read Magician you'll want to read all the books that follow it which are just as good. if you liked the book as much as I did please e-mail me at [e-mail]