Rating: Summary: Feist gets going. Review: Magician; Apprentice is a favorable choice if you wish to read a fast paced fantasy novel. The book includes a love story, a war saga, and a LOTR style journey that takes its characters across Midkemia (many aspects of the novel are very similar to Lord of the Rings, such as Elvandar and Rivendell). Although this book is not the best fantasy you will read, it is the first of a seven book set, and will keep your attention if you desire to finish the books. It sets up characters early in the novel, and the rest is action-packed fantasy. It includes all the necessary elements of fantasy such as magick and mythical beasts. All in all, M;A is a very worthy read.
Rating: Summary: Staci K.'s review of the Sweetest Book Ever Review: This book is a perfect choice of fanstasy literature for all ages because of all the action and the imagination keeps you hooked in. Even if you don't like fanstasy novels this book could change your mind.
Rating: Summary: This book changed everything Review: When I was a teenager I read Magician and I thought I was going to drive everyone nuts because I would not stop talking about this book! I remember practically cheering out loud at the climax of this book. Feist is a great fantasy writer. If you saw the Lord of the Rings and even sort of liked it, read this - it will be fun!
Rating: Summary: One pretty good fantasy. Review: Before I read this book, I had already had an encounter with Feist in Krondor:the Betrayal, and had concluded never to try his books again, no matter how well thought of they were. Then I decided to give him another chance with this book, and boy was it good. Every fantasy creature desirable, goblins, dwarves, elves, gnomes, giants,trolls, wraiths, and dragons.It's fast moving, with likeable characters, and a well-thought-out plot(for the time it was written, at least). Pug of Crydee dreams of being a soldier, but when he is chosen to be the apprentice of Kulgan the Magician he is quite surprised. And when he tries simple spells like levatating, and lifting himself off the ground, he cannot do it, yet Kulgan is certain that he has the magical talent, and Pug proves this when he saves the Princess Carline from two trolls. He enjoys romance with Carline, and training in magic for several months, until he finds a shipwreck with his friend Tomas on the shore. With this evidence Kulgan and a priest prove that their will be a raid on Midkemia from an alien people(he and a priest probe into the man's mind, and question him of his people, who are making the raid). Pug, Tomas, Kulgan, and many more embark on a journey to warn Midkemia, of this raid. So why four stars instead of five? Well, near the end, their is so much action I got bored. Magician:Master is even better, so even if the ending bored you it is still worth a read.
Rating: Summary: Ultimate Fantasy Review: This is the greatest book ever written. It will change your life and make you wish it would never end...fortunately there are a good few sequels... The original 'trilogy' (Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon) stand head and shoulders above the latter books (Prince of the Blood, The King's Buccaneer, The SerpentWar Saga trilogy (I won't mention the 'Krondor' books cos they were nowhere in the same class))...but you'll read them all just the same-just to re-immerse yourself-because Feist's world is so superior, so epic, so awe-inspiring compared to anything else anyone else has written by way of fantasy. Fortunately for you they are all out there...some of us had to wait years between original publications...And with the newest series (The Conclave of Shadows) Feist returns to (almost) his best again. Read it. Read it all.
Rating: Summary: Awesome! Review: This is an excellent book and the author is second only to Tolkien when it comes to the fantasy genre. I highly recommend you read this.There's enough hack-n-slash to keep the younger readers excited and turning pages, but plenty of plot and character development to hold the interest of mature readers. I got as much enjoyment out of this when I first read it at 14 as I do when I reread it today at 27. Albeit, for different reasons. The story is about two boys coming of age and coming to power. It's about a war of worlds across the cosmos. It's about ancient powers and threats and new heroes. It's about the politics of a kingdom and of a empire. It is a story of people and the characters really make the book. Pug, Thomas, Father Tully, Kulgan, Swordmaster Fannon, Duke Borric, Arutha, Amos, Carline, and Jimmy the Hand are just a small handful of the characters you'll fall in love with. It is "typical" fantasy in so far as having certain characteristics familiar to fantasy fans. There a dragons, goblins, and trolls. There are dwarves, elves, and men. The elves are few in number, mysterious, and dwell in the forests. The dwarves are a gruff people with an affinity for stone. Man is engulfing the land. Magicians cast spells and religion is polytheistic. It's "typical" fantasy stuff. But then, that is what's to be expected of a novel based in a world created for a Dungeons & Dragons style RPG. While some reviewers resent this, I find it comfortable. It allows you to concentrate more on the characters and the plot and less on trying to figure out some strange system of magic, physics, flora, fauna, and/or theology. That's not to say there are no original ideas. There are plenty. The Greater and Lesser Paths of Magic come to mind. As does the Valheru and Hall of Worlds. Enough familiarity to prevent confusion but enough originality to keep it interesting. Buy it. Read it. Get the sequels. Read them. You'll love the works of Raymond E. Feist and it will set a new standard for what modern high fantasy should be.
Rating: Summary: The most spactacular magical book of all time! Review: An orphan boy named Pug is adopted by a family in Crydee. He is caught in a storm one day and meets a magician named Kulgan. He is later apprenticed to Kulgan after no one else takes him as an apprentice. Pug can use items like crystal balls and the sort very well but can't perform any spells. Pug is accompanying Princess Carline one day when they are attacked by trolls. He manages to cast a spell and saves the Princess and himself. Pug is then made a Squire in the Duke's court. A part of a ship is beached on the shore the next morning. Pug and his friend Tomas explore it. They bring all the items they can grab off the ship before it washes back out to sea. One person on the ship survived. The Duke's court finds out that the man is from a different planet. Their people opened up a rift in space. The aliens plan to bring an army through the rift and battle with them. The Duke goes to Rillanon to warn the king. Along the way Tomas gets lost in a cave, meets a great Dragon and is presented with magical armor. This armor makes him a powerful warrior and allows him to see perfectly in the darkness. Pug also meets a very powerful magician named Macros the black. Macros says that he will come to help them in a time of need. The king does not send any aid to Crydee and the war begins... I believe that fans of The Lord of the Rings and the Redwall series would like this book. It is a very good book. It is as good as The Lord of the Rings and an awesome contribution to the fantasy realm. It's full of action and has dragons that everyone loves. This is a 'magical book' that I will not forget for years.
Rating: Summary: No filler Review: Alot of people will equate this with Tolkien. Their are alot of hints at great back story lines and alot of events that will become legend in this universe. The scene with the dying dragon will stick with me throughout the series and after. The best part for me was the exclusion of ultra realistic descriptions of every horse, castle, cart, tree etc. as some of the other fantasy writers tend to do. A great read full of promise.
Rating: Summary: Stunningly imaginative. One of the best ever! Review: This review covers the entire five books in the series. I'll try to avoid spoilers. Like many fantasy stories, this one starts out simply, and contains some very familiar elements. Dwarves, elves, and their more or less standard relationship to humans are all present. Don't let this decieve you. This is one of the most imaginative stories to hit the shelves in a very long time. One of the most noteable aspects of this series is its seemingly endless tiers of powerful beings. Many times we're introduced to a spectacularly powerful creature, yet pages later we learn that compared to something else, that creature's power is miniscule, while a few chapters later we meet something that could crush either of the first two creatures like proverbial bugs. The characters are likeable and well developed without being stereotypical and cheesey. The plot is fast paced without skimping on detail and exposition. The action is powerful without being predictable. What really pushed the entire series over the top was the siege of the mountain fortress in the last book. Saying anything else would spoil it, but suffice to say that it was the single most incredible sequence in any book I've ever read.
Rating: Summary: Great book! Good original story! Review: This book did not bore me for a second. It has every element needed in creating a true fantasy novel. Maybe not on the same page as Tol, but as I finish up the series of four books, it will be nipping at his heals. The author has such original ideas that are expressed in his great writing ability. I highly reccomend this if you enjoy good fantasy alongside really good writing.
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