Rating: 
Summary: ...from a First-time Feist-reader...
Review: this refers to the Feist-revised edition of Magician (1997 UK Voyager edition) was quite a good journey, though i sometimes thought parts of it could be written better, like when people spoke like it was the 21st century with some expressions, even though it was apparently the 'past' - though this was only an infrequent occurence. Also thought the ending was handled well, as I had no idea what to expect (ie. on how the story would be resolved). I do think that this story is not as strong as Lord of the Rings due to the simple difference that evil was conquered in LOTR by essentially human endeavour and the human spirit to survive and defeat evil, rather than the fantastical notion that evil forces in The Magician could only be pushed back by a human that mastered the scrolls of magic past - thus morphing the young magician's apprentice into a 'more-than' human and another young chap that donned fantastical dragon armor morphing him into a 'more-than' human as well (quotations my own). Obviously unbelievable on this planet earth, but then again this is FANTASY of course! Note however that Tolkien humanized Hobbits by giving them the human traits of hope, strong character and willingness to prevail, which any young or old human reader can strive for. Since I personally don't know of any ancient Dragon Armor lying around, nor can expect to imagine meeting any 'chosen-one' who would master magicians spells of ages past - too fantastical - I had to take what I was reading with a grain of salt, knowing that all this would be very hard to BELIEVE in. Having said all that, it is a well-written book with several good story-lines as well as strong characters, and Feist does, I think, a good job of delving into the characters lives, and I was most impressed that he was able to weave the story in such a way that we could actually believe that some 15 to 20 or so years have taken place between pages 1 to page 680 (or whatever the last page was). I would read another book by Feist, certainly.
Rating: 
Summary: Tremendous !!!
Review: This was the first fantasy book I ever read, and have now lost count the number of times I have the entire Midkemia/Kelewan series. Each time I read it I find the same enjoyment I had when I read it the first time. The way Feist has build the characters/worlds in my mind surpasses the works by Tolkien.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Fantasy, the best I've read in a long time.
Review: To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan called Pug came to study with the Mater Magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at Court and the heart of the lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry.Yet Pug's strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of spacetime to begin the age-old battle between the forces of the Order and Chaos. Very well written. Exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Hey, L.A.!
Review: To the reader from L.A.: This book was what got me into fantasy, even before Tolkien! I truly think this is the best book ever written, with his others trailing only slightly behind.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastique
Review: What an awesome book! Pug is a very interesting character you can't wait to see what happens to him!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastique
Review: What an awesome book! Pug is a very interesting character you can't wait to see what happens to him!
Rating:
Summary: A fantasy masterpiece!
Review: _Magician_ is easily the most fantastic book I've had the pleasure of not putting down. The characters are alive and well explored, and the world in which they live is realistic and cohererent. These elements, combined with a solid plot and great writing skills, make Raymond Feist an author whose books I won't be putting down for quite some time. It's magnitude is on par with _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy... definitely a book to get.
Rating:
Summary: Every bit as good as Lord of the Rings
Review: `Magician and The Riftwar Saga' are among the greatest works of fantasy/science fiction ever.
Yes, I believe Raymond E Feist is just as good as Tolkien!
It is filled with great new ideas, and while he has in his books some of the older concepts from Tolkien and Lewis - eg Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Elvandar and Mc Mordain Cadel, which bear similarities to places and peoples in the older works, he has reworked them with great creativity into something new and exciting. in the some way that Shakespeare's works took concepts from older balladeers and authors. There are new concepts such as the Valheru (the Dragon Lords) , the Tsurani , the Rift , the Empire of Great Kesh and new types of magic. What emerges is a great and engaging epic that matches up every bit to Lord of the Rings. Feist's advanced understandings on magic, warcraft, the nature of world and it's peoples, and its internal politics is astounding. It is jam packed with energy and is somewhat faster moving than Tolkien. I also like Feist's gentler concept of dragons, far more than Tolkien's (the pet firedrake Fantus is just great) I love reading about all the Princes, Dukes, Earls, Squires, Knight-Marshals etc in the Kingdom, as I similarly enjoy the stranger politics of Tsuranuanni (which is based of Japan/Korea as the Kingdom is on Europe/North America)
With it's system of honor and Great Families, the Emperor, the Warlord, the Great Ones, and the different shifting alliances and parties such as the Blue Wheel Party , the War Party , the Party for Progress etc. I also think the characters are nicely developed. I finished the book wanting more of Thomas, Pug, Carline (one of my favourites), Arutha, Anita, Amos Trask, Gardan etc, which are available in the subsequent Midkemia/Kelewan books. Feist explores (albeit in a tasteful way) love and sensuality more than does Tolkien. And Feist's worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan are also well developed, you'll really find yourself lost in these intricate lands.
Certainly Magician and it's sequels are immense in scope in creating a vast world of magic,war,adventure,love,hate and political intrigue
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