Magician: Apprentice [Mass Market Paperback]

Raymond Feist (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 1, 1993 | Series: Riftwar Saga

To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a 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 being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553564943
• ISBN-13: 978-0553564945
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (383 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Totally gripping ... . A fantasy of epic scope, fast-moving action and vivid imagination." -- The Washington Post Book World.

"Most exciting ... a very worthy and absorbing addition to the fantasy field." -- Andre Norton

From the Publisher

"To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a 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 being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos. "Totally gripping ... . A fantasy of epic scope, fast-moving action and vivid imagination." -- The Washington Post Book World. "Most exciting ... a very worthy and absorbing addition to the fantasy field." -- Andre Norton

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553564943
• ISBN-13: 978-0553564945
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (383 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still one of the best after 20 years March 31, 2002

By Christopher Nash

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I just read this book for the fifth time. Raymond Feist spins a wonderful tale filled with interesting characters. The first book in the Riftwar Saga revolves primarily around an orphan named Pug and his best friend Thomas. Pug and Thomas are caught up in a war with a mysterious invader from another world. Pug as the apprentice to his Dukes magician is right in the middle of the conflict. Thomas is separated from Pug and comes into the possession of a magical set of armor, which gives him great fighting abilities. However, the armor seems to be changing Thomas into something other than human.
This novel is a well-rounded fantasy read. I highly enjoy the combination of Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and Magic. The story is not too heavily weighted with these elements though. Mr. Feist spends more time developing the characters and plot than slinging magic around.
So if you have not read this series then I recommend you either go buy it or find a friend who has already read and loved it and borrow his/hers.

In deference to the negative reviews I must say that this is not a highly thought provoking book. However, it is a very fast paced enjoyable read. I have read hundreds of fantasy novels and this series is one that I have enjoyed more than most (Top Ten). I read novels in a series as some others read chapters, so it is a little hard to just review this book. I highly recommend any fantasy lover to read this series. There are also many novels that come after this series that are just as good (i.e. Serpentwar Saga).
Also, at least read books 1 and 2 before making any final judgments (since they were originally one novel).

95 of 112 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it ten years ago; love it even now March 23, 2001

By MISTER SJEM TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Plenty of reviews on this wonderful novel already so I'll just cover some personal highlights (will avoid spoilers):

CONCEPT: Epic scope here. See two young boys in a backwater Duchy rise up in power as they help the lands from an alien invasion coming through a gateway. Lots of mystery with this alien race, which is a combination of Japanese, Korean and Chinese Kingdoms. Lots of wonder, exotic and mystical places as well as a real delving into the two different cultures. Excellent to superb characters. OVERALL FEELING: epic scope; wondrous; superbly woven characters

SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)

DIALOGUE: B+ STRUCTURE: A HISTORY SETTING: B CHARACTERS: A EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: A- EMOTIONAL IMPACT: A- SURPRISES: B+ MONSTERS: B PACING: B+ THE LITTLE THINGS: A OVERALL STYLE: A- FLOW OF WORDS: B+ CHOICE OF FOCUS: A TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: A- COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: A-

OVERALL GRADE: A-

CONCEPT: A beautiful epic fantasy whose true strength lies in the emotional details of its characters. Story focuses on the orphan pug who starts out as an apprentice to the wizard, Kulgan, and shows little promise. As events continue to progress, the nation faces a devastating war with the Tsurani, a warrior Asian race of beings who come through a rift from another world. In the meantime, each different character must deal with the war and its effects on their territories.

HISTORY: Good. Feist gets away with talking about only bits and pieces of the History. Also, one thing I appreciate about his History (unlike Robert Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME) is that he doesn't bombard it upon his readers.... Instead, the History is incorporated into the storyline as it progresses. No stupid tangents where the novelist goes off talking about such things while the rest of us wait around for the details.

CHARACTERS: This is Feist's forte'. Just about every character, from the main character all the way down to the sub characters, are richly detailed. Just like a tapestry that entrances the eyes and you never get tired of looking at them day after day. While it's true that all novels allow you to get inside the heads of the characters, Feist goes further; especially with the two boys (who seem to be the main characters); Pug and Tomas. We especially are privileged to get into Pug's head where we read his conflicting emotions of confusion and infatuation for Carline, the princess of the Duchy. And, it doesn't just read that pug is crestfallen or something short. Feist develops the pain and worries of each character where it feels justified, logical and stirring. I noticed he did this to a lesser extent with Tomas when it came time for the young boy to decide if he was going to leave the dwarves for home during the various raids against the Tsurani. And, so too, we see Tomas' connection with some being of old who is long gone.

Each character has a clear and understandable motivation. Even better, these motivations overlap or come into conflict. For instance, there's a good deal of interplay between Pug and Carline in the beginning.

DIALOGUE: Medieval dialogue is difficult to write for starters. Feist does a very good job with it for the most part. Not too many contractions and usage of medieval words that tie into the dialogue ("He came straight away" "We both played to her tune."). In other words, medieval slang that added a sense of realism to the story.

The first 1/3 seems to be about Pug and his adjustments to the new challenges around him (i.e. dealing with Carline, becoming a squire, apprenticeship, the discovery of the Tsurani); the next 1/3 is Pug and allies going to Rillanon to warn the king of this new threat (this has two smaller categories when Tomas and Pug get separated; and we do both of their stories; this is also the biggest chunk of the three parts); and the last 1/3 is mostly focusing on Tomas and his magical armor but most of the focus goes back to Crydee where we concentrate on the siege, as well as Carline and Rolands' love blossoming. Again, I must STRESS that the excellent to fabulous characters enriched the structure here. There were a certain degree of cliff hangers here that leapt from one story to another in the novel, but not like a movie. Feist definitely wanted to bring us in slowly and in a world of instant gratification there's definitely something to be said for it. Read more ›

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Feist of fun May 3, 2000

By Anthony Hinde

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Raymond E. Feist originally wrote one large volume called "Magician" to kick off what turned into a major series. In 1998 this extremely large novel was broken into two, edited by the Author and published as "Magician: Apprentice" and "Magician: Master". In the process, extra material was added, filling in some of the gaps and fleshing out a few characters more fully.

In retrospect it seems like the original book was begging for a split. Almost exactly half way through, there was a major change in direction. The focus moved from one world to another along with the central character, Pug. Naturally, the Apprentice and Master mentioned in the book's titles refer to Pug's stages in his training as a magician.

I was not completely happy with the remaining books in the series, however, the two Magician novels are perfect and also work well without ever reading the proceeding books. The characters are real, rich and engrossing. The plot is complex but focused. The environment, is carefully crafted, particularly the political landscape.

At the risk of becoming hackneyed, you will have difficulty putting these books down. The underlying level of suspense is intense which in itself is the sign of a good writer but even more, you will begin to care deeply for Pug and a need will grow to find out how everything turns out.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars There's No Accounting for Taste December 8, 2009

By Sailor

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I read this book months ago and I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong. I like to peruse fantasy book lists and guides on amazon to find all the great series that everyone knows about but I've never read. That's how I discovered Martin, Hobb, Williams, etc. On many of these lists was Raymond E. Feist and most people declared that Magician: Apprentice was the best book to begin with. I purchased this book and the next one certain that the Riftwar saga was going to become my latest obsession; it had stellar reviews and high ratings.

The story began typically with an unimportant young boy who caught the eye of a magician and became his apprentice. The beginning was utterly predictable and the main character, Pug (Really!?) was bland but without much effort I read the beginning of the story. It dragged on but I knew the plot would materialize eventually. When things began happening and the inevitable long-journey-from-one-place-to-another started I realized something was different about this book; whatever the characters did or said, I didn't care what happened to them. I figured if I kept reading eventually I would be more interested in the characters but the boring/clichéd dialogue made it impossible.

The story wasn't gripping and it was the first fantasy book that felt like a chore to finish. Maybe I was spoiled by reading The Farseer Trilogy and A Song of Ice and Fire before Magician and expected the same standard of writing and character development. I may try reading it again someday but for now, I would only recommend it to people who haven't read much fantasy or enjoy most Tolkien inspired epics.

I gave the book three stars instead of two to acknowledge that the vast majority of its readers saw something I didn't. I wanted to like it.... Really.

I. Just. Didn't. Get. It. Read more ›