Customer Reviews

Master of the Five Magics: (#1)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As my bookshelves continue to grow, I can name only a handful of books that I continue revisit time and time again. Duncan's Magic Casement series. Feist's Riftwar. Moon's Saga of Paksenarrion. And above all, Hardy's Master of the Five Magics.

Hardy's spellbinding tale of Alodar's quest through the five paths of magic, and the climactic culmination of his talents at the end, is a thrilling adventure no matter how many times you've read it. Hardy's detailed explanations of the tenets of each of the magical paths are some of the most logical I've ever encountered in this genre.

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that the romantic scenes read like a daytime soap opera, and not a particularly good one at that. Fortunately they only last a page or two, and then our hero is back on his quest.

Master of the Five Magics is simple to read, complex in scope, and thorougly compelling to the last page. Get it if you can find it; you'll probably never sell it.

I read this book years ago, but It is still one of my favorites.

It is a great fantasy novel for someone with an analytical mind and a penchant for subtlety. A good book for imaginative intellectuals (as opposed to entertainment-seekers or cyincal intellectuals who like to find fault in everything not of the mundane).

Hardy is a good writer who has an excellent grasp of human nature and a natural bent for keeping complex theoritical constructs internally consistent. His story is imaginative and fantastic, and yet at the same time not an affront to one's "common sense". The story line moves along at a nice pace with a few nice twists and turns.

This whole series is well worth a read or two. I can't say enough good things about this book.

I really quite enjoyed this book. The logical view of how magic works is well developed and has an internal consistency that is lacking in most fantasy worlds.

The writing is not the best you will ever read. However, it is a fun read. It is significantly better than most of the crap that is being published by Wizards of the Coast stable of authors -- I have to apologize to R. A. Salvatore (he still puts out a good book now and again).

The approach to the story, magic and character development are a bit different that most other books. If you see a copy in a used bookstore, it is worth picking up and giving a try. If you like this book you will like the two follow up books.

I originally read this book when it first came out many years ago, and it's probably the best fantasy book I've ever read. I really liked the author's attempt at providing a logical description of magic. People don't just wave their hands and make anything happen. Magic is treated like a science, where one must study and practice to get any real results. The plot is also exciting, and moves along at a fairly brisk pace. There are aspects of going on quests and treasure hunts, and finding secrets hidden in castles. I highly recommend this book. Of Lyndon's three books in the series, I felt that this was the best (and his second book was second best).

Lyndon Hardy wrote a wonderful trilogy
Master of the Five Magics
Secret of the Sixth Magic
Riddle of the Seven Realms

I highly recommend all three books and I hope someone out there will reprint them in hardcover editions! Hint Hint ;-)

I'm surprised this book is out of print. Someone should print up a big trade or hardcover of this book and the two sequels Secret of the Sixth Magic and Riddle of the Seven Realms. While the writing is good and not great, the intelligent design of magic in this world makes this a must read for the originality alone.

Odd...wrote a review of this already, but the system never posted it!

The book follows the quest of Alodar, a journeyman apprenticed to a thaumaturge, on a quest to restore his family's noble name by winning the hand of the queen. Each stage of his quest brings him up to the next branch of the arcane - alchemy, magic, sorcery and finally wizardry. This gives the author license to also detail the workings of each branch, bringing brilliant logic to each.

What Alodar doesn't realize is that he's really being manipulated into a secondary quest much greater than winning the hand of the queen, one which entails saving the world.

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, most notably for bringing logic to magic, whereas so many others tell of effects but fail often to explain how the magic is made.

My son who is 12 randomly picked up The Five Magics at a used bookstore. We read it aloud over a period of 4-5 months and marvelled at how good it was, and how lucky we were to happen upon it. We recommend it without reservation.

I just reread this book after a few years. It is REALLY good. It's too bad its out of print.

As my bookshelves continue to grow, I can name only a handful of books that I continue revisit time and time again. Duncan's Magic Casement series. Feist's Riftwar. Moon's Saga of Paksenarrion. And above all, Hardy's Master of the Five Magics.

Hardy's spellbinding tale of Alodar's quest through the five paths of magic, and the climactic culmination of his talents at the end, is a thrilling adventure no matter how many times you've read it. Hardy's detailed explanations of the tenets of each of the magical paths are some of the most logical I've ever encountered in this genre.

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that the romantic scenes read like a daytime soap opera, and not a particularly good one at that. Fortunately they only last a page or two, and then our hero is back on his quest.

Master of the Five Magics is simple to read, complex in scope, and thoroughly compelling to the last page. Get it if you can find it; you'll probably never sell it.