The Novice (The Black Magician Trilogy, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Trudi Canavan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 27, 2004 | Series: Black Magician Trilogy, Book Two (Book 2)

"Even if a magician's powers surface of their own accord, he will soon be dead if he does not gain the knowledge of how to control them."

Alone among all the novices in the Magicians' Guild, only Sonea comes from lowly beginnings. Yet she has won powerful allies—including Lord Dannyl, newly promoted to Guild Ambassador. But Dannyl must now depart for the Elyne court, leaving Sonea at the mercy of the lies and malicious rumors her enemies are busy spreading . . . until the High Lord Akkarin steps in. The price of Akkarin's support is dear, however, because Sonea, in turn, must protect his mysteries—and a secret that could lead a young novice mage deep into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Dannyl's first order to resume High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge is setting him on an extraordinary journey fraught with unanticipated peril—as he moves ever-closer to a future both wondrous . . . and terrible.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A wonderfully and meticulously detailed world, and an edge-of-the-seat plot, this book is a must for all lovers of good fantasy JENNIFER FALLON --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Trudi Canavan is the author of the bestselling Black Magician trilogy—The Magician's Guild, The Novice, and The High Lord—as well as Priestess of the White and Last of the Wilds, Books One and Two of her Age of the Five trilogy. She lives in a little house on a hillside, near a forest, in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully in Australia. She has been making up stories about things that don't exist for as long as she can remember, and was amazed when her first published story received an Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story in 1999. A freelance illustrator and designer, she also works as the designer and Art Director of Aurealis, a magazine of Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060575298
• ISBN-13: 978-0060575298
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very exciting! January 30, 2006

By Stephanie Noverraz

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Now that Lord Fergun has been sent into exile, Sonea is starting her first year as Novice at the Magician's Guild University, under Lord Rothen's guardianship. She's eager to learn, but being a slum girl she knows it won't be easy to be accepted by, not to mention make friends with, her wealthier and nobler classmates from the Houses. However, she far from conceives the depth of their scorn yet. Indeed one of them, Regin, probably because he simply can't stand a mere slum girl outdoing him, will rally the others and gang them up against her, bully her constantly, play pranks on her, repeatedly ambush her to exhaust her strength and destroy her notes. In other words, make her life hell.

In the meantime Lord Dannyl has taken up his new role of Second Guild Ambassador to Elyne. After an adventurous sea voyage, and after sorting out some of his appointed duties in the capital Capia, he finally has some time to himself to investigate Akkarin's journeys. Indeed, Administrator Lorlen, who suspects the High Lord of performing Black Magic, which is forbidden by the Guild's laws, has asked the young magician to retrace Akkarin's footsteps, ten years earlier. Doing so, Dannyl meets Tayend, a scholar who works at the Great Library and has an amazing memory. The handsome lad will aid him in research and they'll become close friends.

This middle novel is very exciting, I just couldn't put it down. All the loveable characters from the first volume are back, with the exception of Cery, whom we almost hear nothing of. Replacing Fergun, Regin is suitably despicable and irritating, and you can really feel Sonea's frustration when she can't find proof enough to expose him. The High Lord, although first depicted as the ultimate invincible villain, becomes more three-dimensional throughout the book, and I'm looking forward to reading the thrid installment to discover what his real motives are.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs more editing October 7, 2008

By William Kerney VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

It's very rare that I read a book and finish it and say, "You know, that could have been a good book, but the editor screwed it up."

This is one of them. The editing is appalling.

I don't mean things like typos or grammatical mistakes, I mean storyline editing. There's just no way this trilogy should have passed muster. There's setups with no payoffs, payoffs with no setups, major characters who don't do anything, major conflicts mainly revolving around a misunderstanding (which later gets cleared up), and plot points that repeat themselves and repeat themselves over and over.

These problems are found throughout the trilogy (the second major character in the book only appears once, briefly, during the second book, and then at the end, doesn't really have anything to do with anything), but the first book is the worst. The entire first half of the book should have been axed by the editor, and rewritten down to 20 pages. There's just no point, you know how it will turn out, and it's repetitive. I barely managed to slog my way through it after trying four or five times.

The second book is a little better, though the same central plot point repeats through the entire book (she's an outsider! she's being picked on!). It is a little bit more interesting though. The third book, and really, the second half of the third book, is the only part of this trilogy where things actually start to happen.

Seriously, the editor of this series needs to be fired. It's not a bad trilogy - I didn't mind reading it, but it really feels like it needs two or three more drafts before it's ready for print. As Brian Sanderson says, "Don't describe a shotgun on the wall of a cabin unless someone is going to use that shotgun later." There's just entire, major, characters and places that are set up to do something, but then never do. (Cery's girlfriend, the Arena and layout of the Guild in general, etc.)

Even though I liked it, I can't really recommend it to others due to these problems.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The story continues September 22, 2004

By History_Girl

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The second in the series Sonea's story continues as she begins to learn the finer points of magic.

Akkarin is more featured in this book and despite how 'evil' he is meant to be, you can't help but be curious. This book also sees a brief love interest for Sonea.

I admit the book gets a little wordy with Lord Dannyl's journey and I got a little bored as I couldn't see how it was effecting the story (but trust me - you need to know it)

Overall a great sequel.