He held the fate of two worlds in his hands… Once he was an orphan called Pug, apprenticed to a sorcerer of the enchanted land of Midkemia.. Then he was captured and enslaved by the Tsurani, a strange, warlike race of invaders from another world.There, in the exotic Empire of Kelewan, he earned a new name–Milamber. He learned to tame the unnimagined powers that lay withing him. And he took his … withing him. And he took his place in an ancient struggle against an evil Enemy older than time itself.
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Completed a re-read of this marvelous book. It was a joy to be reacquainted with all the original characters. Pug, Tomas, Arutha, Amos, Jimmy the Hand, the family of the Shinzaiwai, Macros and the sacrifices he has to make.
The book is rich with themes. Love, loyalty, duty, courage, all figure strongly in this amazing tale.
I’ve recently begun reading the Book of the Fallen by Stephen Erikson (SK), and this book is very similar in themes. Although stylistically different, there is little of the back and forth banter that you can get with SK, the multi-level conflicts between characters of matching powers is common to both. Both writers have enormous and richly detailed worlds which are awesome to behold and seemless in execution.
I rank these two writers at the top of what I’ve read, and I look forward to reading more books from each author in the near future.
From my original review…
I had the good fortune to discover and read this book in the early ’80s when it first came out and I was hooked. If anyone asked me who my favourite author was for the next 30 years I could be relied upon to state “Raymond E. Feist.” Whenever I saw a hard cover come out I would buy it – no questions asked.
The adventures of Pug and Tomas and the many assorted characters of this world have been a true fascination for me and I am pleased to say that every second I spent reading these books was time well spent and I would be willing to bet that my view will be the same on my death bed.
Long live heroic, epic fantasy – the truest form of story I have ever come across. When Feist passes on, Tolkien will welcome him into the next world as an equal and the two of them will swap stories over a fine brew and a pipe of the finest of the Shire.
Like Magician: Apprentice, the previous entry before this one, Magician: Master is a great classic-style fantasy tale in the vein of LotR, WoT, etc.
Pug is a great fantasy protagonist. He follows the classic hero’s journey, but in ways I found inventive and page-turning. Pug is earning his place in the world.
The climax of the story left me feeling a tiny bit let down though. I’d thought it would amount to something similar to an earlier chapter in the book, but it did not. Things resolve in their own way, sure, but it kind of paled in comparison. That earlier chapter I speak of really shows where Pug is headed as a character, and I look forward to his further adventures.
The very end of the story was a little drawn out as well. The political intrigue is good to read about, but it got really heavy handed at the end there. I hope it comes into play more in the next book, otherwise it seems needlessly deep. We shall see.
My only real grievance is the fact that Apprentice and Master were broken into two books. Yes, one volume would have been very long, but it’s clearly the same single story. Breaking it seemed like a money grab to me, but that doesn’t change how fun reading the story itself has been. Recommended.
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The original Magician, later turned into Magician: Appentice and Master. This story had me hooked from the first couple of pages until the end of Darkness at Sethanon. Absolutely fantastic.
I’ve always had a problem with publishers calling a part of a story a “Novel”
“Magician: Master” is NOT a novel, it is the second part of an excellent multi-part novel.
I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Having said that you need to read the 1st “Novel,” Magician: Apprentice.