A worthy pupil . . . A dangerous questTo 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 … 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.
Praise for Magician: Apprentice
“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
“The best new fantasty in years . . . has a chance of putting its aughor firmly on the trone next to Tolkien—and keeping him there.”—The Dragon Magazine
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A wonderful tale that takes you on an intense journey as Pug selflessly puts himself in harm’s way for the lives of others. Great characters jump from the pages and will keep you enticed to read on till the end. Raymond E Feist toys with your emotions with tragedy and bravery that will keep you coming back for more.
This is the book the started my love of Fantasy as an adult.
For fans of classic style epic fantasy, there are the pillars of the genre; Lord Of The Rings, Wheel Of Time, The Shannara Chronicles, even A Song of Ice and Fire. Well, I must say that Raymond Feist’s Riftwar Cycle needs to be included in that list.
What begins as a typical coming of age story about an orphan boy who is destined for greater things, Magician soon swerves off course, and without getting spoilery, I’ll say that the character of Pug is certainly earning his destiny.
I actually read a further installment of the Riftwar series a few years ago, the Serpentwar Saga. I had not yet read this beginning part of Feist’s world. Where Serpentwar was pretty bleak and war fueled, I was a little surprised to find Magician a little more YA and introductory to the world at large in Midkemia. But this is by design. What I did was like if you’d gone and read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince prior to any of the others. And I’m about to get blasphemous here, but I gotta say I think Feist did the boy-wizard-learning-magic-to-save-the-world thing way better than in Harry Potter even…
Reading Pug at this stage, compared to how I read him further along in the Serpentwar, was very interesting and hopeful. Not to mention a host of other characters like Tomas, Carline, Arutha and others.
As I said, it’s a great epic fantasy, the series of which I feel needs to be included in all lists of the great fantasy universes.
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WOW!!! It was the first book I read for pleasure way bay when it 1st came out. Since then I have read all of the books and followed Pug thru everything. The world’s are incredible along with the imagination it builds & grows with the characters.
When I was 15 years old, I was introduced to the wonderful world of Midkemia by my brother in-law. Raymond Feist and his Riftwar Saga is on Tolkien level world building. Considered the heir apparent to the Tolkien throne, Feist`s masterpiece -Magicians Apprentice – rekindled my lifelong love affair with Epic Fantasy. In my opinion, Feist is the Godfather of Fantasy. The Mr Miyagi of world building. The Yoda of fantasy storytelling. He`s the guru we should all aspire to emulate because for many years, Feist created a magical world that transported me to another place and time. His characters became more than words on a page, they were loved ones, friends, and when the story finally came to an end in my early 30`s, it broke my heart to say goodbye to the characters of Pug, Tomas, and Magnus.
I recommend this book and its subsequent series to anyone who will listen, fantasy fiction fan or not. Now that I have written this review, I think I will go and start the 31 book series again.
If you love Feist as much as I do, reach out and let me know.
The whole Magician series is wonderful. I grew up with this series. I loved it then and I love it now.
This was the second fantasy story I ever read. I plucked it from the shelf in the library on a whim, because I liked the cover. Once I began reading, I was immediately hooked. Feist is a great world builder and a fantastic character creator. Pug is so endearing, struggling to be something more than the small boy he is, not knowing he is more he ever dreamed of. A great book for teenagers and fantasy lovers. The first of a great series.
I’d always meant to read this series, I know it’s one of the classics, and for very good reasons. This is a very solid and fun epic fantasy that is easy to read and leads into a whole host of other adventures. I would hazard to say that if you want to be literate about epic fantasy, you should at least read the first two (Apprentice and Master).
An oldy but a goody!
This is the book that launched his career and it still holds up as one of the best fantasy series ever written. If you haven’t read it and you like fantasy, you need to start now.
Whenever someone asks me for an incredible Fantasy read, Magician is my first port of call. I’ve made no secret of my fanboy status of Raymond E. Feist and this is the book that started it all. An amazing read and the start to an even better series it is worth the read.
The first Feist book I ever read! Wore the cover off the paperback so really glad to get a digital copy! Love this author…
Although Magician: Apprentice can be seen as the weakest book of the huge Riftwar world (with numerous side books), it is the starting point of an epic journey. The series starts slow, somewhat dull in a sense, but when the characters such as Jimmy gets into the picture, it becomes a masterpiece.
Raymond Feist is one of my all time writing heroes. The first thing I did when I moved to Canada was to re-buy his whole back catalogue.
I really liked this book, right up until the end. I didn’t realize that it was a two part story when I started it, and it’s really strange how one of the main characters…the actual Magician’s Apprentice…kind of disappears. I will read the second book because I really liked the writing style and the story…
When I started this book I thought it would be great. As I continued I found it to be a bit boring.
Phenomenal start to a fabulous series.
Read this book and the entire series years ago. Would read them again.
One of my favorite series of all time. I have reread this series a number of times.
Loved the series!
It’s a good saga with magicians and many twists and turns. I will keep you entertained through the entire three book trilogy if you try it.
Awesome