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“The first book of a terrific trilogy, introducing Pug the magician.”
David A. Lindsay wrote this review Sunday, April 15, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Excellent book following the adventures of Pug and Thomas”
Villayat Wolf Sunkmanitu wrote this review Friday, March 2, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The best book I've ever read”
Mat Clarke wrote this review Friday, February 10, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The story was awesome and the mythology about magic and wizards was amazing, but a lot of the sections that were focused on describing the war weren't very stimulating. The detail he created was quite incredible - he's really developed every facet of the world he writes. But i think that sometimes the detail he put into the book wasn't necessary and slowed down the story. It was time-consuming trying to swim through the things you didn't need to know in order to get the story moving again. That being said, i think it was a great story and i'll give anything about magicians a go. I do plan on reading the sequels one day, but it won't be something i read while i'm studying - this book doesn't like to share your brain with anything else. ”
Jamila Choubassi wrote this review Monday, September 12, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Magician will always hold a special place in my heart, it was the book that opened me to the world of literature, the first book I had ever read and craved more. Prior to reading this I thought reading was boring and really couldn’t get myself into the concept that reading could be fun, enjoyable and worthwhile.
John Loudon wrote this review Wednesday, June 1, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The story takes place in a world where a small orphan boy is thrown into the deep end so to speak when another world begins to open gateways “rifts” into his world. The “aliens” have a Japanese borderline samurai like culture (death before dishonour) which makes for a great fantasy novel.
Having now read every book in this series and with this book being responsible for me falling in love with reading, I could not give it any less than 5 stars. It is a great fantasy book, one of the bests and its deep, having a lot of concepts covered in such a short space of time helped Raymond E Feist open his world for future novels.
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“There is not much that can be said about Magician. It is, in all fairness, a masterpiece, a work of high-standing literature that casts a new light on fantasy novels in general. If there was ever a worthy successor of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, than it is without a doubt Feist’s Riftwar Series. Magician was the very first adult fantasy novel I ever bought, approximately eight years ago, and I was hooked right away. No matter how many times I reread this amazing adventure, it can still keep me glued to my seat. The characters have bright, sparkling personalities; the plot is imaginative, fresh and innovating; the battles are epic both in proportions (so we have the normal country fights country stuff, but this book has planet fights planet!) as in outcome. For anyone who wants to start reading fantasy novels, this book is your best bet. If you don’t love the genre after this, you will never love it.
Majanka Verstraete wrote this review Tuesday, January 25, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Feist provides us with a large cast of characters, each with their own personality treats and issues. Pug, one of the two main characters, starts of by being a real “nobody” until he earns a spot as apprentice for the local magician, Kulgan, and even then he’s not much of a somebody yet. The other main character, Tomas, who happens to be Pug’s best friend, is nothing more than a swordsman apprentice either. The growth of these characters, from young boys with girl troubles who occasionally get into a fight, to young adults with the future of the world on their shoulders, is amazing. But not only are the main characters well-developed, you can really see how much an author loves his novels, when he also has nicely developed supporting characters, in this case, the beautiful but egocentric and stubborn princess Carlina, the silent but intelligent and trustworthy prince Arutha, the mysterious but friendly and courageous hunter Martin, and many, many more. When you find yourself suddenly not only liking Pug and Tomas, but actually feeling for all these supporting characters too, you know Feist has got you hooked and coming back from more.
Although the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you occupied for a while, it comes clear throughout the novel that Feist is setting up the stage for something more. He is continuously introducing his readers to new places, ranging from the marvellous Elven city, to the greatness that is the empire of Kelewan, places that return occasisionally in the other novels in these series, as is he introducing new characters, who will often return later on too. Once you no longer see Magician as a stand-alone novel, but as a part in a larger series, you can truelly appreciate it for the masterpiece it is. When reading it though, keep in mind that Magician was originally written more than twenty years ago, and some things that may seem unoriginal now (like, for instance, Feist uses the generic fantasy races dwarves, elves, gnomes, etc.) were actually quite innovative in the day. And even if it has already been done about a hundred times by now, take it from me: there is something about Feist’s dwarves and elves that makes them very appealing, and makes you come back for more.
The only small critique I have on what is still one of my favourite fantasy novels up to date, is the lack of female characters. We have princess Carlina, and a brief appearance of princess Anita later on the novel, but that’s it. It’s like Midkemia’s population exists out of 90% males and only 10% females. That, or a more logical interpretation is that Feist simply does not like to write about women, or develop fitting personalities for them, or that he just finds it easier writing about male characters. Whatever the reason may be, it does get a bit annoying, not especially in this book, but more so in the later parts of the series. Also, the few women characters that Feist does include, tend to have largely the same personality, which is even more annoying. That aside, Magician is still one of the best fantasy novels ever written, and if you haven’t read this novel, you simply cannot call yourself a true fantasy fan. Personally, it wasn’t Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that hooked me to the genre, but it was Feist’s well-crafted, imaginative, enthralling novel Magician.”
“magnificent.”
Chris H wrote this review Friday, December 10, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Fantastic book. Very entertaining.”
Rui D wrote this review Sunday, November 7, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Feist has the magical ability of not only making you feel like you are there, but also making it easy to believe in the fantasy world he has created.”
Mind Dragon wrote this review Saturday, October 16, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Brilliant start to a fantasy series.”
PigletsPress wrote this review Thursday, April 15, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
